Stakeholders 1 — Identifying stakeholders in media

What is a stakeholder?

A stakeholder is any person, group, or organization that has an interest, concern, or involvement in a particular situation, project, or decision. Stakeholders can be directly or indirectly affected by the outcome, and they often have varying levels of influence or importance in the matter. In other words, not all stakeholders are the same or equally involved in the matter at hand.

Let’s take a very simple example – students going out with their friends. The stakeholders, or the concerned parties, in this case, are the individual student who may or may not join their friends, their parents or guardians who are often the deciding factor in how much fun is to be had, the friend group who will either benefit from the individual student’s presence or have to cope without them, and the general society which likes to contemplate and discuss young people’s habits everywhere, from social media to the evening news. Obviously, some of these stakeholders are more directly involved in the matter and, therefore, are likely to experience more significant consequences if the individual student is cleared to go out on a Friday night or not.

In the context of a news media item, stakeholders are the different individuals or groups who are impacted by or have a vested interest in the events being reported. Recognizing stakeholders in a news media item involves identifying who might have something to gain, lose, or contribute in relation to the topic of the news story. This is not simple, especially since whoever is producing the media item in question, be it an individual content creator or a reputable news media channel, is a stakeholder as well.

To make things more clear, let’s use a specific news story as an example and start with this report on the European Commission banning TikTok from staff work devices. We are using a report by Deutsche Welle (DW), a German public, state-owned international broadcaster. Search the topic on your local DW site for a report in your local language.

Briefly take students through the suggested article or one of your choice. Then, try to identify relevant stakeholders mentioned in the article with the class using the prompts below and make notes on the blackboard/whiteboard as you go:

1. Identify the main topic: Understand what the story is about. Is it a political decision, a social issue, a business development, an environmental event, or something else? Does it touch on several topics? If yes, different topics could be important to different stakeholders.
2. Think about direct participants: Consider who is directly involved or participating in the story. These could be individuals or groups who are central to the story. For example, if the news is about a new education policy, students, teachers, school administrators, and parents are likely direct participants.
3. Think about indirect participants: In addition to direct participants, consider whether there are individuals, groups, or institutions indirectly involved in the matter. Following the previous example, the general public might be interested in the new education policy, even if they are not in education themselves (as students or staff) or have children in education, and the way that education policy will shape society in the long term might be important to take into account.
4. Identify advocates and critics: Look for groups or individuals who have strong opinions about the topic. These could be organizations advocating for a particular cause, industry experts, activists, or people who oppose the events in the news.
5. Asses the tone of the news item: And how about the media item itself? Is it leaning towards a certain position on the subject, or does it provide an overview of different perspectives? Can specific information about the individuals, companies or institutions who produced the news item explain the tone of the article - for example, whether they are a content creator focusing on a specific audience or topic, a private news media company or a public one, or a journalist with a position on the topic?
6. Spot regulatory bodies and authorities: Consider if there are any official organizations, government agencies, or authorities that play a role in the matter. What is their position and why?

Remind the students that stakeholders can have various levels of interest, influence, and power. By recognizing different stakeholders, they can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the complexities and perspectives surrounding a news story, helping them form a more informed opinion about the situation.

Divide the students into groups of (ideally) up to 5 students per group and remind the class that stakeholders can have various levels of interest, influence, and power. By recognizing different stakeholders, they can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the complexities and perspectives surrounding a news story, helping them form a more informed opinion about the situation.

Instruct half of the groups rank the stakeholders identified in the earlier example according to how much the topic impacts them, while the other half ranks them according to how much power and influence they have on the matter. Give them at most 10 minutes to work on the rankings.

1. Discuss the rankings with the class. Are there significant differences between groups? Why?
2. If the students read about the same event (ex. The European Commission banning the use of TikTok from staff work devices) in a different news outlet or social media, would they be able to identify the same stakeholders? Would the stakeholders be awarded the same level of importance or influence?
3. What if the source was a YouTube channel focused on reporting about the tech industry? Or a news site owned by the Chinese government? An article by an Eurosceptic journalist? How about an EU enthusiast?