Measuring and Evaluating Reciprocal Journalism as a Concept

Abstract

Building on research proposing reciprocal journalism as a concept underlying participatory practices and norms in journalism, this study examines how reciprocity might meaningfully be measured in a journalistic context. Using a survey of US journalists, this study adapts measures of reciprocal attitudes and behaviors to journalistic practices. It also develops measures of direct, indirect, and sustained reciprocity as applied to journalism, and explores the relationship between each of these reciprocal forms and one type of participatory behavior: interacting with audiences online. The results indicate that some measurements of positive reciprocity can be meaningfully translated to a journalistic environment and may help to predict forms of audience interaction. For future research, the findings point to the potential for forms of reciprocity to be explored as antecedents for other journalistic norms and practices.

KEYWORDS:

• audience interaction
• journalism
• news audience
• participatory journalism
• reciprocal journalism
• reciprocity
• survey

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank Shannon McGregor and the peer reviewers for their valuable feedback on previous drafts of this manuscript.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

Supplementary material is included for this article at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2018.1493948.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mark Coddington

ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6664-6152

Seth C. Lewis

ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7498-0599

Avery E. Holton

E-mail: [email protected]