Dear Readers,
This year’s first issue of Journalism Research, now in its ninth year, features a series of articles that all deal, to varying degrees, with developments and challenges facing the journalism profession in the age of digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI). In the article by Inken Thiel and Uwe Krüger, digitalization plays only a minor role in the background – as so far – online media apparently have had little significance in the dissemination of innovations such as community-supported agriculture through constructive journalism. However, Marcus Bölz observes changes in Finnish journalism resulting from Russia’s digital disinformation campaigns since Finland’s accession to NATO, and Lea Möller examines digitally mediated communication between women radio hosts and their audiences, as well as the positive and negative influences on the listeners’ emotional experience.
These articles are categorized under the heading Research Paper, the standard format in an academic journal. Additionally, this issue features the new section Research in Brief, where we highlight particularly insightful studies in a concise format. We frequently receive submissions that rather resemble excerpts from academic theses than journal articles, which is why we’re introducing this section. Nevertheless, there are worthwhile works among them that should not be left gathering dust in a drawer. This issue features Matteo Emmanuello’s work on the influence of »think tanks« on war reporting and Kaylin Lane and Jennifer Proffitt’s study of the profitable »Florida Man« and »Florida Woman« phenomena in U.S. news media.
Reviews also belong to the standard content of academic journals. Less expected, however, are some of our sections, which are based primarily on the fact that we are an academic journal for the journalism profession and therefore should not entirely neglect its characteristic qualities. This includes book journalism, which differs from traditional reviews as it provides concise information about books by journalists worth reading and invites readers to explore them. The selection made for this purpose reflects the journalistic quality criterion of importance. Martina Thiele and Boris Rohmahn selected the ten books recommended in this issue not only to critique them, but also because they represent a genre that is easily overlooked in day-to-day journalism they represent a genre that is easily overlooked in day-to-day journalism – a genre that, given the flood of free and therefore unprofitable news, may even hold an economic opportunity for the future of the journalism profession.
The new section Projects also reflects our magazine’s connection to journalism, as it showcases practical projects that address challenges and opportunities, so that journalists – as well as media executives – can take note of them and incorporate them into their work. In this issue, that is the »Initiative Nachrichtenaufklärung« (INA) [Initiative News Enlightenment], which, with its annual »Top Ten« list, draws attention to neglected and therefore exclusive topics so that they can be taken up by the media.
The Essay and Debate sections, which we have maintained to date and intend to continue in the future, also have a journalistic character. The essay is a relaxed journalistic form of presentation that traces its roots back to Montaigne and thrives on ingenuity. Anyone writing an essay on a question they consider relevant does not need to know at the outset whether they will arrive at an answer by the end – or what that answer might be. This is what makes the genre both spontaneously accessible and, at the same time, challenging. For despite its lightness and the resulting clarity, the journalistic standards of accuracy, consistency with observable reality, and rigor of the line of reasoning must still be upheld.
Debates are so important in journalism because they are not only about the accurate reporting of important events and facts, but also about the accessibility of possible opinions on facts and conceivable assessments of events. Since opinions and assessments differ and may even contradict one another, divergence and controversy must be able to be openly addressed – not only to reach possible agreements or at least compromises, but also to foster understanding and respect for the other side, even if one does not personally agree with it. In previous issues, we have presented debate contributions in various forms: sometimes controversial positions within a single article written by multiple authors, sometimes opposing positions juxtaposed across several articles, and sometimes just a pronounced position in a single article to provoke contradictions.
Highlighting the essay and debate sections in this issue may seem strange, as both are left void due to a lack of suitable and available texts. But that was precisely the reason to do so: We extend a warm invitation to potential authors among our readers to submit suitable manuscripts for essays or contributions to debates.
The same applies to manuscripts on historical topics, which are also missing from this issue. Human-made phenomena – including the profession of journalism – can only be explained and understood if one knows something about their origins, their development, and their history.
Despite some gaps, we hope our readers will gain new insights and also enjoy reading this issue.
Horst Pöttker
PS: Please also note our Call for Papers on the upcoming special issue topic “Journalism, Media, Generations, and Aging”.