Seeing Through the User’s Eyes: The Role of Journalists’ Audience Perceptions in Their Use of Technology

Drawing on the concept of audience construction, this study offers an empirical test of the argument by Boczkowski that journalists’ perceptions of their audience influence their implementation of new technologies. It uses a national survey of U.S. newspaper journalists to determine whether their perceptions of audiences’ use of and demand for video, social media, and mobile-oriented design predict their own public-facing use of those technologies. Findings indicate that journalists’ perceptions of audience demand, but not audience technological use and access, are significantly associated with news organizations’ increased technology use, suggesting that journalists view their audiences more as market-oriented technological consumers than as dynamic users.