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Criticising Journalism Does criticism in digital spaces matter to journalism? Legacy news media face intense criticism on social networks or blogs, while their accountability towards the public is weak. This dissertation explores the contribution of digital media critics and their criticisms to journalism, through qualitative interviews with journalists, critics and media accountability agents. The main findings show how journalists negotiate a variety of criticisms (from the rational to the uncivil) and critics (with varying expertise and influence) in digital spaces. The study is relevant today because digitality complicates the journalist-critic relationship as critical text from the public circulate in the same universe as journalistic text. What this means is that journalists must find new ways to cope with the logics of digital ARTWORK BY GODFREY MWAMPEMBWA (GADO) platforms, such as social networks and blogs. At the same time, news professionals must respond to pressure to conform to social norms such as equity in gender representation in the news, that comes through, for example, hashtag campaigns on social networks. ISBN 978-91-7867-053-6 (print) | ISBN 978-91-7867-063-5 (pdf) LAYOUT & PRINT: DOCTORAL THESIS | Karlstad University Studies | 2019:29 UNIVERSITY PRINTING OFFICE, KARLSTAD, 2019 Criticising Journalism Does criticism in digital spaces matter to journalism? Legacy news media face intense criticism on social networks or blogs, while their accountability towards the public is weak. This dissertation explores the contribution of digital media critics and their criticisms to journalism, through qualitative interviews with journalists, critics and media accountability agents. The main findings show Criticising Journalism how journalists negotiate a variety of criticisms (from the rational to the uncivil) and critics (with varying expertise and influence) in digital spaces. The study is Popular Media Criticism in the Digital Age relevant today because digitality complicates the journalist-critic relationship as critical text from the public circulate in the same universe as journalistic text. What this means is that journalists must find new ways to cope with the logics of digital platforms, such as social networks and blogs. At the same time, news David Cheruiyot professionals must respond to pressure to conform to social norms such as equity in gender representation in the news, that comes through, for example, hashtag campaigns on social networks. ISBN 978-91-7867-053-6 (print) ISBN 978-91-7867-063-5 (pdf) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences ISSN 1403-8099 Media and Communication Studies DOCTORAL THESIS | Karlstad University Studies | 2019:29 DOCTORAL THESIS | Karlstad University Studies | 2019:29 Criticising Journalism Popular Media Criticism in the Digital Age David Cheruiyot DOCTORAL THESIS | Karlstad University Studies | 2019:29 Criticising Journalism - Popular Media Criticism in the Digital Age David Cheruiyot DOCTORAL THESIS Karlstad University Studies | 2019:29 urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-74833 ISSN 1403-8099 ISBN 978-91-7867-053-6 (print) ISBN 978-91-7867-063-5 (pdf) © The author Artwork: Godfrey Mwapemba (Gado) Distribution: Karlstad University Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Department of Geography, Media and Communication SE-651 88 Karlstad, Sweden +46 54 700 10 00 Print: Universitetstryckeriet, Karlstad 2019 WWW.KAU.SE Abstract Today, in a variety of digital spaces, many critics and criticisms of the media exist side by side with journalistic actors and content. This dissertation explores the complex relationships between criticisms and actors who define journalistic practice and accountability of the media. The main theoretical argument is that scholars thinking about the ways journalistic actors legitimise criticisms should consider the discursive positioning of the critic (motives and expectations), the evaluative issues (subjects of criticism), corrective (re)action (what journalists do after criticism) and finally, the digital resource (the input of digital technologies and their logics). To interrogate this theoretical proposition, the study employs qualitative interviews with 57 respondents—journalists, media accountability agents and critics—in Kenya and South Africa, and offers a comparison of the two contexts. The results show that for journalists to navigate critical discourses in a digital discursive ecology, they a.) identify the most prominent critics in digital spaces, who play an expository role – acting as interpreters to discourses and buffer against incivility, and b.) they mostly employ delegitimising activities that mark professional boundary work in digital spaces, for example, through blocking offensive criticisms and actors from their personal