Grappling with thin air: The ontological and epistemological challenges of researching racism in journalism

Journalism is not immune to racism, even in countries characterized by democratic values and freedom of expression. In such contexts, however, because racism is assumed not to exist, it is extremely difficult to expose it. This article addresses the challenges of producing knowledge about racism in journalism in Norway, where racism is widely denied. The analysis draws on a critical discourse analysis and ethnographic observations of the responses to our research, a study of the representations of immigrants in Norwegian media during the pandemic and the reverberation of these portrayals on the belonging of individuals with immigrant background in Norwegian society. It addresses the question: What happens when the systemic discrimination mechanisms one uncovers work against the researcher? The article makes theoretical and methodological contributions beyond the case of Norway: it explains why racism in journalism keeps on existing practically unchallenged; it shows the epistemological significance of researchers’ emotional labour; it demonstrates the utility of relational ontologies in capturing processes relevant to journalism beyond the “obvious” domains of investigation; it points at the benefits of art-based communication, not just for the dissemination of one’s study findings, but also for performing change in situations where merely mentioning racism creates discomfort.