Journalism Practice

NEW ARTICLE OUT “Spectrum Professionals” and Subjective Authors: Training the Photographic “I” for Meaningful Storytelling Beyond the Fields By Liudmila Voronova https://lnkd.in/edQHTfnR ABSTRACT Postema and Deuze [2020, “Artistic Journalism: Confluence in Forms, Values and Practices.” Journalism Studies 21 (10): 1305–1322] suggest that “photographers identify with both the arts and the journalism world”. They claim that the world of art has both legitimated the author’s perspective in photojournalism and institutionalized “the photojournalist as producer of culture […] and as artist”. The border between “two opposite practices – art photography and photographic realism (as used in journalism)” [Åker Citation2012, “Photography, Objectivity and the Modern Newspaper.” Journalism Studies 13 (3): 325–339] seems to be disappearing. Yet, critical analyzes still divide photographic practice according to the settled notions of professional fields, identities, and boundaries established through the opposing discourses of subjectivity and objectivity [Solaroli Citation2016, “The Rules of a Middle-Brow Art: Digital Production and Cultural Consecration in the Global Field of Professional Photojournalism.” Poetics 59:50–66]. This article turns to photography students in Russia and Sweden to learn whether they see the “realistic” and “expressionistic” in photography as setters of field boundaries or if they instead view them as a means to orient, practice and, potentially, move along the art–journalism spectrum (or even beyond it). By conducting eight focus groups in three photography schools with different specializations, the findings suggest that photography students tend to see the convergence of artistic and journalistic forms, values, and epistemologies as both attractive and unavoidable. Most of the students, despite contextual differences, see their future as “spectrum professionals” and subjective authors. KEYWORDS: #Artdocumentary #photographyfieldofpractice #photography #photojournalism #professionalism #spectrumstudents

NEW ARTICLE OUT Challenges Behind Data Journalism Practices in Pakistan: A Qualitative Study By Sana Ali, Humaira Sharif & Saadia Anwar Pasha https://lnkd.in/eRtp5zkS ABSTRACT Data journalism is one of the trending journalistic approaches. However, although many countries practice data journalism, it still faces many issues in the developing region, particularly Pakistan. This study also investigated the three primary challenges that hinder data journalism in Pakistan. Based on the social construction of technology theory, the qualitative data was gathered by n = 20 journalists working in different organizations. Findings revealed that despite journalists indicating a sound awareness of data journalism and its importance, they showed its future is still being determined due to the current crisis in Pakistani media organizations. The participants argued that lack of interest in designing relevant policies and the government's involvement in news proceedings are vital obstacles to data journalism. Besides, the lack of technical expertise and limited institutions offering formal data journalism education hinder professional practices. Finally, insufficient financial resources and a lack of interest in investing in data journalism are some financial constraints hindering data journalism practices in Pakistan. It is concluded that data journalism is one of the significant journalistic practices today. By resolving these challenges, we can ensure a brighter future for data journalism in Pakistan. Consequently, it will promote transparency, audit, and informed decision-making in Pakistan. KEYWORDS: #Datajournalism #SouthAsia #journalismaccountability #Pakistan

Old Threats, New Name? Generative AI and Visual Journalism By Phoebe Matich,T. J. Thomson & Ryan J. Thomas https://lnkd.in/eC489n-d ABSTRACT Generative AI applications have been hailed as “transformative,” “disruptive,” and posing a “threat to human journalists and media professionals.” Much of this discourse reflects longstanding concerns about the impact of technological change on both the production and consumption ends of journalism. Perhaps nowhere is this felt more strongly than in visual journalism, where fears about AI replacing cameras and associated implications are rife. These concerns resemble earlier debates about visual technologies, from the smartphone camera to social media, and intersect with fundamental debates about journalism’s boundaries and norms: what news “is,” how it is produced, and what we expect it to achieve. Amidst this hype and anxiety, we offer an analysis of AI’s risks to visual journalism that contextualises this technology against journalism’s existing tensions. Our study asks: How unique are the threats that generative AI poses to visual news? Specifically, we look across academic disciplines to interrogate three threats that are especially prevalent in the literature. Our conceptual evaluation is benefited empirically by dozens of industry perspectives spanning three continents, and allows us to identify exactly which threats, if any, that generative AI poses to visual journalism are new, and which are extant threats folded into more longstanding discourses. KEYWORDS: #GenerativeAI #generativeartificialintelligence #journalisticthreats #visualournalism #misinformation #objectivity #labour #journalisticdisruption

