Role Of Journalism Research Articles

A tale of two Southeast Asian states: media governance and authoritarian regimes in Singapore and Vietnam

Political scientists have crafted intricate taxonomies to classify nations beyond liberal democracy, positioning these societies along an authoritarian continuum. Despite the pivotal role of journalists in accelerating political dynamics, there exists a lack of comparative research on media governance in these regimes. Consequently, this study scrutinizes the media governance ecosystems in Vietnam and Singapore. Vietnam is a one-party authoritarian state, whereas Singapore represents a hybrid political system. However, both countries exhibit a stable and uninterrupted rule by the respective ruling party. Our research uncovers the nuances of Singapore’s media regulation, which embeds trusted stakeholders with financial interests in key press roles to reinforce the implicit political norms. Conversely, Vietnam employs a more direct, coercive, and state-centric approach. Media actors in both nations occasionally test the boundaries of acceptable discourses, with each government’s responses being shaped by specific contexts and broader history. Reforms in Vietnam, embracing privatization and commercialization, mirror Singapore’s integration of capitalism, public ownership, and commercial interests when governing media. These findings highlight diverse yet effective authoritarian media governance strategies, unique features, and commonalities in both systems. Overall, media structures in these Southeast Asian countries have undergone profound evolutions towards more sophisticated regulatory tools to manage societal and political transformations.

Time-based Variability in the Presence of Infotainment, Service, and Civic Roles in Czech Quality Press

ABSTRACT Evidence on how journalistic role performance changes in time and in relation to which factors is largely missing. This study investigates the presence of civic, infotainment, and service roles in the news, and examines whether their presence varies in time given the worsening economic conditions on the press market and changes in ownership type. A longitudinal content analysis of a representative sample of news (N = 1871) published in four Czech quality dailies during three year-long periods (i.e., 2006–2007, 2011–2012, 2016–2017) was conducted. Bivariate analyses showed that the presence of the roles varied in time for all of the newspapers but to a relatively small extent. Ridge logistic regressions revealed that the presence of all three audience-related roles was associated with specific dailies and ownership types, but not with worsening economic conditions. As compared to privately-owned newspapers, likelihood for the presence of the service role was bigger in corporate-owned newspapers, and for the civic role it was bigger in oligarchic-owned newspapers. The findings suggest that corporate-owned dailies responded to worsening economic conditions by preferring a service role rather than an infotainment role, and that the effects of oligarchic ownership on journalism practice are complex and far from being straightforward.

Interpreting or Reporting? An Analysis of Journalistic Interventionism Across Western European Countries

ABSTRACT The literature comparing journalistic roles around the world highlights different ways of understanding journalistic work across countries. One of the main differences in conceptualising concerns the journalist’s propensity for intervention: where in some contexts it is common practice for journalists to intervene with commentary and interpretation; while in others there is a tendency to adopt a more neutral reporting style. Through the conceptual lens of journalistic role performance, this study investigates the performance of the interventionist role within its two analytical sub-dimensions (content-driven interventionism and style-driven interventionism), together with the specific indicators related to each of the two (interpretation, journalist point of view, call to action, qualifying adjectives, and use of the first person) across nine Western European countries. Contrary to expectations, our data show a higher level of interventionism—particularly content-driven—in Central and Northern European countries when compared to those belonging to the polarised pluralist model theorised by Hallin, D. C., and P. Mancini. (2004. Comparing Media Systems: Three Models of Media and Politics. Cambridge University Press). Moreover, in almost all the countries considered, when journalists do intervene with their own voice, they predominantly do so through rhetorical devices of interpretation and by expressing their point of view.

“Whether That’s Truly Objective Journalism, Probably Not”. Professional Retreatism and Professional Dilemmas When Reporting on Muslims

ABSTRACT Professional retreatism can be seen as a central concept in guiding journalistic role performance. It relates to how journalists distance themselves from the stories they produce by drawing upon professional ideals such as objectivity to produce a non-interventionist detached account of the news. But what happens when this professional retreatism ends up reproducing, rather than challenging, an existing media bias that contributes to the further marginalisation of a minority group? Drawing on 23 qualitative interviews with British press journalists, the article examines the dilemmas they face in their professional roles when it comes to negotiating objectivity in the reporting of stories involving Muslims. The study finds that objectivity as a form of professional retreatism can work in a counter-productive way to limit journalists’ abilities to value and act upon their own moral and ethical judgements when producing Muslim-related stories. The article further argues that recent scholarship on journalistic role performance and the tensions between journalistic ideals and practices can provide an important missing insight into why spaces for resistance and contradiction can also coexist alongside the more negative representations.

