Dismantling the Crisis of Journalism: Outline of an Analytical Approach Maarit Jaakkola School of Communication, Media, and Teatre University of Tampere

Teaching Journalism and Mass Communication, Vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 1-14, Fall 2014 http://www.aejmc.us/spig/journal

Today, the word “crisis” is prominently used to address changes in journalism, the media, economy, and society. However, due to a dispersed and diluted use of the term, a diferentiated analysis of the concept is required, particularly for journalism education. Taking this challenge as a starting point, this article provides a conceptual analysis of crises in order to arrive at a pedagogical perspective of addressing the crises of journalism in a more informed and diverse way. Having discussed the spatio-socio-temporal dimensions of the concept, the functions of crises are then discussed from the point of view of change, continuity, metacriticism, and ethics. Tese perspectives underscore the need to raise journalists’ and journalism students’ awareness of their own role as defning their position through crisis discourse.

INTRODUCTION motivation behind its use. A “crisis” may even be “Crisis” has become a widespread term used to used to denote a crisis in or beyond the journalis- address the recent changes in communications, tic feld itself. Te metaphorical fexibility of the media, and journalism. In scholarly literature, term makes its semantic references ambiguous. the crisis of journalism is widely discussed in By referring to a crisis, a communicator often terms of the political economy (see Barnett, has his or her issue legitimized. A crisis is some- 2002; McChesney, 2003; Kaye & Quinn, 2010); thing that requires attention and consideration. professionalism and journalistic identity (Peters Besides this political dimension, the concept of a & Broersma, 2013; Reinardy, 2011); and jour- crisis has meanings that, according to Koselleck nalistic quality (Franklin & Carlson, 2011; (2006), have etymologically imposed “choices McDonald, 2007). In the framework of late between stark alternatives: right or wrong, salva- modern society, these accounts have been accom- tion or damnation, life or death” (p. 358). Te panied and fueled by ideas of “post-journalism” concept has taken on the meaning of historical (Altheide & Snow, 1991) and “post-industrial assessments and judgments; medical diagnosis; journalism” (Anderson, Bell, & Shirky, 2012). theological entreaties; and political struggles Considering the frequency of the term’s use (Koselleck, 2006). Due to these layers of mean- in the context of media, journalism, and mass ing, the concept’s fexibility may explain its prev- communication today, the meanings and func- alence; however, it has also resulted in imprecise, tions of the term crisis are too infrequently ques- vague, and unclear uses of the word. As Koselleck tioned. Crisis is often defned in a narrow or (2006) declares in his conceptual analysis of the haphazard way, without fxing its meaning or the term, “Te concept of crisis, which once had the

Keywords: crisis, change of journalism, professionalism, metadiscourse, metacriticism

Correspondence: Maarit Jaakkola, University of Tampere; email: [email protected]

power to pose unavoidable, harsh and non-nego- “state of exception” as the “dominant paradigm tiable alternatives, has been transformed to ft the of government” (p. 2) of global politics. It has uncertainties of whatever might be favored at a also led Zizek (2010) to assess the idea of a crisis given moment” (p. 399). as having been naturalized into a “way of life” With this proliferated discourse on crisis in (p. 2). In an age of “crisicism” and uncertainties the media and its allied felds, the theoretical of a “risk society” (Beck, 1992), accompanied by and practical need to redefne journalism has the intellectual rise of postmodern thinking that increased. In this article, I intend to scrutinize emphasizes disruptions and discontinuities, the the concept of a crisis1 of journalism to develop idea of a crisis has become an established mode a critical approach towards greater understand- of discussing social reality. ing of the concept. Drawing on various felds of Te term crisis “takes hold of old experiences study to triangulate diferent ontologies of crisis, and transforms them metaphorically in ways I will analyze the diferent meanings to deter- that create new expectations” (Koselleck, 2006, mine perspectives and relevant dimensions of p. 374), which makes crisis “a key concept in crisis for an educational treatment of the term. all the human and social sciences” (p. 399). An To delimit the discussion, I will focus on a single analytical and critical perspective on the concept type of journalism thought to be in crisis: arts of crisis may be the key to understanding the and culture journalism (see, e.g., Jaakkola, 2014). structural dynamics of journalism and its insti- Discussions on the multiple meanings of crises tutional connections with related systems. One are often deemed central to understanding the central goal of teaching journalism is to establish current state of journalism and its metacriticism. and enhance a critical attitude towards sources Discussions around the idea of crises may pro- and topics that are characteristic of qualifed vide students with a tool for further examining journalism. Criticality, which can be understood of the feld. By establishing a critical relationship as distancing oneself from the established ways with the concept of crisis as both a cultural object of seeing things, can be developed by refective and a rhetorical device, journalism education can approaches that are based on transformative nurture its critical self-awareness. core concepts. Tese conceptual tools can be described as potential threshold concepts, which AIM AND METHOD Meyer and Land (2003) defne as concepts that In general, the cultural discourse around the “open up new and a previously inaccessible way idea of a crisis is deeply rooted in Western think- of thinking about something” (p. 1). Treshold ing (Bennett, 2001). A number of scholars have concepts thus “represent a transformed way of argued that the concept of crisis has lost its understanding, or interpreting, or viewing some- meaning as a fnal or transitional stage and has thing without which the learner cannot progress” become a structural category (see, e.g., Drot- (p. 1). ner, 1999; Ekelund, 2002). Koselleck (2006) My intention is not to take a position on went so far as to defne crisis as the “structural the question of whether there is a crisis in jour- signature of modernity” (p. 374), acknowledg- nalism and media. Rather, I want to examine ing the diagnostic and predicative meaning that the central dimensions of the concept to gain underlies modern society’s critical awareness. insights into how the concept could be more Te recurrence of crises, particularly over the last efectively used as a resource for understanding few years in response to various incidents, rang- change and events in the feld of media. I am ing from 9/11 to global economic recession, has neither primarily interested in crisis as an object turned an exception into the norm. Tis has of journalism, or as an event in the source-feld of led Agamben (2005) to designate the modern journalism. My purpose is to ask how educators Jaakkola Dismantling the crisis of journalism 3

