Henrik Bødker | Aarhus University (original) (raw)
Papers by Henrik Bødker
Canadian journal of communication, Jun 11, 2008
The first sentence of James Lull's new book reads: "You'll have to forgive my optimism" (p. x). A... more The first sentence of James Lull's new book reads: "You'll have to forgive my optimism" (p. x). And there is reason to take that note seriously. This reader, at least, found it somewhat difficult to grant that forgiveness while taking part in Lull's self-described "labyrinthine journey" (p. 196). But before getting to that, let us take a look at Lull's overall argument. The increasing possibility of "Culture-On-Demand," says Lull, holds the potential of defusing a range of the tensions that have been either exacerbated or provoked by cultural globalization. The keyword here is communication. Each of us-mainly within the global middle classes-has never been in a more favourable position for connecting and being informed, whereas various authorities-states, organizations-are finding increasingly difficult the acts of controlling or hiding. It is this growing "cultural transparency" (chapter 4)-and the possibly ensuing cultural understanding and tolerance-that holds that point toward a more harmonious future. Lull's invocation of a brighter future must be seen more clearly in relation to how probable this future seems to be. To start with, however, Lull lays out the foundation of his argument by pointing to certain traits of human evolution. "Expression is a primordial necessity" (p. 25), says Lull in the second chapter, "Human Expression", and he underlines that this is something that goes far beyond notions of free speech, adding that the in-built "ability. .. to communicate emotions. .. offers real promise for cultivating greater corporation across cultural groups" (p. 36). More specifically, it is this "primordial necessity" coupled with an emerging "decentrali[zation] of expressive authority" (p. 41) that Lull bases his hopes on. More and more of us are thus in positions to express ourselves in a myriad of creative ways. We are increasingly "programming" our "personal supercultures" (the title of chapter 3) in what Lull calls "self-customized matrices and networks of relevant human material, and symbolic cultural elements" (p. 55). The cultural landscape within which this happens is a complex web of the "push and pull of culture" (the title of chapter 4). So far so good. But there are, of course, strong countervailing forces. On a global scale, an important element of these forces Lull describes as forms of fundamentalism, fuelled by religion, ethnicity, nationality, and market ideologies. Of these, Lull pays most attention to religious fundamentalism, and especially the variant linked to Islam. In chapter 5, called "Globalized Islam," Lull states that a "profound sense of moral and religious supremacy. .. a hallmark of the religion" (p. 106), but he also says that a "new Arab public" (p. 126) is emerging through the "impact of Al-Jazeera and other independently-spirited satellite TV networks of the Middle East" (p. 126). The independence Lull refers to here is a willingness to question and criticize "Islamic history, principles, and practices" (p. 126). But the new possibilities of communication-including the Internet-do also make possible the construction and maintenance of a wider regional and global Islam. Thus, he says, "media and cultural globalization facilitate both increased Westernization and increased Islamization" (p. 131). Yet, while this may be interpreted as polarization, Lull points out that we are witnessing "unprecedented levels of transcultural contact" (p. 137) and that this growing visibility of differences and the increased possibility of expression point toward a more hopeful cultural transparency. In chapter 7, "The Open Spaces of Global Communication," Lull proceeds to outline the stages of his hopeful developmental argument based on the building blocks outlined above. These stages are: (a) "cultural technology, industry, abundance"; (b) "global visibil
American Studies in Scandinavia, Mar 1, 2005
Journalistica, 1970
Politikere er i den trykte presse konstruerede som forskellige konstellationer af ideologi, biogr... more Politikere er i den trykte presse konstruerede som forskellige konstellationer af ideologi, biografi, politisk løbebane og resultater samt holdninger til konkrete sager og, ikke mindst, af køn, etnicitet og andre kulturelle aspekter. Hvad det vil sige at vaere politiker er således et resultat af løbende forhandlinger imellem journalister, politikere og laesere-der hver isaer har forskellige, kulturelt og historisk betingede, forestillinger om hvilke faktorer, der er de mest relevante for opbygningen af politisk identitet. Det projekt som denne artikel udspringer af har som mål at analysere sådanne processer ved at se naermere på tilblivelsen og vedligeholdelsen af Naser Khaders politiske identitet i en raekke landsdaekkende dagblade.
