Streaming journalism: balancing information and entertainment

As news organizations increasingly adopt live streaming on platforms like Twitch, they enter a media ecosystem shaped by entertainment-driven engagement strategies. While journalism has traditionally centered on investigation and reporting, the integration of streaming challenges established norms, blurring the boundaries between information and entertainment in a digital space initially dedicated to video games (Olivares-García & Méndez Majuelos, 2022). This shift raises critical questions about journalism’s future: How do journalists navigate the performative demands of live platforms while maintaining professional integrity? Does this transition redefine journalistic “occupational identity” (Deuze, 2005), prioritizing audience engagement over investigative depth?
This paper examines these tensions by analyzing the streaming practices of legacy and independent media. By analyzing the content of five media outlets (Mediapart, Au Poste, RTBF, Libération, and Origami), each of which leverages Twitch for distinct purposes, and conducting “comprehensive interviews” (Kaufmann, 1999) with five journalists about their practices, this study explores whether streaming fosters new forms of journalism or compromises its core values.
The adoption of live streaming reflects broader conflicts within journalism: the tension between economic survival and editorial independence, the redefinition of authority in a digital landscape controlled by Amazon, and the challenge of sustaining public trust. Moreover, Twitch’s interactive features, such as live chat and real-time audience participation, extend the logic of participatory journalism (Borger et al., 2012), positioning viewers as active contributors rather than passive consumers. As streaming platforms reshape media consumption, they compel journalists to reconsider their roles, ultimately redefining the “broadcast regime” (Dagiral & Parasie, 2010) that traditional newspapers established in the late 2000s.