Contemporary mediation gravitates around platforms, central structures where users and content converge. As the pivotal format for mediation through sound, intersecting culture, economy, technology and social processes, podcasting has drawn the attention of platforms which have been investing heavily on attracting/retaining producers and listeners alike, by facilitating production, securing the rights to exclusive content, and providing unique ways to interact with content. In this article we analyze Spotify’s Top Podcast rankings in Portugal, using descriptive analysis to identify and characterize content, to determine how discovery is promoted and how diverse is the content being presented to users, determining their perception of the format. We argue that content diversity is central to a format that has become mainstream within contemporary digital and audio culture, through the convergence of independent and mainstream producers in the unique content sphere of podcasting. Platforms may be regarded as enabling agents for this process, having become both audio discovery ecosystems and gatekeepers for the format.

O crescente domínio das plataformas digitais na disseminação de notícias tem introduzido uma nova dimensão na mediação, particularmente através da recomendação algorítmica de conteúdos. Este estudo visa explorar as dinâmicas de consumo de notícias entre os jovens portugueses, com foco na personalização algorítmica. Utilizando dados do Digital News Report, investigamos como a preferência dos jovens por fontes algorítmicas de acesso a notícias digitais se acentuou entre 2016 e 2023, mas também se diversificou, passando a incluir, além de redes sociais, motores de busca e agregadores de notícias. O artigo explora ainda atitudes sobre a receptividade à seleção algorítmica de notícias, destacando uma transformação significativa nas preferências dos jovens entre os 18 e os 24 anos, de uma forte inclinação para a personalização algorítmica baseada no histórico de consumo individual, para uma maior valorização do papel dos editores e dos jornalistas. Paralelamente, a ubiquidade dos algoritmos revela-se na diminuição das preocupações dos jovens sobre as consequências da personalização algorítmica. A discussão e as conclusões suscitam reflexões sobre a crescente utilização de sistemas algorítmicos por parte de órgãos de comunicação social e as consequências da personalização algorítmica para uma esfera pública plural e informada.

Recent developments in generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) have revitalized academic discourse on algorithmic systems, particularly on their potential, ethical considerations, risks, and regulatory challenges. Extensive research has examined how algorithms affect communication processes, focusing on their influence on news organizations, journalistic practices, public-media dynamics, media literacy, and combating disinformation and filter bubbles. An emergent strand of research defines and measures the multidimensional concept of algorithmic literacy. However limited research exists on the intersection of algorithmic literacy and journalism. This gap is particularly concerning given the pivotal role of journalism in shaping public discourse, informing citizens, upholding democratic values and contrasting disinformation. Understanding how journalists perceive and engage with algorithms is essential, as these technologies significantly influence their professional tasks, including content production and distribution. In Portugal, where newcomer journalists work in precarious conditions and digital media transformation is rapidly evolving, understanding how journalists interact with and perceive algorithms is vital. Our study, through a multi-phased approach, aims to fill this gap questioning how can algorithmic literacy, encompassing cognitive, attitudinal and behavioural dimensions, be effectively assessed among professional journalists? The exploratory results present a validated methodological tool, instrument based on a multi-dimensional analytical framework and specifically designed to measure algorithmic literacy levels and to assess journalists’ experiences. Critical discussion addresses the methodological procedures and preliminary findings from the pre-test, offering insights into Portuguese journalists' understanding, perceptions, and competencies regarding algorithmic systems. By shedding light on the cognitive, affective, and behavioural aspects of journalists’ engagement with algorithms, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the algorithmic literacy among journalists, which is essential to sustain the quality of their work and for an effective counteraction against disinformation. It also opens avenues for similar studies in other geographical or professional contexts.

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is rapidly reshaping the audience’s relationship with journalism, particularly through AI-generated summaries. Building on the observed patterns of limited visibility of sources, condensed summary presentation, and reduced contextual depth, we introduce the idea of news sufficiency, in which people encounter summarised content that feels enough to satisfy their immediate informational needs, thereby reducing the incentive to access full news articles. Empirically, this study examines differences between ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google Search when queried in European Portuguese, using three prompts: (a) asking for the main news of the day, (b) the latest on a specific news event, and (c) using only a basic keyword for that event. Drawing on a content analysis, we analysed 72 queries submitted by eight independent users. The results showed that platforms differ markedly in source attribution, summary structure, and contextual awareness. ChatGPT consistently provided hyperlinks and often clickable news images, while Gemini offered summaries only in text without citations. Both chatbots generated diverse and coherent news headlines capable of satisfying curiosity yet frequently failed to infer news intent from the basic keyword prompt, providing outdated or irrelevant information. The absence of Google’s AI Overview results during the observation window produced a contrast with a classic Google Search, which preserves user agency by requiring clicks on links. These findings have significant implications for journalistic authorship, editorial gatekeeping, and the economic sustainability of media, highlighting the need for AI literacy and platform governance that safeguards information pluralism.

Purpose. The increasing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in news production raises important questions about audience acceptance. This research explores group differences in comfort levels toward news generated by AI and news produced with AI assistance, focusing on the effect of the main news sources. It is hypothesized that using social media as a main gateway for news may influence comfort with AI-generated news due to the users’ familiarity with algorithm personalization. Methodology. A quantitative analysis was conducted on a representative sample of 2012 Portuguese internet users. Nonparametric tests were applied for group comparisons, and a composite AI Comfort Index was developed to enable parametric testing of interaction effects between awareness of AI and main source of news. Results and Conclusions. The analysis identifies higher comfort levels when AI is presented as an assistant rather than the primary generator of the news. The results highlight significant differences among groups based on demographic and trust-related factors. Additionally, significant effects are detected in the comparison between groups with lower and higher levels of AI awareness and between social media and traditional news users. Despite not statistically significant, the interaction effect reveals that where users with higher awareness of AI who relied on social media as their main source of news shows a noticeable increase in comfort with AI-generated news. Contribution. These findings underscore the importance of considering the main source of news in discussions of AI acceptance in journalism, particularly as current developments point out that new AI powered resources, namely chatbots, could play an important role in the news distribution.