Resetting the role of the journalist in the new media environment: Occupational ideology of journalism, media polarisation and socio-economic status of journalists

Although it looks like a mainly peacetime, journalism seems to be on the front lines of a war, struggling to survive in the new communication environment. Journalists work in a strongly polarized political and media scene, which obscures the basic principles of the profession. While losing its ideological concept, the profession is on a socio-economic seesaw: for journalists it is precarious profession, and for editors and top menagement it strives to be an elite comfort zone. There are frequent calls on journalists to get out of the grip of media conglomerates and start doing business as entrepreneurs, although such an attitude often seems utopian. The aim of the paper is to critically analyse the role of the journalist in the new environment. The author will try to define how the role of the journalists has been redefined in the new media, social and political environment, trying to determine how these changes have affected the basic principles of the journalist's profession. The article is based on conceptual analysis of the role of journalists and principles of journalism, following these three issues/segments: in the first part, the paper will discuss on the role of the journalist through the concept of a new social stratification; in the following segment, the author will try to analyze new shape of journalism through the business model of entrepreneur journalism. In the last part, the analysis will be based on the discussion of the conceptual framework of the occupational ideology of journalism, from watchdog to opiniondog role.

The Rocky Road towards Professional Autonomy: The Estonian Journalists’ Organization in the Political Turmoil of the 20th Century

This article attempts to explain the relationships between journalists, politics and the state from the perspective of collective autonomy, that of the professional organization of journalists. The case of Estonian Journalists’ Union demonstrates the complexity and historical contingency of professional autonomy of journalism. The development of the Estonian journalists’ organization occurred as a sequence of transformations from the Estonian Journalists’ Association to the Estonian Journalists’ Union to the Soviet type journalists’ union, and lastly to an independent trade union. This sequence was disrupted by several fatal breakdowns that changed not only the character of the association, but also professional values, the whole occupational ideology and the conditions of the existence of journalism as a profession in Estonia.

How do we understand worker silence despite poor conditions – as the actress said to the woman bishop

This article considers the customary choice of silence over voice of two groups of UK workers – women clergy and women actors – who routinely tolerate poor quality conditions rather than express dissatisfaction. We argue that a key mediating factor is an expanded version of Hirschman’s (1970) concept of loyalty. The article considers how occupational ideologies facilitate loyalty as adaptation to disadvantage in ways that discourage voice, in framing silence as positive. Consequently, we also identify this type of loyalty as potentially salient in understanding silence in other occupations. A descriptive model comparing strength of occupational ideology and voicing of dissatisfaction is outlined, and through discussion of findings the article offers conceptual refinements of loyalty in accounting for worker silence.

Anti-Māori themes in New Zealand journalism—toward alternative practice

Negative mass media representations of Māori are of major concern, impacting on Māori/Pakeha relations, how Māori see themselves, on collective health and wellbeing, and ultimately undermining the fundamentals of equity and justice in our society. In this article, we outline a number of important patterns that constitute the contextual discursive resources of such depictions identified in representative media samples and other sources and provide a set of alternative framings for each pattern. Our purpose is to challenge what Deuze (2004) has referred to as an ‘occupational ideology’ of journalism and ultimately to change Pakeha newsmaking practices that routinely undermine efforts to approach and attain social justice in the field of Māori/Pakeha relations in Aotearoa.

Some reflections on journalism education and journalism culture

A consequence of globalization of media economy and technology for journalism lies in the unification of the production processes of media content. Differences between journalistic production routines and applied principles are diminishing towards more popularized, more commercialized production of content (Hallin & Mancini, 2004). Furthermore, journalists in many countries around the world work in basically similar professional environments; they use similar equipment and technology and share a common occupational ideology. Michael Schudson (2001:153) describes the occupational ideology of journalism as cultural knowledge that constitutes ‘news judgment’, rooted deeply in the communicators’ consciousness. This ‘cultural knowledge’ comprises certain characteristics and values, which journalists generally agree upon as a basis of journalistic practice, and function ‘to self-legitimize their position in society’ (Deuze, 2005: 446).