Discussing the News: The Uneasy Alliance of Participatory Journalists and the Critical Public (Palgrave Studies in Science, Knowledge and Policy)

This book examines two new roles that journalists assume in a participatory media environment – the administration (moderation) of online discussion and the monitoring of and engagement in comments below their articles. The author argues that it is precisely because both roles are treated as peripheral and undignified in newsrooms that they are so revealing, following the maxim: to make sense of what professions are and where they are heading, look at their boundaries and their dirty work. Based on a three-year ethnographic study, it offers key insights about the role of the media as democratic intermediaries in political participation, the creative possibilities for ‘amateurs’ as co-producers of digital news, the changing character of the knowledge professions and the dynamics of organisational innovation. The book argues that as media organisations face a crisis in their ability to represent the public, the challenge is to orchestrate participatory journalism as a collective accomplishment in which everyone is not a journalist but everyone can be a contributor. Bridging the divides between communication studies, linguistics, STS, organisational and occupational sociology it will interest social scientists and media studies experts. Discussing The News; Acknowledgements; Contents; List Of Figures; List Of Tables; 1 Introduction; Notes; References; 2 Participatory Journalism As A Way Of Knowing; A Pragmatic Approach To The Study Of Participatory Journalism; Routines And Artefacts; Argumentation; Competences; Notes; References; 3 Contextualising The Research Setting; The Profession Of Journalism In Slovakia; Participation And Commenting At Case Study 1 -- Sme; Participation And Commenting At Case Study 2 -- Denńik N; A Journalism Of Opinion Or Communication?; Notes; References 4 Judging The Quality Of Online Discussion: The Invisible Work Of 'admins'the Constraining And Enabling Effects Of Routines; Who Does The Job? Defining The Right Bundle Of Tasks; The Pioneers; The Blogger Admins; The Web-editor Admins; What Tools Are Used? Designing The Right Interface; The System Of Alerts; Reputation Control; Partial Automation Of The Admin Routine; What Roles Are Performed? Admins' Justificatory Vocabulary; Six Registers Of Justification; Classification (and The Production Of Decisions); Classificatory Contextualisation (and The Production Of Rules) Qualification (and The Production Of Evidence)metaclassification (and The Production Of Order); Organisational Representation (and The Reproduction Of Values); Inferential Contextualisation (and The Production Of Room For Manoeuvre); Coping With Professional Status Strain On The Front-line; Notes; References; 5 The Conversations Between Participatory Journalists And Critical Publics; The Routines For Organising And Engaging In Discussion; The Discursive Identity Of The Journalist As Discussant; Examples Of Common Accusation-response Sequences; Setting Off Metajournalistic Tongues; Notes Simon Smith. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introduction....Pages 1-7 Participatory Journalism as a Way of Knowing....Pages 9-25 Contextualising the Research Setting....Pages 27-43 Judging the Quality of Online Discussion: The Invisible Work of ‘Admins’....Pages 45-76 The Conversations Between Participatory Journalists and Critical Publics....Pages 77-104 Defending the Authenticity of Online Public Spheres....Pages 105-128 Conclusion....Pages 129-142 Back Matter....Pages 143-151