Content Osmosis in Television Programmes: The Inclusion of News in the Spanish Magazines Espejo Público and Mañaneros

Abstract

Television formats are undergoing a redefinition of the audiovisual panorama marked by digitisation and the decrease in audiences. In this context, news coverage at times of special interest is an opportunity to regain relevance, and for this reason the morning magazine programmes are taking on the broadcasting of currently prevalent news, intervening in subjects traditionally reserved for news programmes. This paper analyses the news content of TV magazines in a context of hybridisation of genres that has blurred the acknowledged boundaries between the definitions of television programmes. To achieve this, we study the topics on the agenda and how the news is dealt with that is included in the two leading formats among the private and public channels with the biggest audiences in Spain: Espejo Público on Antena 3 and Mañaneros on Televisión Española. The results show that there is a process we call “news osmosis”, whereby the news is treated in a spectacular way, yet incorporating the language and aesthetics typical of the formality of news programmes. In this adaptation, the magazines impose themselves on the narration of the news scoop while restricting the thematic agenda, leaning towards a kind of reductionism in which the private channels choose to prioritise political conflict while the public channels concentrate on current incidents, understood here as newsworthy events of public interest (crimes or accidents).

1. Introduction

1.1. Nature of Television News and the Concept of News Osmosis

Television news has traditionally played a central role in shaping the identity of broadcast channels. News programming functions not only as an informative service but also as a tool for audience retention and brand positioning, often incorporating narrative and entertainment elements to maintain viewer engagement and foster loyalty (D. K. Thussu, 2007; Reinemann et al., 2012). Although early television was first linked to entertainment, its ability to disseminate news quickly made it the most impactful mass medium.

However, the rise of digital platforms has shifted this landscape, particularly among younger demographics. Secondary screens have become primary ones (Meeker, 2015), and recent global audience studies confirm that streaming consumption has now overtaken linear television (Nielsen News Center, 2024). Despite this shift, television retains a strong presence during times of crisis, reaffirming its value as a trusted medium for delivering urgent information (Reuters Institute, 2024; Gutsche & Hess, 2019). In Spain, for instance, although platform subscriptions have increased dramatically, 84% of viewers still consume news via online television, compared with 16% through streaming services (Reuters Institute, 2024).

To contextualise this study, it is essential to understand Spain’s polarised pluralist media system (Hallin & Mancini, 2004), characterised by a combination of dominant private groups (such as Mediaset and Atresmedia), national and regional public broadcasters, and cross-media conglomerates with deep financial entanglements. This complex and competitive environment has led to significant transformations in television programming, particularly in how genres are hybridised to maintain audience share. One such development is the increasing osmosis between television news and magazine shows—formats that now share aesthetic, structural, and professional features that were once clearly separated. This transformation is especially evident in the hybridisation of genres, where boundaries between news and entertainment have become increasingly blurred.

This study introduces the concept of “news osmosis” to describe the asymmetric transfer of content, formats, and journalistic routines from news programmes into magazine programmes. These hybrid forms blur traditional genre boundaries and challenge the institutional role of news broadcasting. As magazine shows adopt news aesthetics—live reporting, newsroom-style sets, and journalist-led coverage—they gain credibility and ratings, while news programmes risk losing their distinctiveness, timeliness, and authority.

To analyse these hybrid formats, this study draws upon established classification systems of television genres and discourse strategies, including the taxonomies developed by Früh and Wirth (1997a), Montero and Ferré-Pavía (2017), and Mateos (2013). These frameworks are widely used in media studies to structure content analysis and to distinguish between informational, entertainment, and hybrid formats, providing a theoretical foundation for the coding and interpretation of televised material. It considers also insights from media convergence literature (Jenkins, 2006; Hepp & Couldry, 2013a). The aim is to examine how competitive pressure and platform logic are reshaping the television news landscape in Spain, and how these transformations reflect broader global trends in media hybridisation.

To provide an initial understanding of the media context, we have prepared a summary of the structure of Spanish media companies (

Table 1. Spanish media system.

Public Audiovisual Broadcasters	Private Television Groups	Print Media Conglomerates
RTVE (national) and 17 regional public networks serve diverse audiences	Mediaset España and Atresmedia control ~94% of TV market share	Prisa (El País, Cadena SER), Vocento (ABC, regional dailies), Planeta–Atresmedia (La Razón), and RCS-owned Unidad Editorial (El Mundo) dominate the newspaper market and increasingly span print, radio, and digital platforms

Source: Author’s own elaboration based on data from (Hallin & Mancini, 2004).

).

This Spanish media mixes model implies cross-media and financial concentration.

These groups exhibit complex financially driven ownership structures, involving banks, investment funds, and cross-border entities. In this atmosphere of media diversification, the competition for audience share has been exacerbated in recent years, and television networks have invested in their news displays in order to build viewer loyalty.

Despite this loss of traditional media supremacy, global crises such as armed conflicts and pandemics have shown that television has maintained its value as a global medium capable of providing relevant and urgent information in delicate situations, thereby resuming its mission of service to society. In fact, in some countries such as Spain, even though subscriptions to television platforms have increased in five years from 37 to 65 percent, online television consumption remains predominant with 84 percent of viewers compared with 16 percent for streaming services (Reuters Institute, 2024). One of the reasons for this persistence may be that television journalism, especially in live broadcasts, recreates a sense of bridging the distance between audiences and locations (Gutsche & Hess, 2019).

It is in contexts of great tension and even fear that citizens are demonstrating confidence in the credibility of television information. This is the case, for example, of the media coverage of the floods caused by the DANA weather phenomenon in Valencia on 29 October 2024. Coverage of the disaster led to the highest television consumption day of the season that same week: 62.5% of the population tuned in to a TV channel at some point during the day (Monfort, 2025).