언론인의 괴롭힘과 트라우마에 대한 경험이 언론 역할에 대한 인식 및 직무 만족도에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구

언론인의 괴롭힘과 트라우마에 대한 경험이 언론 역할에 대한 인식 및 직무 만족도에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구

Psychiatrists’ Perceptions of the Role of Journalists in Suicide Reporting and Prejudices about Mental Illnesses in Portugal

International studies and the World Health Organization call for collaboration between media and mental health professionals to reduce the risk of imitative suicidal behaviour after suicide reporting – known as the Werther effect – and encourage individuals at risk to seek help. This study explores Portuguese psychiatrists’ perceptions of the practices of journalists, their interaction with those professionals, and their perspectives on the national suicide coverage through an anonymous online questionnaire and ten semi-structured interviews. The questionnaire received 128 responses. Only about 24% of the Portuguese psychiatrists characterized their relationship with journalists as cooperative, and most of them considered suicide reporting to be sensationalist and irresponsible. More than 80% of the participants expressed the view that journalists do not know the guidelines for responsible suicide reporting, but more than 95% considered that they can contribute to suicide prevention. These findings suggest that there is a long way to go to build a constructive partnership for suicide prevention between psychiatrists and journalists in Portugal, focused on improving the quality of suicide reporting. We hope this study may inspire similar studies in other countries, since suicide is an international public health problem and collaboration between media and mental health professionals can help to prevent it on a global scale.

Science & Technology Studies

The first edition of Science & Technology Studies, then named Science Studies, became available in 1988. Over the past 35 years, the journal has established itself as a prominent international publication, experiencing significant growth in publication volume, manuscript submissions, and readership. This editorial commemorates these achievements and reflects on the journal's evolution. A key aspect of this exploration is our journal's role in the Open Access movement, which both enhances transparency and offers new tools for the analysis. The sections delve further into the topic of the scholarly impact of STS, starting with a discussion of impact factor metrics followed by insights from our Editorial Team. The paper then utilizes the extensive archives of the journal and the capabilities of new tools to explore reader engagement with our publications. The editorial concludes with a discussion of our way forward into the next years and decades.

How the Social Complements, Extends or Replaces the Professional: Autonomy and Adaptation in Journalist–Source Relationships

ABSTRACT This study uses the process model of journalistic roles and discusses how journalists perceive (normatively and cognitively) and enact (according to their narrated practice) their professional roles upon interaction with socially distant vs. closer sources on the political beat. Specifically, the study looks at how journalists negotiate between their professional and social roles, and balance between autonomy and adaptation to the source when encountering sources with whom they are related by single (purely professional) vs. multiplex (social and professional) social ties. Empirically, the article compares journalist role conception (based on 26 qualitative interviews with journalists in Lithuania and Sweden) and performance (based on 475 reconstructed journalist–source interactions in both countries). The results show that the professional role is fluctuating and sensitive to the social relationship context. In both countries, journalists praised the norm of role autonomy from sources. However, in role performance, professional and social roles influenced each other during interactions with sources. The patterns of negotiating the professional role in different relational contexts to sources were similar regardless of the country.

Sports News in Five Arab Countries: A Comparative Study of Journalistic Role Performance Across Platforms and Sources

This study examines journalistic role performance in sports news in five Arab countries in relation to country, geographic frame, platforms, and sources. The comparative content analysis of three journalistic roles – loyal-facilitator, watchdog, and infotainment – in Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) relies on 874 sports news stories from 40 print, broadcast, and online outlets, sampled in 2020 through a constructed, two-week stratified-systematic approach. Results point to variations in all roles as a function of some predictors more than others. Specifically, the UAE tended to be the most loyal/cheerleader, whereas Qatar led in the infotainment role. Loyalty was also apparent across the region in domestic news that was more loyalist than foreign news. Sources mattered in that political sources tended to predict higher levels of loyalist content, while sports sources did not have any impact on any role. Sources’ viewpoint of diversity, on the other hand, revealed multiple perspectives to be associated with more infotainment and watchdog content. The results indicate the loyalist cheerleader role that sports journalists in the West have been associated with for decades also applies to the Arab region, suggesting sports journalists behave in a similar manner irrespective of their country of origin.

