The Warp and Woof of the Field of Journalism

Abstract

This essay presents a practice theory perspective, and the analogy of journalistic culture as a kind of woven fabric, to explain to describe the current state of journalism. On this view, journalistic culture is viewed as a woven fabric which contains warp and woof threads. Within the practice of weaving, warp threads represent the vertically organized threads that lend a fabric shape, while cross-cutting woof threads lend it diversity. When applied to the disruption taking place within journalism, there appears to be fewer warp threads and more woof threads in the field today: fewer threads that tie the field together, and more threads that lend it diversity. Yet, even as woof threads are introduced, they depend upon warp threads to maintain the integrity of the fabric. Indeed, the more woof threads introduced, the more they may depend upon the few remaining warp threads. This perspective is illustrated using data from an analysis of local online news in the San Francisco Bay Area. Overall, the perspective suggests that as new practices are introduced into journalism, some traditional practices may become even more consequential than they had been in the past.