Media Poverty: media use and citizenship in conditions of deprivation

• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg (2026). Media poverty: Understanding mediated public connection in everyday conditions of deprivation. New Media & Society. doi: 10.1177/14614448261459665. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article is concerned with how life in poverty affects people’s possibility to enact citizenship through their use of the media. More specifically, it examines the varying preconditions for impoverished citizen’s mediated public connection. Whereas empirical studies into this area are few overall, conceptual approaches have a limited grasp on the many-faceted nature of poverty-induced disconnection and its embeddedness in everyday life. This article first develops the multi-dimensional media poverty framework positing that disconnection can be understood as the outcome of three key preconditioning dimensions: everyday life conditions, access, and resources. Second, applying this framework in the analysis of repeated interviews with 41 poverty-stricken citizens in Norway, it illuminates how possibilities for public connection are preconditioned and restrained by life in poverty. In this way, this article advances conceptual approaches to studying media use in contexts of deprivation and provides new empirical knowledge about a critical demographic seldom studied before.

• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg (2025). Fictional Entertainment and political communication. In Nai, Alessandro; Grömping, Max & Wirz, Dominique (Ed.), Elgar Encyclopedia of Political Communication. Edward Elgar Publishing. doi: 10.4337/9781035301447.vol2.00010. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This Encyclopedia covers the vast field of political communication, presenting an authoritative overview of its key foundational theories and empirical methodologies. Authored by nearly 600 experts from across the globe, it explores diverse areas of inquiry, foreshadowing future trends and avenues for research.

• Eimhjellen, Ivar & Nærland, Torgeir Uberg (2025). Relative Public Disconnection: Poverty and Media Use in the Media Welfare State. International Journal of Communication. 19, p. 1604–1633. doi: https:/ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/24109. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  A growing body of media research indicates systematic links between socioeconomic disadvantage, media use, and disconnection from the world of politics. This article examines media use and public (dis)connection among people who live in relative poverty. Focusing on the comparatively favorable conditions of the Norwegian “media welfare state,” the article first sensitizes the concept of public connection to empirical research on the poverty segment and operationalizes this reconceptualization in the analysis of data from the Norwegian Monitor survey (N = 11,025). The article finds that the low-income demographic generally has a markedly weaker mediated public connection compared with more privileged strata—what we term relative public disconnection. Moreover, we nuance this picture, identifying five main types of public (dis)connection in the low-income segment, each associated with a distinct social profile. On this basis, the article discusses implications for media policy and critiques the key underlying notions of equality and informed citizenship.

• Søholt, Rune (2025). Beyond Physical Access: Exploring Interaction With Political Content in Social Media Among Citizens Living in Poverty. International Journal of Communication. 19, p. 1918–1935. doi: https:/ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/23760. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Recent research highlights that social media may increase social inequalities in engagement with news and political information. This article explores how citizens living in poverty interact with political content in social media. To do so, it draws on material from a large qualitative effort, comprising 2 rounds of in-depth interviews with 41 citizens living in poverty in Norway, but focuses particularly on 14 interviewees who participated in a social media walk-through method. This article highlights how intersectional categories and circumstances such as gender, ethnicity, class, age, education, and parenthood are significant in shaping how citizens living in poverty encounter and interact with political content in social media. Furthermore, it discusses the significance of intersectionality for Matthew effects in engagement with news and political information in social media. Thus, it argues the importance of considering intersectionality when assessing digital inequalities in general, but particularly about information inequalities in social media.

• Bergh, Johannes; Christensen, Dag Arne & Holmås, Tor Helge (2025). Hva skjer med førstegangsvelgerne? Valgdeltakelsen ved kommunestyrevalget 2023. In Saglie, Jo; Segaard, Signe Bock & Christensen, Dag Arne (Ed.), Lokalvalgene 2023: maktforskyvning og normalisering. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. p. 71–95. doi: 10.23865/cdf.251.ch3. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Based on data from the electoral roll for all voters, we find significant variation in turnout among different social groups. Voters with only primary education have the lowest turnout, and the gap between educational groups has increased. The increased differences between educational groups are primarily because turnout among those with the lowest education has declined. Women vote more than men, and these differences are greatest among the youngest. Voter turnout among voters with an immigrant background decreased in 2023, and much of the overall decline in voter turnout can be attributed to this voter group. The chapter also looks at the voter turnout of first-time voters (18-year-olds). On average, the turnout level among 18-year-olds is relatively high, but there are large variations. In the group of young people who are neither working nor in education, the turnout is as low as 25 per cent. Conversely, there are groups of young people with significantly higher turnout than the average. Over 70 per cent of high school students graduating in general studies voted in the election. Thus, there are also significant social biases in voter turnout among the young, which, among other things, are reflected in differences between various study programs. We also look at the effect of a campaign from Amedia (’Ditt valg 2023’) where students received free access to the company’s local newspapers through their schools during the election campaign period. We do not find that this measure had an effect on turnout.

