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Using a systems framework from the sociology of occupations, this article maps the journalism-blogging relationship, revealing areas of conflict between the two, vulnerabilities, and predictors of vulnerability. The systems framework suggests occupations exist within a network of other occupations and that they encroach into each other’s jurisdictional areas. A variety of factors shape these fluid processes. Factors that are external to the occupation include organizational division of labor, revenue needs, and relationships with other institutions. Internal factors include the degree to which journalists control the definition of problems and inference to solutions, and the success with which they solve problems. Difficulties posed by external and internal factors have led journalism to neglect some types of news information, which in turn have been poached by bloggers. These include partisan expression, ‘old stories’, stories driven by non-elite sources, and highly specialized content. A model for future study is constructed from these observations.

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This study analyzes the emergence, development, and stasis of the news fact-checking website through the institutional perspectives of population ecology and institutional logics. The population ecology approach suggests that like other new media forms, fact-checking sites will mimic one another in pursuit of legitimacy, and this will encourage formation of media "populations," and tendencies to buffer the external environment and stabilize. Over time, these sites will respond more to other sites within the population itself than to changes in the immediate environment. However, the institutional logics approach accommodates conflict and agency, suggesting that entities pursue complex strategies to retain legitimacy when faced with conflicts within the wider institutional environment. The fact-checking site is a product of such a strategy, as it straddles both traditional journalism and digital network logics. Findings show evidence of a budding fact-checking site population, increasing legitimacy, and increased isomorphism. Yet findings also reveal fragmentation and diversity in recent years, suggesting that institutionalization processes are complex and uneven. Findings suggest a need to understand that media entities are shaped by both their exogenous environment and their endogenous "population," a collective of similar entities. Future research should explore the conditions that lead to one or the other being more consequential.

BackgroundPublic health officials and journalists play a crucial role in disseminating information regarding natural disasters, terrorism and other human-initiated disasters. However, research suggests that journalists are unprepared to cover terrorism and many types of natural disasters, in part because of lack sufficient expertise in science and medicine and training. The objective of this research was to identify solutions to problems facing journalists and public health public information officer (PIOs) of communicating with the public during natural and human-initiated disasters.MethodsTo assist in identifying the most pressing problems regarding media response to health-related risks such as terrorism and large-scale natural disasters, 26 expert advisors were convened, including leaders representing journalists and public information officers, state health officials, experts in terrorism and emergency preparedness, and experts in health, risk, and science communication. The advisory group participated in pre-arranged interviews and were asked to identify and review bioterrorism educational resources provided to journalist. All advisory group members were then invited to attend a day long meeting January 29, 2004 to review the findings and reach consensus.ResultsThe most pressing problems were found to be a lack of coordination between PIO's and journalists, lack of resources for appropriately evaluating information and disseminating it efficiently, and a difference in perception of PIO's and journalist towards each others role during emergency situations. The advisory board developed a list of 15 recommendations that may enhance communication plans betweens PIO's, journalist and the public. The solutions were meant to be feasible in terms of costs and practical in terms of the professional and organizational realities in which journalists and PIO's work.ConclusionIt is clear that PIO's and journalists play crucial roles in shaping public response to terrorism and other disasters. The findings from this formative research suggest that perspectives and organizational processes often limit effective communication between these groups; though practical solutions such as participation of journalists in drills, scenario exercises, sharing of informational resources, and raising awareness at professional trade meetings may enhance the timely dissemination of accurate and appropriate information.