Churnalism, Cultural (Inter)Mediation and Sourcing in Cultural Journalism

Abstract

Taking a point of departure in theories about cultural (inter)

Metajournalistic discourse on the rise of gaming journalism

“…Nevertheless, gaming journalists are like arts journalists in that they see themselves as intermediaries between cultural producers and the public (Riegert et al, 2015: 774). The close relationship between cultural journalists and culture industries requires journalists to perform 'complex and intertwined roles as cultural gatekeepers, connectors, marketers and valorisers, roles that are quite different from, for example, the norms and roles of autonomous, objective disseminators, watchdogs or observers, typically associated with Western journalism' (Kristensen, 2018(Kristensen, : 2182. Kristensen (2018) notes that cultural journalists such as gaming journalists must practice a form of 'churnalism': recycling information from press releases with little attempt at verification or independent reporting.…”

Cultural journalism—Journalism about culture

“…Using the cultural coverage of blockbuster movies as a case, Kristensen and From () show that cultural departments may have both commercial and public service incentives for covering such popular culture phenomena in a substantial, critical, and engaging manner. Chong (, p. 11), in her interview‐based study of cultural journalists and book critics, shows that “their goal for writing reviews was not to sell books but to inform the general public about new books as part of a broader cultural conversation.” Accordingly, scholars often point to cultural journalists performing the role of cultural intermediary or mediator between cultural producers and cultural citizen‐consumers, thus turning to theories from cultural sociology to explain the distinct role conceptions and performances of cultural journalists (e.g., Hovden & Knapskog, ; Jaakkola, ; Kristensen, ; Kristensen & From, ). As mentioned, these theories also emphasise cultural journalists' and critics' position as cultural gatekeepers and tastemakers since they select which cultural issues are brought to public attention and by critically discussing them, they contribute to the valorisation of the culture being covered (e.g., Baumann, ; Janssen & Verboord, ; Shrum, ; van Venrooij & Schmutz, ).…”

“…Hovden and Knapskog (2015, p. 791) use the term "cultural patriots" to define the role of Norwegian cultural journalists in society. Others have argued that cultural journalists appear loyal towards artists and cultural producers, as they are often closely intertwined professionally or even personally, sharing the same passion for arts and culture (e.g., Forde, 2003;Kristensen, 2018). Hovden and Kristensen (2018) show that monitoring elites is less important to cultural journalists, who are more inclined to educate the audience, tell stories, and promote tolerance, i.e., to provide "a cultural filter" (Riegert et al, 2015;Roosvall & Widholm, 2018) on sociocultural issues.…”

Cultural journalists on social media

“…Th e theoretical literature has argued that cultural journalists perform the role of cultural mediator mediating between cultural producers and cultural consumers (Bourdieu, 1984;Janssen & Verboord, 2015). Th is mediator role includes serving as: a cultural gatekeeper by bringing attention to selected cultural topics and goods while neglecting others; networker, as cultural journalists are often closely intertwined with artists and cultural producers through close collegial collaborations or even friendship-like relations (Forde, 2003;Kristensen, 2003Kristensen, , 2017; marketer, since media coverage is also publicity for artists and cultural goods; and legitimizer of "good culture", as journalists' and critics' evaluative debates may raise the esteem of cultural products or even sub-fi elds in the cultural hierarchy (Baumann, 2001;Sparre & From, 2017). Accordingly, the traditional roles of monitoring elites, setting agendas and informing citizens' political decision-making are less central to cultural journalists.…”

“…Th is required attractiveness has historical links as the cultural fi eld has always been associated with charismatic personas with subjective and critical voices, and with strong ties between journalism and the cultural scene (e.g. Chong, 2017;Kristensen, 2017;Kristensen & From, 2011). In other words, it links to the cultural mediator network feature, which is a "trademark" of cultural journalism potentially intensifi ed by social media.…”