Third International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

The present research maps and evaluates the deployment of Facbook´s Instant Articles business model in Brazilian online journalism. The business model was implemented in 2015 (in Brazil in 2016) and proposed a reorganization in the financing of the online journalism industry. In Brazil, Facebook is the second most used social network (59% of the population connected to the internet, first is YouTube, with 60%) and the first to search for news. Initially, they started with 12 newspapers and magazines and since then we are monitoring the Facebook pages of each of them, using NVivo software. The results show that the main problems occurred in the first two years refer to technical problems, a change in the habits of users of mobile devices, the need to change news production routines, low financial returns, low audience growth rates, and the short time content consumption. The research also allowed us to conclude that, in Brazil, the availability of Instant Articles has not diminished the importance of proprietary websites, since online newspapers and magazines continue to use newsletters, RSS, and WhatsApp services.