Journalistic Legitimacy Revisited: Collapse or revival in the digital age?

Abstract

© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Journalism in general—Anglo-American journalism in particular—has undergone a number of profound changes within and outside the newsroom. This paper explores whether these changes have weakened the basis of journalistic legitimacy, or have offered new grounds for journalistic legitimacy, and, in each case, to what extent. It is argued that a number of factors, including the financial difficulties of news media, the decentralisation of public communication as facilitated by the internet, the dual dilemmas faced by both objective and partisan journalism, and the belligerent public discourse about journalism are delegitimising journalism. However, the legitimatisation of journalism can be found in the efforts of news organisations—not only leading news organisations such as the Guardian and the New York Times but also regional and local ones such as the Trinity Mirror group and the Palm Beach Post—in adopting and possessing digital and technological tools and skills, and in defending their journalism. The relegitimation of journalism reiterates and reinforces the historically shaped essence of journalism that reflects a continuity of legacy journalism; and this is an organisational and occupational response to, and boundary defence against, the trend of delegitimation of journalism in the digital era.