Journalism is Not a One-Way Street: Recognizing multi-directional dynamics

The field of journalism studies places huge emphasis on researching how journalism (as a profession and institution) is changing due to the influence of “non-journalistic” actors. Paired with a “Western” focus and a tendency of journalism researchers to reproduce the boundary work of professional journalists, this has led to valuable, but one-sided strand of research that considers the influence on journalism, but much less journalism’s influence on others. This chapter explores the multi-directional interdependencies between journalists and peripheral actors while expanding our view toward wider professional and geographical realities. We present three case studies from our empirical work that show how certain journalistic practices and imaginaries about journalism influence the work of peripheral actors from around the world (Chequeado, Mozilla and Open Up). We argue that studying a broader set of dynamics between journalism and others, and thereby better understanding journalism’s outward influence, can lead to a shared and strengthened idea of what journalism is and what role it has in society.