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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Regional newspapers’ sourcing strategies: Changes in media-citation and self-citation from a longitudinal perspective

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In the light of profound transformation processes shaping news media markets during the last decade, in particular local and regional news markets are confronted with consolidation and concentration processes. As a result, newspaper organizations are required to adapt their organizational strategies and editorial routines to face these challenges. Among journalistic routines, the use of sources is a prime example for an analysis of changing patterns in news production. This article investigates regional newspaper’s use of self- and media-citations in a longitudinal design (1995, 2006, 2015). Based on a content analysis of German regional newspapers (N = 4713 articles), we illustrate changing patterns in the use of sources over a period of 20 years. Results point to an increase in other media outlets as sources indicative of an eligible and cheap content sourcing strategy. Self-citation is mainly used in articles that cover regional and local events mirroring the core business of local news media.