Journalism Studies, Aug 1, 2012
evidence for oppositional or critical reporting. The journalists interviewed for the book asserte... more evidence for oppositional or critical reporting. The journalists interviewed for the book asserted their duty to be independent in wartime and to be critical when and where warranted. Yet this does not acknowledge that the large majority of journalists in major, inter-state conflicts, cooperate with the culture of control imposed by the military despite the implications of this for their ability to report independently or even impartially. In Iraq, few of them openly challenged the strictures of the embed system as it applied in 2003 or the manipulations of the military’s highly centralized and remote media operation in Qatar. Like so many wars before it, Iraq 2003 confirmed the general rule: that journalists play the military’s game during the conflict and reserve their concerns and criticisms for articles and books when it is all over. While it provides few new insights into media coverage of war, Pockets of Resistance is a scholarly study that presents its evidence methodically and transparently and then exploits it to some theoretical effect. Thus the most interesting section of the book is the concluding chapter, which considers the findings in the context of broader theoretical issues about the conduct and role of the media in wartime and, crucially, how we might explain it within a more holistic framework than previously possible. It also proposes a future research agenda for the study of how the media dealt with the build-up to the Iraq war and then the post-invasion, Iraqi insurgency against the British and American forces. The book, then, stands as a worthwhile addition to the literature and a useful resource for scholars and students in the field of media and conflict studies.
Journalism Studies
This article traces the origins of the term of the green shift, which gained increased cultural, ... more This article traces the origins of the term of the green shift, which gained increased cultural, social and political traction in Norway after it was introduced in 2015 by journalist Anders Bjartnes, editor of Energi og klima (2011-). By looking at this outlet as well as two other contemporary niche media, Harvest (2013-) and Naturpress (2016-), we show how this term provided a way of working with frequency, one of the 12 news values outlined in Galtung and Ruge’s seminal study from 1965. Inspired by discourse-historical analysis, we base our article on interviews with the editors of the three outlets, their journalistic output as well as on contextual material in order to show how the slow, uneven, global and partially invisible process of climate change was given a different temporal frame through the notion of the green shift. By addressing notions of frequency in relation to a specific time and context, we speak, on the one hand, to discussions about how an event-driven journalism struggles with the complex temporalities of climate change and, on the other, to recurrent calls for providing a more “context-driven reflection on the value and legacy of Galtung and Ruge” [Joye, Stijn, Ansgard Heinrich, and Romy Wöhler. 2016.
Environmental Journalism, 2014
Journalism Studies , 2022
This article traces the origins of the term of the green shift, which gained increased cultural, ... more This article traces the origins of the term of the green shift, which gained increased cultural, social and political traction in Norway after it was introduced in 2015 by journalist Anders Bjartnes, editor of Energi og klima (2011-). By looking at this outlet as well as two other contemporary niche media, Harvest (2013-) and Naturpress (2016-), we show how this term provided a way of working with frequency, one of the 12 news values outlined in Galtung and Ruge’s seminal study from 1965. Inspired by discourse-historical analysis, we base our article on interviews with the editors of the three outlets, their journalistic output as well as on contextual material in order to show how the slow, uneven, global and partially invisible process of climate change was given a different temporal frame through the notion of the green shift. By addressing notions of frequency in relation to a specific time and context, we speak, on the one hand, to discussions about how an event-driven journalism struggles with the complex temporalities of climate change and, on the other, to recurrent calls for providing a more “context-driven reflection on the value and legacy of Galtung and Ruge” [Joye, Stijn, Ansgard Heinrich, and Romy Wöhler. 2016.