Journalistic Roles at the Local Press: Between Demographic Characteristics and the Commitment with the Community

ABSTRACT Local journalism plays an important role in the shaping of nearby communities, being relevant for participation. However, local media have been especially affected by the crisis of business model. Bearing these trends in mind, this study aims to examine the presence of journalistic roles at the local level and their relationship with sociodemographic characteristics. Specifically, we analyze the most populated Spanish region (Andalusia) as a case study. First, a database of the local news media outlets in Andalusia is developed (n = 214), identifying the main journalistic roles according to their mission statements. Second, we draw upon 10 in-depth interviews with newspaper editors from different organizations across the region. Finally, a multiple linear regression is conducted to determine which sociodemographic variables are related to the existence of media in the Andalusian municipalities, using the official database of the regional population. Results show the existence of differences in the conception of journalistic roles. The preference for an audience approach is noted, but the fulfillment of the roles depends upon factors such as young population or distance to the regional capital. Our study contributes to current discussions on state of local journalism, arguing that precariousness reinforces some professional roles at community service.

Strengthening the Theoretical Foundations of Role Performance Theory

ABSTRACT This article aims to strengthen the theoretical edifice of role performance theory through appeal to recent advances in cultural theory. Role performance studies often assert that journalistic roles are fluid, contingent, situational and hybridic. Yet, In the large-scale surveys and content-analyses that dominate the literature, roles become more fixed than fluid, more over-determined than contingent. This disjuncture is caused, I argue, by under-theorization. Borrowing from contemporary cultural theory, I cast journalistic roles as schematic associations between cultural elements embedded in the field of journalism. Journalists internalize these elements via two distinct cognitive processes, one I label declarative and the other nondeclarative, and they do so from distinct positions within the field. This conception of role performance moves the field away from questions of beliefs and gaps between thinking and doing and toward those of perceptions, interpretations, motivations, and positionality. In so doing it offers a powerful explanation for how and why role-taking may be situational and dynamic and at the same time organized and patterned. To demonstrate the utility of this approach, I end the essay with a consideration of one of the literature’s most compelling empirical findings: that a persistent gap exists between role conception and role performance.

Using formulations to maximize differences of opinion during televised climate change panel interviews

This paper discusses climate journalistic issues of polarization and ‘false balance’ based upon a study of Danish public service television panel interviews in which participants debate climate change politics. More specifically, the study uses Conversation Analysis to examine the host’s use of formulations. Formulations refer to utterances designed to give the gist (or its ‘natural’ upshots) of a co-participant’s preceding account. Analysis reveals that the host recurrently formulates a panelist’s assertion a bit stronger (e.g. more controversial), and subsequently makes an opposing participant comment upon this augmented version. The host, thus, actively solicits disagreement and rhetorically maximizes participants’ (latent) differences of opinion. This finding adds a new perspective to our understanding of the rise of the panel interview format, which is sometimes said to marginalize the host’s substantive journalistic role into a launcher of topics. It also offers points to ponder in a time where climate change communication researchers warn us that polarization is highly counter-productive in achieving shared understanding about the climate crisis, which we need to promote conversion.

Catch, Engage, Retain: Audience-Oriented Journalistic Role Performance in Canada

ABSTRACT To understand audience-oriented journalistic role performance, one must understand how journalists conceptualize and cater to their audience. Giving the audience what it wants is a complex endeavor, with varying goals and hybridized end results, in newsrooms with fewer resources serving increasingly polarized audiences. Through a triangulation of data—content analysis at the subdimension level to examine the range and hybridity of audience-oriented journalistic product presenting the civic, service and infotainment roles; a survey to identify journalists’ attitudes toward the use of audience data and social media in their work; and interviews with journalists that revealed how their journalistic practice and audience perceptions were impacted by quantitative (metrics and analytics) and qualitative data (comments/social media interactions)—this research fills a gap in understanding about the connection between journalists, their audiences, and audience data when it comes to journalistic role performance. Findings show that in Canada the infotainment role is a significant part of reporting, but entertaining often comes with a goal of educating, as does service journalism. There are no “bad” journalistic roles, but there are a lot of journalists trying to figure out which ones might best catch, engage, and retain an ever-shrinking news audience.