could approach crises in a way that recognizes the feld of strategic communication, organiza- its multidimensionality. To address crisis in a tions do their best to minimize the risk of a crisis clearly demarcated area of journalism, I chose to and, if one occurs, any negative consequences. the object of inquiry the feld of arts and cul- Te crisis may be located in journalism and mass ture journalism, which is a specialized form of media, which becomes an interesting object of general-public journalism. I selected cultural inquiry for media sociology. All of these difer- journalism because it has developed a signifcant ent felds of study approach and defne the idea volume of crisis discourse during recent decades of crisis diferently; a triangulation of defnitions (see, e.g., Berger, 1998; Elkins, 2003; Rubinstein, might help us to better understand the diferent 2006; for an overview over the “crisis discourse,” aspects of a crisis. see Jaakkola, 2014). Without going into detail In crisis communication research, a crisis is about the eventual consequences of crisis in that typically defned as “the perception of an unpre- specifc feld, I consider arts and culture journal- dictable event that threatens important expectan- ism as an epistemological object refecting the cies of stakeholders and can seriously impact an primary issue of interest—the phenomenon of a organization’s performance and generate nega- crisis. tive outcomes” (Coombs, 2012, p. 2; Coombs, Although crisis can be used to describe a 2010, p. 19). A crisis is viewed as an event that change, one always has to consider what attri- has a fundamental and potentially harmful efect butes are being attracted: why is the specifc case on an organization’s performance. In studies denoted as a crisis, by whom, and for what pur- on confict journalism, crises are typically con- poses? Considering diferent understandings of sidered events or occasions in line with the terms the diversifed feld of journalism and mass com- catastrophe, emergency, or disaster (Dombrowsky, munication with increasingly blurred boundaries 1998; Porfriev, 1998). Carr (as cited in Dom- and overlaps, how (or on what basis) is a case browsky, 1998, p. 24) defnes a disaster as a con- in crisis identifed and delimited? What are the sequence of a catastrophe, such as an earthquake. specifc characteristics (diferentiae specifcae) that It implies the collapse of cultural protection. A defne the ontological object of a crisis? Based on disaster is a situation where the “functional these questions, I will start from diferent defni- adequacy of cultural protections” fails, or when tions of what makes a crisis in order to capture advanced measures, intended to avoid a harmful the most central dimensions of the concept. Ten, events, still resulted in a failure (Dombrowsky, I will discuss these dimensions and synthetize the 1998, p. 26). fndings into analytical suggestions that could be Analyzing the concept of disaster as an event, used in pedagogy in journalism education. Dombrowsky (1998) distinguishes between three frequently occurring types of defnitions DEFINING A CRISIS that he calls “event concepts”: the stage or phase Although it is relevant in many felds of scholarly model concept; lack-of-capacity-type concept; inquiry, the concept of a crisis has been primar- and the systemic catalyst concept. Te event ily explored in mass communication research, is the most common way of understanding a including the subfelds of the study of journal- disaster, as well as a crisis, as it occurs in terms ism and Public Relations or strategic communi- of time, space, and to varying degrees of severity. cation. In these research felds, the idea of a crisis Te stage model concept is often a variant of the appears diferently in terms of agents reacting event concept but has an emphasis on a broader to what is recognized as a crisis. In journalism, time scheme. It looks at activities before and after crisis is often regarded as a sign of newsworthi- an event, such as in the pre-emergency phase, the ness and is an impetus for journalistic action. In actual emergency phase, and the post-emergency Jaakkola Dismantling the crisis of journalism 4

