Normative navigation in the news media

Abstract

Past models of norms in news reporting have been characterized by the particular geographical and historical, practical and theoretical context from which they have been constructed. This has limited their interdisciplinary applicability and, in the light of normative developments in recent years, it has become increasingly clear that we need a more contemporary explanatory model to capture current developments on both sides of the Atlantic. Such a normative model - drawing on the dichotomies of active or passive journalism, and deliberative or representative journalism - is introduced in this article. This model can be used as an analytical tool by researchers and as an operational tool by news providers with a need for a normative navigation instrument, and as such it may help create or reshape a common culture between two increasingly interrelated professions: news reporters and researchers.