However, in the midst of an environment of extreme competition, and despite maintaining acceptable audience shares in most channels, TV news programmes are experiencing a crisis of identity and format. Faced with new possibilities for circulating the news, which is now consumed while mobile, via digital distribution and on demand, they face the risk of irrelevance (Nielsen & Sambrook, 2017). News information has value in the competition for audiences and, within the dynamics of genre hybridisation, television programmers now include it to improve the ratings of their magazine programmes. For purely news-based programmes, this evidence not only deprives them of exclusivity in narrating relevant content but also prevents them from maintaining the initiative in revealing the news, and therefore takes the value of the television scoop away from them. By the time it is broadcast, much of the content has already been told, even on the same channel and at greater length. This happens because the morning and afternoon magazines have found a very effective resource for increasing audiences with news coverage. These programmes also have the advantage of occupying long time slots. Upon realising the effectiveness of news, they have devoted more and more space to it, giving priority in terms of time and space to subjects that used to form part of the news agenda.

Thus, there has been a transfer of content from the news programme to the magazine, which also has the advantage of being broadcast before the former. One of the most distinctive features of this osmosis of news is the interpenetration of formats. Magazines have increasingly embraced the formal and aesthetic conventions of news programmes. These include live connections, newsroom-style sets, field reporters, and even participation by established news anchors during coverage of special events. Consequently, professional routines have shifted: journalists are now often required to contribute to both magazine and news formats, blurring the clear-cut roles and responsibilities that previously existed.

Crucially, however, television news now faces a crisis of identity and format. Although it retains solid viewership figures, it is challenged by the immediacy, flexibility, and mobility of digital platforms (Nielsen & Sambrook, 2017). As part of an increasingly hybrid media ecosystem, news content is often repurposed within magazine programmes—formats that seek higher ratings by incorporating news-like segments. This migration erodes the exclusivity of traditional newscasts and dilutes their authority. Often, by the time an evening newscast airs, much of its content has already been covered, sometimes more extensively, by earlier magazine shows.

A significant aspect of this shift is the formal blending between genres. Magazine programmes have adopted conventions once exclusive to news formats, such as live reporting, anchor-led coverage, and newsroom aesthetics. This has led to professional convergence, where journalists contribute to both formats, blurring previously distinct roles and responsibilities.

To conceptualise this phenomenon, we adopt the metaphor of osmosis—a semi-permeable transfer of content, styles, and workflows across genre boundaries. In biology, osmosis denotes the movement of water molecules from one solution with a high concentration to another with less, through the partially permeable membrane of a cell, which does not occur in the opposite direction (Britannica, 2022).

Similarly, in media studies, metaphors such as osmosis or interpenetration can be used to describe how content and formal elements flow across media forms under the pressure of convergence culture.

In media discourse, similar metaphors have been mobilised to describe how boundaries between genres become porous under competitive and hybridising pressures (Hepp & Couldry, 2013b; Jenkins, 2006).

In this televisual osmosis, content and stylistic elements flow predominantly from the news format into the magazine format, which is more porous and structurally flexible. However, the flow is asymmetrical. While magazines can adopt a broad range of topics and expressive, even phatic, strategies to enhance spectacle and engagement, news programmes remain constrained by journalistic norms, ritualised structures, and their institutional function as bearers of credibility. The threshold for deviation is thus lower in magazines—where an error may be overlooked amid the relaxed conversational tone—but in news programmes, a similar error would constitute a serious breach of trust with potentially lasting reputational consequences.

This osmotic dynamic is driven by the intense competition for audience attention, which pushes programmers to blur genre boundaries. In today’s hybrid media environment, the adoption of formats and resources traditionally associated with news into magazines exemplifies a strategic reconfiguration, where the semi-permeable boundaries between formats become sites of innovation (but also tension and negotiation). While the news continues to function as a prestigious format upholding journalistic standards, it is increasingly being cannibalised by adjacent genres that appropriate its content and visual language for commercial purposes.

In television, there is a transfer that, likewise, takes content from a purely news format across the listings over to mixed formats that are more porous with a more flexible structure. On the other hand, the return of content in the opposite direction is not in the same proportion: the magazine can talk about all kinds of subjects using phatic resources to increase the spectacular nature and attract attention, whereas news programmes have expressive limitations due to their condition as a format with a ritual social component and with journalistic recognition, the basis of the channel’s prestige and credibility. There are limits in terms of stylistic verbal and non-verbal language and format layout that cannot be exceeded due to the news programme’s very nature. An informative mistake in a magazine can be minimised and even go unnoticed in the relaxed atmosphere of a commercial set with a profusion of chats, comments, and festive expressions, but in a programme specifically for news it would entail reputational bankruptcy that would be costly to recover from.

The osmotic process that can be observed in television schedules and in the broadcasting order determined by them is brought about by the enormous competition existing between programmers to attain audience. In this way, in the current context of hybridisation of formats, there is an adoption of important resources away from news programmes to magazine programmes.

1.2. Genre and Format

Competition for the audiences and new technological possibilities have accentuated the cross-cutting nature of television programming. This situation has increasingly led to programmes being produced that mix characteristics shared by different genres. The relationship between the concept of genre and television is complex due to the multiplicity of criteria for assigning a specific generic ascription to a programme (Gordillo, 2009, p. 27). That is why we have to look at the beginning of the work of classifying audiovisual production, which was necessary to distinguish forms of making television from the point of view of both structure and content. In this way, some authors focusing specifically on journalistic content propose a preliminary division of genres into informative, interpretative, and opinion-based formats (Martinez Albertos, 1992; Cebrián, 1992), reflecting distinct communicative functions within news media. This initial classification evolved by introducing the criterion of the informative journalistic function that each of them has in a given format (Marín, 2006, p. 54). The latter author, considering that most of a news programme is made up of news items and, to a lesser extent, of reports and interviews, distinguishes between one-person genres, which occur when the journalist has no other interlocutor, or the news item and the report when we find facts, or the chronicle, in which opinions are also involved. In any case, the news is distinguishable as the basic genre of any television news programme.

Genres, therefore, are forms of organisation of expressive elements according to formal and content rules. They are culturally established modes of communication, recognised within social communities, and ultimately are systems of rules for both broadcasting and reception (Wolf, 1984, p. 189). Their main function is to propose a shared code for the participants in the communicative process, both for the sender who has to structure the message and for the receiver who has to decode it (Diaz, 2017, p. 232). From a professional point of view, they also fulfil a relevant deontological function by configuring a methodology that guides writers in composing substantial pieces (Mejía, 2012, p. 201).

