On the shelf life of democracy in journalism scholarship

Abstract

Scholarship on journalism has long privileged a journalistic world that is narrower than that which resides on the ground. Perhaps nowhere is this as much the case as with the placement of democracy in discussions of the news and the role it has played in driving and shaping journalism scholarship. This article argues that democracy has long occupied a more central role than it deserves when considering the news, and that its centrality primarily in western scholarship has negatively impacted existing understandings of journalism in their broadest possible parameters. Maintaining that democracy in journalism scholarship has over-extended its shelf life, the article calls for a retirement of the concept as a key term for understanding journalism.

Journalistic Roles and Everyday Life

“…As a number of scholars have noted in recent years, a disproportionate amount of scholarship is focused on journalism's roles in political life, which has to some degree resulted in a narrow vision of what journalism is (see, e.g. Hanitzsch and Vos 2016;Josephi 2013;Zelizer 2013). Scholarship that goes beyond such narrow definitions of journalism can therefore contribute to a more comprehensive, even holistic, understanding of journalism today.…”

From Grand Narratives of Democracy to Small Expectations of Participation

“…We sympathise with the concern raised by some authors (see the 2013 special issue of Journalism guest edited by Josephi) that with the rapid changes witnessed in the media landscape over the past couple of decades, the journalism and democracy paradigm may be "too limiting and distorting a lens through which journalism can be viewed in the 21st century" (Josephi 2013, 445). There may indeed be much to be gained from retiring the concept of democracy for understanding contemporary journalistic practice (Nerone 2013;Zelizer 2013); considering alternative, possibly more relevant concepts to replace the central role of democracy as the framework to make sense of key shifts and changes.…”

Rethinking Journalism Again

“…with those who suggest that we Ôde-coupleÕ journalism and democracy altogether (see Josephi, 2013;Nerone, 2013;Zelizer, 2013) as the linkage between the two concepts has become stale and in need of reappraisal. Indeed in ZelizerÕs view, democracy needs to be ÒretiredÓ from the equation altogether (Zelizer, 2013).…”

“…Indeed in ZelizerÕs view, democracy needs to be ÒretiredÓ from the equation altogether (Zelizer, 2013). To put it another way, the expectations that we have placed upon journalism to deliver the deliberative democratic nirvana that social and political theorists have promised us for generations, are at the root of the problem of journalism today.…”