Understanding the role of community membership in journalistic authority claims: a framework informed by boundary work and fan studies

Digitalization and declines in news use underscore the tension between journalistic ideals of detachment and audience communities’ demands for journalistic actors’ engagement. This is enhanced by the emergence of non-traditional actors who can effectively assert journalistic authority within communities by deviating from specific traditional journalistic values. However, scholarly understanding of the role of community membership in claims of journalistic authority remains limited. To address this, we propose a theoretical framework that draws on boundary work and fan studies. This framework allows us to examine how diverse journalistic actors in a variety of communities can base their journalistic authority claims on their: (1) proximity to news sources and protagonists; (2) authenticity as perceived by the audience community; and (3) professionalism in relation to the journalistic field. Through empirical research, this framework may help us to better understand how diverse journalistic actors can claim authority while meeting communities’ diverse needs.