The difficulty of standardising the components of audiovisual language into clear compartments means that some authors even prefer to talk about the use of journalistic modes instead of genres (Pérez, 2003, p. 95).

In short, the concept of genre continues to evolve through its inherent abstraction. The blending of content and styles has led to the emergence of hybrid sub-genres, which are the subject of both academic and professional debate, though no universal consensus exists. In an attempt to bring some order to this complex landscape, and setting aside the traditional binary of fiction and factual content, Saló (2021, p. 15) proposes five core entertainment genres: reality shows (unscripted programmes featuring real people in constructed scenarios), talk shows (studio-based programmes centred on interviews and conversations), game shows (competitive formats based on quizzes, challenges, or tasks), humour shows (programmes designed primarily to provoke laughter, including stand-up, sketches, and satire), and magazines (multi-segment formats that combine news, entertainment, lifestyle, and live commentary). This last category, magazines, warrants deeper theoretical consideration. While Saló frames it within entertainment television, the concept of magazine has a broader historical and cultural trajectory rooted in the field of Magazine Studies. Abrahamson and Prior-Miller (2015) provides a foundational approach to understanding the magazine as a distinct media form characterised by its periodicity, thematic segmentation, and editorial voice. Applying this perspective to television allows for a richer analysis of the magazine format not only as a structural template but also as a discursive space that integrates diverse modes of address and hybrid content logics.

On the other hand, the term format in television refers to the concept of a standardised programme created by a certain production team (Quail, 2015, p. 186). Moreover, this term also refers to different types of formula programmes. In this reflection, we are interested in this work in news content both in specific programmes of this nature and those broadcast within the morning and evening slots of generalist channels. Hence, we consider the definition of format as a typical presentation of fragmented information on television, which is how it is provided by both news programmes and magazines (Diaz, 2017, p. 234). Formats thus function as composition strategies consisting of the creation of a complex idea in all of its components based on the configuration and organisation of the contents of a programme (Gordillo, 2009, p. 108).

The digital reality turns social networks into transmitters and receivers of content produced by prosumers (Toffler, 1980)—users who are both producers and consumers of content. In that way, an infinite chain of conversation is produced that flows parallel to the media structure. These are dynamics that affect news narratives and require new reflections on theories of genre and format (Karbaum, 2017).

1.3. Hybridisation of Content and Genres in Television Formats

The past few decades have witnessed a proliferation of channels and a revolution in viewing habits, largely driven by the portability of digital devices and the emergence of streaming platforms. Traditional television has been forced to adapt to increasingly fragmented and distracted audiences. In this competitive environment, the prevalence of sensationalist eye-catching content has often overshadowed higher quality productions. One strategic response to this shift has been genre hybridisation—the blending of informational and entertainment formats—as a tool for retaining audience attention, preserving advertising revenue, and ensuring the viability of channels. Since the expansion of private television in the 1990s, a highly competitive media landscape has foregrounded commercial imperatives in content decisions. News programmes have progressively incorporated entertainment values, leading to a shift often described as “infotainment” (D. K. Thussu, 2007).

Journalism found itself shaping the global political agenda with the spectacles of terror and war (Kellner, 2015, p. 16). In the midst of this atmosphere, the news product is normalising the incorporation of discursive elements of casual conversation in a process that affects the entire global television production chain (D. Thussu, 2015). This hybridisation is not merely thematic but also formal and stylistic, involving a convergence of news discourse with storytelling techniques, casual speech patterns, and emotionally engaging visuals (Baym, 2016). As Chadwick (2017) and Lotz (2018) argue, this transformation is symptomatic of a hybrid media system, where traditional genres no longer operate in isolation but within an environment shaped by digital logic, platformisation, and the imperative of continuous engagement.

The resulting process means that television’s thematic agenda has undergone a process called tabloidisation, which consists of a reduction in content of general transcendence such as politics and economics in favour of emotionally resonant, personalised, or scandal-driven content (Dahlgren & Sparks, 1992; Esser, 1999; D. Thussu, 2015; Mikos, 2019). This trend, which originated in part in the deregulated television markets of the 1990s, continues today, intensified by the metrics-driven logic of social media and on-demand platforms. The power of television to emotionally mobilise audiences remains key to its transformation (Doveling, 2021).

In that way, the genre boundaries between news and entertainment became increasingly porous in the age of neo-television, particularly from the 1990s onward, when hybrid formats proliferated (Ferré Pavía, 2013). Today, this hybridity is even more pronounced, reflecting the logic of convergence culture and the constant negotiation between credibility and spectacle (Jenkins et al., 2013; Hepp & Couldry, 2013a). What was once an exception has now become a defining feature of contemporary television formats. This transformation exemplifies the shift toward a convergence culture, in which credibility and spectacle are often negotiated under the influence of algorithmic visibility and platform logics (Jenkins et al., 2013; Mikos, 2019; Hepp & Couldry, 2023).

1.4. Hypertelevision and Infotainment

The terms paleotelevision and neotelevision referred to the changes occurring in the medium in the past decades. In the former concept, there is a clear separation between genres, ages, and audiences, and the programmes work with a specific communication contract, whereas in the latter, the landscape becomes the stage and the people become characters (Eco, 1986).

In the 1990s, the transformations in television became faster, genres became even more confused, and the news aspect became diluted within what was functional; the world ended up becoming a reality show (Scolari, 2008). Due to the enormous complexity of the evolution of the medium of television, some authors considered it necessary to use another concept beyond this duality, and introduced hypertelevision (Piscitelli, 1998; Ramonet, 2002; Scolari, 2008), which is also characterised by integrating its narratives within transmedia discourses (Jenkins, 2006). This notion remains relevant today in light of the continued blending of formats, simulation of reality, and cross-platform narrative strategies observed in contemporary television (Gordillo et al., 2022).

We are talking about a period that was defined by spectacularisation and made a transition from tele-reality to tele-identity, blurring the boundary between information and fiction (Imbert, 2008, p. 17). It was a process in which ethical, social, aesthetic, moral and symbolic values were also eliminated in order to finally establish the dominance of the simulacrum (Pellicer and Pineda (2014, p. 822).

