What does the Digital Reputation Indicator (IRD) measure? Can we objectively evaluate and
compare the digital reputation of media on a global scale? The article “Digital Reputation
Indicator: A Webometric Approach for Global Ranking of Digital Media,” recently published in
Journalism by Magdalena Trillo-Domínguez, Ramón Salaverría, Lluís Codina, and Félix de
Moya-Anegón, has emerged as a trending paper in Altmetrics, reflecting the interest and
attention that the research driven by the SCImago Research Group is generating around this
new line of work focused on media at both academic and professional levels.
Altmetrics assesses the influence and visibility of scientific research beyond traditional metrics
such as journal impact factor. Instead of solely focusing on academic citations, this new
approach considers a variety of indicators reflecting online attention and impact of scientific
articles.
In “Digital Reputation Indicator: A Webometric Approach for Global Ranking of Digital Media,”
the authors explain the methodology behind the SMR (SCImago Media Rankings) with the so-
called Digital Reputation Indicator (IRD). This indicator allows for the evaluation and
comparison of the reputation of digital news media on a global level. Since January 2023,
SCImago Media Rankings (scimagomedia.com) has been using IRD as an evaluation and
measurement instrument composed of web metrics from reliable, stable, and globally
accessible sources.
The IRD provides a basis for the qualitative comparison of digital media according to a
webometric model based on the following aspects:
- Citation Flow: Evaluates the level of citation of media by other websites.
- Trust Flow: Analyzes the quality of sites linking to the media.
- Domain Rating and Authority Score: Considers the authority of media domains.
This webometric approach overcomes the limitations of the two measurement paradigms of
media used so far: the traditional one based on audience and the more recent one focused on
social media popularity. The IRD emerges as a valuable resource for both the academic
community and professionals in digital journalism.
The research is part of the new line of investigation driven by the SCImago Research Group for
the study and evaluation of digital media on a global scale.