Mainstream Journalism Research Articles

Adaption to authoritarianism: a longitudinal analysis of Dialogue Earth’s nonprofit environmental news in China

This article examines how a nonprofit newsroom, Dialogue Earth, reported China-related environmental news during its 16 years of operation in China. To justify its nonprofit status, Dialogue Earth is expected to practice public service journalism and push the boundaries of Chinese environmental journalism. However, the past decade has seen a deterioration in the media environment in China. It remains to be seen how the media can adapt to this change and the degree to which its public service role can be maintained. This research is based on a longitudinal analysis of Dialogue Earth’s news coverage from 2006 to 2021, as well as an interview with the organization’s CEO. It reveals that although Dialogue Earth is less capable of covering some important news with the decline in press freedom, it maintains a space for monitoring China’s environmental performance on the global stage and pushes for more responsible governance. By adapting to China’s intensifying authoritarianism, the organization has managed to become a domestic source of critical discourse, while mainstream journalism is now tamed by political power. This article contributes to the current scholarship on both nonprofit journalism and Chinese environmental journalism, by showing the potential of nonprofit journalism to adapt to China’s authoritarianism and still make a difference.

“Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi Wept”: Exploring Translations of Language, Practices and Story Forms in IsiZulu Journalism

ABSTRACT In multicultural and multilingual societies like South Africa, newswork, or the practices that underpin the news-making process, is made possible by linguistic and cultural translation. In other words, both linguistic and cultural translation play a significant role in contemporary journalism practices in South Africa. While the linguistic level is concerned about language, the cultural level focuses on para language, especially the practices around news gathering and reporting. This paper seeks to illustrate how translation works in terms of language, practices and forms of journalism in multicultural contexts like South Africa. The country is a multicultural and multilingual country meaning that the English media content in mainstream journalism almost always appears as a translation. When sourcing in a variety of languages and cultural contexts, journalists and other media producers have to translate at both linguistic and practice levels. The practice level is influenced mostly by the cultural contexts. Operating in an environment where journalism is conducted within a specific news culture whose borders are inscribed by the hegemonic English and western journalistic cultures, journalists working for indigenous languages newspapers like Ilanga newspaper, an isiZulu newspaper, undertake numerous “translation” processes in the conduct of their work. Central to the arguments in this paper is the idea that both journalism practice and translation are routine aspects of news-work in multicultural countries.

‘Big Lies’: understanding the role of political actors and mainstream journalists in the spread of disinformation

Much of the scholarly attention on disinformation has focussed on the role of social media, thus overlooking the political actors who themselves propagate disinformation and the mainstream news outlets that report on them. In this article we argue that disinformation has now become so widespread because outright lies are an effective way for political actors to attract and manage public attention. Political strategists have likewise worked out that cognitive biases and social factors are strong enough to overcome the ‘rational’ impulses of citizens who should, notionally, reject obvious lies. And, finally, journalists, who should be a bulwark against such behaviour, have mostly failed to address this problem because of an overly cosy relationship with those in power, and because of a lingering fealty to ‘objectivity’. We conclude the article by arguing that journalism needs to significantly re-think how it approaches the political field.

Comedy as journalism in Zimbabwe

Post-2000, Zimbabwe has witnessed a gradual shrinking of communicative space. In its efforts to control the narrative about the causes of the country’s multi-dimensional crisis, the ruling ZANU-PF government has used a gamut of legal and extra-judicial strategies to stifle press and other related freedoms. In this highly restrictive context, comedy has emerged as a viable source of information about events unfolding in the country as well as an alternative public sphere where counter-hegemonic discourses are ventilated by citizens who were previously excluded from the mainstream public sphere. Building on Mpofu’s (2017) and Mano’s (2007) studies on art and music as variants of journalism, our paper argues that comedy should be viewed as a variant of journalism in post-2000 Zimbabwe. We employ the normative roles of journalism, and Nancy Fraser’s (1990) concept of the alternative public sphere as our framework for examining how comedy, and more specifically Comic Pastor’s Monthly Comic Awards, has filled the void created by mainstream journalism by performing the journalistic function of communicating salient issues during the protracted Zimbabwean crisis. Our findings converge with, and broaden, Mpofu’s (2017) and Mano’s (2007) thesis that alternative sources of expression such as comedy should be viewed as journalism in crisis contexts. These findings also reinforce the need to expand traditional conceptions of journalism that narrowly limit the practice to traditional mass media.

