Impact as driving force of journalistic and social change

Abstract

In this article, we explore how entrepreneurial journalists from a wide variety of national contexts present ‘impact’ as one of the aims in their work. By exploring the variety, incongruences, and strategic considerations in the discourse on impact of those at the forefront of journalistic innovation, we provide a much-needed empirical account of the changing conceptualisation of what journalism is and what it is for. Our data show how impact becomes an ideologically as well as strategically driven endeavour as the entrepreneurs try to carve out their niche and position themselves both in relation to traditional counterparts and other startups. Ultimately, we provide empirical insight into a number of tensions that remain underlying in the discourse on constructive journalism, an increasingly popular conceptualisation that refers to a future-oriented, solution-driven, active form of journalism. We show how our interviewees marry different, commonly-deemed incompatible practices and values, thus challenging binary distinctions at the heart of conceptualisations of journalism, also perpetuated in the discourse on constructive journalism. As pioneers in the field, startups can be argued to inspire journalistic as well as social innovation, and furthermore push for a more inclusive understanding of the divergent conceptualisations and practices that together make up the amalgam that we call ‘journalism’.

Data Journalism Beyond Legacy Media: The case of African and European Civic Technology Organizations

“…While peripheral to the core of professional journalism, these actors operate inside the field of journalism and introduce practices of facilitating in journalism. Data journalists working in start-ups, non-profits or other non-traditional media organizations see their role as inventors who expand and diversify journalism, but they do not radically question it either (Wagemans, Witschge, and Harbers 2018). In contrast, the media landscape of the African countries we studied is less diverse and data journalism is far less common within legacy news organizations.…”

Understanding the Audience Turn in Journalism: From Quality Discourse to Innovation Discourse as Anchoring Practices 1995–2020

“…Carlson and Usher (2016) revealed how audiences may well be addressed as more equal (as "you"), but instead of as potential partners in producing information they tend to be seen as commercial targets whose "user experience" should be improved (Carlson and Usher 2016: 573). Vos and Singer (2016) and Wagemans, Witschge, and Harbers (2019) arrived at a similar conclusion, illustrating that the growing impact of innovation discourse in journalism showed an increased attention for audiences as targets, but not as interlocutors.…”

Fluid institutional logics in digital journalism

“…Moreover, online news start-ups are found to be pioneers in technology adoption (Carlson & Usher, 2016;Nee Coates, 2013;Wagemans, Witschge, & Harbers, 2018). Start-Accepted manuscript.…”

“…For instance, taking an activist role is appreciated by managers of strongly market-oriented news companies. In this manner, Tandoc and Foo (2017, p. 11) Such an impact focus has become a normative conception in journalism in the social media era (Bro, 2018;Wagemans et al, 2018). Thus, professional logics can match managerial logics.…”