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The Production of Information in an Online World: Is Copy Right?

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  • Cagé, Julia
  • Hervé, Nicolas
  • Viaud, Marie-Luce

Abstract

This paper documents the extent of copying and estimates the returns to originality in online news production. We build a unique dataset combining all the online content produced by French news media during the year 2013 with new micro audience data. We develop a topic detection algorithm that identifies each news event, trace the timeline of each story, and study news propagation. We unravel new evidence on online news production. First, we document high reactivity of online media: one quarter of the news stories are reproduced online in under 4 minutes. Second, we show that this comes with extensive copying: only 33% of the online content is original. Third, we investigate the cost of copying for original news producers. Using article-level variations and media-level daily audience combined with article-level social media statistics, we find that readers partly switch to the original producers, thereby mitigating the newsgathering incentive problem raised by copying.

Suggested Citation

  • Cagé, Julia & Hervé, Nicolas & Viaud, Marie-Luce, 2017. "The Production of Information in an Online World: Is Copy Right?," CEPR Discussion Papers 12066, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12066
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. de Cornière, Alexandre & Sarvary, Miklos, 2020. "Social Media and News: Content Bundling and news Quality," TSE Working Papers 20-1152, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    2. Charles Angelucci & Julia Cage, 2019. "Newspapers in Times of Low Advertising Revenues," SciencePo Working papers hal-03391880, HAL.
    3. Charles Angelucci & Julia Cagé, 2019. "Newspapers in Times of Low Advertising Revenues," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 319-364, August.
    4. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/52cps7rdns8iv8fr3f1kqm7iuv is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Charles Angelucci & Julia Cage & Michael Sinkinson, 2020. "Media Competition and News Diets," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03393063, HAL.
    6. Inés Moreno de Barreda & Gilat Levy & Ronny Razin, 2017. "Persuasion with Correlation Neglect: Media Power via Correlation of News Content," Economics Series Working Papers 836, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    7. Ruyun (Ivy) Feng & Michael D. Kimbrough & Sijing Wei, 2022. "The role of information transparency in the product market: an examination of the sustainability of profitability differences," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 668-705, June.
    8. Julia Cage, 2019. "Media competition, information provision and political participation:Evidence from French local newspapers and elections, 1944–2014," SciencePo Working papers hal-03567022, HAL.
    9. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/4edekc99or8n2bu86nu4ua8adl is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Kim, Min & Stice, Derrald & Stice, Han & White, Roger M., 2021. "Stop the presses! Or wait, we might need them: Firm responses to local newspaper closures and layoffs," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    11. Barbara Biasi & Petra Moser, 2018. "Effects of Copyrights on Science - Evidence from the US Book Republication Program," Working Papers 18-06, New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Department of Economics.
    12. Julia Cagé & Nicolas Hervé & Marie-Luce Viaud, 2020. "The Production of Information in an Online World," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 87(5), pages 2126-2164.
    13. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/4edekc99or8n2bu86nu4ua8adl is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Prat, Andrea & Kennedy, Patrick, 2017. "Where Do People Get Their News?," CEPR Discussion Papers 12426, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/52cps7rdns8iv8fr3f1kqm7iuv is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Jörg Claussen & Christian Peukert & Ananya Sen, 2019. "The Editor vs. the Algorithm: Returns to Data and Externalities in Online News," CESifo Working Paper Series 8012, CESifo.
    17. Ayush Pant & Federico Trombetta, 2022. "The Newsroom Dilemma," DISEIS - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Economia internazionale, delle istituzioni e dello sviluppo dis2205, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimento di Economia internazionale, delle istituzioni e dello sviluppo (DISEIS).
    18. Cagé, Julia, 2020. "Media competition, information provision and political participation: Evidence from French local newspapers and elections, 1944–2014," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    19. Boxell, Levi & Steinert-Threlkeld, Zachary, 2022. "Taxing dissent: The impact of a social media tax in Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    20. Moser, Petra & Biasi, Barbara, 2018. "Effects of Copyrights on Science - Evidence from the US Book Republication Program," CEPR Discussion Papers 12651, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    21. Cagé, Julia, 2017. "Media Competition, Information Provision and Political Participation: Evidence from French Local Newspapers and Elections, 1944," CEPR Discussion Papers 12198, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    22. Julia Cage, 2019. "Media competition, information provision and political participation:Evidence from French local newspapers and elections, 1944–2014," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03567022, HAL.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Internet; Information spreading; Copyright; Investigative journalism; Facebook; Reputation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L15 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Information and Product Quality
    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media
    • L86 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Information and Internet Services; Computer Software

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