The Contextualization of the Watchdog and Civic Journalistic Roles: Reevaluating Journalistic Role Performance in U.S. Newspapers
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1 octobre 2016
- handle: 10670/1.d9y29b
Ce document est lié à :
10.5294/pacla.2016.19.4.6
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Mots-clés
Professional roles role performance gatekeeping theory watchdog civicoriented journalism content analysisSujets proches
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Lea Hellmueller et al., « The Contextualization of the Watchdog and Civic Journalistic Roles: Reevaluating Journalistic Role Performance in U.S. Newspapers », Palabra Clave, ID : 10670/1.d9y29b
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Résumé
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.