‘Makers’ of a Future Journalism? The Role of ‘Pioneer Journalists’ and ‘Pioneer Communities’ in Transforming Journalism

• In Event: The Production of Knowledge About Journalism: Academic, Professional and Educational Perspectives

Abstract

Based on qualitative interviews conducted in the Bay Area (USA), Berlin (Germany), Lisbon (Portugal) and Perugia (Italy) we will present an analysis of how pioneer journalists interact and imagine the journalism’s future. First, we will reflect in more detail on the role of ‘professional pioneers’ in journalism. From this basis, we will explain our methodological approach and the foundations of our data. Arguing alongside four extreme cases of pioneer journalists, we will discuss in more detail how they act and which futures of journalism they imagine. Based on such an analysis we will come to some more general conclusions about the role of pioneer journalists and their pioneer communities as ‘makers’ of a future of journalism.

Authors

• Andreas Hepp, U of Bremen - ZeMKI

• Wiebke Loosen, Hans-Bredow Institute