The contextualization of the watchdog and civic journalistic roles: Reevaluating journalistic role performance in U.S. newspapers

This study examines the two dominant U.S. journalism models-the watchdog and civic-oriented professional performance-in the aftermath of the economic crises. The study, based on a content analysis of 1,421 news stories published by five national U.S. dailies, measures journalists' role conception through a content analysis of newspaper articles, examining the concept of journalistic role performance. The findings indicate different contextualizations of the two roles: The civic journalism performance was mostly found in stories dealing with issues such as human rights, demonstrations, and religion. The watchdog model was found in stories dealing with religion as well, but was found more frequently than the civic model in stories covering the government, police and crime. While the overall results indicate shifting roles of journalists toward a more civic approach, the traditional watchdog role remains important in covering politics. The roles journalists perform and their implications for U.S. news coverage are discussed

One meta-media event, two forms of censorship: The Charlie Hebdo affair in the United Kingdom and Turkey

This study analyses British and Turkish media conceptualizations of the Charlie Hebdo affair. Editorial decisions to republish or not to republish the Mohammed cartoon cover reflected the politico-cultural pressures on the journalistic fields in both countries. The controversy demonstrated that the editorial autonomy of the British media outlets enabled them to engage in ‘eclectic neutrality’, the right to decide to republish or not to republish the cartoons. Despite the severely constrained journalistic environment of Turkey, where expectations of respect for religion take precedence over freedom of expression, the Turkish media engaged in symbolic acts of resistance in furtherance of freedom of expression

Testing normative journalism models in the United States and Malaysia

Journalism is a vital part of public opinion formation in democratic countries. While ample studies exist in developed nations such as the United States, not much is known on developing nations such as Malaysia. Therefore, this study aims to compare the extent to which the normative models of journalism materialise in news reports from the United States and Malaysia. Using the six normative models of journalism (watchdog, loyal facilitator, interventionist, service, civic, and infotainment) as a theoretical framework, a quantitative content analysis of elite and popular newspapers from the United States and Malaysia was conducted. Results from our analyses show that the watchdog, interventionist, and civic models were more present in the U.S. newspapers compared to the Malaysian newspapers. On the other hand, the loyal facilitator and the service models were more present in the Malaysian newspapers compared to those from the United States. Consistent predictors for the normative models of journalism were the newspapers’ country of origin, the number of years that a newspaper has been in existence, and the newspapers’ circulation numbers. In essence, the normative models of journalism were present in both the United States and Malaysia, but to different extents

Future conceptual challenges of cross-border journalism

In this study we argue that we are entering a period with increasingly complex and dialectical relations between cross-continental and national sentiments and actions. This situation—characterized by multiple centers of political power and conflicts—requires journalism studies to sharpen its skills when examining cross-border journalism using concepts such as foreign, international, global, and transnational journalism, and to be analytically sensitive to their differences and their potentially dynamic relations. This article examines the theoretical definitions and practical use of these four cross-border journalism concepts during the period 2010–2020 in a selected number of academic journals. We critically discuss their potential contribution to future research on global challenges occurring in a paradoxical world where globalization appears to be moving forward and backward simultaneously

Decisión 2016: Comparative Analysis of Journalistic Role Performance on Spanish- and English-language TV Networks

This study is one of the first to compare journalistic role performances of English– and Spanish–language TV networks during the 2016 U.S. primaries. Previous research finds that the corporate structure of Spanish–language media in the United States is looking more like its English–language counterparts and that Latino journalists share the norm of objectivity. Meanwhile, research suggests that individuals of different ethnicities turn to different communication channels and that this divergence can be explained by the degree of alignment in linguistic and cultural orientation. In this study, we therefore assess how linguistic differences of TV networks impact journalistic culture during the presidential primaries in 2016. As a crucial component of journalistic culture, we focus on journalistic role performance and find important distinctions: Findings reveal that the greater coverage of presidential candidates as sources on English-language networks have significant consequences for the roles journalists perform. Results suggest that the Spanish–language networks performed significantly more civic journalism roles than their English–language counterparts that perform an interventionist and service role. These differences are discussed alongside different audience-orientation of the networks that reflect deep racial and ethnic divides

Professional roles and news construction: a media sociology conceptualization of journalists’ role conception and performance

Journalists’ professional roles entail an important research area, which enhances knowledge on journalism’s attempted impact on political and democratic life. Journalism scholars, however, tend not to study journalistic professional roles from its impact on news content but focus on journalists’ conception of their role concluding that the way journalists conceive of their role will eventually shape the stories they produce. Hence, the link between role conception and role performance (i.e., its impact on news) has caught more attention as a justification of research interest than as loci of empirical examination. This conceptual paper revisits this assumption, arguing for an indepth discussion of what the concept of professional role entails to understand its manifestation in news. As journalistic performance must be considered a collective outcome, this article addresses the concept of professional role from its relationship to structural characteristics of media work. Our approach suggests a media sociology conceptualization of professional roles that takes into consideration the gatekeeping context, and most importantly the organizational and societal levels, when analyzing professional roles of journalists