Reinstating Impartiality over Taking a Stance: Repairing Journalism Amid Right-Wing Attacks

ABSTRACT Two incidents of disputed reporting rocked the US news media in January 2019, one on the Trump-Russia investigation and the other on a confrontation involving a group of Covington High School students. This study explored how the center-left and the right-wing media spheres contested with each other in establishing a meta-journalistic discourse. We found that a center-left media sphere, debating on a paradigm shift for morally-engaged journalism, was up against a belligerent right-wing media sphere with an explicit ideological commitment to undermining the legitimacy of mainstream journalism. The discourse of paradigm repair dominated the center-left media response while the discourse for moral principles to support social justice was marginalized. Despite journalists’ well-intentioned efforts to repair professional norms around objectivity, such discourse in fact fueled more right-wing vitriol and hardened the narrative of media bias.

Nigerian Audience Views on Mainstream Media and Moulding of Public Opinion in the 21st Century

The mass media have been long known to shape and mould public opinion in every human society. However, with the influence of web 2.0 technologies that have affected mainstream journalism practice in the 21st century, this study investigated the extent to which mainstream media still mould public opinion in Nigeria. The paper was anchored on agenda-setting and media dependency theories as it investigated journalism’s ability to mould the views of people on issues of public concern. The survey research design was used where the multi-stage sampling technique was adopted and an online Australian Calculator was used to draw the sample size of 371, the questionnaire was deployed as the instrument for data collection. The results among other things revealed that, though social media and blogs’ usage have influenced mass media and public communication generally, mainstream journalism still moulds public opinion in Nigeria. This was revealed as respondents disclosed that in making decisions, they believe and use more information they obtained from mainstream media platforms than information they got from blogs and social media sites. Keywords: blogs, information, mainstream media, public opinion, public agenda, social media

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Citizen and Mainstream Journalism on Social Media Journalism via ‘Instagram’

Teknolojik anlamda yaşanan değişimler ve beraberinde gelen dönüşümler, birçok alanda olduğu gibi gazetecilik alanında da farklı uygulamaların kapısını aralamıştır. Bu noktadan hareketle söz konusu çalışma, teknolojinin hem haber türleri hem de haberlerin kitlelerle buluştuğu mecralar üzerinde yaratmış olduğu farklılığın gösterilmesi amacıyla hazırlanmıştır. Çalışmanın amacına uygun olarak teknoloji ekseninde değişen haber türlerini temsil etmesi için hem yurttaş hem de ana akım gazetecilik örnekleri içerisinden bir seçim gerçekleştirilmiştir. Instagram platformu ise, teknolojinin haberlerin yayımlandığı mecra üzerinde ne şekilde bir değişiklik yarattığının saptanmasını belirlemek için kullanılmıştır. Instagram üzerinde canlı yayın yapma olanağının bulunması, fotoğraf, video ve reels olmak üzere farklı içeriklerin oluşumuna imkân tanınması ve anlık olarak hikaye paylaşımının bulunması kriterleri platform seçiminde önemli rol oynamıştır. İlgili platformda incelenecek olan örneklem ise “Boomsocial” sitesi üzerinden 13.09.2023 tarihi itibariyle en çok takipçiye sahip olan ana akım ve yurttaş gazete profillerinin belirlenmesi ile seçilmiştir. Buna göre @istanbulduysun ve @foxhaber örneklemlerinin 1-31 Ağustos 2023 tarihi aralığında paylaşmış oldukları toplamda 944 haber içerik analizi yöntemi kullanılarak çözümlenmiştir. Elde edilen sonuçlar incelendiğinde; ana akım gazetecilik içerisinde sadece tek bir hesap üzerinden paylaşım yapılırken yurttaş gazetecilikte farklı sosyal medya hesaplarından da haber alınıp paylaşıldığı, sosyal medya paylaşımlarında ana akım gazeteciliğin daha kurumsal bir dile sahip olduğu, kullanıcıların ana akım gazetecilik örnekleminde ele alınan hesap içerisinde daha fazla etkileşim oluşturduğu ve her iki gazetecilik türünde de ağırlıklı olarak ciddi haberler kategorisinde haber paylaşımının gerçekleştiği saptanmıştır.