Between Headlines and Punchlines: Journalistic Role Performance in Western News Satire

ABSTRACT News satire has proliferated worldwide and has emerged as a valid site for public discourse. What we see today is a spectrum of news satire formats ranging from the predominantly absurd and comedic to more overtly journalistic satirical deconstructions of current affairs. This maturation of news satire as an alternative form of journalism thus underlines the necessity for further research into the journalistic roles that certain news satire formats carry out. This study assesses the journalistic roles in three international news satire formats i.e., the United States’ Last Week Tonight, the Swedish Svenska Nyheter, and the Dutch Zondag met Lubach and presents the findings of a content analysis of 150 satirical segments having aired from October 2020 to April 2023. We conclude that Western news satire displays a fairly united execution of journalistic role performances with high scores for the Advocate, Watchdog and Civic Educator roles, yet low scores for Reporter and Loyalist roles. Furthermore, we present the Comedic Interlocutor role, and discuss its place in alternative conceptions of professional journalism today. This study empirically validates that humor and entertainment are not irreconcilable with a factual, civically engaged, critical kind of journalistic coverage.

The societal context of professional practice: Examining the impact of politics and economics on journalistic role performance across 37 countries

The impact of socio-political variables on journalism is an ongoing concern of comparative research on media systems and professional cultures. However, they have rarely been studied systematically across diverse cases, particularly outside Western democracies, and existing studies that compare western and non-western contexts have mainly focused on journalistic role conceptions rather than actual journalistic practice. Using journalistic role performance as a theoretical and methodological framework, this paper overcomes these shortcomings through a content analysis of 148,474 news stories from 365 print, online, TV, and radio outlets in 37 countries. We consider two fundamental system-level variables—liberal democracy and market orientation—testing a series of hypotheses concerning their influence on the interventionist, watchdog, loyal-facilitator, service, infotainment, and civic roles in the news globally. Findings confirm the widely asserted hypothesis that liberal democracy is associated with the performance of public-service oriented roles. Claims that market orientation reinforces critical and civic-oriented journalism show more mixed results and give some support to the argument that there are forms of “market authoritarianism” associated with loyalist journalism. The findings also show that the interventionist and infotainment roles are not significantly associated with the standard measures of political and economic structure, suggesting the need for more research on their varying forms across societies and the kinds of system-level factors that might explain them.

A Watchdog That No Longer Barks: Role Performance of Investigative Journalism in China in the Digital Age

ABSTRACT This article examines the practices of investigative journalism in China in changing times. It does so by focusing on the case study of Southern Metropolitan Daily (SMD), a well-known newspaper in China which built its name on investigative journalism. The aim is to understand how the changing social conditions have shaped investigative journalism and transformed the role performance of investigative journalists. Drawing on data from multiple sources, including archival research, in-depth interviews, and news content analysis, the study found that under a trio of pressures: technological disruption, economic downturn and most importantly tightened political control, the media have been repositioning and reorienting themselves in relation to power. Investigative journalism, although it still retains the name, has shifted to trumpeting the value of constructiveness rather than criticism. This study contributes to the ongoing debates on journalistic role performance by showing how the watchdog and facilitator roles are combined in the practice of Chinese investigative journalists in changing times. It reaffirms the complex cooccurrence of journalistic roles and adds insights into the possibility of roles overlapping, not only across different dimensions but within the same dimension of power relations.

Words and numbers: a comparative study of medical and journalism students’ descriptors of risk, numeracy and preferences for health risk communication

