News Diversity in Decline? A Longitudinal Analysis (2003–2023) of Actor and Topic Diversity in Broadcast News

Content diversity is widely recognised as a key indicator of news quality, reflecting journalists’ professional roles in providing information and serving as democratic watchdogs. However, journalism has faced significant challenges over time, making it increasingly challenging for journalists to fulfil these roles. This paper examines how news diversity has evolved over time through a content analysis of longitudinal data from Flemish television news broadcasts between 2003 and 2023. The study employs an innovative week-level measurement approach. It looks at topic and actor diversity and compares between public service and private broadcast news. We find that concerns over declining content diversity are unwarranted, as both broadcasters have consistently maintained high levels of topic and actor diversity, following similar trends over time.