From information access to production: New perspectives on addressing information inequity in our digital information ecosystem

AbstractChanges in our informational environment have brought new challenges and opportunities to address systemic issues of information inequity. Thus, when addressing systemic issues of information inequity, it is important to address it not only from the perspective of information access, as it is often considered in information science, but also from the perspective of how information objects are constructed and produced. This essay brings concerns within information science into discussion with journalism studies and critical technology studies to consider: (1) how the production of information, through the case of mainstream journalism, can create information inequity within information representations, and (2) how the dissemination and retrieval of this journalistic information through algorithmically‐mediated online information systems, specifically social media and search platforms, can replicate and reinforce information inequity within a larger information ecosystem. Thus, this essay uses an interdisciplinary lens to suggest new approaches to holistically address information inequity, putting forth a conceptual framework with actionable steps to create a more equitable information ecosystem.

Impact of social media on mainstream journalism in Ghana

The study looked at how social media impact mainstream journalism in Ghana. It also determined the benefits and drawbacks of social media for mainstream journalism. 200 journalists were chosen at random from the Sunyani Municipality in the Bono region of Ghana using a purposive sampling technique for a phone and in-person interview to gather data. It was discovered, among other things, that all the respondents (i.e., 100%) believed that social media have positive impact on mainstream journalism, while most of the respondents (i.e., 80%) believed that social media have negative impact on mainstream journalism. As a result, it was suggested, among other things, that journalists use social media carefully to preserve the public’s trust in the media.

From News to Disinformation: Unpacking a Parasitic Discursive Practice of Czech Pro-Kremlin Media

ABSTRACT This paper examines a “parasitic discourse behavior,” a strategy used by the Czech antisystem media. A working hypothesis about the nature of parasitization was drawn from close reading: the antisystem media, while creating a false impression of mainstream journalism, attempt to reframe events with a set of recurrent associations. This hypothesis was tested with a combination of three quantitative methods: (1) Keyword analysis for identification of prominent topics, which are further analyzed by (2) Companions and (3) Market Basket Analysis (MBA). Companions, a new method comparing occurrences of keywords in time, reveals antisystem’s imitation of the mainstream, and MBA shows its production of distinct associations to frame trendy news items. As a proof of concept, four instances of parasitization were identified during May–August 2020 – topics that attracted public attention for a sufficiently long timespan to come under the radar of our methods: Belarus presidential elections, followed by brutality on the protesters, the police killing of George Floyd in the US, and the subsequent events against systemic racism, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the dispute over the WWII monuments in the Czech Republic. Associations accompanying all these topics weave a set of consistent narratives: anti-West, pro-Kremlin, and a strong anti-Ukrainian stance.

Moving with the Trend: the Impact of Digital Technologies on Journalism Practice in Imo State, Nigeria

The integration of digital technology into the field of journalism in Nigeria has en-gendered both obstacles and prospects, hence fostering advancements in the in-dustry. As a result of this, the study assessed the impact of digital technologies application on mainstream journalism practice among journalists in Imo State. The research was grounded in the theoretical frameworks of technological determinism and new media theory. The study employed a survey research approach, utilising a census principle to sample a population of 200 registered journalists. Questionnaire was the instrument for data collection. Results showed that majority of the respond-ents have access to digital technologies in the discharge of their duties to a large extent at 66% and they use digital technologies often. The respondents have a posi-tive perception towards the application of digital technologies in journalism practice with the believe that digital technology is a blessing to journalism profession at an average mean of 3.6. Result also revealed that digital/computer illiteracy, lack of the requisite knowledge to operate digital technologies gadgets, high cost of acquiring digital technologies gadgets by the media organisation etc. are the challenges faced by the respondents while using digital technologies to carry out their reportorial du-ties at an average mean of 3.7. The result further revealed that digital technologies application in journalism practice has influenced journalism by improving the profes-sional process of news gathering, production and dissemination at an average mean of 3.6. The study concluded that digital technology has improved the professional process of news gathering, production and dissemination, thus, has significantly influenced journalism practice. The study recommended for the acceptance of digital switchover by media organisations and its embrace among the journalists.

The role of social media in political communication: how alternative journalists illuminate information in Central America’s declining democracies

ABSTRACT Declining democracy in Central America, from oppressive policies in El Salvador and detaining journalists in Guatemala to emerging anti-press rhetoric in Costa Rica, reinforces a history of violent censorship for Latin American media, complicating journalists’ abilities to influence communication. Through interviews with journalists in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, this study analyzes the role of social media in Central American journalism. The interviews reveal that while the dominance of algorithms and information monopolies may assist financially controlled mainstream journalists, social media provide opportunities for alternative journalists in Central America to circumvent economic constraints and become more prominent gatekeeping actors in political communication. These findings indicate a shift in the news agenda, facilitated by social media but hindered by the lingering darkness of constrained media systems.