BackgroundGiven the complementary roles of health professionals and journalists in communicating health risks to patients and the public, there have been calls for physicians to work with journalists to improve the quality of health information received by the public. Understanding the preferences of medical and journalism students for the way in which health risks are communicated and their understanding of words used to describe risk is an important first step to inform interdisciplinary learning.MethodsMedical and journalism students (n = 203) completed an online survey where they were given qualitative descriptors of risk such as ‘a chance’, ‘probably’ and ‘unlikely’, and asked to assign a number that represents what the word means to them. Different formats of communicating risk (percentages, natural frequency and visual aids) were provided and students were asked to select and explain their preference. A thematic analysis of reasons was conducted. Numeracy and perceived mathematics ability were measured.ResultsNumbers assigned to the descriptor ‘A chance’ had the highest variability for medical students. Numbers assigned to the descriptor ‘Probably’ had the highest variability for journalism students. Using visual aids was the most popular format for risk communication for both courses (56% of medical students and 40% of journalism students). Using percentages was twice as popular with journalism students compared to medical students (36% vs. 18%). Perceived mathematics ability was lower in students with a preference for natural frequencies and in journalism students, however performance on an objective numeracy scale was similar for all three formats (percentages, natural frequency and visual aids). Reasons for choosing a preferred format included good communication, eliciting a response, or learning style.ConclusionsEducation on health risk communication for medical and journalism students should emphasize the need for qualitative descriptors of risk to be combined with the best available number. Students are already considering their role as future communicators of health risks and open to tailoring the mode of presentation to their audience. Further research is required on the design and evaluation of interdisciplinary workshops in health risk communication for medical and journalism students to maximise the opportunities for future inter-professional working.

In Media We Trust - A Solution to Disinformation and Fake News in Albanian Audiences during the Russia-Ukraine War

In this study we have analyzed the impact of disinformation and fake news in Albanian Audiences during the Russia-Ukraine war and we present the solutions given from the Albanian audiences and Albanian journalists in fighting these phenomena.We have explored how the Albanian audiences have reacted to the information received from the international and national media during the Russia-Ukraine war, what media narratives were disseminated and how endangered these audiences were. We have investigated the role of Albanian journalists and their recommendations to minimize the spread of disinformation in times of crises. Do we trust the media? What is the main and immediate solution to disinformation and fake news during crises? What about other solutions?Two hypotheses have been formulated: Hypothesis 1 (H1): Albanian audiences have been faced with disinformation and fake news, creating uncertainty about the accuracy of the events during the Russia-Ukraine war, and Hypothesis 2 (H2): To fight disinformation and fake news primarily it is needed that media and journalists increase their professional level.By means of a qualitative content analysis in the Albanian media (mainstream and social) and two online questionnaires on Albanian audiences (N=387) and Albanian journalists (N=42) we find that Albanian audiences have been faced with disinformation and fake news and in order to fight disinformation and fake news primarily it is needed that the media and journalists increase their professional level.

Navigating Ideals and Realities: On Using Reconstruction Interviews to Study Journalistic Roles

ABSTRACT The study of journalistic roles has become a staple in journalism research. The concrete link between role perceptions and role performance, however, remains in a “black box”. This article introduces reconstruction interviews as a holistic approach that blends perceptual and performative approaches to the study of journalistic roles. It discusses the method’s specific benefits and weaknesses, when applied to explore the relationship between role ideals and practice and demonstrates how the method can tease out different levels of influence on journalistic roles. This is done by showcasing reconstruction interviews with European journalists (n = 15) who routinely cover large technology corporations. Notably, the method provides tangible reference points for anchoring journalistic roles in their performance and establishes an empirical connection between ideals and practice, all while maintaining a crucial conceptual distinction between roles emerging as ideals and practices. The reconstruction of journalistic roles promotes critical reflection, and facilitates a holistic analysis of journalism practice across micro-, meso-, and macro-levels.

Journalistic Role Performance in Australia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Events, Media Systems and Journalistic Practice

ABSTRACT This study analyses data gathered as part of an international comparative study of journalistic role performance during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. We situate role performance at the intersection between anterior factors that shape journalistic decision-making and practice, and the contingent events and issues journalists are tasked with communicating. Based on this, we ground our analysis by considering (a) how news is shaped by media systems, and how Australia’s media system may be characterised; (b) studies of journalists’ work during previous health crises; and (c) analyses of media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our analysis focuses, firstly, on whether role performance in Australia’s 2020 news coverage was discernibly “consensus-based”; and, secondly, on whether there were any indicators of Australian coverage being “polarised” during this period. Our findings suggest role performance in 2020 was broadly reflective of a relative political consensus and that evidence of polarisation was limited. We find, nevertheless, that there were notable differences between different mediums and outlets, and reflect on factors that may have contributed to such differences. In light of this, we emphasise the importance of taking account of the relationship between local contexts and historical contingency in considering how role performances are produced.