• Lindtner, Synnøve Skarsbø & Nærland, Torgeir Uberg (2024). News Avoidance and Poverty: Intersectional Marginalization in the Norwegian “Media Welfare State”. Journalism Studies. 25(12), p. 1498–1515. doi: 10.1080/1461670X.2024.2326075. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Based on interviews with 41 informants, this article presents an analysis of whether, how and why everyday news use is constrained by everyday conditions of poverty in the “media welfare state” of Norway. While prior news avoidance studies indicate that socioeconomically disadvantaged citizens are among the groups in society who use little or no news daily, the relationship between news media habits and precarious life conditions is largely unexplored by media and journalism scholars. This study nuances assumptions of this demographic as being systematically disconnected from the realm of news—yet highlights the variety of poverty-related factors restricting their news engagement. By problematizing the relationship between choice and access underlying much news avoidance research, it argues that limited news consumption in the poverty demographic—even within favorable conditions—must be understood as a product of multilevel constraints rather than choice. In this way, the article offers new empirical insight into the news use and avoidance of a critical demographic seldom studied before, while challenging dominant framings of the precariat as news avoiders and as disconnected citizens.

• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg (2023). Toward a Sociologically Enriched Understanding of Anti-Media Populism:The Case of Enough is Enough! International Journal of Communication. 17, p. 3091–3109. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The antagonist relationship between the people and mainstream media constitutes an integral dimension of populism. Recently, this relationship has been articulated through the concept of “anti-media populism,” which foregrounds populists’ vision of the mutual integration between mainstream media and other elites. Mobilizing an emergent strand of sociologically oriented populism theory, this article premises that there is now a need to complement current understandings with inductive and qualitative research, attentive to how anti-elitist citizens ascribe meaning and value to mainstream media and to the specificity of the contexts in which anti-media populism manifests. Through interviews with members of a recent anti-elitist grassroots mobilization in Norway—the Enough is Enough! movement—this study explores how anti-elitist citizens articulate both overarching sociopolitical narratives and specific narratives of media-elite integration. The article demonstrates how a bottom-up, inductive, and context-sensitive approach serves to both nuance and contradict any singular understanding of anti-media populism.

• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg & Dahl, John Magnus Ragnhildson (2022). Beyond representation: Public service media, minority audiences and the promotion of capabilities through entertainment. Poetics. 92. doi: 10.1016/j.poetic.2022.101687. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Entertainment programming is an important means for public service media (PSM) to address minority audiences, and to fulfill their social mission vis-à-vis these groups. We argue that these efforts are plagued by a thin normative grounding, stopping short at vague notions of representation. In this article, we argue that a capabilities approach invites a much-needed reconsideration of the fundamental objectives of such entertainment-based representations. The article offers a first operationalization of the capabilities approach in the context of televised entertainment. First, we identify and qualify a set of basic capabilities that we propose PSM should promote to minority audiences through entertainment content. Second, through a case study from Norway involving focus group interviews of young immigrants, we demonstrate how entertainment can facilitate the promotion of such capabilities. On this ground, we discuss the implications of a capabilities perspective for PSM efforts to accommodate marginalized audiences.

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• Klipper, Kristine Widlund (2024). Mediebruk i Limbo: En undersøkelse av mediebruk og offentlig tilknytning blant irregulære migranter. Universitetet i Bergen. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  I denne masteroppgaven vil du få innsikt i hvordan det er å leve som irregulær migrant i Norge. Jeg har tatt for meg et lite utforsket område i medievitenskapen og vil i oppgaven belyse hverdagslivet og mediebruken til irregulære migranter, og hvordan det er å orientere seg i samfunnet i avvente på oppholdstillatelse. Gjennom 9 intervju, og informanter med blandet bakgrunn og ulik oppholdstid i Norge, har jeg fått mange samtaler som både har gitt viktig informasjon, men også sterke inntrykk. Forskningen viser at selv om de fleste av informantene har hatt liten tilgang til medier, grunnet blant annet mangel på ulike former for kapital, har mediene vært en viktig faktor i irregulære migranters hverdag. De har benyttet seg av de mediene de har hatt tilgang på, og mediene har derfor også vært en viktig bidragsyter for å knytte seg til det offentlige rom. Integrering har også vært en viktig motivasjon for å bruke medier. Blant annet når det kommer til å lære seg språket og følge med på det norske nyhetsbilde i form av å lese aviser, som er en viktig ressurs når det kommer til offentlig tilknytning. Samtidig viser også forskningen at ikke-medierte veier, slik som velferdsordninger og ressurssenter, har vært viktig i irregulære migranter sin hverdag. Men og ikke minst viktig som arenaer for å etablere sosiale nettverk.

