Practice-driven journalism research: Impulses for a dynamic understanding of journalism in the context of its reorganization

Abstract

This paper proposes a practice-theoretical journalism research approach for an alternate and innovative perspective of digital journalism’s current empirical challenges. The practice-theoretical approach is introduced by demonstrating its explanatory power in relation to demarcation problems, technological changes, economic challenges and challenges to journalism’s legitimacy. Its respective advantages in dealing with these problems are explained and then compared to established journalism theories. The particular relevance of the theoretical perspective is due to (1) its central decision to observe journalistic practices, (2) the transgression of conventional journalistic boundaries, (3) the denaturalization of journalistic norms and laws, (4) the explicit consideration of a material, socio-technical dimension of journalism, (5) a focus on the conflicting relationship between journalistic practices and media management practices, and (6) prioritizing order generation over stability.