Local Knowledge and Epistemic Authority in Entrepreneurial Journalism

Abstract

This article contributes to broadening the understanding of journalistic authority by focusing on the example of local journalism startups in the UK, on the basis of in-depth interviews. The research suggests that for local journalism entrepreneurs, the establishment and maintenance of journalistic authority relies heavily on claims to knowledge of the local context and relationships of co-presence with the local community. As such, the epistemic foundations of the authority of local journalism entrepreneurs are particular to this form of journalistic practice, and closely linked to distinctive self-understandings. For these journalists, the relationship to the local is premised on a strong affective attachment to the material spaces of their communities, and the relationships and networks they have built within them. The paper proposes that the authority of local journalism entrepreneurs is premised on their witnessing in the context of co-presence. The long-standing presence of these journalists, and their resulting visibility and accountability, form the basis for the trust vested in them by their communities.

Keywords:

• Journalistic authority
• local journalism
• hyperlocal journalism
• epistemology
• in-depth interviews

Disclosure Statement

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

Notes

1 The research received funding from the British Academy COVID-19 grants programme. Interviews were carried out by Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, Julia Boelle, and Inaki Garcia-Blanco.

2 The network is hosted by the Centre for Community Journalism (C4CJ) at Cardiff University.

3 Of these interviewees, just 15 were women, reflecting the gender imbalance in the profession. It is unclear why community journalism is so male dominated. Some of the women we interviewed reflected on their gendered experience, with two of them describing making a deliberate choice to pursue community journalism because they saw it as a family-friendly occupation which allowed them greater flexibility to juggle care-related responsibilities (Una Murphy of View Digital and one interviewee who wished to remain anonymous)

4 Please note that this paragraph draws on ideas first developed in Wahl-Jorgensen (2022a).

5 See Harte, Howells and Williams (2018) for a critical discussion and empirical research in relation to these claims.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by British Academy.