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• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg (2026). Fattigdom, medborgerskap og mediebruk: en presentasjon av Media Poverty-prosjektet. Full text in Research Archive
• Eimhjellen, Ivar & Nærland, Torgeir Uberg (2026). Relative Public Disconnection: Poverty and Media Use in the Media Welfare State. Full text in Research Archive
• Lindtner, Synnøve Skarsbø (2025). Oppdatering fra medieforskningen. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  hvordan vi kan løfte fram medieforskning som setter sosial ulikhet i mediebruk på dagsorden? Mye av mediedebatten handler om hvordan nå ungdom med nyheter, og hvorfor vi ikke lykkes. Debatten overser ofte hvordan mediebruk henger sammen med sosial ulikhet.Det er ikke nok å vite hvilke plattformer folk bruker eller hvor mange som følger med. Vi må undersøke de usynlige hindrene: Hvem opplever at nyheter ikke angår dem?Hvem møter et språk eller format som ikke treffer? Hvem har tid og ressurser til å følge med — og hvem har ikke? Hvem føler seg hjemme i de mediefellesskapene nyhetene forutsetter? Skal vi forstå hvem som faktisk faller utenfor og hvorfor må vi forstå hvordan sosial ulikhet setter rammer for både tilgang, bruk og opplevelsen av nyheter. I Media Poverty har vi undersøkt dette, og i dag skal jeg fortelle om dette.

• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg (2025). Vulnerabilities, poverty, and capabilities: a snapshot from the Media Poverty project. Full text in Research Archive
• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg (2025). Media Poverty: Understanding Mediated Public Connection in Everyday Conditions of Deprivation. Full text in Research Archive
• Søholt, Rune (2025). Gratis nyheter skal bidra til at unge blir hørt. [Internet]. NORCE Research. doi: https:/www.norceresearch.no/aktuelt/valg25-gratis-nyheter-skal-bidra-til-at-unge-blir-hort. Full text in Research Archive
• Søholt, Rune (2025). Sosiale medier forsterker lavt politisk engasjement - reproduserer utenforstak. [Internet]. NORCE Research. doi: https:/www.norceresearch.no/aktuelt/sosiale-medier-forsterker-lavt-politisk-engasjement-reproduserer-utenforskap. Full text in Research Archive
• Søholt, Rune (2025). Diaspora- og offentlig tilknytning i sosiale medier. Full text in Research Archive
• Christensen, Dag Arne & Christensen, Dag Arne (2025). Valgdeltakelse blant personer med innvandrerbakgrunn: Aktuelle tiltak? Full text in Research Archive
• Christensen, Dag Arne (2025). Ulikhet i valgdeltakelse. Full text in Research Archive
• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg & Søholt, Rune (2024). Mediebruk i en økonomisk vanskelig hverdag: hva kan vi gjøre med det? Full text in Research Archive
• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg (2024). Media poverty: media use in conditions of deprivation. Full text in Research Archive
• Eimhjellen, Ivar & Nærland, Torgeir Uberg (2024). Opening the “black box” of poverty-incited disconnection: Media use and citizenship in the “media welfare state”. Full text in Research Archive
• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg (2024). Between abundance and deprivation: Poverty, media use and public connection in the Norwegian ‘media welfare state’. Full text in Research Archive
• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg (2024). Introducing the capability approach. Full text in Research Archive
• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg (2024). Poverty and public connection. Full text in Research Archive
• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg (2024). Media Poverty: Media Use and Citizenship in Conditions of Deprivation. Full text in Research Archive
• Søholt, Rune (2023). Habitus and the public sphere: On the marginalization of citizens in the public sphere. Full text in Research Archive
• Søholt, Rune (2023). Social media poverty: Exploring social media practices and public connection among citizens living in poverty. Full text in Research Archive
• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg (2023). Media poverty: a conceptual framework for studying public connection in conditions of deprivation. Full text in Research Archive
• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg (2023). Exploring media use and public (dis)connection in conditions of poverty: a non-news centric approach. Full text in Research Archive
• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg; Søholt, Rune & Lindtner, Synnøve Skarsbø (2023). Exploring poverty-incited barriers for mediated public connection: the case of Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg; Søholt, Rune & Lindtner, Synnøve Skarsbø (2023). Exploring poverty-incited barriers for mediated public connection: the case of Norway . Full text in Research Archive
• Søholt, Rune (2023). Beyond the material: exploring experiential dimensions of access to political content on social media. Full text in Research Archive
• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg; Lindtner, Synnøve Skarsbø & Søholt, Rune (2023). Exploring poverty-incited barriers for mediated public connection: the case of Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Søholt, Rune (2023). Beyond the material - position paper for the New Frontiers in Global Digital Inequalities Research Workshop. Full text in Research Archive
• Søholt, Rune (2023). Social media poverty - presentation for ECREA Doctoral Summer School. Full text in Research Archive
• Søholt, Rune (2022). Why research social media practices? How do you best research these? Full text in Research Archive
• Søholt, Rune (2022). Social media practices and public connection in conditions of deprivation: Towards a typology of social media practice. Full text in Research Archive
• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg (2022). Media poverty: A conceptual framework. Full text in Research Archive
• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg (2022). Towards a sociologically enriched understanding of anti-media populism. Full text in Research Archive
• Nærland, Torgeir Uberg & Dahl, John Magnus Ragnhildson (2022). Beyond representation: Public service media, minority audiences and the promotion of capabilities through entertainment. Full text in Research Archive

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