The Liability of Newness: Journalism, Innovation and the Issue of Core Competencies

Utilizing the theory for disruptive innovation, this study endeavors to better understand how working self-identified digital journalists conceptualize innovation and perceive the impact of technological innovation on practice. Through in-depth interviews with 25 digital journalists, this study finds that journalists often perceive innovation as market-driven and fight against its incorporation, in part because their newsrooms don’t engage with the technology enough to train them to use it. The authors argue that journalism as a field is not well suited to innovation and any implementation must be thoughtfully carried out. Finally, this study concludes by theorizing about how these findings connect to both industry and digital journalism studies research.