Drawing from Community Journalism to Reform Coverage of Social Protest By Brandon Storlie https://lnkd.in/eQmccbfm ABSTRACT After the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in May 2020, protests erupted in nearly 150 U.S. cities. Be it local or national, the news coverage of the unrest took an all-too-familiar tone. A decades-old “protest paradigm" shaped mainstream coverage, ultimately leading to stories that focused on violence and spectacle, demonizing protesters and their cause in the process. This analysis provides a qualitative examination of the May 2020 Minneapolis unrest, identifying problematic elements within mainstream protest coverage. Ultimately, the paper recommends a shift away from the sourcing pattern common to mainstream coverage, in favor of a more community-focused approach. KEYWORDS: #Protestparadigm #GeorgeFloyd #communityjournalisms #Socialprotest #protestcoverage #social movements #BlackLivesMatter

Same Word, Different Focuses: A Comparative Study of Health-Related News in the U.S. and Korea By Hannah Lee,Joseph Yoo & Soontae An https://lnkd.in/eKkEhmuj ABSTRACT The news media serves as a significant channel through which stigma can be perpetuated, particularly with linguistic tool that create stigmatizing frames when reporting on health issues. During the COVID-19 crisis that impacted both the U.S. and Korea, we conducted a content analysis to examine how online health news from these two countries addresses the issue of stigma. Our analysis specifically focused on articles that mention the term stigma, comparing the contexts and cues that either perpetuated or challenged stigmatizing narratives. We paid close attention to whether these cues were presented as the main focus or merely as incidental topics within the articles. The findings revealed a notable difference between the two countries; U.S. news primarily focused on stigmatized subjects when referencing the term stigma, while Korean news more incidentally mentioned stigmatized subjects in relation to the term stigma. In conclusion, our findings offer insights for improving digital media reporting and shaping public perception to reduce health-related stigma. KEYWORDS: #stigma #healthnews #onlinenews #cross-cultural #healthjournalism #journalismpractice

Democratic Podcasting: Mediating Subjectivity in Constructive Audio Journalism Practice By Dylan Bird https://lnkd.in/eku2puTT ABSTRACT Journalism has long had an uneasy relationship with subjectivity. However, when it comes to podcasting personal storytelling is often highlighted as a strength. Top journalism prizes such as the Pulitzer are frequently awarded to podcasts that report through a subjective frame. The common podcasting technique of self-reflexivity has also been highlighted as valuable in transparently revealing elements of the journalistic process, with potential to build audience trust. While there is now a substantial body of research focused on podcast journalism, there has been limited focus on how the prominent use of subjectivity might relate to the medium’s democratic function. Guided by constructive journalism, this study explores how journalistic subjectivity can be mediated in podcast production in ways that enhance the medium’s democratic value. It combines practice-led research with mixed methods, with efforts to involve the podcast audience in journalistic production. It demonstrates how attempts to cultivate a journalistic persona and reveal elements the journalistic process can be leveraged to encourage pro-social attitudes. The experimental approach provides a model for future research applying constructive journalism to podcasting, building on Lindgren and Jorgensen’s [2023. Podcasting and constructive journalism in health stories about antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Media International Australia, 187(1), 73-87] study. KEYWORDS: #Podcasting #journalism #constructivejournalism #subjectivity #authenticity #transparency #trust #news

NEW STUDY OUT Not in My (Media) Backyard: Climate Justice and Global Media Political Economy By Adalberto Fernandes https://lnkd.in/eeppVxqu ABSTRACT Journalism's economic crisis affecting the Global South and Semi-Peripheral countries has made them more vulnerable to the mainstream media conglomerates from the Global North. The control of global agendas of information is also an opportunity to influence the political narrative about responsibilities regarding climate change. The objective of this research is to analyse how CNN Brazil and CNN Portugal depict the US climate crisis and to evaluate the influence of CNN's presence in these countries. A qualitative critical discourse analysis suggests that the US is presented as the primordial victim of climate change, being the climate change portrayed as an abstract entity that is non-politically culpable for the catastrophe. Also, the expansion of CNN has reduced Brazilian and Portuguese newsrooms to a translational work of news originally made by CNN headquarters, which is sometimes unethically disguised as original journalistic work. However, there are, even if rare, signs of resistance that read the US crisis through Brazilian and Portuguese concerns. KEYWORDS: Environmentaljournalism #environmental #communication #politicaleconomy #media #climatechange #climatejustice #GlobalSouth #CNN