phase. Te lack-of-capacity type refers to a ratio (Porfriev, 1998, p. 59). When we talk about between resources and demands, where a disaster the crisis of journalism, specifcally within the is defned as an agent or event too overwhelm- context of journalism education where agents ing in relation to the available resources. Te are involved in socially constructing meanings systemic catalyst type of disaster defnes disas- of journalism, the defnitions of a crisis move ters as outcomes of autodynamically colliding towards a constructivist direction. As the etymol- interactions of complex systems. Crises are often ogy of the term reveals (i.e., medical origin), the defned synonymically. Crucial for understand- concept is not neutral but presupposes the iden- ing the defnition in question is to ask if con- tifcation of normative accounts: an evaluation or ficts are outside the journalistic feld or within an assessment of a situation to determine whether it. Disasters and crises are typically understood a turning point exists, and in which direction to be events or phases in the political, economic, the development will proceed. Labeling a critical or cultural felds. Tese may include sports or incident or a specifc point in a process as a crisis arts, or may exist in an organizational environ- requires a degree of judgment from the commu- ment from the perspective of a single organiza- nicator. Models elaborated within the disciplin- tion attempting to maintain its reputation. Tis ary framework of crisis management and crisis defnition of a crisis as an event, which typically communication have targeted the identifcation, comes up when addressing crises in the context description, analysis, and prevention of inci- of journalism, is closely connected with crises dents outside of journalism and communicators located in journalism, but they are not the focus addressing journalism. Tey conceptualize the when addressing the innate crises of the produc- changes in the organizational environment as tion feld of journalism. crises and focus on organizations’ crisis response When defning crises as something that is strategies (Coombs, 2010). Terefore, to exam- in or afecting the journalistic feld, it has to ine crises in journalism we require a metadiscur- be regarded as partially constructed by those sive framework for addressing changes and inci- involved in the feld. Etymologically, according dents that are defned as crises by communicators. to the Oxford English dictionary, the term crisis Tis is an aspect that is often ignored by studies is derived from Latin from a Greek root (which that address crises, such as crisis communication comes from the Greek noun krísis, “decision, and management, as well as studies on journalis- event, turning point”; and the Greek verb kri- tic emergency coverage. It is a perspective worth nein, “to decide”). Te term has a medical back- examining in the educational context. ground and refers to a turning point in a disease, Coombs (2010, p. 19) suggests that how after which the patient’s state either improves stakeholders view an event has ramifcations for or deteriorates (Béland, 2003, p. 28; Koselleck, whether or not that event becomes a crisis. Tis 2006). Te concept thus describes an alleged implies a distinction that is less often maintained status quo of journalism as a stage in a sequence while addressing crises. Tere is the socially con- of processes, which establishes journalism in a structed idea of an event as a crisis and crisis in timely context. In the process of transformation, discourse on the one hand, and the actual “real- the old system can no longer be maintained. Tis world” change on the other hand. When these implies a need for change. If a change was not two aspects are closely interconnected, due to needed, the event could be described as a failure. the socially constructed nature of reality, it is Besides events or occasions, the concept of not always easy to distinguish between them. a crisis can be defned as a social condition, a However, if social reality can be observed as dis- phenomenon, an action, a result of social pro- tinct felds of action, causal relations may also cesses, or as a social consequence or construction be observable. An analytical distinction may be Jaakkola Dismantling the crisis of journalism 5

useful between the discursively constructed dis- require consideration, as indicated in Table 1. course-imminent crisis or the representation of I will propose aspects that relate to these four a crisis, and a perceivable change in an environ- dimensions: timeliness, a theoretical locus, a ment identifed in discourse as a “crisis.” Tis dis- social locus, and ethics. tinction may be useful to locate the nature of the I will start with the descriptive use: change crisis being examined in this article. Te crisis as either a single event or a process. One crucial under study is the perception of an unpredictable question concerns the locus of the change. As event by the stakeholders, who may feel that their crisis is a normative concept that does not exist in fundamental expectancies are threatened and are a vacuum; it is always used by someone. We have thus involved in defning an incident, a process, to consider the social locus of the communicator or another kind of phenomenon as a crisis. or agents in question. Tis underlines the impor- When examining a crisis understood this way, tance of examining the hegemonic and counter- several aspects need to be considered: the identi- hegemonic uses of the term in a social context. fcation, description, and interpretation of what A crisis is used in a socio-cultural and political a crisis is and how it is socially constructed in context to support and promote specifc ends. a struggle of defnitional power. A crisis analysis Te concept of a crisis as a vehicle in a symbolic should consist of the identifcation of an incident struggle leads to the function of a crisis in meta- that meets the common criteria of a crisis, as dis- criticism. Te public use of the term crisis always cussed above. Tis incident needs to be embed- requires a certain degree of ethical accountability. ded and critically analyzed in its temporal and social contexts. Te recognition of the temporal DIMENSIONS OF A CRISIS and social structures presupposes a theoretical Crisis and change understanding of how the social feld of jour- At a denotative level, crisis implies a change in nalism is constituted and how it relates to other the ontological object under scrutiny. Change felds of social engagement in society. To identify here refers to an act, process, alteration, or modi- the relevant stakeholders of a crisis and disclose fcation through which something becomes dif- their motives and interests in the struggle, the ferent. However, if juxtaposed with the term social structure of the crisis can be restructured change, the term crisis adds a connotative layer and its potential impacts assessed. Addressing to the denotative term, making it a normative, crises in the classroom should include the follow- perceiver-bound concept. However, the norma- ing factors: identifcation of the critical incident; tivity is diferent, for example, from sensation- the temporal and socio-spatial locus; stakehold- alized and scandal kinship concepts defning ers; the felds involved and the agents’ interests; media uproars. A scandal is typically defned as a and potential impacts on diferent felds. general surprise, shock, or outrage. It occurs as a We can suggest that a crisis involves tempo- result of behaviors or actions that are considered ral, spatial, social, and critical dimensions that unacceptable or outside the moral code of society

Table 1 Dimensions of a Crisis Dimension Focus Core concept Pedagogical need Temporal Essence: what? Continuity Contextualization of changes Spatial Location: where? Fields Understanding field structure Social Power: who? Hegemony in fields Identifying agents and their interests Ethical Critique: how? Ethical accountability Consideration of ethical responsibilities Jaakkola Dismantling the crisis of journalism 6

