Article,
The Social and Intellectual Contexts of the U.S. Newsroom Studies, and the Media Sociology of Today
Journalism Studies, 16 (2): 259--274 (2015)
Abstract
This paper provides an intellectual history of the media sociology of the 1970s and early 1980s, as epitomized by a selection of newsroom ethnographies (the '' newsroom studies'') that were published during this time. With a focus on the United States, I identify several discourses in both the intellectual and broader socio-political context that were contemporary with the research and whose influences can be seen in these seminal studies. In particular: organizational theory—of the Marxist variety, a critique of professionalism, and the social construction of reality; as well as a broad rejection of institutional authority and a liberal call for pluralism. Having identified these influences, I ask what sort of blind spots this historically specific intellectual constellation produced, and how these blind spots still influence the media sociology of today. I conclude that the intellectual and socio-political contexts of the newsroom studies led their authors to over-emphasize organizational constraints, and to focus narrowly on the most influential news outlets and their official sources; contemporary ethnographies have placed greater emphasis on journalistic agency and on the networked nature of newswork, though I question whether an emphasis on organizational constraints is not still politically warranted.
