Conceptualizing Humanitarian Journalism by Examining Insiders’ and Outsiders’ Perspectives on Practices Emerging from Contested Boundaries

Humanitarian journalism, or journalism that focuses on humanitarian news, remains an ambiguous concept. It is defined either by its content or by its focus on crisis reporting and is often conflated with other forms of advocacy journalism. This study explores practitioners’ perspectives (journalists, freelancers, and NGO communicators) to better understand the practices associated with humanitarian journalism. Drawing on boundary theory and in-depth interviews with practitioners within and outside journalism, as well as those working at the intersection, the findings revealed six elements of humanitarian journalism identified across the three groups of practitioners and actors. Practitioners described humanitarian journalism as an impact-driven, collaborative model; a positive approach to constructive storytelling; participatory community journalism; and practice-based journalism that emerges from contested established boundaries and challenges a one-size-fits-all approach. The findings suggest that humanitarian journalism incorporates elements of constructive journalism, often complementing or expanding the boundaries of traditional journalism and, at times, challenging the normative routines of traditional journalists.