The J Word 5.2: Digital News, Social Influences Artwork

The J Word: A Podcast by Journalism Practice

What is journalism? How can we make it better? What does "better" look like? We talk about some of these questions -- and answer them -- in our discussions with academics and professionals who've published recently in Journalism Practice. We focus on meanings of advancing digital technologies in journalism, social issues and conditions that journalists (need to) cover, and the future of the field. Articles featured in the episodes are temporarily made free access for citizens, journalists, scholars, and students. While the discussions are rooted in research, they are approached to influence practice. The podcast is hosted and produced by Robert (Ted) Gutsche, Jr., a former journalist, Associate Editor at Journalism Practice, an Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) in Critical Digital Media Practice at Lancaster University in the U.K. and Visiting Professor at Vytautas Magnus University in Lithuania. Follow him on Twitter @RobertGutscheJr and the podcast @JournPractice or email us with ideas and feedback at jwordpodcast@gmail.com.

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The J Word: A Podcast by Journalism Practice

The J Word 5.2: Digital News, Social Influences

August 22, 2022 • Season 5 • Episode 2

Despite its digitization, journalism – hopefully – hasn’t lost its, what we will call, socialness. From covering issues related to #MeToo to navigating how to appear on and use social media to connecting audiences with the creation of content, this episode’s guests help us complicate and unpack the social roles of journalism in a digital age. Stine Eckert at Wayne State University in the U.S. discusses the differences in how college student journalists focused on the explanations of and connections to larger, structural issues influencing sexual assault and violence at universities while local, mainstream media tended to highlight details of the cases and maybe not the larger social influences at play.

Also related to the “social,” Vaios Papanagnou at the American College of Greece helps connect some of these explanations of coverage to the roles and values of today’s “networked” journalist, albeit from a U.K. perspective. And also with us, recorded separately, is Diana Álvarez-Macías at Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México who outlines a unique form of journalistic (and social) innovation at news outlets in her country that applied social research into influencing their coverage of elections, policy, and daily life. Our interview with Diana is dual-language, with translation by Laura Gomez. This interview is also featured on its own, fully in Spanish, in a bonus episode.

Text Featured in this Episode:

Álvarez-Macías, D. L. (2022). Innovation in Journalistic Practices: Combining Depth, Quality, and Publication in Real Time. Journalism Practice, 1-20.

Eckert, S., Metzger-Riftkin, J., Albrehi, F., Akhther, N., Aniapam, Z., & Steiner, L. (2022). # MeToo Academia: News Coverage of Sexual Misconduct at US Universities. Journalism Practice, 1-20.

Papanagnou, V. (2021). Journalistic relations and values in the networked era: a case study of The Guardian. Journalism Practice, 1-17.

Produced and hosted by Robert (Ted) Gutsche, Jr.

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