(Markovits & Silverstein, 1988). Like a scandal, when discussing crises in social reality. When which is typically not self-inficted but used to compared to other terms denoting change, a refer to incidents caused by a third party, a crisis crisis always involves an uncontrollable element. does not imply moral normativity. Instead, it Te term is used to describe changes that disrupt focuses on deviations from what is considered stable, desirable, or benefcial states. Crises are normal, typical, or familiar. Te “Murdoch scan- unfavorable changes that extend beyond the con- dal” or the “Watergate scandal” implies that a trol of those who defne them. Raising awareness scandal is more short-lived and less deep in its in journalism students as to the uses of the term structural impact than a crisis. Terefore, crises crisis is an essential task in journalism education. may also be harder to recognize and demarcate Advocates of the crises discourse in cultural than sensations or scandals. Using sensitiv- journalism are often unable to defne what exactly ity in the case-specifc normativity that a crisis is meant by a crisis. If we look at the pamphlets involves, when something is defned as a crisis, published under the theme crisis during the last one should ask what constitutes the center of decade we cannot fnd a single common denomi- that normativity. nator. Crisis alternately refers to popularized and As a term denoting change, crisis is often commercialized content (see, e.g., Rubinstein, regarded as difering from an incident in that is 2006); the diversifcation and generalization of has a more serious impact. Coombs (2012, p. 3), artistic discourse (Elkins, 2003); deteriorated considering crises in organizational communi- working conditions; and professional apathy cations, defnes the seriousness of a crisis as the (see, e.g., Berger, 1998). Simultaneously, recent potential to produce a harmful efect to a whole journalism research has identifed an expansion organization, whereas an incident is a localized in cultural coverage in newspapers and organi- disruption that can be fxed without harming the zational development that has lifted both the larger organizational routine. A crisis can imply status of culture in the journalistic hierarchy of a constitutional or structural change. In con- media organizations, as well as the more inclu- temporary mediatized society, the severity of the sive concept of culture underlying journalistic crisis is determined by the level of disruption of activities (Kristensen, 2010; Kristensen & From, routines and the attention that the crisis is able 2012). Te use and denotation of the term crisis to draw, which may multiply the efects of that depends, to a large extent, on who is talking and crisis. Te moment when change is termed crisis in which timeframe. marks a crucial point in the emergence of a crisis; Consequently, the term crisis should not be crises beneft from public visibility. adopted to directly denote a change but mediated When compared with the terms transition, through the actors involved in defning an inci- tendency, trend, or migration (i.e., digital migra- dent, as in studies of crisis communication and tion), the term crisis may describe a state of art journalism. Changes defned as crises need to be that is related to a larger process, but does not evidence-based to be justifable as crises in the directly imply any clear time scope. A crisis can meaning defned above (i.e., having a profound be a recently emerged or a long incubated state. impact). Te analysis of such a crisis assesses the In crisis management, it is common to under- diferent parameters and attains information that score that a crisis is unpredictable but not unex- can be used to understand critical changes. Peda- pected (Coombs, 2012, p. 3). Organizations gogically, crisis is a fruitful concept from which are expected to be prepared for diferent crises to learn multi-perspectivism. Students can be that may befall them. However, this manageri- shown how information can be interpreted in ally driven idea of organizational performance as diferent ways when situated in diferent contexts. controlling crises needs to be critically considered Tis implies that even seemingly neutral accounts Jaakkola Dismantling the crisis of journalism 7

of a change are not innocent truths but need to framework but it has been less applied to exam- be contrasted with possible normative biases. ine the interrelations of diferent felds. In an era of mediatization, these felds have become Locus of crises increasingly intertwined. Te relevance of the After we mention that there is a crisis, the question question of the locus of change corresponds of the socio-spatial location of the alleged change with scholarly questions as to where and how arises. Where is the crisis? When addressing jour- the media is located in an era of digital technol- nalism, the question leads us into the ontology of ogy and ubiquitous consumption (Deuze, 2012). journalism and its structural elements, as well as Te era of ubiquitous communication technol- to the question of the nature of the crisis. Dom- ogy has led scholars to deconstruct the very idea browsky (1998, p. 21) notes that there is no dis- of mass media. Couldry (2009) aptly discusses tinction between the term disaster and its efects. “the myth of the mediated centre” in society, by Disasters are not events that cause efects; rather, which he means “the claim that ‘the media’ are it is the efects that are being called disasters. our privileged access point to society’s centre or Crisis is, therefore, a construct that helps one to core, the claim that what’s ‘going on’ in the wider understand a bundle of diferent events that are world is accessible frst through a door marked interpreted as belonging together. Recent contri- ‘media’” (p. 440). butions to sociological disaster research (see, e.g., Journalism in arts and culture is particu- Quarantelli, 1998; Boin, 2005) have suggested larly delicate in this respect, as the social struc- that the primacy of external agents as the source ture is complicated by the hyper-complexity of of disasters (such as nature) should be rejected. the mediation involved. Art comes into being Rather, the origins of a disaster, like that of a through mediating discourse, of which the media crisis, should be seen as upsetting human rela- is a part. It is sometimes almost impossible to tions and social vulnerability. By following this isolate the area of (original or primary) change kind of thought, we can argue that crises “both whether it is in art or in a mediating structure. reveal elemental processes of the social order and Are the experts in artistic disciplines writing are explained by them” (Hewitt, 1998, p. 77). reviews for general-interest media as freelancer Te rejection of the primacy of external factors representative of the media? Is their ignorance, as does not, however, mean ignorance of them—we postulated by many crisis-discourse promoters, a cannot, for example, ignore the impact of the crisis of the media or journalism? If certain types economic downturn when examining the media. of art are not covered by the press, is it a crisis for Rather, it allows us to focus on social conditions the art form, its practitioners, for the media, or that shape a phenomenon or process labeled as for their respective audiences? a crisis. Nielsen (2014) suggests that instead of We have to ask if the crisis dwells in the jour- subsuming all changes of Western journalism nalistic feld or in the source-felds and how they under a single umbrella term of crisis, journal- are interconnected. Pedagogically, this requires ism research should remain sensitive towards basic knowledge about the structures of the the specifcities of diferent countries and cul- institution of journalism from the learner. Te tures. For example, as the crisis discourse of arts prerequisite for locating crises is to recognize the criticism (Berger, 1998; Elkins, 2003; Rubin- ontology of the social structure of journalism stein, 2006) is predominantly American-based, it and its surrounding felds. Te social ontology of cannot directly be adopted to a European context. journalism is complicated because theorization Based on diferent models of journalism (Hallin is minimal. Bourdieu’s (1979) conceptualiza- & Mancini, 2004), scholars should be careful not tion of social reality as felds of action is a useful to generalize the crisis to diferent systems with Jaakkola Dismantling the crisis of journalism 8

