Contesting Communities

Abstract

This introductory article to the combined special issue of Journalism Studies and Journalism Practice provides an overview of some of the key contemporary approaches to studying journalism and social order. It argues the need to step beyond a functionalist framework when considering the news media’s central role in shaping social connections, community and cohesion. To advance our understandings of social order, our paper suggests a greater emphasis of the significance of journalism’s relationship to the wider social sphere along with three other key considerations, including (1) a critical focus on the relationship between media, politics and social order, especially in defining and/or negotiating “anti-social” practices and social disintegration; (2) a more refined focus on the “imagined” and geographic boundaries of news audiences in digital spaces; and (3) the changing relationship to norms and conventions of journalism practice from trust and legitimacy to the role of journalists as arbiters and connectors across social spaces.

KEYWORDS:

• “anti-social” practices
• contesting communities
• journalism
• social order
• social sphere

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to thank other journalism scholars from Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and throughout Latin America who have collaborated with us as individuals on key conceptual ideas and approaches to journalism extended here. They include Associate Professor Lisa Waller, Dr Julie Rowlands, Dr Kathryn Bowd and Professor Ian Richards.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Robert E. Gutsche

From January 2018: Senior Lecturer in Critical Digital Media Practice at Lancaster University, UK.