The increasing spectacularisation of television transformed the info-show into a constant presence in programme scheduling. It has long since become the epicentre of programming commitments, and is found in the programme schedules of all European countries (Prado, 2002). This trend has only intensified in the current hybrid media environment, where sensationalist and emotionally resonant content prevails across platforms, often under the logic of audience engagement and digital virality (Cui & Xu, 2021).

The struggle for audiences and the resulting advertising packages all affect the selection of themes and how they are treated. This has had an impact on public channels, which have had to adapt to this scenario. In the words of García Avilés (2007, p. 60), the rationale of the spectacle turns citizens into a consumer collective and, not only that, it also creates an identity confusion because the distortion of information and the mixing of genres blurs the boundaries between journalism and sensationalism. The audience is therefore not considered from the perspective of citizens as people to whom information must be provided but is reduced to a consumer entity.

The info-show turns reality into a consumable good as a spectacle and uses techniques such as the shoulder-mounted camera and music to increase expressiveness and emotion. One of the characteristics of infotainment is that it presents information that could be classified as serious, yet treats it in a parodic, dramatic, or humorous way (Berrocal et al., 2014, p. 89).

This paper focuses on the magazine kind, which according to García Avilés (2021) is a current affairs programme that includes a lot of varied content with the aim of entertaining or amusing. Two programmes that fall into the magazine category are examined here: Espejo Público (Public Mirror) on Antena 3 and Mañaneros (Morning People) on RTVE 1. The selection criteria have been based on the fact that they are the two most popular programmes in this format for the morning slot on the private and public channels in Spain, respectively.

1.5. Limitations and New Challenges in Preserving Credibility

Daily news programmes have been the backbone of channels’ programming, and their function as a service makes them essential. They are a strategic point of reference for content programming and defining the quality of television channels (Salgado, 2007, p. 145). However, this task has been compromised in recent years by the fierce competition produced not only by the multiplicity of channels but also by the internal competition caused by entertainment programmes that have gradually widened the range of news content they include in their schedules, emphasising the elements of narrative dramatisation.

This has occurred simultaneously with the loss of journalism’s reputation, because, with digitality, the traditional media have not only long since lost sole sovereignty over the discourse but the social networks themselves have become a source in which there is no established relationship of stable interlocution. They often involve casual exchanges in which knowledge and trust are not solidified. The growing interest in finding new technological resources for verification and the emergence of professional and specialised fact-checkers point to the roots of a new style of reporting (Graves, 2012, p. 1). In the last decade, fact-checking platforms have established themselves in more than 50 countries, and 90 percent of them have been established since 2010 (Fernández-García, 2017). Social media content ingested from thousands of sources has become part of the news fabric, and many news sources come from this environment. Professional journalistic intervention is essential to preserve credibility (Bañon Castellón, 2021).

Artificial intelligence and advances in the shaping of automated fact-checking (AFC) initiatives cannot make the intervention of communication professionals in this process dispensable, at least not yet; although, faced with any suspicion, they speed up the detection of lies, online rumours, and other forms of disinformation (Graves & Amazeen, 2019).

In any case, this verification function always requires the preparation and expertise of information professionals and a certain amount of time to carry out the work. This contextual circumstance can be found in the field of TV news scenarios, which are spaces with stable teams and a work window of a few hours. In magazines, on the other hand, live broadcasting and the competition to be the first to reveal the scoop means that what is an unverified rumour sometimes becomes the programme’s thematic focus. The problem that arises is that, in this type of programme, given that the information is provided in a chat show scenario on a set and in a relaxed atmosphere with an abundance of emotional resources such as effects and music, the presentation of untruthful or insufficiently verified information is remedied with a simple comment in an interval in the conversation. In a news programme, however, a falsehood is a reputational blow, which nowadays also finds re-duplication and amplification online. Hence, purely informative spaces are seeing that magazines are taking on their themes, but with osmotic dynamics, since they themselves can only adopt certain elements of the former because the very nature of their format is more restrictive.

2. Objectives and Research Questions

The main objective of this study is to determine the thematic agenda and the discursive and formal characteristics of the news included in the magazines studied.

On the basis of the previous theoretical review, the aim here is to analyse the process of absorption of the news by the magazines at moments of special news intensity in which the deployment of special teams is required. For this reason, the following research questions are being posed:

RQ1. What types of thematic content dominate the news items in morning magazine programmes on Spanish television?

RQ2. What expressive and discursive strategies are used in the presentation and narration of news items?

RQ3. What differences can be observed between the public (Mañaneros) and private (Espejo Público) broadcasters in their treatment of the news?

RQ4. What differences in content and treatment can be observed between the two magazine programmes based on their broadcast on public versus private television?

3. Materials and Methods

In order to answer the research questions posed, this study analyses ten full broadcasts—five editions of Espejo Público (Antena 3, private channel) and five editions of Mañaneros (TVE 1, public broadcaster)—randomly selected on weekdays between 6 February and 5 March 2025. These programs were selected as they represented the most-watched morning magazine shows in their respective sectors during the study period

In March 2025, Antena 3 led all national television networks with a 12.5% average daily share, also topping the morning slot at 11.4%, where Espejo Público stood out as the most-watched morning magazine (La Razón, 2025; elDiario.es, 2025). Meanwhile, Mañaneros achieved daily shares between 9.3% and 9.8%, with over 345,000 average viewers on 3–5 March 2025, ranking it as TVE’s matinal leader (Wikipedia, 2025). These audience metrics support the relevance of the selected programs as representative cases of Spanish morning infotainment.

This research follows a quantitative content analysis approach, complemented by interpretive qualitative insights, in line with the principles outlined by Krippendorff (2004). Content analysis is applied here as a systematic and replicable technique to classify television material into thematic categories based on explicit coding rules. The unit of analysis is each discrete news item defined as an individual audiovisual segment presenting a distinct piece of information or event, regardless of its duration.

In the latter, the aim is to approximate the magnitude of the effect (Lorenzini et al., 2024). The qualitative research aims to explore how or why a given phenomenon occurs in order to develop a theory or describe the subjectivity of an individual experience (Krippendorff, 2004; Plano et al., 2015).

To construct the sample, we used the constructed week technique (Lacy et al., 1995; Hester & Dougall, 2007), which enhances representativeness by accounting for variations in content that typically occur across different weekdays. This method avoids potential bias introduced by consecutive-day sampling and is widely recognised in media content studies for its robustness.

