Expectations of journalistic actors in the digital age: A conceptual framework

Journalists constantly navigate pressures and competing expectations from diverse stakeholders, all of whom have an interest in shaping journalistic work. Scholarship examining the wide range of influences on journalists has often placed the journalist at the center of the inquiry. We further the argument that there is an urgent need to place more emphasis on understanding the expectations that various stakeholders hold of journalists. To do so, we introduce a conceptual framework to (1) explore expectations across a range of modalities, forms and contexts, and map out their diversity across different stakeholders, and (2) to evaluate which stakeholders’ expectations may hold the power to prompt change and conformity in journalism. By triangulating different perspectives, we gain insight into whose expectations journalism may be prioritizing and fulfilling, or conversely, failing to meet.