Paradigm Repair

Abstract

This entry provides an overview of the conceptual roots, development, and scope of paradigm repair as a theoretical framework for journalism studies. Critical strategies and processes of paradigm repair are delineated on the basis of three decades of literature. Generally, paradigm repair describes the discursive practice of journalists reasserting and reestablishing the authority, validity, and credibility of professional journalism in times of a perceived professional or organizational crisis. The discursive repair work is often triggered by violations of journalistic practices or norms that have become public and pose a possible threat to institutional legitimacy. Paradigm repair theory proposes that journalists have a number of ways to restore professional legitimacy, including by identifying professional transgressions and/or transgressor(s), and separating them from the professional field. The result of successful paradigm repair work is to show that the journalistic institution is undamaged and fully operational.