Journalism, media critique and online publics (CritJourn). (CritJourrn)

CritJourn will examine how journalism is critiqued online and how journalists experience these critiques. Public critiques of journalism seem to have become more visible than they have ever been in the past. In particular, critiques of the legitimacy of mainstream media representations - from different ideological perspectives - have become an everyday feature of public discourse about journalism on digital platforms like Twitter. The overarching aim of this project will be to develop new concepts for understanding how journalism is critiqued, and how journalists negotiate and experience media critique, by different online publics. This research is timely and important because it will illuminate our understanding of the relationship between journalism and online culture in a political moment where the bonds that have historically sustained the relationship between journalism and the public have been weakened. The overarching aim will be supported by 4 specific objectives, 2 conceptual and 2 empirical. The conceptual supplements will put communication, media and journalism research into conversation with, first, interdisciplinary debates about the nature of critique and, second, radical democratic theories about the nature of ideological conflict. The first empirical element will undertake a (quantitative and qualitative) critical discourse analysis of how UK journalists and media institutions are critiqued on Twitter. The second will interview journalists in Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands and UK about their experiences of media critique.

Keywords:MEDIA STUDIES, JOURNALISM, SOCIETAL CRITIQUE, ONLINE COMMENTING

Disciplines:Political theory, History and philosophy of media and communication, Media and communication theory, Journalism studies, Digital media, Media audience research, Media discourse reception, Discourse studies