ISOJ 2005

1. Online media, population
and economics
Facing the relationship between media
brands and social indicators in Spain
MANUEL GAGO / magago@usc.es
New Media Research Group
University of Santiago de Compostela

2. Online media, population and economics
Thinking in the ecosystem
• Size the dimensions of the online
media map
• Compare it with the landscape of
traditional media
• Find possible gaps between
prereleased media and new,
exclusively online media
• Explore cultural, linguistical, content
diversities on the web
1

3. Online media, population and economics
Thinking in the surface of research
• Spain
• EU state
• 19 self-governated territories
(Autonomous Communities)
• 4 official languages (Spanish [total],
Basque, Catalonian & Galician
[partial])
• 40 million inhabitants
2

4. Online media, population and economics
Trying to answer social questions
• Is it possible to develop a methodology which
allows to relation online media stats and
social indexes?
More population generates more media?
More wealth generates more media?
More individual wealth generates more media?
More Information Society generates more
media?
…and is there any relation between Information
Society, wealth and diversity?
3

5. Online media, population and economics
The how-to’s
The tool: Infotendencias (Infotrends)
It’s an online database, which connected
in real time the work of all the group
5 research groups with fixed territories
The cataloguing of online media was
divided in three main basis:
+Location and geographical information
+Conceptual and contact information
+Format, original version, publish cycle,
specialization parameters
4

6. Online media, population and economics
The how-to’s
Online media (def):
Content source with a will to
mediate between the events
and the public, mainly
through journalistic criteria
and techniques, using
multimedia language and
updated and published in
the Internet
5

7. Online media, population and economics
The how-to’s
Generate the map:
+degree of autonomy from the traditional
media map
+degree of suiting to particular interests
of public
Comparison with European Union
Structural Indicators
+wealth (GDP / GDP per capita)
+population (Inhabitants)
+Information Society variables (Internet
access; household Internet access)
6

8. Online media, population and economics
Results
Strict relation with traditional media
ecosystem
+The 80% have an original version in
press, radio and TV
+Online papers synchronize their
publishing cycle with the original
version
+They evolved from facsimilar delivering
to a complex, news site layout
A
1274 ONLINE MEDIA

9. Online media, population and economics
Results

10. Online media, population and economics
Results
A 40% of media are focused in a
particular area of knowledge
There is a thematic gap:
Web: Culture, Arts, Entertainment, Leisure,
Tourism, Economy, Communication &
Journalism
Traditional: Politics, Economy, Culture, Society &
People
A break out among generations? The
consecuence of an embrionary stage?
B
THROUGH THE WAY OF
SPECIALIZATION

11. Online media, population and economics
Results
YES
There is correspondence between
Population, general wealthness
and diversity of media
NO
There is not an apparent
correspondence between GDP per
capita or IS variables
Pearson coefficient
c
INERTIAS, TRADITIONAL,
POPULATION (I)

12. Online media, population and economics
Results
YES
Proximity to big decission and power
centers makes influence on
diversity of media
NO
There is no connection between
specialized media and richer
territories
c
INERTIAS, TRADITIONAL,
POPULATION (II)

13. Online media, population and economics
Results
Exclusively online media maintain the
same levels of diversity in relation
to population or GDP than original
analogic media ones. The
ecosystem do not change with the
new online editors. Territory,
population, social variables are
very strong.
c
INERTIAS, TRADITIONAL,
POPULATION (III)

14. Online media, population and economics
An open door?
Z
Find standard rates and
methodologies which explore
the relation of media and social
indicators

15. Online media, population and economics
THANKS
MANUEL GAGO
magago@usc.es
New Media Research Group
University of Santiago de Compostela
(GALICIA)
SPAIN