spaces. The digital discursive ecology in which these discourses exists present tensions to professionalism that challenge journalistic authority. Journalists are pushed to conform to the logics of digital spaces, and further social actors online impose their norms on journalistic discourse. In general, the findings show journalistic ambivalence towards digital media critics, as well as a measured engagement with criticisms considered legitimate. There is a nascent discursive struggle among journalists and critics in digital spaces, whose results are overt or subtle corrective (re)actions among journalists that suggest transformed practice. This research contributes to the field of journalism by providing nuance to configurations that exist between journalistic actors and digital media critics as a result of the constant production of metajournalistic discourse in digital spaces today. Keywords: Digital media criticism, journalistic practice, media accountability metajournalistic discourse i Acknowledgements I am greatly indebted to my two advisors for the successful completion of this project. Much appreciation to Henrik Örnebring for his mentorship and inspiration. I am also very grateful to Michael Karlsson for always pushing me to think about the value of my research. My deepest gratitude also goes to my wonderful friend, Raul Ferrer-Conill, for the amazing support throughout my PhD studies. Raul has inspired some of the great ideas in this project. Towards the process of writing this dissertation, I received guidance from my examiner André Jansson to which I am very grateful. I would also like to thank Mats Ekström and Ylva Ekström for the careful reading of my manuscript and insightful feedback when I marked two critical milestones of this project. I have completed this dissertation while at the Department of Geography, Media and Communication of Karlstad University. I have received untiring support from the Head of Department Christer Clerwall (and his predecessor, Solveig Nilsson-Lindberg) as well as the deputy, Lotta Braunerhielm. I am very grateful as well to Elisabeth Hall, Åsa Nilsson, Åsa Rangfeldt and John Ivan for their tremendous assistance in practical and administrative matters. I was part of a group of fantastic research colleagues. To start with, my fellow PhD candidates, Maud Bernisson (the chit-chats over lunch are unforgettable!), Reinhard Handler, Jenny Jansdotter, Sol Agin, Fredrick Edin, Linnea Saltin and Sofia Billebo. I also thank former doctoral colleagues, Ilkin Mehrabov, Paola Sartoretto and Florencia Enghel (our forerunners, who have remained a great inspiration). Much appreciation as well to the following colleagues for their collegiality and assistance in research, teaching and other administrative work: Emilia Ljungberg, Elizabeth van Couvering, John Lynch, Theo Röhle, Susanne Almgren, Håkan Liljegren, Linda Ryan Bengtsson, Stina Bergman, Karin Fast, Lena Grip, Erika Hellekant Rowe, Jessica Edlom, Mia Toresson Runemark, Johan Lindell, Fredrik Hoppstadius, Mekonnen Tesfahuney, Eva Kingsepp, Mats Nilsson, Cecilia Möller, and Diana Morales. Outside the department, I would like to thank John Soren Patterson and James Lees for introducing me to eye-opening international research events and mentorship opportunities. i I will be eternally grateful to Charu Uppal for her generous heart and kindness. As my teacher, colleague and collaborator, Charu has always remained a true friend. I also thank Nothias Toussaint, Kate Wright, Mel Bunce, Jessica Gustaffson, Valerie Belair-Gagnon, Leah Komen, Stefan Baack, Helle Sjøvaag, Sr. Lucy Lando, Oscar Westlund, Wendy Willems and Leslie Steeves, for taking a keen interest in my growth as a scholar, for their advice and inspiration. At different stages of writing this dissertation, I benefited from suggestions, comments and questions from many researchers/scholars. In particular, I would like to thank the following: Michael Forsman, Nico Carpentier, Barbie Zelizer, Matthew Weber, Julie Firmstone, Herman Wasserman, Deirdre O'Neill, Göran Svensson, Torbjörn von Krogh, Tobias Olsson, Michael Schudson, Mike Kuria, Sherwin Chua, Siddharth Chadha, Sam Kamau, Charles Ong' ondo, Abraham Mulwo, Murej Mak'Ochieng, Elísio Macamo, Jakob Dittmar, Kioko Ireri, Lucas Graves, Matthew Powers, Rasmus Kleis Nielsen and Sandra Vera Zambrano. My data collection process was made possible through the generous support from The Ander Centre for Research on News and Opinion in the Digital Era or NODE (special thanks to the Centre's funder, the Gustaf Anders Foundation represented by Victoria Svanberg) at Karlstad University. In addition, my fieldwork received further support from the Journalists Foundation – journalistfonden (thanks to Carsten Nilsson for the facilitation). My heartfelt gratitude goes to Herman Wasserman
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