Review article: Journalism innovation research, a diverse and flourishing field (2000-2020)

Abstract

The aim of this article is to review research in media innovation through a holistic, analytical, and concise approach. Although research in journalism innovation has experienced considerable growth in recent years, theoretical, methodological, and systematic contributions have received little and fragmented attention. Three hundred and two peer-reviewed publications, in both English and Spanish, were included in the sample. The most researched areas included diffusion theory, management, organizational culture, professional profiles, business models, genres and content, tools and technology, media labs and start-ups. Other less developed areas, such as policy, methodology, ethics, or journalism education, are also discussed. Finally, a number of proposals regarding further research on journalism innovation, considering the effect of Covid-19 on the media, are discussed.

Newspaper executives’ positioning toward the evolving use of social media

“…The efficacy of social media concerns perceptions of how it increases productivity and generates value, whether it allows an organization to focus efforts in the right area (Westlund et al, 2021), or how it motivates journalists to add value for both audiences (Weaver & Willnat, 2016) and the media organization (García-Avilés, 2021). The efficacy of social media is not a given, with Creech and Nadler (2018, p. 194) arguing a “focus on innovation obscures the structural, historical, and cultural conditions exerting pressure on journalism” that may marginalize or erode values such as the democratic purpose of journalism.…”

The lab, the space and the meetup: locating technological experimentation in everyday life

“…Through these events, they can benefit from the "capacity of hackathons to act as journalistic laborites for news communities" [Boyles, 2020[Boyles, , p. 1343. In this sense, it is not just about understanding the current labs at established media organizations as permanent settings for experimentation, as it is often the case in journalism research [García-Avilés, 2021;Hogh-Janovsky & Meier, 2021;Mills & Wagemans, 2021]. The point is to establish a laboratory attitude toward a particular professional domain -an approach the hackathon exemplifies.…”

Technology and Journalism: The Experience of Recent Graduates from Two Canadian Journalism Schools

“…A great deal of theoretical work has been done in recent years around innovation in journalism, in which different production practices are key factors (García-Avilés, 2021). As highlighted by Steensen, some of those practices rely on 'useful' technologies that journalists can harness in order to produce work for a digital landscape.…”