An Open Mind, Not an Empty Head: Towards Perpetual Waves of Newswork Ethnography

ABSTRACT

Ethnography as a methodological approach to study the cultures, practices and routines of journalists has a well-established legacy that stretches back more than six decades. While key techniques and methods of ethnography to explore news production have remained in place, this approach had to evolve to keep up with changes to its object of study. This paper argues for the continued relevance of ethnographic methods in journalism studies despite far-reaching changes to so-called traditional newsroom structures and routines. As background to its central argument, the paper defines newsroom ethnography as the study of the culture of a people, in this case professional journalists or newsworkers. The paper takes cognisance of criticism against this methodological approach in an era where digital media technologies and the changes that accompany them challenge the very nature of journalism as professional practice. A study of Netwerk24, a niche-language digital-first publication based in South Africa, is used to highlight some of the enduring challenges and opportunities of ethnography. Finally, the paper argues for perpetual waves of newswork ethnography to help keep afloat explorations into the disruptions and transitions that characterise journalism today.

KEYWORDS:

• Digital-first
• ethnography
• newsworkers
• news production
• newsroom culture
• newsroom study
• Netwerk24
• South Africa

Acknowledgements

An early-career research development grant offered by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University supported the fieldwork for the study referenced in this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 In this instance, newswork can briefly be defined as “news as work” (Deuze and Marjoribanks 2009: 555), in other words referring to the efforts of professional journalists.

2 Netwerk24 nowadays produces content with a view of publishing it on the website, i.e. digital-first. This inherent distinction is necessary because the print publications from which Netwerk24 originated (Beeld, Die Burger and Volksblad) pick up the same content to produce the different regional newspapers.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Stellenbosch University: [Grant Number R50 000].