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Where did you come from, where did you go? News trajectories in Germany and Switzerland

Author

Listed:
  • Mykola Makhortykh

    (University of Bern)

  • Ernesto León

    (University of Amsterdam)

  • Aleksandra Urman

    (University of Zürich)

  • Teresa Gil-López

    (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid)

Abstract

The article examines news trajectories used by individuals to access mainstream journalistic media in Germany and German-speaking Switzerland during the first peak of COVID-19 in Europe. It discusses the role of individual characteristics related to sociodemographics, political, and media attitudes in predisposition towards specific modes of news access. For this aim, it combines survey data with data on individuals’ engagement with news automatically tracked in spring 2020. The findings of the article highlight the prevalence of accessing news via search engines (search trajectory) and by directly going to news websites (routine trajectory). The study also demonstrates the important role of political and media attitudes in the prevalence of specific modes of news access, which, however, differs between the countries, thus emphasizing the importance of conducting more comparative research using tracking data.

Suggested Citation

  • Mykola Makhortykh & Ernesto León & Aleksandra Urman & Teresa Gil-López, 2025. "Where did you come from, where did you go? News trajectories in Germany and Switzerland," Journal of Computational Social Science, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 1-21, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jcsosc:v:8:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s42001-025-00361-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s42001-025-00361-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Markus Prior, 2005. "News vs. Entertainment: How Increasing Media Choice Widens Gaps in Political Knowledge and Turnout," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 49(3), pages 577-592, July.
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