Journalism Studies

Journalism studies examines the practices, institutions, and products of news — how journalism works, its norms, and its role in society.

Scope

It covers news production and gatekeeping, objectivity and professional norms, the social construction of news, and journalism's democratic role.

Core questions

• How is news produced?
• What norms govern journalism?
• How do news routines shape what becomes news?
• What is journalism's role in democracy?

Key concepts

• Objectivity
• Gatekeeping
• News routines
• Framing
• Professional norms
• News construction

Key theories

The ideal of objectivity

Schudson traced the social history of objectivity as a journalistic norm.

News as constructed reality

Tuchman showed how news routines and frames construct the reality they report.

History

Journalism studies developed sociological analyses of newswork (Tuchman) and the history of professional norms (Schudson), now addressing digital journalism and its disruption.

Debates

Can journalism be objective?

Whether objectivity is an achievable ideal or an ideology masking inevitable selection and framing.

Key figures

• Michael Schudson
• Gaye Tuchman

Seminal works

• schudson-1978
• tuchman-1978

Frequently asked questions

What is gatekeeping in journalism?

The process by which journalists and editors select which events become news and how they are framed.