Specifically, five weekdays were randomly selected—6, 14, 17, and 25 February, and 5 March 2025—each corresponding to a different day of the week (Monday to Friday), randomly drawn from a calendar covering February and early March. These dates were selected through a simple random procedure, without replacement, ensuring that each day of the week was represented once, as recommended by Connolly-Ahern et al. (2009). Since these programs do not air on weekends, only weekdays were considered. These days are not drawn from the same calendar week but represent separate instances within the time frame, following standard procedures in artificial week sampling (Lacy et al., 1995). This approach aims to ensure that the sample reflects weekday variation across the studied period.

This strategy ensures proportional representation of routine broadcasting patterns during a standard programming period unaffected by special events or interruptions.

The final sample comprises 484 news items (N = 484), with a total duration of 38 h, 51 min, and 54 s of audiovisual material.

Although the constructed week method is commonly associated with probabilistic sampling strategies, in this study it is adapted to a descriptive and exploratory framework. The sampling aims to reduce day-of-week bias by covering editorial variability across the weekday cycle. The results are intended to be generalisable only to the specific five-week period analysed (6 February to 5 March 2025), not to the full year or to all morning infotainment programming in Spain. While inferential generalisation is not the primary goal, the technique improves internal validity by approximating regular editorial trends within the defined period.

Table 2. Characteristics of the analysed programs.

Program Name	Broadcast Dates Analysed	Duration per Episode	Year of Launch	Brief History/Context
Espejo Público	6, 14, 17, 25 February, and 5 March 2025 (weekdays)	270 min (08:55–13:30)	1996 (weekly); 2006 (daily format)	Initially launched in 1996 as a weekly show, Espejo Público became a daily morning news magazine in 2006. Broadcast by Antena 3, it covers news, politics, and society, and is currently hosted by Susanna Griso.
Mañaneros	6, 14, 17, 25 February, and 5 March 2025 (weekdays)	240 min (10:40–15:00)	2023 (as Mañaneros); rebranded 2025	Morning magazine program broadcast by La 1 (RTVE). Originally launched as Mañaneros in 2023. It was rebranded Mañaneros 360 in April 2025 to shift focus toward social, economic, and political content. Hosted by Adela González and Javier Ruiz.

Source: Author with information from Antena 3 TV and Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE).

provides an overview of the two morning television programs examined in this study, including the selected sample dates, typical duration, launch history, and general content profile.

This research is based on a descriptive and comparative analysis of two case studies. This research aims to study the mobility and management of the news circulation process and its treatment in managing content distribution in a television listing. The analysis combines both quantitative coding of variables and qualitative interpretation of narrative and stylistic elements. Twelve content variables were coded using a structured coding sheet base on established theoretical frameworks (Früh & Wirth, 1997a; Krippendorff, 2004; Mateos, 2013; Montero & Ferré-Pavía, 2017). These include thematic focus, narrative genre, expressive tone, visual framing, and types of sources, among others. The goal is to capture formal and narrative strategies that contribute to the hybridisation of television news magazines.

To interpret the orientation and narrative perspective of the news items, this study draws on key principles of media framing theory. According to Entman (1993), framing involves selecting certain aspects of a perceived reality and highlighting them in communication to promote particular definitions, interpretations, or moral evaluations. In this research, we consider how specific thematic emphases—such as the focus on surprise, morality, immediacy, or responsibility—serve as framing devices that guide audience interpretation. Although this study does not apply a comprehensive framing typology, the categorisation of thematic orientation is informed by established dimensions of issue and emphasis framing, adapted to fit the context of live television magazine programming.

To ensure analytical consistency and align this study with its mixed-method objectives, a structured coding sheet was developed, comprising these twelve variables systematically grouped under three overarching dimensions: (1) thematic content, (2) narrative framing and discursive strategies, and (3) formal and audiovisual presentation. The categorisation of content follows a structured coding sheet, whose variables and categories are derived from a combination of established theoretical models and updated operational needs:

The thematic agenda (V2) is based on classical news taxonomies (Früh & Wirth, 1997b), enriched with contemporary themes such as gossip or institutional promotion. The news classification (V3) adapts values and frames found in journalistic narratives (Montero & Ferré-Pavía, 2017), grouping items by criteria such as immediacy, human interest, or social relevance. Categories related to expressive nuances (V6, V7) are grounded in rhetorical and discursive analysis frameworks (Mateos, 2013), assessing evaluative and emotional tones in both narration and journalistic performance. The inclusion of spectacularisation (V8) and visual strategies (V9) responds to theoretical developments about the mediatisation of news (Montero & Ferré-Pavía, 2017), identifying aesthetic and narrative intensifiers. The classification of sources (V10) follows the typology of journalistic attribution found in news sociology (e.g., institutional vs. lay sources). The variables related to programmatic atmosphere (V11) and types of live connections (V12) are inspired by Mateos’ (2013) model for analysing live broadcast structures, differentiating between forms of immediacy, representational strategies, and spatial dynamics.

These twelve variables were systematically codified through a coding sheet (

Table 3. Analysis sheet.

Analysis Unit Data: Issue Date/Content
Variables	Categories
V1 number piece of news
V2 thematic agenda
1- politics 2- politics/scandal 3- economy 4- natural disasters 5- health 6- international 7- incidents 8- gossip news 9- culture 10- sports 11- self-promotion
V3 classification of the news
1- immediate current events 2- human interest 3- economic consequences 4- morality, responsibility 5- social needs 6- public perception 7- human curiosity, surprise 8- others
V4 nature TV channel
1- public 2- private
V5 format
1- summary 2- interview 3- edited news 4- news narrated from the set 5- report 6- talk-show/debate
V6 expressive nuances in the presentation of the news
1- description of the event 2- use of qualifying adjectives 3- emphasis on phrases with intonation 4- negative evaluation of the fact 5- positive evaluation of the fact
V7 expressive nuances used by the tv journalists
1- description of the event 2- use of qualifying adjectives 3- emphasis on phrases with intonation 4- negative evaluation of the fact 5- positive evaluation of the fact
V8 use of spectacularisation elements
1- music 2- no music 3- use of ambient sound 4- close-up view
V9 image composition
1- close-up view 2- medium shot 3- full shot 4- edited images 5- social and mobile media
V10 sources
1- institutional representatives 2- witnesses 3- police and emergencies 4- experts 5- written testimonies with graphics and orally dramatised 6- opinions of collaborators on set 7- others 8- no testimonies
V11 resources for the atmosphere of news programmes
1- connection with the programme’s newsroom 2- includes live news 3- journalists greeting the presenter 4- journalists greeting the audience 5- lexis of immediacy: breaking news, scoop, exclusive, etc…
V12 type of live connections
1- live news (something happening at that specific moment) 2- detached live news (nothing is happening except our presence; maybe something happened before) 3- live and illustrative (when the action has already happened but the place is illustrative) 4- live and permanent (there is a relationship with the space but nothing is happening in that place) 5- live and contrary (one is at a place but talks about actions that occurred in other places)