their own specifc cultural characteristics. Instead, not the subjectively the same for all people who they should treat these changes separately accord- objectively exist in the same time, as described ing to national specifcations. Additionally, con- by Ernst Bloch (1991) with the concept of simul- sidering the crises of journalism, Nielsen (2014) taneous “non-contemporaneities.” Bloch (p. 97) distinguishes crises as being economic, profes- writes that people, as members of diferent classes sional, and symbolic: as journalism is depen- and agents of diferent ideologies, carry diferent dent on external fnances, economic changes are elements of time with them, and earlier elements closely connected to societal economic reces- do not always ft into more modern ones, caus- sions. Professional changes are related to shifts in ing contradictions, which may be interpreted as values and perceptions of self-identity. Te lack “crises.” of journalistic legitimacy among the audiences is In crisis communication research, crisis a symptom of a symbolic crisis. Tese crises are events receive the most scholarly attention, over- not synchronous in diferent geographical loca- shadowing pre- and post-crisis stages as an object tions; however, diferent societies are undergo- of analysis (Heath, 2010, p. 8). Like journalism, ing transformations in asynchronous order. Te it too has been criticized for its limited timespan economic crisis that has American newspapers and focus on disconnected occurrences. How- cannot, without reservation, be juxtaposed with ever, journalism educators are expected to deliver the developments in Europe. a contextualized, historically embedded view of crises. Journalism educators could better focus on Crisis and time processes built on continuities instead of pointing What is understood as a crisis in journalistic work out short-term changes, disruptions, and discon- is typically a conception of a single occurrence tinuities. To an individual who learns a profession, with a beginning and an end. As in journalism, the history of a particular medium or technology crises are narratively constructed in discourse. is not something that forms a refective surface Processes are presented in a sequence of con- for understanding contemporary issues. An indi- nected events, set into a constructed framework vidual should frst learn background information of meanings, and then dramatized. Delineating before attempting to understand occurrences in a process in terms of time implies choice. When the contemporary mediascape. the alleged crisis is placed in a temporal context, Te temporal awareness of crises can be we have to consider to what extent we should see enhanced by carefully examining past events and the crisis as either a single occurrence or an ongo- reconstructing event timelines. Contextualization ing process marked with continuities. of the contemporary state is imperative to demar- A crisis is elastic in time; it intersects with cate the crisis process. Te question remains, to universal historical conditions, providing both a what extent should diferent developments be prognosis and diagnosis. In its meaning as a “turn- regarded as parallel, interconnected, or contrary? ing point,” the idea of a crisis suggests a specula- Given that a crisis is a construct that is established tion of forthcoming developments. As a diagnosis, and maintained in social structures, there is a the idea of a crisis is retrospective, summarizing need to understand the range of diferent mean- developments to form an assessment. Prognostic ings and functions of the term. and diagnostic dimensions are often connected. Using the concept requires awareness and knowl- Crisis and metacriticism edge of the past, the present, and the future. As argued by Coombs (2012, p. 2), when consid- Communicators often refer to a crisis as having ering crises in organizational environments, crises an undefnable length and apply these concepts are perceptual. Te perceptions of stakehold- in times of crisis or eras of crises. Besides, time is ers (i.e., persons or groups that are (potentially) Jaakkola Dismantling the crisis of journalism 9

