Towards a rolling news logic in fixed time bulletins? A comparative analysis of journalistic interventions in the US, UK and Norway

Contemporary news media operate in an increasingly competitive environment with fast-changing technologies facilitating more immediate forms of communication. In doing so, the logic of ‘old’ news formats is being challenged. On television, for example, viewers no longer have to wait for morning or evening bulletins, since rolling news channels deliver an instant fix. This study carries out a content analysis of the major news bulletins in the US, UK and Norway, asking whether the wider culture of journalism has impacted on the format and style of coverage. The study finds that certain journalistic interventions – which inject a sense of immediacy (reporting live), of pace (constant updates) or extend geographic space (on location) – routinely appear on fixed time television bulletins to different degrees cross-nationally. The authors suggest this represents an adoption of rolling news logic – with bulletins incorporating the urgency and liveness displayed in national news cultures – delivering a more interpretive and instant form of communication than pre-edited or scripted news packages