), structured to capture both narrative content and formal strategies. The resulting data support both descriptive statistical treatment and interpretive qualitative exploration. This approach ensures both theoretical coherence and procedural honesty, enabling the identification of trends and patterns in the treatment and circulation of news content within the selected television programmes.

Although intercoder reliability was not calculated due to the high volume of audiovisual content analysed (N = 484 news items), rigorous measures were taken to ensure consistency and methodological transparency. A pilot test was performed to refine the classification criteria prior to full analysis. All variables were operationally defined with clear inclusion and exclusion rules, ensuring internal consistency. While the absence of multiple coders limits the statistical assessment of reliability, the validity of the instrument is supported by its theoretical foundation and systematic application, following accepted standards for single-coder content analysis in media research. This structure enables the study to go beyond basic content quantification and to identify how certain narrative, aesthetic, and thematic strategies may function as genre markers or audience-targeting techniques within the hybrid logic of contemporary television news magazines. The protocol is structured into sections that include homogeneous information data classified into the different designated variables. According to the nature of the data, the variables have been classified into these categories that make up the following analysis sheet (Table 3).

4. Results and Discussion

This section presents the results of the comparative analysis between the two morning television magazines under study, Espejo Público (Antena 3) and Mañaneros (RTVE). The discussion is structured around eight analytical dimensions derived from the coding instrument: (1) thematic agenda; (2) narrative framing; (3) news formats; (4) evaluative stances of presenters; (5) evaluative stances of journalists; (6) typology of sources; (7) use of atmospheric resources; and (8) typology of live news coverage. For each of these categories, we describe the patterns identified and compare the strategies used by each programme, highlighting relevant similarities and differences. Quantitative results are accompanied by interpretative insights to better understand the narrative construction and editorial positioning of both magazines.

4.1. Thematic Focus of Morning Magazine News Content

This section explores the dominant themes present in the analysed broadcasts. According to our analysis based in V2, there are notable differences between the two programmes in terms of the thematic composition of their broadcasting schedules (Figure 1). Espejo Público, aired by the private channel Antena 3, displays a clear preference for political topics involving scandal and conflict, which together account for 43.1% of its news items (59 out of 137). In contrast, Mañaneros, from the public broadcaster RTVE, features such political themes in only 2.8% of its coverage (3 out of 107).

International news also appears more prominently in Espejo Público (13.1%, or 18 items), while Mañaneros shows minimal interest in this dimension (0.9%, or 1 item)—even during a period that coincided with Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. Conversely, Mañaneros prioritises social issues, dedicating 53.3% of its items (57) to this category, in comparison with just 10.2% (14 items) for Espejo Público.

Interestingly, both programmes allocate a significant and nearly identical share of their content to gossip-related news: 33.6% for Espejo Público (46 items) and 43.0% for Mañaneros (also 46 items). This reflects a shared editorial strategy in this thematic area despite broader differences in content focus.

4.2. Framing of the News

There is greater similarity between the programmes in terms of framing than topic selection (Figure 2). Both favour criteria linked to curiosity and surprise: 47.4% of Espejo Público’s news items (65 out of 137) and 67.3% of Mañaneros’ (72 out of 107).

When it comes to the responsibility/morality frame, 36.5% of Espejo Público’s items (50) reflect this, often with ideological critiques. Mañaneros reflects this in only 15.0% of its items (16).

Immediacy as a framing criterion appears in 21.2% of Espejo Público’s content (29) and in 45.8% of Mañaneros’ (49), showing a stronger prioritisation of urgency in the latter.

4.3. Format of the News

Figure 3 highlights the dominance of on-set presence and people in both programmes. Mañaneros relies on this in 71.4% of its items (152 out of 213), compared with only 22.6% in Espejo Público (31 out of 137).

Mañaneros also includes more interviews: 70 items (32.9%) vs. 34 in Espejo Público (24.8%). Reports offering context are used in 44 items in Mañaneros (20.7%) vs. just 8 (5.8%) in Espejo Público.

Guest commentary in political segments appears in 53.3% of Espejo Público’s items (73) versus 46.7% in Mañaneros (50); although, Mañaneros focuses such discussions on gossip and social issues.

4.4. The Magazine Presenters’ Evaluative Stances

Our research has also focused on observing what expressive elements condition the discourses used by the presenters of both magazines to introduce the content of the programmes (Figure 4). As Figure 4 shows, the Mañaneros presenters tend to use neutral statements: 298 cases, or 73.6%, of the total evaluated instances, compared with 173 in Espejo Público (42.8%).

Almost parallel to this finding, it is also evident that both presenters use inflections in their voice to attract attention and emphasise emotional aspects, even when the text of the discourse is a statement. This point is evidenced by the repeated viewing of the items analysed. It is with this resource that one can appreciate the use of voice to make a subtle emotional assessment and decantation.