afected by an organization) help to defne an underlies a clear need for public discussion and event as a crisis. Understanding the applications management. of the concept presupposes the identifcation of As an attention-creator, the concept of crisis agents involved in the discursive struggle where relates to a kinship concept of the term criticism, the concept is used to promote certain interests. as refected in the German intellectual tradition Tis way, journalism students may have insights of cultural criticism. Tis meaning underlies the on how crises are related to and embedded in term “decision” in the sense of reaching a verdict social structures. or a judgment (Koselleck, 2006, p. 359). Criti- When something is characterized as a crisis, cism, the activity of making careful, trained judg- we partly deal with metadiscourse. Metadiscourse, ments by describing, analyzing, and evaluating discourse on the discourse that journalism is cre- cultural objects, can be understood as a tool for ated by, is marked through the representation considered improvement. Crisis can be applied of social reality where the choice of the term to serve as an instrument for development and “crisis” is a deliberate one and used to describe perceptions of change, occurrence, or phenom- improvement. Accordingly, Dombrowsky (1998, ena. Drotner (1999) explored media panics con- p. 21) relates the concept of disaster to problem- cerning new media. She argued that the morally solving. He points to the negative efects of solu- charged reactions present “generational, cultural tion-awareness, which is the outcome of inter- and existential power struggles through which nal dynamics of self-preserving organizations. adults seek to negotiate defnitions of character Instead of focusing on vital problems that should forming (Bildung) in order to balance fundamen- be handled at large, when a crisis is identifed, tal dilemmas of modernity” (p. 593). Or, as Mul- reality is divided into smaller parts that organiza- hern (2000, p. 167) provocatively notes about tional capabilities can handle. In this case, solu- Kulturkritik, “‘Culture’ (good) must repeatedly tions defne the problem and, through deduction, discover ‘civilization’ (bad) and its approaching reality as well. catastrophe, which is what confrms its own iden- In other words, crisis is a concept that relates tity and mission.” to attempts to represent journalism and its status Te term crisis is often used as an entry point in public discourse. Journalism education is in these ongoing negotiations and is marked by actively involved in metacriticism, which is also (post-)modern uncertainty. In public debates, as exercised in terms of discourse and characterized seen in journalism, negativity is a feature that by the idea of crises. Being involved in defni- adds to the news value of an issue and arouses the tional struggles may make it difcult to recognize journalistic interest through unpredictability and felds of hegemonic power. Te crisis discourse, non-routine (Galtung & Ruge, 1965). Also, a having become a prevalent discourse with estab- topic may gain increased attention if it is defned lished modes of address and convinced support- as a crisis. In contrast to the terms change or scandal, the term crisis is something that needs to be ers, eludes being recognized as mere discourse. fxed—something needs to be done to improve Newcomers in a feld, as peripheral members of the defect. Te idea of a crisis is not just compat- a community, may be more aware of the central ible with journalistic news values. According to defnitional struggles that are occurring. Journal- Agamben (2005), a crisis is also a powerful instru- ism educators could encourage students to recog- ment of political power. It is defned through its nize confictual interests that are attached to def- function of legitimating rules and decisions, and nitions of the term “crisis.” Tis way, the social it obliges citizens to act. In crises, given that issues power structures of the professional feld would concern a large portion of the population, there become visible and eventually accessible. Jaakkola Dismantling the crisis of journalism 10

Crisis and ethics and diverse dialogue between diferent groups Having considered crisis in its social contexts, it and cultures in a society. is evident that defning something as a crisis is Many would agree that traditional journal- more than a discourse. Te crisis discourse has ism training is widely concerned with the ethi- consequences that are real. While journalists are cal dimensions of journalism. Ethical conduct often in a powerful position in society (i.e., by distinguishes journalism and journalistic profes- being able to speak in public), journalists and sionalism from all other forms of mass commu- journalism students are expected to retain self- nication. However, when it comes to exercising awareness in terms of their defnitional power. power in the feld, journalism educators should Tey are presupposed to subscribe to self-refec- also be aware of the ethical foundations of the tive professionalism where the use of language is profession and how it represents itself. What based on informed decisions. kinds of journalism are students encouraged to As defners of crises, journalists’ need for produce, in terms of exercising social power in self-awareness is highly relevant in emergency transformative times? Are journalists expected situations. Defning incidents as crises may to be active agents of change or merely refec- arouse panic and lead to unwanted public conse- tive individuals? Who are they serving in their quences. To maintain and guarantee public order activities? Journalists should be able to justify and safety in a society, journalists may be more their relationship with societal change just as inclined not to draw attention to crises unless they defend the goals of democracy and their necessary. Tis avoids the triggers that would democratic roles. Tese questions bind journal- lead to harmful activities. Terefore, the use of ism educators to the dimensions discussed above. the term crisis should be in tandem with perceivable social actions in the social environment. DISCUSSION Using the term involves a strong ethical com- Te concept of a crisis is a productive rhetorical ponent. It presupposes that the value-attracting instrument because of its multi-discursive uses attributes of the term are being used to describe and multitude of social functions. Te dimen- the severity of an occurrence and not as a simple sions of a crisis, as discussed above, shed light attention-seeking measure. Tis assessment of on the relationship between the journalistic the severity of an event is, of course, a subjective feld and an alleged crisis in journalism. When matter. It should be subjected to critical public discussing the crisis in media and journalism, examination. we should examine the essence of the alleged Crises are not always incident-like. Tey can critical change in terms of its defnition, timeli- be much longer processes or cultural transfor- ness, and social impacts. An analytical outlook mations. Botma (2008, 2013) and Wasserman at crises would thus identify changes deemed (2004) studied the role of art journalism in post- to be crises (description); the time frame of the Apartheid South Africa as part of the democratic change (temporality); the locus of the change in transformation of a society. According to them, terms of the (journalistic) feld (social construc- cultural journalists have been expected to show tivism) and one’s own position; and the ethical ethical responsibility in defning the develop- ramifcations of the use of the term crisis (critical ment of situations during times of societal crises. self-awareness). In times of turmoil and insecurity, constructing Every time a crisis allegedly enters the social meaning out of events or occurrences is highly scene, it has spurred public debate on social important. By taking crises seriously, journalists and cultural norms that serve to refect, negoti- can, as meaning-creators, counter-act negative ate, and revise these very norms. Crisis is thus a developments and pave the way for a more active concept that enables us to grasp the essence of Jaakkola Dismantling the crisis of journalism 11

