I am a PhD candidate in media studies, researching news use. My PhD project explores how we can further a more nuanced understanding of why and how audiences use news in everyday life. Audience metrics have become central to newsrooms and the field of journalism studies, where clicks, time spent, and subscription sales shape understandings of audience interests, use, and preferences. I explore these digital behaviors from an audience perspective, primarily through qualitative methods. The project focuses more concretely on why younger audiences are more reluctant to pay for news, what it means to spend time on news, and how media experiences shape news practices. 

My PhD project is associated with Work Package 1, «Understanding Media Experience» at MediaFutures, a center for research-driven innovation at the University of Bergen. I am also a member of the Bergen Media Use Research Group at the department, an active research group led by Hallvard Moe and Brita Ytre-Arne.

I have previously conducted several studies at the intersection of audience studies, news use, and implementation of new technology in the media industry. In 2020, I received funding from the Norwegian Media Authority for the project "Personalized News: Algorithm-Driven Front Pages in Norwegian Online Newspapers." Here, I researched the implementation of front page algorithms in Schibsted, how the algorithms curated the front pages in two Norwegian online newspapers, and how journalists and developers experienced the new technology. The project culminated in an article that won the award for Research Paper of the Year in the journal Norsk Medietidsskrift in 2023.

In my master's project, I examined how young adults navigate while reading news online, how these practices can be understood as public connection, and what implications these user patterns may have for how we can understand audience metrics.

I teach courses on media and news use, audience studies, new media technology, media experiences, and qualitative methods. I have been course responsible for Advanced Media Use Analysis (master course) and Media Use: Theory and Methods (bachelor course).

Academic article

• Borchgrevink-Brækhus, Marianne (2025). Understanding news experience: The resonance between content, practices, and situatedness in everyday life . (external link)
• Borchgrevink-Brækhus, Marianne; Moe, Hallvard (2023). The Burden of Subscribing: How Young People Experience Digital News Subscriptions. (external link)
• Borchgrevink-Brækhus, Marianne (2022). «Det er ikke plass til alt på internett»: algoritmestyrte forsider og redaksjonelle vurderinger. (external link)

Poster

• Borchgrevink-Brækhus, Marianne (2024). News experience: understanding the resonance between content, practices & situatedness in everyday life. (external link)
• Borchgrevink-Brækhus, Marianne (2023). What does it mean when people spend less time on news?. (external link)
• Borchgrevink-Brækhus, Marianne (2021). Why won't young people pay for news?. (external link)

Academic lecture

• Ytre-Arne, Brita; Meijer, Irene Costera; Borchgrevink-Brækhus, Marianne et al. (2023). Conceptualizing and researching media experience. (external link)
• Borchgrevink-Brækhus, Marianne (2023). Beyond “more time is better”: Understanding experiences of quick news user practices. (external link)
• Borchgrevink-Brækhus, Marianne; Moe, Hallvard (2022). Why young people do not pay for news. (external link)

Lecture

• Borchgrevink-Brækhus, Marianne (2023). The Burden of Subscribing: How Young People Experience Digital News Subscriptions. (external link)
• Borchgrevink-Brækhus, Marianne (2022). Hvorfor betaler ikke unge voksne for nyheter? Foreløpige funn. (external link)
• Borchgrevink-Brækhus, Marianne (2022). Hvorfor betaler ikke unge voksne for nyheter? Foreløpige funn. (external link)
• Borchgrevink-Brækhus, Marianne (2022). Hvorfor betaler ikke unge voksne for digitale nyheter?. (external link)
• Borchgrevink-Brækhus, Marianne (2021). Hvorfor betaler ikke unge voksne for nyheter? Foreløpige funn. (external link)

See a complete overview of publications in Cristin.

• 2021-2022 "Payment for News: Reluctance, Evasion, and Inequality in a Digital News Landscape." Led by Hallvard Moe. Funded by the Norwegian Media Authority.
• 2020-2021 "Personalized News: Algorithm-Driven Front Pages in Norwegian Online Newspapers." Funded by the Norwegian Media Authority.