Digital Journalism, 2021
Abstract In a recent commentary, Seth Lewis calls for a “rethinking” of the “objects and objectiv... more Abstract In a recent commentary, Seth Lewis calls for a “rethinking” of the “objects and objectives” of journalism studies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst not underestimating the significant effects of this ongoing global health crisis, the authors of this commentary do not share the sense of urgency for revising the field on such a broad scale. We wish to raise three key points that criticize and supplement Lewis’ reflections in light of existing debates in and beyond journalism studies and digital journalism studies in particular. These concern (1) the assumption that news journalism is relevant independent of its orientation towards audiences, an assumption that is problematized especially in digital journalism studies, (2) the overlooked importance of journalism education in a global perspective to create impact of research, and (3) the problematic assumption of a common identity of journalism studies scholars across the field as such. In this reply, the authors wish to make a pledge towards a greater importance of diversity in relation to global journalism studies and the importance of the field of digital journalism studies to realize such an ambition.
Journalism Studies, 2017
, a gunman attacked a public event on art and freedom of expression in Copenhagen, leaving one pe... more , a gunman attacked a public event on art and freedom of expression in Copenhagen, leaving one person dead. Later, trying to force his way into a bat mitzvah celebration, the gunman killed a Jewish guard. These incidents produced public discourses at the intersection of security, social control, rights and tolerance and, with that, questions related to religious, secular and national communities and identities. At the political level, this was an attempt to repair a national community divided in relation to questions of security, integration and the curbing of immigration. Mainstream print journalism faced a similar challenge in its attempt to reassert its national relevance while remaining loyal to its audience communities within a market increasingly separated by taste and platforms. Politicians and news media thus shared an interest in both repairing and contesting a Danish community. This article analyses how discourses of community repair, cohesion and exclusivity permeated the appropriation of this disruptive event into the public realm. Progressing from an intersection of cultural approaches to journalism studies and political communication, the analysis will, in addition to other concepts, aim to combine insights from research on "disruptive media events" with studies of "belonging".
Journalism Studies, 2018
Recent developments in the relations between politicians and journalists in the US have (among ot... more Recent developments in the relations between politicians and journalists in the US have (among other things) created a situation where journalists often have to deal with information that is very difficult, even impossible, to verify, yet which has potential societal significance that cannot be ignored. This has, we argue, affected how journalists and journalistic outlets relate to each other within what we tentatively term an inferential community. To argue this, we analyze journalistic demonstrations of authority in attempts to establish and connect "facts" related to uncertain claims in two cases of the coverage of the nascent Trump administration. This is, however, not a fully elaborated case study through which we can conclude something broader about contemporary journalism. The paper should rather be seen as a preliminary empirical probe allowing us to focus on a specific issue while proposing a tentative conceptual and analytical frame through which this may be studied in a more sustained and detailed way.
Digital Journalism, 2021
Abstract In a recent commentary, Seth Lewis calls for a “rethinking” of the “objects and objectiv... more Abstract In a recent commentary, Seth Lewis calls for a “rethinking” of the “objects and objectives” of journalism studies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst not underestimating the significant effects of this ongoing global health crisis, the authors of this commentary do not share the sense of urgency for revising the field on such a broad scale. We wish to raise three key points that criticize and supplement Lewis’ reflections in light of existing debates in and beyond journalism studies and digital journalism studies in particular. These concern (1) the assumption that news journalism is relevant independent of its orientation towards audiences, an assumption that is problematized especially in digital journalism studies, (2) the overlooked importance of journalism education in a global perspective to create impact of research, and (3) the problematic assumption of a common identity of journalism studies scholars across the field as such. In this reply, the authors wish to make a pledge towards a greater importance of diversity in relation to global journalism studies and the importance of the field of digital journalism studies to realize such an ambition.
Journalism, 2018
The attack on the Bataclan Theatre in Paris in November 2015 arguably targeted a transnational co... more The attack on the Bataclan Theatre in Paris in November 2015 arguably targeted a transnational community of youths able to move and convene freely; as such, it was an attack on the liberal and cosmopolitan core of the European project. Cafébabel (cafebabel.com), a multilingual current affairs online magazine co-funded by the European Union, is intricately linked to this project. This article consequently investigates how Cafébabel, in the aftermath of the attack, appropriated the notion of ‘Génération Bataclan’ from a front page of Libération and how this may be seen as a constructive intervention in the relations between terrorism and journalism in Europe. Cafëbabel’s coverage was, it will be argued, linked to efforts to reflect and/or construct a generational and transnational ‘cosmopolitan identity’ within journalistic practices that largely can be called participatory. Following this, the article consequently argues for seeing Cafébabel’s coverage as instances of constructive ne...
