This research examines how the structures and practices of online news production influence story sourcing, and considers which stakeholders benefit from the perceived requirements of all-day publishing. Work environments and role conceptions appear to shape a news production system which journalists’ actions continually reproduce; this balance between internal structures, external structures and agency – and how these combine to affect output – is analysed using structuration theory. Of particular relevance is the interpretation of online publishing as both an enabling and constraining force, the allocation of resources, and legitimation as a rule shaping perceptions about what news stories should be. Normative media theory, particularly notions of the media as a platform for diverse voices and a space to empower the public, strengthens this framework. Mixed methods provide multiple perspectives into online publishing; an enhanced content analysis of five mainstream websites’ coverage of Ireland’s health service over 14 weeks is complemented with interviews from practitioners and experts. By examining publishing trends, tracing the source material, and investigating the presence of different voices, an important and much-needed link is forged between practices and output. As the debate in media studies regarding the source-journalist power dynamic continues, the results suggest that the range of voices heard may be widening, but such a trend is facilitated by passive approaches to reporting, filling the apparent open-ended news gap with content that often lacks layers and depth. These approaches are becoming ingrained in the online production system, which may be problematic if basic information-processing is normalised at the expense of more original newsgathering. Such passive daily practices may also have repercussions on the opportunities available for journalists to gain the expertise and knowledge to effectively cover a policy area, thus affecting the public’s understanding of the causes and solutions for problems regularly highlighted in news coverage.