ARTICLE: Journalists’ views of the audience in flux

Journalists are renegotiating their relationship with the audience, writes Jaana Hujanen, of University of Helsinki. The author interviewed 26 Finnish journalists, editors, and other newsroom employees between 2010 and 2015. According to Hujanen, the discourse of “professional news production” was most prominent in the earlier interviews. It reflects the traditional outlook of exclusive professionalism, in … Continued



ARTICLE: Harrassment threats journalistic autonomy

As a third of the Swedish journalists have received threats and majority have received insulting comments, intimidation and harassment have become a common element of journalists daily work, write Monica Löfgren Nilsson and Henrik Örnebring According to the article the intimidation and harassment of journalists can be categorized as exclusionary or inclusionary. Exclusionary violence is meant to prevent … Continued


ARTICLE: Local journalism becomes less of a watchdog

Local journalism is giving up on the “watchdog” role and turning increasingly to a “campaining” role, writes Julie Firmstone, of University of Leeds. Firmstone interviewed 12 local journalists and two local official communicators in the city of Leeds, United Kingdom, regarding changes in local journalism. According to the author, the most disturbing change the interviewees … Continued


ARTICLE: Participants’ perspective on participatory journalism

This article focuses on ‘participatory journalism’ from the perspective of participants. How do they view and evaluate their participation in journalism? The study is based on 32 in-depth interviews with participants from two different participatory journalistic environments. Study is written by Merel Borger,  Anita van Hoof, both of University Amsterdam, and José Sanders, of Radboud University Nijmegen. The data revealed that participants had … Continued


ARTICLE: Journalists are cosmopolitan, journalism is not

Swedish journalists express much more cosmopolitan ideals than what their work practices allow, write Johan Lindell and Michael Karlsson, both of Karlstad University. The authors surveyed 571 Swedish journalists over what they thought journalism should cover, and what they personally cover in their work. According to the survey, Swedish journalists had little international contacts, and … Continued


ARTICLE: Journalists as noble anti-heroes

Journalists still portray themselves as a benevolent, but imperfect support cast of the “real heroes”, writes Scott Eldridge II, of University of Sheffield. The author analyzed the way The New York Times, Washington Post and The Guardian described journalists covering the “megastories” of WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden. The journalistic identity is still largely based on … Continued


ARTICLE: Female reporters shape shifting in conflict zones

Women have been reporting on war since the modern definition of the war correspondent came into existence but sexism and gendered practices still exist in the field. Female war reporters use strategy of shape shifting to navigate the conflict zones: they switch gender performances depending on the environment and the audience, write Lindsay Palmer and Jad Melki. According to their … Continued


ARTICLE: Professional standards of journalists in exile

706 journalists facing violence, imprisonment and harassment have gone into exile worldwide between 2000 and 2011. Most of them have not been able to return home. Conor O’Loughlin and Pytrik Schafraad aim to show how the experience of fleeing their homelands has affected the motivations and professional standards of these journalists. The study consists of in-depth interviews with journalists in … Continued


ARTICLE: Moral meaning of new journalists’ code of ethics

Because of technological advances anyone with a computer and willingness to communicate news can claim themselves journalists. Professional code allows us to distinguish between a journalist and an ethical journalist, writes Karen L. Slattery. The new study compares the new version of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics with its 1996 version. Study draws on … Continued