(Alternative) News Audience Fragmentation - A Longitudinal, Network Analytical Approach Combining Tracking and Survey Data

The concept of alternative media as “a proclaimed and/or (self-) perceived corrective” (Holt et al., 2019) is not new, having been studied as a facilitator of marginalized topics and social movements (Atton, 2015). However, the prevalence and relevance of alternative news websites leveraging digital opportunity structures have grown significantly (Frischlich et al., 2020), necessitating a deeper understanding of their audiences (Frischlich et al., 2023). The expansion of alternative online media, which enables highly personalized media consumption patterns, has further raised concerns about fragmentation dynamics. These dynamics risk fostering divergent media repertoires and conflicting perceptions of social reality. Against this backdrop, this presentation explores whether shifts in the news consumption repertoires of alternative media users signal the emergence of such fragmentation processes. While hyperpartisan and alternative news are shown to foster distrust (Boberg et al., 2020) and propagate ideologically motivated disinformation (Bennett & Livingston, 2018), research generally finds no clear link to extremist attitudes (e.g., Brems, 2024; Schulze, 2020). Alternative news use has been associated with increased media hostility (Schindler et al., 2018), avoidance of traditional news (Newman et al., 2018), and high political/news interest (Puschmann et al., 2024). This paper argues for a nuanced view of alternative/hyperpartisan news audiences, considering temporal changes, intensity of use (Müller & Schulz, 2021), and distinguishing alternative from hyperpartisan media, with the latter viewed as a particularly transgressive subtype (Rae, 2020). Addressing calls to study audience fragmentation on political fringes (Mahrt, 2020), we pose two research questions: RQ1: To what extent do changes in alternative/hyperpartisan news repertoires indicate audience fragmentation? RQ2: Do these dynamics vary by intensity of use and political leaning? Using a longitudinal, multimethod panel design with tracking and survey data, we recruited 1063 German participants (03/2022–12/2023) through quota sampling. We categorized 1607 news domains (manual/automated conent analysis) and tracked 2.2 million website visits, distinguishing between traditional, alternative, and hyperpartisan news sources. Alternative news domains were further categorized by political leaning (left, right, ambivalent) and extremism. Data were analyzed across 22 monthly timeslices using 7 co-exposure networks to assess fragmentation dynamics: non-alternative news use, alternative news use, frequent (Top 25 in visits and active seconds) and occasional alternative news use, hyperpartisan news use, and left resp. right-leaning based on the survey item left-right self-placement (11-item scale). Our findings show no significant fragmentation among non-alternative news users, aligning with previous research (Mahrt, 2022). However, considerable fragmentation was observed within alternative news audiences, with significant decreases in degree centralization and increased network modularity. Fragmentation was more pronounced with occasional rather than intense alternative news use, suggesting complex audience fragmentation dynamics. Political leaning was less predictive of alternative news use, indicating broad cross-spectrum appeal. The strongest fragmentation occurred among hyperpartisan, extreme news users, potentially reflecting selective exposure effects. These results underscore the importance of nuanced alternative media research that moves beyond simplistic left-right distinctions. Future studies should validate these findings and further explore the underlying mechanisms driving fragmentation.