Journalism Studies, 2017
, a gunman attacked a public event on art and freedom of expression in Copenhagen, leaving one pe... more , a gunman attacked a public event on art and freedom of expression in Copenhagen, leaving one person dead. Later, trying to force his way into a bat mitzvah celebration, the gunman killed a Jewish guard. These incidents produced public discourses at the intersection of security, social control, rights and tolerance and, with that, questions related to religious, secular and national communities and identities. At the political level, this was an attempt to repair a national community divided in relation to questions of security, integration and the curbing of immigration. Mainstream print journalism faced a similar challenge in its attempt to reassert its national relevance while remaining loyal to its audience communities within a market increasingly separated by taste and platforms. Politicians and news media thus shared an interest in both repairing and contesting a Danish community. This article analyses how discourses of community repair, cohesion and exclusivity permeated the appropriation of this disruptive event into the public realm. Progressing from an intersection of cultural approaches to journalism studies and political communication, the analysis will, in addition to other concepts, aim to combine insights from research on "disruptive media events" with studies of "belonging".
Journalism Studies, 2018
Recent developments in the relations between politicians and journalists in the US have (among ot... more Recent developments in the relations between politicians and journalists in the US have (among other things) created a situation where journalists often have to deal with information that is very difficult, even impossible, to verify, yet which has potential societal significance that cannot be ignored. This has, we argue, affected how journalists and journalistic outlets relate to each other within what we tentatively term an inferential community. To argue this, we analyze journalistic demonstrations of authority in attempts to establish and connect "facts" related to uncertain claims in two cases of the coverage of the nascent Trump administration. This is, however, not a fully elaborated case study through which we can conclude something broader about contemporary journalism. The paper should rather be seen as a preliminary empirical probe allowing us to focus on a specific issue while proposing a tentative conceptual and analytical frame through which this may be studied in a more sustained and detailed way.
Journalism, 2017
As much as news websites news can be characterised by speed and immediacy, they are also recognis... more As much as news websites news can be characterised by speed and immediacy, they are also recognisable online periodicals, which accumulate preceding news items. This is, as with the constitution of time in general, linked to relations between change and continuity. This article aims to understand how the temporalities of online news have developed since the first news sites in the mid-1990s. The analytical starting point for this is that such temporalities must be understood as a complex interplay between textual elements on different and overlapping levels of the webpage. This article consequently employs a framework for webpage analysis that primarily focuses on the syntactical level where temporalities emerge as relations between textual elements that change at very different intervals. This framework is applied to examples from the different stages of The Guardian’s webpage from 1996 to the present retrieved from the Internet Archive ( www.archive.org ). The shifting constitutio...
