Constructing Participatory Journalism as a Scholarly Object

In this article, we investigate the emergence of “participatory journalism” as a scholarly object in the field of journalism studies. By conducting a genealogical analysis of 119 articles on participatory journalism, published between 1995 and September 2011, we analyze the development of scholarly ways of writing and thinking about participatory journalism over the years. Our genealogy reveals how the field of journalism studies constructs participatory journalism along the lines of four normative dimensions: “enthusiasm about new democratic opportunities”, “disappointment with professional journalism’s obduracy”, “disappointment with economic motives to facilitate participatory journalism”, and “disappointment with news users' passivity”. We argue these dimensions are inextricably linked with what “counts” as journalism within journalism studies.