Tag: journalistic quality

Edition 2/2026, Essay

Your vibe – new standard or hype? Journalistic credibility in the digital public sphere

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By Katja Schupp and Mirco Liefke | This essay analyses the shift in how journalists construct and present credibility in the context of social media. It begins with the observation that journalistic authenticity is increasingly shifting away from institutionally underpinned credibility towards personalised, emotionally driven forms, described in platform jargon as ›vibe‹. The essay situates this development within a media-historical continuum stretching from the printing press through traditional mass media to digital platforms. It demonstrates that with every media innovation, the criteria of credibility and the public sphere also change. Whilst traditional mass media rely on objectivity, standardisation and institutional legitimacy, personal presence, emotional resonance and algorithmically amplified visibility are gaining importance within the digital platform environment. The essay views this shift not as a rupture, but as an expression of the ongoing singularization of the public sphere in general and the mediated public sphere in particular. The interplay between platform logics and cultural change is giving rise to a form of journalism that relies more heavily on individuality and performative authenticity. Finally, it is argued that journalistic credibility must be renegotiated under these conditions, presenting an opportunity to intertwine institutional and personal forms.

Edition 1/2026, Research in Brief

Think tanks and war reporting How selected German media outlets deal with the US think tank ISW in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war

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By Matteo Emmanuello | Since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine on 24 February 2022, which violates international law, the conflict has had massive humanitarian consequences and poses particular challenges for war reporting: Complex information situations, strategic influence and the role of non-governmental think tanks shape public perception. This study examines how the German national newspapers Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), Die Zeit and the public broadcasters’ news outlet tagesschau.de use reports (2022–2025) of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), and what consequences this has for journalistic quality and framing. The ISW engages in strategic communication by presenting the conflict as a resource conflict with clear »good versus evil« dichotomies through selective frames of problem and responsibility as well as economic and military interpretations.
Media often adopt these frames uncritically, presenting the ISW as a neutral authority requiring no plurality of sources, without a transparent classification of its political stance, or reflection on its proximity to the US arms industry. Although ISW information is usually labelled transparently, what dominates are paraphrases without contextualisation, especially in map material. This practice can undermine the democratic function of journalism in times of war when media act as amplifiers of strategic communication rather than critical mediators. This study, which was part of a bachelor’s thesis, contributes to media and conflict research, calls for reflective source criticism and the development of standards for dealing with geopolitically positioned actors.

Edition 2/2023, Paper

Separating Advertising Business from Journalism How pertinent is Karl Bücher’s 1919 concept for press reform today?

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By Horst Pöttker | The purpose of this article is to raise awareness for fundamental problems of journalistic quality assurance. To do this, we analyzed Karl Bücher’s largely forgotten reform concept of 1919 against the backdrop of current media developments for its sociopolitical relevance, its merits and flaws compared to other concepts of journalistic quality assurance (most of which Bücher himself already mentioned at the time), its applicability to various media, and its political, legal, and economic viability. Our hypothesis is that the most promising and viable approach is to extend the principle of public broadcasting to other media.