NEW ARTICLE OUT Strategic Subjectivity Shapes User Engagement: A Case Study on Health Journalists’ COVID-19 Tweets By Rita Tang, Yuming Fang & Emily K. Vraga https://lnkd.in/e_jjezss ABSTRACT Despite their important role in spreading accurate health information, particularly during crises, health journalists have to compete for audience engagement with a variety of content, especially problematic information. This study explores how health journalists used subjective language in their COVID-19 tweets and the effects of using subjectivity on audience engagement. We gathered 11,536 publicly available original tweets related to COVID-19 from 2020 to 2022, from 45 health journalists affiliated with US media. Our results suggest that some types of subjectivity are much more common than others, with journalists often relying on politicized and collective language (e.g., we), expressing negative emotions but the use of first-person pronouns singular, moral language, positive emotions, and discrete negative emotions (anger, anxiety, sadness) appear less common. However, the types of subjective language most commonly used do not always produce audience engagement. While first-person pronouns (especially singular), moral appeals, negative emotions, anger, and anxiety predict higher engagement, politicized language appears to be counterproductive, especially for the retweet, quote, and reply counts. To obtain user engagement, health journalists can consider strategically crafting their social media messages, emphasizing morality, authenticity, and collective language over politicized language. KEYWORDS: #Subjectivity #healthjournalists #userengagement #COVID-19 #tweets #socialmedia

NEW ARTICLE OUT Narratives Beyond Borders: Arab Testimonies about the Ukraine War By Noha Mellor https://lnkd.in/eiMxgXSJ ABSTRACT This study scrutinizes the testimonies of eleven Arab war correspondents covering the protracted conflict in Ukraine. Originating from Palestine, Syria, Morocco, and Iraq and affiliated with Aljazeera Arabic, these journalists present a unique lens on the conflict, particularly in their portrayal of the Ukrainian refugees. Central to this analysis is the exploration of the extent to which their personal and regional histories of conflict inform and shape their journalistic narratives. Drawing on van Leeuwen's legitimation strategies, this study unveils the ethical underpinnings of war journalism, elucidating how the introspective deliberations of the correspondents not merely recalibrate the focus towards the tribulations of Arab/Syrian refugees but also forge an alternative narrative space that challenges and seeks to rectify the prevailing biases within Western reporting. This study contributes to the paucity of research on authorial subjectivity within non-Western journalistic paradigms, thereby broadening the academic understanding of journalistic practices across diverse cultural contexts. KEYWORDS: #Ukrainewar #Arabcorrespondents #refugees #witnessing #counter-visibility #legitimationstrategies

NEW ARTICLE OUT “Can I Just Write News Stories?” Chinese Journalists’ Experiences and Wellbeing When Working Online By Lingyu Li & Mark Deuze https://lnkd.in/eT7YhgfS ABSTRACT This study contributes to understanding the transformation of journalistic practices in the digital age by delving into the growing trend of online promotion and networking, in the Chinese context. Against the backdrop of the commodification of all online practices and connections, sometimes considered as a savior for news industries to counter economic challenges, this investigation seeks to uncover how young Chinese journalists experience and perceive their practices in promoting news content and networking with news sources via social media. We find that reporters experience online promotion and networking ambivalently. Specifically, our study participants enjoy the recognition gained from promoting news but question whether this should be compulsory. Regarding networking, participants care about building connections, yet feel exhausted by the pressure to constantly network and bewildered about monetizing such actions. Using relational labor as a framework for analysis, we show that journalists’ practices of promoting news and networking require a substantial personal and professional investment. While the relational labor of journalists at times brings positive feelings and economic benefits to journalists, it also engenders negative emotions, confusion, and moral dilemmas, compromising journalists’ well-being and mental health. KEYWORDS: #Relationallabor #networking #socialmedia #journalists #China #mentalhealth #well-being