Reporting civilizational collapse: Research notes from a world-in-crisis

There is a woeful silence in global media as well as a widespread reluctance in the fields of media and communication studies to fully recognize and research the systemic and interlocking nature of deepening existential threats that together now constitute today’s ‘world-in-crisis’. It is time to move beyond disaggregated news reporting and research parochialisms and grapple conceptually and theoretically as well as empirically and politically with the complexity of the planetary emergency and its communication. This article elaborates on these claims and provides conceptual and theoretical coordinates of use in re-imagining mainstream journalism’s potential for processes of transition and transformation.

Intersections between Technology, Journalism and Civic Participation in India

The adaptation of evolving technology in Indian filmmaking has been a process of embracing it as a valuable tool rather than perceiving it as an alien imposition from formerly colonized nations. Developments in telecommunications since 1995 have profoundly impacted filmmaking in India, from the technology employed to the evolution of non-fiction storytelling. In an environment where mainstream journalism faces challenges and grassroots media gradually gains viewership on digital platforms, immersive journalism can enhance civic participation by providing a heightened sense of 'immersion' and 'presence' compared to traditional two-dimensional formats. This paper examines 360-degree immersive journalism videos produced by ElseVR, a non-fiction subsidiary of Mumbai-based Memesys Cultural Lab, a pioneer in mixed-reality filmmaking in India. During the first wave of VR immersive non-fiction, ElseVR released app-based quarterly magazines featuring 360 video documentaries. These films not only offered narrative experiences but also encouraged viewers to assume various perspectives while watching them. Utilizing Nash's (2022) concepts for interpreting first-person experiences in VR documentaries, this study employs the positions of tourist, encounter, and witness to analyze three immersive journalistic documentaries using ElseVR's technology: Nishtha Jain's Submerged (2016), Naomi Shah and Pourush Turel's Caste is Not a Rumour (2017), and Faiza Khan's When Land Is Lost, Do We Eat Coal (2016). Each position provides insight into the experience of entering unfamiliar spaces, as interest, curiosity, and the VR environment’s affordances give rise to a multi-sensory experience where the positions of tourist, encounter, and witness uniquely intersect. In India, where digital and smartphone penetration varies significantly, the potential for widespread adoption of such technology remains uncertain. However, the intersections between journalism, civic engagement, and technology in ElseVR's documentaries are noteworthy. By avoiding a technologically deterministic perspective, a heightened understanding of VR technology's role in journalism from non-Western environments could enhance civic participation and encourage reevaluating emerging media practices in the Global South.

Book Review: Digital-Native News and the Remaking of Latin American Mainstream and Alternative Journalism, by Summer Harlow

Book Review: <i>Digital-Native News and the Remaking of Latin American Mainstream and Alternative Journalism</i>, by Summer Harlow

Contesting the Mainstream: Towards an Audience-Centered Agenda of Alternative News Research

In order to better understand alternative news media, we need to focus more centrally on the audiences that regularly consume them. This special issue, entitled “Contesting the Mainstream: Understanding Alternative News Media,” advances such an audience turn. In the introduction, we outline how scholars have understood and characterized alternative news audiences. These have ranged from seeing them as (i) ideal participants and activists; as (ii) being misinformed and manipulated; and as (iii) being critical users. Drawing on studies published in this special issue, we highlight how these studies provide new and revealing empirical insights that advance all three perspectives. Taken together, the articles make a strong argument to move beyond binary ideations of normatively “good” or “bad” alternative news audiences. In our view, they signal the need to better understand the complexity behind audience engagement not just with alternative news media but mainstream journalism more generally. Based on this argument, we identify several starting points for moving the field forward with such an audience turn in mind.

