Abstract

In 1994, the first web online media outlets were introduced in several countries around the world. Twenty-five years later, digital or online journalism is a confirmed reality and common practice in professional and academic circles. Based on an extensive bibliographic review, this article examines the main areas of academic research related to digital media at the global level in the last quarter of a century. It shows the lines of research on the history of journalism on the Internet, the forms of digital media, their languages and economic challenges. It also reviews the most widespread research theories and methods. The analysis confirms that research on digital journalism is a strong, ongoing discipline, despite the fact that several methodological and thematic challenges will need to be addressed in the next few years.

Abstract

In 1994, the first web online media outlets were introduced in several countries around the world. Twenty-five years later, digital or online journalism is a confirmed reality and common practice in professional and academic circles. Based on an extensive bibliographic review, this article examines the main areas of academic research related to digital media at the global level in the last quarter of a century. It shows the lines of research on the history of journalism on the Internet, the forms of digital media, their languages and economic challenges. It also reviews the most widespread research theories and methods. The analysis confirms that research on digital journalism is a strong, ongoing discipline, despite the fact that several methodological and thematic challenges will need to be addressed in the next few years.

Abstract

The web is central to the work and social lives of a substantial fraction of the world’s population, but the role of popular websites may not always be subject to academic scrutiny. This is a concern if social scientists are unable to understand an aspect of users’ daily lives because one or more major websites have been ignored. To test whether popular websites may be ignored in academia, this article assesses the volume and citation impact of research mentioning any of twenty major websites. The results are consistent with the user geographic base affecting research interest and citation impact. In addition, site affordances that are useful for research also influence academic interest. Because of the latter factor, however, it is not possible to estimate the extent of academic knowledge about a site from the number of publications that mention it. Nevertheless, the virtual absence of international research about some globally important Chinese and Russian websites is a serious limitation for those seeking to understand reasons for their web success, the markets they serve or the users that spend time on them. The sites investigated were Google, YouTube, Facebook, Baidu, Wikipedia, QQ, Tmall, Taobao, Yahoo, Amazon, Twitter, Sohu, Live, VK, JD, Instagram, Sina, Weibo, Yandex, and 360.