Commenters as political actors infringing on the field of journalism^*

* The name of the organization studied for the observation portion of this study has been changed to The Daily Chronicle in order to protect the anonymity of the news organization. The names of staff members have also been changed in order to protect their identity. This was part of a confidentiality clause that was agreed to by both the researcher and representatives of the news organization and was approved by a university IRB office.

Abstract

Journalists see online commenters as outsiders who are a potential threat to the reputation and legitimacy of professional journalism. But should commenters be seen as potential new journalistic agents, or are they serving a political role? This study uses field theory to consider how online commenters at one large news organization engage in promoting ideology and how journalists respond. Commenters see themselves as the duty-bound defenders of political perspectives rarely seen in media. Journalists see this as a threat to their profession. The potential political role for the online commenter in journalism is discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• journalism
• online comments
• field theory
• media sociology
• political communication
• public discourse

Notes

* The name of the organization studied for the observation portion of this study has been changed to The Daily Chronicle in order to protect the anonymity of the news organization. The names of staff members have also been changed in order to protect their identity. This was part of a confidentiality clause that was agreed to by both the researcher and representatives of the news organization and was approved by a university IRB office.