Canadian journal of communication, Jun 11, 2008
The first sentence of James Lull's new book reads: "You'll have to forgive my optimism" (p. x). A... more The first sentence of James Lull's new book reads: "You'll have to forgive my optimism" (p. x). And there is reason to take that note seriously. This reader, at least, found it somewhat difficult to grant that forgiveness while taking part in Lull's self-described "labyrinthine journey" (p. 196). But before getting to that, let us take a look at Lull's overall argument. The increasing possibility of "Culture-On-Demand," says Lull, holds the potential of defusing a range of the tensions that have been either exacerbated or provoked by cultural globalization. The keyword here is communication. Each of us-mainly within the global middle classes-has never been in a more favourable position for connecting and being informed, whereas various authorities-states, organizations-are finding increasingly difficult the acts of controlling or hiding. It is this growing "cultural transparency" (chapter 4)-and the possibly ensuing cultural understanding and tolerance-that holds that point toward a more harmonious future. Lull's invocation of a brighter future must be seen more clearly in relation to how probable this future seems to be. To start with, however, Lull lays out the foundation of his argument by pointing to certain traits of human evolution. "Expression is a primordial necessity" (p. 25), says Lull in the second chapter, "Human Expression", and he underlines that this is something that goes far beyond notions of free speech, adding that the in-built "ability. .. to communicate emotions. .. offers real promise for cultivating greater corporation across cultural groups" (p. 36). More specifically, it is this "primordial necessity" coupled with an emerging "decentrali[zation] of expressive authority" (p. 41) that Lull bases his hopes on. More and more of us are thus in positions to express ourselves in a myriad of creative ways. We are increasingly "programming" our "personal supercultures" (the title of chapter 3) in what Lull calls "self-customized matrices and networks of relevant human material, and symbolic cultural elements" (p. 55). The cultural landscape within which this happens is a complex web of the "push and pull of culture" (the title of chapter 4). So far so good. But there are, of course, strong countervailing forces. On a global scale, an important element of these forces Lull describes as forms of fundamentalism, fuelled by religion, ethnicity, nationality, and market ideologies. Of these, Lull pays most attention to religious fundamentalism, and especially the variant linked to Islam. In chapter 5, called "Globalized Islam," Lull states that a "profound sense of moral and religious supremacy. .. a hallmark of the religion" (p. 106), but he also says that a "new Arab public" (p. 126) is emerging through the "impact of Al-Jazeera and other independently-spirited satellite TV networks of the Middle East" (p. 126). The independence Lull refers to here is a willingness to question and criticize "Islamic history, principles, and practices" (p. 126). But the new possibilities of communication-including the Internet-do also make possible the construction and maintenance of a wider regional and global Islam. Thus, he says, "media and cultural globalization facilitate both increased Westernization and increased Islamization" (p. 131). Yet, while this may be interpreted as polarization, Lull points out that we are witnessing "unprecedented levels of transcultural contact" (p. 137) and that this growing visibility of differences and the increased possibility of expression point toward a more hopeful cultural transparency. In chapter 7, "The Open Spaces of Global Communication," Lull proceeds to outline the stages of his hopeful developmental argument based on the building blocks outlined above. These stages are: (a) "cultural technology, industry, abundance"; (b) "global visibil
American Studies in Scandinavia, Mar 1, 2005
Journalistica, 1970
Politikere er i den trykte presse konstruerede som forskellige konstellationer af ideologi, biogr... more Politikere er i den trykte presse konstruerede som forskellige konstellationer af ideologi, biografi, politisk løbebane og resultater samt holdninger til konkrete sager og, ikke mindst, af køn, etnicitet og andre kulturelle aspekter. Hvad det vil sige at vaere politiker er således et resultat af løbende forhandlinger imellem journalister, politikere og laesere-der hver isaer har forskellige, kulturelt og historisk betingede, forestillinger om hvilke faktorer, der er de mest relevante for opbygningen af politisk identitet. Det projekt som denne artikel udspringer af har som mål at analysere sådanne processer ved at se naermere på tilblivelsen og vedligeholdelsen af Naser Khaders politiske identitet i en raekke landsdaekkende dagblade.
Journalism Studies, Aug 1, 2012
evidence for oppositional or critical reporting. The journalists interviewed for the book asserte... more evidence for oppositional or critical reporting. The journalists interviewed for the book asserted their duty to be independent in wartime and to be critical when and where warranted. Yet this does not acknowledge that the large majority of journalists in major, inter-state conflicts, cooperate with the culture of control imposed by the military despite the implications of this for their ability to report independently or even impartially. In Iraq, few of them openly challenged the strictures of the embed system as it applied in 2003 or the manipulations of the military’s highly centralized and remote media operation in Qatar. Like so many wars before it, Iraq 2003 confirmed the general rule: that journalists play the military’s game during the conflict and reserve their concerns and criticisms for articles and books when it is all over. While it provides few new insights into media coverage of war, Pockets of Resistance is a scholarly study that presents its evidence methodically and transparently and then exploits it to some theoretical effect. Thus the most interesting section of the book is the concluding chapter, which considers the findings in the context of broader theoretical issues about the conduct and role of the media in wartime and, crucially, how we might explain it within a more holistic framework than previously possible. It also proposes a future research agenda for the study of how the media dealt with the build-up to the Iraq war and then the post-invasion, Iraqi insurgency against the British and American forces. The book, then, stands as a worthwhile addition to the literature and a useful resource for scholars and students in the field of media and conflict studies.
