Research on digital native media: an emerging topic in the field of digital communication

Abstract

Digital native media have gone through different stages since their emergence in the last decade of the twentieth century under the shadow of the evolution of the ‘network of networks’ and digital transformation. Despite the influence that legacy media have exerted on the models of many digital media, the efforts they have made to find their own way in the digital communication ecosystem have resulted in the introduction of new practices and strategies that have fuelled renewed debates on journalistic frontiers. The aim of this paper is to review the birth, evolution and current landscape of digital native media with special attention given to research in this field. This is an object of study with its own and differential characteristics in relation to legacy media, which attracts the focus of more and more digital communication researchers every day. To offer a current assessment of such research, a systematized review of articles published in scientific journals included in the Web of Science and Scopus databases was carried out. The results show that the conceptualization of digital native media, their mapping in media ecosystems and comparison with legacy media, the study of their typology and characteristics, research on their economic and organizational models, the analysis of their content, and their relationship with audiences are among the main objects of research. These media constitute a fundamental sector in the current media ecosystem, which will require multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives in their research to face the challenges of digital media, digital native media and digital journalism.