Editorial control, the division of responsibilities, and journalistic autonomy

This article presents a theoretical approach for exploring the role of individual journalists in media history by bringing research on early twentieth century British newsrooms into dialogue with Norwegian and Swedish journalism history. Traditional journalism histories usually took either a ‘great man’ approach focused on a small number of proprietors, editors, or famous columnists, or an institutional approach focused on the character of specific news organisations. The advent of the digital turn in recent years, meanwhile, has elicited a shift to a focus on media content, which can now be easily accessed, searched, and quantified. What has often remained missing is the role of individual journalists who were not famous nor at the top of the editorial hierarchy. Newspapers were hierarchical institutions, and while editorial control was paramount, the way newsrooms functioned also relied on a division of responsibilities, with specific departments and journalists overseeing the creation of specific types of content. Some journalists operated with a surprising amount of autonomy and agency and wielded a surprising amount of influence, including even on their superiors. The article showcases such dynamics via three case studies: financial editors, editors of the women’s page, and foreign correspondents. The article also argues that the theoretical approach provided can profitably guide future research in British and Scandinavian press history.