Journalism Studies
This article traces the origins of the term of the green shift, which gained increased cultural, ... more This article traces the origins of the term of the green shift, which gained increased cultural, social and political traction in Norway after it was introduced in 2015 by journalist Anders Bjartnes, editor of Energi og klima (2011-). By looking at this outlet as well as two other contemporary niche media, Harvest (2013-) and Naturpress (2016-), we show how this term provided a way of working with frequency, one of the 12 news values outlined in Galtung and Ruge’s seminal study from 1965. Inspired by discourse-historical analysis, we base our article on interviews with the editors of the three outlets, their journalistic output as well as on contextual material in order to show how the slow, uneven, global and partially invisible process of climate change was given a different temporal frame through the notion of the green shift. By addressing notions of frequency in relation to a specific time and context, we speak, on the one hand, to discussions about how an event-driven journalism struggles with the complex temporalities of climate change and, on the other, to recurrent calls for providing a more “context-driven reflection on the value and legacy of Galtung and Ruge” [Joye, Stijn, Ansgard Heinrich, and Romy Wöhler. 2016.
Environmental Journalism, 2014
Journalism Studies , 2022
This article traces the origins of the term of the green shift, which gained increased cultural, ... more This article traces the origins of the term of the green shift, which gained increased cultural, social and political traction in Norway after it was introduced in 2015 by journalist Anders Bjartnes, editor of Energi og klima (2011-). By looking at this outlet as well as two other contemporary niche media, Harvest (2013-) and Naturpress (2016-), we show how this term provided a way of working with frequency, one of the 12 news values outlined in Galtung and Ruge’s seminal study from 1965. Inspired by discourse-historical analysis, we base our article on interviews with the editors of the three outlets, their journalistic output as well as on contextual material in order to show how the slow, uneven, global and partially invisible process of climate change was given a different temporal frame through the notion of the green shift. By addressing notions of frequency in relation to a specific time and context, we speak, on the one hand, to discussions about how an event-driven journalism struggles with the complex temporalities of climate change and, on the other, to recurrent calls for providing a more “context-driven reflection on the value and legacy of Galtung and Ruge” [Joye, Stijn, Ansgard Heinrich, and Romy Wöhler. 2016.
Digital Journalism, 2021
Abstract In a recent commentary, Seth Lewis calls for a “rethinking” of the “objects and objectiv... more Abstract In a recent commentary, Seth Lewis calls for a “rethinking” of the “objects and objectives” of journalism studies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst not underestimating the significant effects of this ongoing global health crisis, the authors of this commentary do not share the sense of urgency for revising the field on such a broad scale. We wish to raise three key points that criticize and supplement Lewis’ reflections in light of existing debates in and beyond journalism studies and digital journalism studies in particular. These concern (1) the assumption that news journalism is relevant independent of its orientation towards audiences, an assumption that is problematized especially in digital journalism studies, (2) the overlooked importance of journalism education in a global perspective to create impact of research, and (3) the problematic assumption of a common identity of journalism studies scholars across the field as such. In this reply, the authors wish to make a pledge towards a greater importance of diversity in relation to global journalism studies and the importance of the field of digital journalism studies to realize such an ambition.
Journalism Studies, 2017
, a gunman attacked a public event on art and freedom of expression in Copenhagen, leaving one pe... more , a gunman attacked a public event on art and freedom of expression in Copenhagen, leaving one person dead. Later, trying to force his way into a bat mitzvah celebration, the gunman killed a Jewish guard. These incidents produced public discourses at the intersection of security, social control, rights and tolerance and, with that, questions related to religious, secular and national communities and identities. At the political level, this was an attempt to repair a national community divided in relation to questions of security, integration and the curbing of immigration. Mainstream print journalism faced a similar challenge in its attempt to reassert its national relevance while remaining loyal to its audience communities within a market increasingly separated by taste and platforms. Politicians and news media thus shared an interest in both repairing and contesting a Danish community. This article analyses how discourses of community repair, cohesion and exclusivity permeated the appropriation of this disruptive event into the public realm. Progressing from an intersection of cultural approaches to journalism studies and political communication, the analysis will, in addition to other concepts, aim to combine insights from research on "disruptive media events" with studies of "belonging".
