Studies in Communication Sciences 17.1 (2017), pp. 81–97 Journalists like the rest of them? A case study of journalistic work routines at a Danish free newspaper Kirsten Sparre, Danish School of Media and Journalism & Department of Media Studies and Journalism, School of Communication and Culture, Aarhus University, Denmark (mail:
[email protected]) Abstract Academics have paid little attention to the practice of journalism at free newspapers since the free daily press emerged in 1995. A few studies have looked at the contents of free newspapers but not at the way journalism is practiced at free newspapers and whether these practices are different from journalistic work routines in the paid press. This article addresses that gap with a case study of the Danish free newspaper Metroxpress. After identifying the economic, political and digital forces shaping the contents at Metrox- press, the article maps the newspaper’s news net, analyse efforts put into newsgathering and compare them to the newsgathering efforts of other Danish newsbrands. Findings indicate that while the news net is smaller than those of other Danish newspapers, journalists at Metroxpress have similar work routines to other journalists, and their work is routinely recognised by peers in the form of quotations and nominations for professional awards. Keywords free newspapers, news net analysis, market-driven journalism, metroxpress 1 Introduction rest of the media sphere?” (The Free Daily Press, n.d.) Somewhat surprisingly academics have Currently, academic research offers paid little attention to the quality and little help in answering such questions. practice of journalism at free newspapers So far, most of the research on free news- since the free daily press emerged and papers has been concerned with how the disrupted newspaper markets in the mid- business model of free newspapers has 1990’s.