The role conceptions of lifestyle journalists vary according to their specialization, Folker Hanusch, of University of Vienna, writes. The author surveyed 616 Australian lifestyle journalists over how important they saw certain aspects of their work.

Hanusch’s study recognizes four professional role conceptions: the “Service Provider”, “Life Coach”, “Community Advocate” and the “Inspiring Entertainer”. Out of the four, the Inspiring Entertainer role concept is “arguably softest” – and also the most common. This approach is taken especially by reporters specialized in travel, fashion and beauty journalism.

Interestingly, the medium the journalists work for appears to have little to no effect. Similarly, only one individual-level quality -gender- significantly affects role conceptions: women are more likely than men to adopt the Life Coach role.

The article “Journalistic Roles and Everyday Life” was published by the journal Journalism Studies. It is available online on the publisher’s website (open access).

Picture: Untitled by MichaelGeng, licence CC0 1.0.