News and social journalism
Journalism is in a transformative phase where media technology innovation, new information flows, and pressured economic conditions are reshaping its core and its future. The legitimacy of journalism is under pressure and its fundamental values are partly threatened. The development shows how journalism meets challenges in new forms of work, new forms of storytelling, and in its relations with the audience.
At JMG, research focuses on understanding the role and transformation of news journalism in the context of historical processes and contemporary societal changes. Particular focus is directed at news and social journalism in a broad sense. The economic conditions of journalism have changed significantly, with cutbacks, advertising declines, and new business models threatening its independence. Norms and practices have become more varied, and the boundaries between PR and social networking media are partially blurred.
The digitalized media landscape provides new forms of information dissemination, and journalism's central position in news reporting is being challenged. Political actors are casting suspicion on journalism, and journalists are being threatened in an increasingly hostile public debate. Within this research area, we investigate, among other things, how news and social journalism reports on different processes, issues, and events, and how journalism can navigate a new media landscape and redefine itself to meet future challenges and demands for credibility, legitimacy, and relevance.
Central themes
- Institutional changes and the conditions of journalism: How changes in social institutions, media systems, media industries, and legislation shape journalism.
- Journalistic values and genres: Focus on the norms and ideals that guide journalistic production in different genres and platforms.
- The content of journalism: How news and social journalism covers various processes, issues, or events.
- Journalists as a social group: Journalism's relationship to gender, class, and other social structures, and how journalists position themselves in relation to other groups.
- Journalism and freedom of expression: How journalism contributes to, and is affected by, changing conditions for freedom of expression and democracy.
- The legitimacy of journalism: How the legitimacy of journalism is challenged and reshaped in relation to new actors, media platforms, and political developments.
- Technological innovation and digital journalism: How the internet, mobile media, and technological innovations, such as generative AI, are driving change in journalism's work processes, distribution channels, and their relationship with the audience.
- The future of journalism in social networking media: How journalistic norms and discourses are changing in relation to platforms that enable direct interaction and content creation from users.