Social Media, the changing Newsroom and Electoral Politics in Zimbabwe

The rise of social media in Zimbabwe has instigated changes in journalism practice, politics and political communication. This paper examines the nexus between social media, journalism practice and politics in Zimbabwe, focusing on the 2018 general elections. The study is informed by the realisation that past studies on how social media interacts with society have tended to focus on a single dimension. Such single dimensions have included social media and newsroom changes, social media and journalism ethics, together with social media and political communication (Mabweazara 2014). No study, however, has attempted to show the connections between all these dimensions, which is a gap that is observable in social media studies. Using interviews with mainstream journalists in Zimbabwe and content analysis of political social media posts, the study shows that newsroom changes are tied to changes in political communication. The results also show that newsroom changes in Zimbabwe cannot be disconnected from political dynamics because journalism practice itself, even before the rise of social media, is shaped and structured by political dynamics so much that contrary to Marxian theorisation, in Zimbabwe, it is the political-consciousness base that determines the economic and other facets of the superstructure.

Playing the Mainstream Game. A Language-Game Analysis of “Mainstream” as a Possible Boundary Object in Journalism Studies

“Mainstream media” and “mainstream journalism” have become significant concepts in political, popular, and academic discourse in recent years. They are key in how media, communication, and journalism scholars have been, and continue to be, concerned with relational dimensions in their work. However, the meaning of the word “mainstream” is often taken for granted. How and by whom this concept is used among media, communication, and journalism scholars is therefore of great importance. This article analyses uses of “mainstream” in academic discourse to unpack the various meanings ascribed to it. Through computational Topic Modelling Analysis and qualitative context analysis we analyse the relations, positions, normative underpinnings, and appropriate uses of “mainstream” in 779 journal articles published between 2000 and 2022. The analysis is framed by Wittgenstein’s notion of “language-game” as a way of analysing the meaning-making process constituted by uses of “mainstream” in these articles. We argue that “mainstream” resembles a “boundary object” but conclude that the rules of the “mainstream language-game” are confusing and need revisions, and that the concept only functions as an illusory boundary object, which is arguably problematic.

Populism and Critical Incidents in Journalism: Has Bolsonaro Disrupted the Mainstream Press in Brazil?

Despite the increasing number of studies examining the conflicts between the media and populist leaders, understanding how such clashes prompt shifts in journalism norms and practices remains to be thoroughly explored. Based on a literature review and the discussion of an extensive array of examples characterizing the Brazilian media setting, this article provides a qualitative assessment of how Jair Bolsonaro's rhetoric and actions have triggered a “critical incident” in our mainstream journalism. We consider four dimensions currently experiencing transformations: the media's (1) institutional responses and campaigns, (2) production of the news, (3) production of editorials, and (4) how media professionals have reacted to populist attacks. There is evidence that journalism has increasingly become a central topic in news texts. We have also cataloged changes in news production routines (e.g., the editors’ hesitancy to send reporters to cover some political events), the use of editorials to reinforce metajournalistic discourses, and shifts in how professionals make sense of their work. Our findings contribute to the broader literature by investigating how traditional borders and values of journalism are renegotiated during institutional crises. In addition, our analytical framework can be applied to other media settings experiencing similar tensions and help underpin the construction of empirical variables to understand meaningful changes in the field. Lastly, this study considers the possible effects that change in norms, routines, and practices can have on the democratic roles of journalism.

PRACTICES OF AND CHALLENGES FOR CITIZEN JOURNALISM IN THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA OF BANGLADESH

In the past few years, it is observed that social media was the first to respond to some issues that become the talk of the town. Broad and easy access to mobile devices and social media has created immense opportunities for the public to share and publish their works on open forums. The audience as the prosumer (producers and active consumers) generates ‘user-generated content’ that undoubtedly influences the mainstream media’s content production procedure and manner through distributing them to many news or social platforms. This process leads to citizen journalism as a parallel mode of journalism where collection, collaboration and dissemination of the information go through a single channel. This study is based on both primary and secondary data sources to understand the impacts, challenges, and opportunities of citizen journalism needed beside the journalism. The qualitative data are collected from seven in-depth interviews with senior journalists, editors, academics and news managers. And two semi-structured interviews were conducted with citizen journalism project coordinators. Their analysis regarding this citizen journalism practices in mainstream media creates access to information by opening a new door to more significant resources. However, the concern remains whether incorporating citizen journalism into mainstream journalism poses any threat or not. It is observed that the absence of practicing journalistic rules and regulations in social media makes their credibility questionable and generates confusion. Online news sites use mobile technologies to create and disseminate their media products, gradually attracting the audience and readers. As a result, people are often used to accessing news from online sites rather than print media. With this current demand, mainstream news media is focusing on more interactivity on their online platforms and encouraging their audiences to join in the news production process.