Vocal inflections conveying emotion are present in 72.8% of Mañaneros’ instances (295) and 44.3% of those in Espejo Público (178). In the latter programme, there is an introduction of more direct assessment by the presenter, especially when it comes to negative nuances 39 (9.6%) vs. 13 in Mañaneros (3.2%). Positive evaluations are rare: seven in Espejo Público (1.7%) and six in Mañaneros (1.5%). Our analysis also explored the expressive elements used by the presenters when introducing news items (Figure 4). In Mañaneros (298), presenters tend to use a neutral declarative tone focused on factual delivery. This is almost double the number recorded in Espejo Público (173). Both presenters frequently use vocal inflections to emphasise emotional aspects—even when delivering seemingly neutral statements. This form of subtle evaluation through intonation is more common in Mañaneros (295) than in Espejo Público (178). However, direct evaluative commentary, especially with negative overtones, is more frequent in Espejo Público (39 vs. 13). Positive commentary is rare in both (seven and six, respectively). These results highlight the importance of both verbal and nonverbal language as analysed through variables V6 (evaluative tone) and V7 (emotional inflection). Vocal modulation, prosodic emphasis, and expressive shifts serve as nonverbal markers of affective framing—even when overt verbal evaluation is minimal. In Mañaneros, for instance, although the discourse remains largely enunciative, the frequency of vocal emphasis suggests a form of implicit emotional encoding. Conversely, Espejo Público uses more frequent direct evaluations, indicating a more explicit editorial stance in its verbal language. This supports the hypothesis that each programme builds its discursive identity not only through topic selection but through tonal and performative strategies that appeal to viewers’ emotions and interpretive framing. These differences in expressive style further reinforce the hybrid nature of magazine news formats and their deviation from the conventions of traditional news delivery.

4.5. The Magazine TV Journalists’ Evaluative Stances

The expressive tone of journalists aligns closely with that of the presenters, reinforcing each programme’s editorial style. Figure 5 shows that TV journalists in Mañaneros adopt a neutral tone in 109 instances (50.5%) compared with 50 in Espejo Público (32.5%). As with the presenters, explicit references to negative or positive aspects are minimal: nine in Mañaneros (4.2%) and six in Espejo Público (3.9%). Positive evaluations are extremely limited in both: two in Mañaneros (0.9%) and three in Espejo Público (1.9%). These data suggest a preference for subtle expressiveness via prosodic emphasis.

4.6. Use of Sources

The nature of the sources used is one of the characteristics that tell us how the programmes under study build credibility and authority.

Figure 6 reveals that institutional sources are much more frequent in Espejo Público (39 items, 28.5%) than in Mañaneros (5 items, 3.3%). This is consistent with the information provided by the above graphs, which show a greater interest in political news by Espejo Público (Figure 1). In contrast, Mañaneros uses eyewitnesses far more (51 cases, 47.7%) than Espejo Público. Both programmes maintain a moderate and similar use of experts’ sources in numerical terms, and sometimes use the dramatisation of statements to the same extent. This is performed by representing the source’s discourses in written graphics and by reading out the content. Finally, another big difference is the space given to the interventions by guests on the set for debate. They are more common in Espejo Público 89 cases (65.0%) vs. 37 in Mañaneros (34.6%).

4.7. Elements Recreating the Atmosphere of News Programmes

The process of information osmosis that occurs in magazines and upon which our research focuses requires the inclusion of elements and resources that recreate the dynamics and pace of news programmes. This attitude is taken into account in both programmes that even make informative live connections with scenarios that are intended to be their own newsroom. Figure 7 shows that both programmes simulate newsroom environments through live connections: Espejo Público (17 times, 12.4%) and Mañaneros (15 times, 14.0%). Mobile journalism is used more by Mañaneros (102 items, 95.3%) than Espejo Público (42 items, 30.7%). Breaking news vocabulary (e.g., “live”, “last minute”) appears 13 times in Espejo Público (9.5%) and only 5 times in Mañaneros (4.7%). Programmes use elements to simulate a newsroom-like environment, a key part of what we define as the “osmosis of news”.

4.8. Live News: Types of Live Connections on the Ground

Live broadcasting plays a central role in both programmes’ news dynamics (Figure 8). Mañaneros leads in the number of real-time live reports (31, 29.0%) ahead of Espejo Público (6, 4.4%). It happens the same when we consider illustrative live reports where the on-site presence contributes to recreating the news setting, even if the event is no longer occurring: Mañaneros (56, 52.3%) and Espejo Público (34, 24.8%). We also observed “detached live” reports (those featuring live appearances from symbolic or neutral locations). Again, Mañaneros leads (15, 14.0%), whereas Espejo Publico uses this resource less (8, 5.8%).

Arbitrary live reports, in which location is secondary to immediacy, are also more frequent in Mañaneros (11, 10.3%) than Espejo Público (5, 3.6%).

5. Conclusions

This research has analysed how the transfer of news content from conventional news formats to morning magazine programmes occurs, particularly through the assimilation of discursive and aesthetic elements typical of news programming. Our study focused specifically on two Spanish television magazines—Espejo Público and Mañaneros—in order to explore the dynamics of information osmosis and format hybridisation.

While the findings presented are consistent and grounded in systematic observation, we must emphasise that they are based on a descriptive non-inferential analysis of the selected sample. Therefore, no statistical tests have been applied to confirm the representativeness of the observed frequency distributions or to determine the statistical significance of differences between the two programmes. As a result, the conclusions drawn cannot be generalised to the entire population of Spanish morning magazine programmes, nor should they be extended to all public or private broadcasters. Our statements refer exclusively to the two programmes under study and the specific timeframe analysed.

This study has confirmed the incorporation of content and resources from news programmes into these spaces. Such dynamics become especially visible at times of special news intensity. However, this study finds that this process is not homogeneous and is carried out with different characteristics in the two magazines.

We have obtained other consistent findings. Firstly, the thematic agenda of Mañaneros is essentially made up of incidents and practically avoids political issues that are the most common content of Espejo Público. Both dedicate significant broadcasting slots to gossip news (RQ1). They include these themes in the broadcast schedule by incorporating technical and aesthetic elements traditionally linked to news spaces. Both magazines have a space intended to be their own newsroom with which they make live connections throughout the programme. With this resource, they show the viewers that they are checking out what is happening on the ground (Santana Mahmut & Sanz de León, 2022). An attempt at recreation is shown by the fact that, although sometimes the reporting happens at the precise moment when the news occurs, in most cases, the live connections are made after the events have occurred and in scenarios that are chosen for their capacity to recreate or reproduce the atmosphere of the events. Furthermore, in the language used for these live connections, expressions are used to underline values such as immediacy or simultaneousness (RQ2).