journalistic professionalism. Te social construc- publicly created and maintained by subscribing tion of the concept is connected to norms and to discourses, representations, and articulations. values that function as cultural protectors of pro- Or, more generally expressed, cultures uphold- fessionalism. An inspection of diferent crises in ing these elements support its relative autonomy (meta)discourse provides students with the pos- from all external, heteronomous constraints. Te sibility for recognizing what norms and values value and agency of journalism and journalists is are at stake. A crisis or awareness of the diferent precisely formed by creating symbolic distance meanings attached to the concept may be used as from art as well as other genres of mass com- threshold concepts to understand the social struc- munication such as PR, marketing, and citizen tures of professional journalism. Crisis awareness communication. Crisis serves as a concept that presupposes two important competencies that can be actively harnessed to promote power should be mentioned in the educational context. issues, enhance autonomy, and detach journal- Tey unite the temporal, spatio-social, and ethi- istic agents from heteronomous infuences in a cal code of conduct: a capacity for metarefection symbolic struggle for power. Understanding the and an awareness of continuities. Metarefection functions of a crisis may contribute to a wider is a position where communicators are able to understanding of journalism’s role and power in see his or her rhetorical role from a distance and society. place it into a socially anchored, localized perspective. Te awareness of continuities means CONCLUSION that contextual knowledge is cumulative. Rather than presenting an exhaustive etymologi- We can think of journalism in a society as a cal analysis of the concept, which has been already meaning-creating activity that aims at construct- conducted by Koselleck (2006), my intention in ing autonomy. As defned by Bourdieu (1979), this article was to outline a set of pedagogically as part of the structuration process of a feld, rela- informed dimensions for examining crisis in the tive autonomy means relative independence from context of journalism. Te idea of a crisis should the center of power and from the heteronomous not make the feld of journalism seem intimidat- pole of a feld. Trough the mediating structural ing or discouraging. One of the fundamental logics of a feld, the economically-bound pres- functions of journalism education in society is sures of heteronomy are kept at a distance by the to rethink and to constructively renew the pro- autonomous principles of hierarchization. As a fession, instead of lapsing into conformism. By metacritical tool for identifying problems and critically examining the concept of crises from shortages that need attention, the term crisis can relevant dimensions, my purpose was to suggest function in the discourse as a means of support- frames of examination that are diferent from ing the autonomous principle of hierarchization. the unfounded use of the term in order to des- As discussed above, a crisis can divert attention ignate events in the source- and object-felds of to issues that are favorable for those seeking journalists. autonomy. Journalism students should understand crisis In no way should a crisis be interpreted as a as a socially constructed and embedded con- proof of factual changes but as a product created cept used in discourse about struggles in the by self-interested agents. Terefore, in acknowl- profession. By proposing two normative and edging its socially constructed nature, it is appro- two descriptive approaches to illuminate the priate to understand crisis as an autonomy- concept in temporal, spatial, social, and ethical creating concept. More widely, journalism can dimensions, the article established a framework be understood to be a discursively maintained that could serve as a starting point for discuss- sociological construct, the value of which is ing crises in the classroom. To summarize, the Jaakkola Dismantling the crisis of journalism 12

following points should be taken into account REFERENCES whenever labeling a change as a crisis: 1. Agamben, G. (2005). State of exception. Chi- 1. Te concept of crisis is proportional and cago: Te University of Chicago Press. invested with a normativity that is connected 2. Altheide, D. L., & Snow, R. P. (1991). Media to the positioning of the agent when address- worlds in the postjournalism era. New York: ing the issue in a power struggle that requires Walter de Gruyter. identifcation. 3. Anderson, C.W., Bell, E., & Shirky, C. 2. Crisis is connected with criticizing, evaluat- (2012). Post-industrial journalism: Adapt- ing, and fnding a solution to a problem. ing to the present. New York: Tow Center for 3. Crisis should be connected to processes and Digital Journalism. continuities, not only as short-term single 4. Barnett, S. (2002). Will a crisis in journalism occurrences and disruptions. provoke a crisis in democracy? Te Political 4. Crisis discourse may be independent of the 5. Quarterly, 73, 400–408. actual changes; actual, measurable changes 6. Beck, U. (1992). Risk society: Towards a new and metadiscourse should be separated from modernity. London: Sage. each other. 7. Béland, J.P. (2003). La crise de l’art contem- Journalism educators should be careful in using porain: Illusion ou réalité? [Te Crisis of Con- the concept before adopting it in their own temporary Art: Illusion or Reality?] Saint- vocabulary. Tey should remain sensitive toward Nicolas, Québec: Les presses de l’Université its multiple meanings and functional uses to Laval. deliver a picture of the trade that is faithful to 8. Bennett, O. (Ed.). (2001). Cultural pessi- reality. Journalism schools are actively involved mism: Narratives of decline in the postmodern in exploring journalism from the crisis perspec- world. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University tive. Te idea of a crisis is increasingly becoming Press. an established framework for approaching the 9. Berger, M. (Ed.). (1998). Te crisis of criti- essence and history of journalism. In this con- cism. New York: New York Press. text, reconsidering the conceptual essence and 10. Bloch, E. (1991). Heritage of our times. Cam- use of the term becomes more important than bridge: Polity Press. ever. Without a scholarly, informed pedagogical 11. Boin, A. (2005). From crisis to disaster: An apparatus, journalism education will continue to integrative perspective. In R. W. Perry & E. produce low-level empirical fndings about dis- L. Quarantelli (Eds.), What is disaster? New articulated “false alarms” without accumulating answer to old questions (pp. 153–172). Phila- systematic knowledge. In a crisis of the profes- delphia: Xlibris. sion, journalistic academics’ and practitioners’ 12. Botma, G. J. (2008). Poles apart: Mapping own objects of study are at stake. Terefore, the feld of arts journalism in South Africa. teaching journalism involves recognizing that Critical Arts: North-South Cultural and Media journalists are involved in the metadiscussions Studies, 22, 83–100. that are defning the state of journalism. Increas- 13. Botma, G. J. (2013). Cultural capital and ing a metacritical awareness of language under- change: Afrikaans arts journalism and the lying teaching and studying means becoming democratic transformation of South Africa. increasingly informed about the societal role of Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies, 34, journalism now and in the future. In this respect, 15–34. crisis plays a key role that should be scrutinized 14. Bourdieu, P. (1979). Distinction: A social on a metalevel in its own right. critique of the judgment of taste. Abingdon: Routledge. Jaakkola Dismantling the crisis of journalism 13

