The discursive construction of the gamification of journalism

This study explores the discursive, normative construction of gamification within journalism. Rooted in a theory of discursive institutionalism and by analyzing a significant corpus of metajournalistic discourse from 2006 to 2019, the study demonstrates how journalists have negotiated gamification’s place within journalism’s boundaries. The discourse addresses criticism that gamified news is a move toward infotainment and makes the case for gamification as serious journalism anchored in norms of audience engagement. Thus, gamification does not constitute institutional change since it is construed as an extension of existing institutional norms and beliefs.

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Discursive Institutionalism and Institutional Change

Think Tanks and Non-Traditional Security ◽

10.1057/9781137488251_2 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 16-40

Author(s):

Erin Zimmerman

Keyword(s):

Institutional Change ◽

Discursive Institutionalism

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Interpretivism in Motion

Interpreting Politics ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190125011.003.0003 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 50-93

Author(s):

Vivien A. Schmidt

Keyword(s):

Social Science ◽

Institutional Change ◽

Political Action ◽

Science Inquiry ◽

Methodological Pluralism ◽

Discursive Institutionalism ◽

Cognitive Beliefs ◽

Interpretative Approach ◽

Analytical Approaches ◽

Normative Value

Vivienne Schmidt discusses the Rudolph’s development of their interpretative approach in the context of the spirited debates about epistemology and social science inquiry. She builds upon the Rudolphs’ approach to elaborate ‘discursive institutionalism’, a mode of analysis that theorizes the nature of discourse and how discursive exchange contributes to political action and institutional change. Schmidt’s chapter advances beyond most discursive analyses by theorizing ‘ideational power’, or the capacity of actors to use ideas to: influence other actors’ normative and cognitive beliefs; control the meaning and normative value of ideas; and structure discourse by controlling its agenda. Ultimately, Schmidt makes a cogent case for methodological pluralism in the study of ideas, one that can engage and even synthesize a range of analytical approaches.

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Discursive institutionalism and institutional change

Filozofija i drustvo ◽

10.2298/fid1402217z ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 217-234

Author(s):

Marija Zurnic

Keyword(s):

Social Sciences ◽

Institutional Theory ◽

Institutional Change ◽

Empirical Research ◽

Theoretical Framework ◽

Academic Community ◽

Discursive Institutionalism ◽

Theoretical Approaches ◽

Public Debates

This paper outlines relevant aspects of institutional theory in social sciences and gives a more detailed overview of the New Institutionalist approaches. Moreover, the paper explores Discursive Institutionalism, one of the newest theoretical approaches to institutions, and discusses its application in empirical research. The aim of the article is to bring this innovative theoretical framework closer to the academic community and practitioners who are interested in exploring public debates in interaction with institutions.

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Journalism beyond democracy: A new look into journalistic roles in political and everyday life

Journalism ◽

10.1177/1464884916673386 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 19 (2) ◽

pp. 146-164 ◽

Cited By ~ 72

Author(s):

Thomas Hanitzsch ◽

Tim P Vos

Keyword(s):

Everyday Life ◽

Political Life ◽

Discursive Institutionalism ◽

Political News ◽

Institutional Norms ◽

Discursive Constructions ◽

New Look

Journalism researchers have tended to study journalistic roles from within a Western framework oriented toward the media’s contribution to democracy and citizenship. In so doing, journalism scholarship often failed to account for the realities in non-democratic and non-Western contexts, as well as for forms of journalism beyond political news. Based on the framework of discursive institutionalism, we conceptualize journalistic roles as discursive constructions of journalism’s identity and place in society. These roles have sedimented in journalism’s institutional norms and practices and are subject to discursive (re)creation, (re)interpretation, appropriation, and contestation. We argue that journalists exercise important roles in two domains: political life and everyday life. For the domain of political life, we identify 18 roles addressing six essential needs of political life: informational-instructive, analytical-deliberative, critical-monitorial, advocative-radical, developmental-educative, and collaborative-facilitative. In the domain of everyday life, journalists carry out roles that map onto three areas: consumption, identity, and emotion.

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