How News Agencies Produce News

The study reported in this article portrays production of news in three news agencies: Swedish TT, Italian ANSA and the worldwide Reuters. It is a study of organizing rather than of journalism, and it reveals two accelerating phenomena: cybernetization (machines play a more and more central role in news production) and cyborgization (people rely more and more on machines). As usual, however, technological developments lead to many unexpected consequences and complications.

The study reported in this article portrays production of news in three news agencies: Swedish TT, Italian ANSA and the worldwide Reuters. It is a study of organizing rather than of journalism, and it reveals two accelerating phenomena: cybernetization (machines play a more and more central role in news production) and cyborgization (people rely more and more on machines). As usual, however, technological developments lead to many unexpected consequences and complications.