Nevertheless, the news is dealt with to a high proportion with a preference for perspectives that emphasise the human surprise factor or curiosity as a fundamental criterion. Another aspect in which the journalistic quality criterion could be improved is the use of sources, which are fundamental to calibrate the excellence of a piece of information. In both magazines, the interview with experts is sporadic and limited. The use of witnesses is more common, which is greater in the case of Mañaneros, while in Espejo Público we see a clear inclination to use institutional sources, in line with the greater presence of political news. In the latter magazine, there is a striking tendency to build interpretative spaces in which the guests on the set comment on political conflicts with manifest vehemence (RQ3).

Finally, this study confirms differences in content and treatment between the two magazines, reflecting the contrast between public service and commercial television. In Espejo Público, a programme owned by the private company Antena Tres, political content is clearly prioritised and ample space is devoted to explaining and commenting on political scandals. Testimonies from the institutional world are also frequently used. In contrast, in Mañaneros, which is a public entity, the inclusion of political aspects is residual and priority is given to the coverage of incidents, allocating less space to express opinions on the set. In this case, we can see a greater presence of images from social media with their authors identified; a detail that helps enhance the processes of verification of where the images come from.

Additionally, both programmes favour coverage strategies that emphasise emotional or sensational perspectives—curiosity, surprise, immediacy—over those aligned with journalistic depth or analytical rigour. Expert sources are infrequent; institutional voices dominate in Espejo Público, while Mañaneros relies more on witnesses. The presence of expressive delivery styles by both presenters and reporters suggests a prioritisation of engagement over neutrality. These characteristics reflect an ongoing trend toward the spectacularisation and simplification of news content.

The qualitative characteristics of these materials coming from the audience’s mobile phones are far from the usual quality standards in the professional sphere, but they provide advantages such as immediacy and accessibility, which is leading to a new kind of aesthetics of reporting and contributing to the culture of TV viewers’ participation. In this sense, management and verification make it possible to use material from social media with quality assurances (RQ4).

It is thus evident that the magazines on the main channels occupy the TV broadcasts of the morning schedule by a substantial percentage of news content broadcast in such a way that the breaking news is communicated by these programmes. This process is also carried out by absorbing the language typical of the news atmosphere. In addition, they often use terms such as news, scoop, and journalistic exclusivity to refer to facts that often only belong to the realm of emotion and are far from the concept of transcendence. Thus, news programmes that are normally scheduled after the magazine can be limited when it comes to incorporating spectacular elements at the risk of undermining the credibility of their format, which is much more restrictive.

Hence, in this news osmosis that occurs in the dynamics of the hybridisation of formats, the magazines studied have the advantage of occupying a large morning broadcast slot with the ability to have frequent updates including elements of spectacularisation such as music and thematic fragmentation structures to retain the continuity of audiences. Thus, dramatic or violent lines gain greater prominence than their transcendence, climbing positions in the hierarchy of the thematic agenda.

Although this study did not directly analyse the subsequent news programmes, the evidence suggests that the significant amount of news content and dramatic framing in morning magazines could potentially reduce the novelty or exclusivity of later news coverage. However, this hypothesis should be confirmed through further research that includes both formats. It is also observed that their format absorbs the initiative of narrating the news, but it achieves this by integrating spectacular elements and limiting the thematic agenda to a reductionism that is established by a trio composed basically of political conflict, incidents, and gossip.

Moreover, we observed that Espejo Público, as a privately owned programme, is more inclined to frame political topics using dramatic on-set debates, while Mañaneros, from the public broadcaster RTVE, limits such discussions and incorporates more social media content, which—though sometimes lacking in technical quality—offers immediacy and participatory value.

These findings underline a hybrid media logic whereby morning magazines increasingly serve as vehicles for breaking or “soft” news, shaping the early public agenda while potentially limiting the role and impact of traditional news bulletins that follow. The coexistence of emotional appeal, fragmented structure, and dramatic narrative forms suggests a shift in the communicative function of these programmes—from informing to captivating. Given the limitations noted, future research should incorporate inferential statistical analyses and expand the sample to include a wider range of programmes and timeframes. Doing so would provide greater empirical support for the differences observed and would allow for more generalisable conclusions about the evolving nature of televised morning journalism in Spain.

The comparison between public (Mañaneros, RTVE) and private (Espejo Público, Antena 3) broadcasters shows that the nature of the channel significantly conditions both content and treatment. Espejo Público integrates more interpretive and evaluative frames, combining hard news with a sensational tone. This aligns with private sector competitiveness, aiming to capture viewer attention. Mañaneros, as a public service programme, maintains a more neutral and institutional discourse, limiting direct opinion and favouring descriptive narration and expert voices. Although emotional cues are present, they tend to be subtle and controlled. These distinctions underscore how broadcaster ownership and institutional goals shape editorial decisions in hybrid television formats. The genre of morning magazines allows a flexible narrative space, but the ideological and economic context of each broadcaster clearly modulates that space.

This situation suggests the need to work actively on media literacy programmes (Fernández-García, 2017) in order to help cultivate a critical citizenship. Moreover, in light of the findings presented, and while acknowledging the descriptive nature of this study, several practical considerations can be drawn regarding the professional TV staff.

First, morning magazine producers—particularly those on public broadcasters—should consider reinforcing journalistic rigor by increasing the presence of expert sources and reducing reliance on emotionally charged or anecdotal content. Training editorial teams in source verification and narrative balance would contribute to more informed and less sensationalist coverage.

Second, news programme editors could explore ways to differentiate their content through greater depth and contextualisation, compensating for the immediacy and fragmentary nature of magazine-style reporting.

Third, it would be advisable for communication policy makers and media regulators to reflect on the growing role of infotainment in shaping public discourse during the morning schedule, and to promote mechanisms that safeguard informative integrity in hybrid formats.

Finally, beyond formal media literacy programmes, broadcasters themselves could implement audience engagement strategies that encourage a more critical reception of televised content—for example, by clarifying editorial standards, marking clearly the difference between news and entertainment, or providing context for emotionally impactful stories.

These recommendations aim to promote a more responsible and informed morning media ecosystem, balancing the appeal of spectacular content with the need for journalistic quality.