15. Coombs, W. T. (2010). Parameters for crisis 27. Hewitt, K. (1998). Excluded perspectives in communication. In W. T. Coombs (Ed.), the social construction of a disaster. In E. L. Te handbook of crisis communication (pp. Quarantelli (Ed.), What is a disaster? Perspec- 17–53). Malden, Oxford and Chichester: tives on the question (pp. 75–92). London and Wiley-Blackwell. New York: Routledge. 16. Coombs, W. T. (2012). Ongoing crisis com- 28. Jaakkola, M. (2014). Witnesses of a cul- munication: Planning, managing, and respond- tural crisis: Representations of media-related ing (3rd ed.). Tousand Oaks, New Delhi, metaprocesses as professional metacriticism London and Singapore: Sage Publications. of arts and cultural journalism. International 17. Couldry, N. (2009). Does ‘the media’ have a Journal of Cultural Studies. Online frst Feb- future? European Journal of Communication, ruary 11, 2014. 24, 437–449. 29. Kaye, J., & Quinn, S. (2010). Funding jour- 18. Deuze, M. (2012). Media life. Cambridge nalism in the digital age: Business models, strat- and Malden: Polity Press. egies, issues and trends. New York: Peter Lang. 19. Dombrowsky, W. R. (1998). Again and again: 30. Koselleck, R. (2006). Crisis. Journal of the Is a disaster what we call a “disaster”? In E. L. History of Ideas, 67, 357–400. Quarantelli (Ed.), What is a disaster? Perspec- 31. Kristensen, N. N. (2010). Cultural journal- tives on the question (pp. 19–30). London and ism in the Danish printed press—a history New York: Routledge. of decline or increasing media institutional 20. Drotner, K. (1999). Dangerous media? Panic profling? Northern Lights, 8, 69–92. discourses and dilemmas of modernity. Paed- 32. Kristensen, N. N., & From, U. (2012). Life- agogica Historica: International Journal of the style journalism: Blurring boundaries. Jour- History of Education, 35, 593–619. nalism Practice, 6, 26–41. 21. Ekelund, B. G. (2002). “Te age of criticism”: 33. Markovits, A. S., & Silverstein, M. (Eds.). Debating the decline of literature in the US, (1988). Te politics of scandal: Power and pro- 1940–2000. Poetics, 30, 327–340. cess in liberal democracies. New York: Holmes 22. Elkins, J. (2003). What happened to art criti- & Meier. cism? Chicago: Prickly Paradigm Bristol Uni- 34. McChesney, R. W. (2003). Te problem of versity Presses. journalism: A political economic contribu- 23. Franklin, B., & Carlson, M. (Eds.). (2011). tion to an explanation of the crisis in con- Journalists, sources, and credibility: New per- temporary US journalism. Journalism Studies, spectives. New York and Abingdon: Routledge. 4, 299–329. 24. Galtung, J. & Ruge, M. (1965). Te struc- 35. McDonald, R. (2007). Te death of the critic. ture of foreign news: Te presentation of the London: Continuum. Congo, Cuba and Cyprus crises in four Nor- 36. Meyer, J., & Land, R. (2003). Treshold wegian newspapers. Journal of International concepts and troublesome knowledge: Link- Peace Research, 1, 64–91. ages to ways of thinking and practicing within 25. Hallin, D. C., & Mancini, P. (2004). Com- the disciplines. (Occasional Report 4, May paring media systems: Tree models of media 2003). Edinburgh, Coventry and Durham: and politics. New York: Cambridge Univer- Enhancing teaching-learning environments sity Press. in undergraduate courses (ETL) project. 26. Heath, R. L. (2010). Introduction. In W. T. 37. Mulhern, F. (2000). Culture/metaculture. Coombs (Ed.), Te Handbook of crisis com- London and New York: Routledge. munication (pp. 1–14). Malden, Oxford and 38. Nielsen, R. K. (2014, May). Te many crises Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. of Western journalism. Paper presented at Te Jaakkola Dismantling the crisis of journalism 14

crisis of journalism reconsidered: Cultural 42. Reinardy, S. (2011). Newspaper journalism power conference, Barcelona, Spain. in crisis: Burnout on the rise, eroding young 39. Peters, C., & Broersma, M. (2013). Rethink- journalists’ career commitment. Journalism, ing journalism: Trust and participation in a 12, 33–50. transformed news landscape. Abingdon and 43. Rubinstein, R. (Ed.). (2006). Critical mess: New York: Routledge. Art critics on the state of their practice. Lenox: 40. Porfriev, B. N. (1998). Issues in the defni- Hard Press Editions. tion and delineation of disasters and disas- 44. Wasserman, H. (2004). Revisiting review- ter areas. In E. L. Quarantelli (Ed.), What ing: Te need for a debate on the role of is a disaster? Perspectives on the question (pp. arts journalism in South Africa. Literator, 25, 56–72). London and New York: Routledge. 139–157. 41. Quarantelli, E. L. (Ed.) (1998). What is a 45. Zizek, S. (2010). Living in the end times. disaster? Perspectives on the question. London London: Verso. and New York: Routledge.