Journalism Studies, 2018
Recent developments in the relations between politicians and journalists in the US have (among ot... more Recent developments in the relations between politicians and journalists in the US have (among other things) created a situation where journalists often have to deal with information that is very difficult, even impossible, to verify, yet which has potential societal significance that cannot be ignored. This has, we argue, affected how journalists and journalistic outlets relate to each other within what we tentatively term an inferential community. To argue this, we analyze journalistic demonstrations of authority in attempts to establish and connect "facts" related to uncertain claims in two cases of the coverage of the nascent Trump administration. This is, however, not a fully elaborated case study through which we can conclude something broader about contemporary journalism. The paper should rather be seen as a preliminary empirical probe allowing us to focus on a specific issue while proposing a tentative conceptual and analytical frame through which this may be studied in a more sustained and detailed way.
Digital Journalism, 2021
Abstract In a recent commentary, Seth Lewis calls for a “rethinking” of the “objects and objectiv... more Abstract In a recent commentary, Seth Lewis calls for a “rethinking” of the “objects and objectives” of journalism studies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst not underestimating the significant effects of this ongoing global health crisis, the authors of this commentary do not share the sense of urgency for revising the field on such a broad scale. We wish to raise three key points that criticize and supplement Lewis’ reflections in light of existing debates in and beyond journalism studies and digital journalism studies in particular. These concern (1) the assumption that news journalism is relevant independent of its orientation towards audiences, an assumption that is problematized especially in digital journalism studies, (2) the overlooked importance of journalism education in a global perspective to create impact of research, and (3) the problematic assumption of a common identity of journalism studies scholars across the field as such. In this reply, the authors wish to make a pledge towards a greater importance of diversity in relation to global journalism studies and the importance of the field of digital journalism studies to realize such an ambition.
Journalism, 2018
The attack on the Bataclan Theatre in Paris in November 2015 arguably targeted a transnational co... more The attack on the Bataclan Theatre in Paris in November 2015 arguably targeted a transnational community of youths able to move and convene freely; as such, it was an attack on the liberal and cosmopolitan core of the European project. Cafébabel (cafebabel.com), a multilingual current affairs online magazine co-funded by the European Union, is intricately linked to this project. This article consequently investigates how Cafébabel, in the aftermath of the attack, appropriated the notion of ‘Génération Bataclan’ from a front page of Libération and how this may be seen as a constructive intervention in the relations between terrorism and journalism in Europe. Cafëbabel’s coverage was, it will be argued, linked to efforts to reflect and/or construct a generational and transnational ‘cosmopolitan identity’ within journalistic practices that largely can be called participatory. Following this, the article consequently argues for seeing Cafébabel’s coverage as instances of constructive ne...
Journalism Studies, 2017
, a gunman attacked a public event on art and freedom of expression in Copenhagen, leaving one pe... more , a gunman attacked a public event on art and freedom of expression in Copenhagen, leaving one person dead. Later, trying to force his way into a bat mitzvah celebration, the gunman killed a Jewish guard. These incidents produced public discourses at the intersection of security, social control, rights and tolerance and, with that, questions related to religious, secular and national communities and identities. At the political level, this was an attempt to repair a national community divided in relation to questions of security, integration and the curbing of immigration. Mainstream print journalism faced a similar challenge in its attempt to reassert its national relevance while remaining loyal to its audience communities within a market increasingly separated by taste and platforms. Politicians and news media thus shared an interest in both repairing and contesting a Danish community. This article analyses how discourses of community repair, cohesion and exclusivity permeated the appropriation of this disruptive event into the public realm. Progressing from an intersection of cultural approaches to journalism studies and political communication, the analysis will, in addition to other concepts, aim to combine insights from research on "disruptive media events" with studies of "belonging".
