Editorial practices and the production of visibility in digital journalism: a comparative study of Tamil vernacular news on Platform X

This study examines how communication inequality plays out in digital journalism, specifically by looking at how Tamil-language news organisations operate on Platform X. While digital media has opened the door for more voices, significant gaps in attention and recognition persist. By using a mixed-methods approach that blends quantitative content analysis with Cultural Discourse Studies (CDS), the research examines 2,000 posts from BBC Tamil, a transnational public service broadcaster, and Sun News Tamil, a regional commercial news channel. The results highlight clear differences in how news is selected and represented. BBC Tamil tends to focus more on international stories, especially those from the Global North, and policy-related content. In contrast, Sun News Tamil focuses on Tamil Nadu, emphasising cultural relevance and human-interest stories. However, both outlets fall short in covering deeper structural issues like caste, labour exploitation, and the challenges faced by rural communities. These findings indicate that visibility in digital journalism is influenced by everyday editorial practices, such as how stories are selected, framed, sourced, and prioritised thematically. The study posits that communication inequality in our digital world does not stem solely from exclusion from participation; it also arises from the uneven attention given to various issues and social realities.