The SAGE Handbook of Digital Journalism

This book represents a conversation among 49 scholars who consider the nature of journalism studies in the digital realm. As the volume's four editors explain, their goal is not to devise yet another paradigm for journalism studies, not to delineate new boundaries for the field, or even to resolve the ambiguity and uncertainty of the field itself. To achieve this open-ended outcome, they aim for a broad-brush view that incorporates cultural, economic, social, and technological aspects of the field. Pertinent to this depiction of journalism studies is a global, comparative perspective, a consideration of working contexts, and an appreciation for multiple, complementary methodologies. And although the role of journalism's technologies has often been incorporated into journalism studies research, here it has been moved to the forefront. To simplify the task of working through the Handbook's 37 chapters, the editors divided them into four sections, with each editor providing an overview of how a section helps to achieve the Handbook's goal. For example, Alfred Hermida boils down his introduction of the first section—Changing Contexts—to the task of considering and assessing “the conditions in which journalism's place in society is evolving and mutating.” Two key themes comprise this section. First is how digital journalism technologies may lead to shifts in a power balance between traditional journalistic venues and those of a society's institutions. These shifts also consider the role of digital technologies for enabling groups residing on a society's margins. A second key theme of the section addresses how digital journalism is affecting core foundations of journalism itself, especially professional norms and values, and the economics of its financial arrangements.