1st Edition
Online Journalism from the Periphery Interloper Media and the Journalistic Field
Online Journalism from the Periphery looks at how a range of new media actors, communicating online, have challenged us to think differently about the journalistic field. Emerging from the disruption of digital technology, these new actors have been met with resistance by an existing core of journalism, who perceive them as part of a ‘digital threat’ and dismiss their claims of journalistic belonging. As a result, cracks are appearing in the conceptual foundations of what journalism is and should be.
Applying field theory as a conceptual lens, Scott Eldridge guides the reader through the intricacies of these tensions at both the core and periphery. By first unpacking definitions of journalism as a social and cultural construction, this book explores how these are dominated by narratives which have reinforced a limited set of expectations about its purpose and reach. The book goes on to examine how these narratives have been significantly undermined by the output of major new media players, including Gawker, reddit, Breitbart, and WikiLeaks. Online Journalism from the Periphery argues for a broadening of ideas around what constitutes journalism in the modern world, concluding with alternative approaches to evaluating the contributions of emerging media heavy-weights to society and to journalism.
List of Figures, Preface, Acknowledgements Chapter 1 – It depends on what you mean by ‘journalism’ Chapter 2 – Journalism’s central tendencies Chapter 3 – A journalistic field: Journalism and the Fourth Estate Chapter 4 – Interrogating the Fourth Estate: Moving beyond the core and the periphery Chapter 5 – Interlopers and Journalism I: The field beyond the core Chapter 6 – Interlopers and Journalism II: The observant and the heretic Chapter 7 – Interlopers and Journalism III: Identity, Intention, and Realization Chapter 8 – Visualizing Journalism: Evaluating the field, and its dimensions Chapter 9 – Conclusion: Considering the journalistic field anew, Index
Biography
Scott A. Eldridge II is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Media and Journalism Studies, University of Groningen. His work in digital journalism studies explores discourses of identity and the changing journalistic field. He is co-editor, with Bob Franklin, of the Routledge Companion to Digital Journalism Studies, and Reviews Editor for the journal Digital Journalism.
‘This book is essential reading for anyone serious about understanding journalism of the present and the future. Dr Eldridge’s lucid and highly engaging writing style offers a measured consideration of new journalistic actors - what he terms (contrary) interlopers from the periphery - and how they expand and challenge established norms and values of the journalistic field.’
Einar Thorsen, Associate Professor of Journalism and Communication, Bounemouth University, UK
