Key research themes
1. How is journalists' professional identity transforming in response to digital and social media disruptions?
This research theme explores the evolving conceptualizations of journalists' professional identity amid ongoing digital transformations, social media proliferation, and shifts in journalistic workspaces. It investigates how traditional occupational ideologies adapt or contest new modes of news production, identity performance, and the blurring boundaries between personal and professional selves, highlighting challenges to established norms of autonomy, authority, and the public mission of journalism.
2. How do journalists' professional role conceptions influence their practice and how are these roles manifested in news production?
This theme investigates the conceptualization of journalists' professional roles—including watchdog, disseminator, civic, and infotainment functions—and analyzes how these normative role conceptions correspond to actual journalistic practices across various media environments. It addresses the dynamics between individual role identity, newsroom and organizational constraints, and the socio-political context, helping to clarify the degree to which role conceptions shape news content and journalistic performance.
3. How do external pressures like violence, economic challenges, and organizational contexts impact journalists' professional identity and autonomy?
This theme examines how socially and politically adverse conditions—such as violence against journalists, economic precarity, and managerial changes—affect journalists' self-perceptions, professional reflexivity, and their capacity for collective autonomy. The research explores contexts ranging from conflict zones to constrained media markets, emphasizing how these pressures complicate normative views of journalistic professionalism and shape strategies for role negotiation and identity preservation.