Journalism Studies, 2018
Recent developments in the relations between politicians and journalists in the US have (among ot... more Recent developments in the relations between politicians and journalists in the US have (among other things) created a situation where journalists often have to deal with information that is very difficult, even impossible, to verify, yet which has potential societal significance that cannot be ignored. This has, we argue, affected how journalists and journalistic outlets relate to each other within what we tentatively term an inferential community. To argue this, we analyze journalistic demonstrations of authority in attempts to establish and connect "facts" related to uncertain claims in two cases of the coverage of the nascent Trump administration. This is, however, not a fully elaborated case study through which we can conclude something broader about contemporary journalism. The paper should rather be seen as a preliminary empirical probe allowing us to focus on a specific issue while proposing a tentative conceptual and analytical frame through which this may be studied in a more sustained and detailed way.
Journalism, 2017
As much as news websites news can be characterised by speed and immediacy, they are also recognis... more As much as news websites news can be characterised by speed and immediacy, they are also recognisable online periodicals, which accumulate preceding news items. This is, as with the constitution of time in general, linked to relations between change and continuity. This article aims to understand how the temporalities of online news have developed since the first news sites in the mid-1990s. The analytical starting point for this is that such temporalities must be understood as a complex interplay between textual elements on different and overlapping levels of the webpage. This article consequently employs a framework for webpage analysis that primarily focuses on the syntactical level where temporalities emerge as relations between textual elements that change at very different intervals. This framework is applied to examples from the different stages of The Guardian’s webpage from 1996 to the present retrieved from the Internet Archive ( www.archive.org ). The shifting constitutio...
Climate Change and Journalism: Negotiating Rifts of Time, 2021
This edited collection addresses climate change journalism from the perspective of temporality, s... more This edited collection addresses climate change journalism from the perspective of temporality, showcasing how various time scales-from geology, meteorology, politics, journalism, and lived cultures-interact with journalism around the world. Analyzing the meetings of and schisms between various temporalities as they emerge from reporting on climate change globally, Climate Change and Journalism: Negotiating Rifts of Time asks how climate change as a temporal process gets inscribed within the temporalities of journalism. The overarching question of climate change journalism and its relationship to temporality is considered through the themes of environmental justice and slow violence, editorial interventions, ecological loss, and political and religious contexts, which are in turn explored through a selection of case studies from the US,
Reimagining Communication , 2020
What is implied, for instance, by the often-used metaphor of a dance between journalists and poli... more What is implied, for instance, by the often-used metaphor of a dance between journalists and political sources, is a mutually beneficial activity that requires a keen attention from both sides of the movements of the other as well as an elaborate sense of timing. Or, widening the perspective with Palonen (2014), who writes “[b]oth journalists reporting on their activities and politicians themselves constantly speak of periods and situations, rhythms and tempi, urgency and delay, temporizing and precipitating, occasions and deadlines, schedules and calendars” (p. 181). Politics and journalism are thus highly related processes that, as social time in more general, depend on “simultaneity”, reciprocity” and “coordination” (Couldry & Hepp, 2017, pp. 102–105).
Journalism & Communication Monographs, 2019
This monograph addresses the question of how journalistic knowledge work, and in particular infer... more This monograph addresses the question of how journalistic knowledge work, and in particular inferential reasoning, as a process of uncertainty reduction is manifested in news texts. We argue this takes place both in and in-between news media within a community of practice. The main premise is that journalistic texts reveal communal processes of knowledge creation and it is within these texts that we see the contours of what we term an "inferential community." The backdrop to this, is that the digital (news) landscape, political developments, and global issues produce an environment rife with uncertainty. We focus on three contemporary cases around the current U.S. presidency. We are, however, not arguing that the processes we study are altogether new; journalists have always, alone or together, grappled with uncertainty. Rather, we present here a conceptualization based on the premise that current circumstances offer a window into the more fundamental processes of journalistic knowledge work based on inference.