evidence for oppositional or critical reporting. The journalists interviewed for the book asserte... more evidence for oppositional or critical reporting. The journalists interviewed for the book asserted their duty to be independent in wartime and to be critical when and where warranted. Yet this does not acknowledge that the large majority of journalists in major, inter-state conflicts, cooperate with the culture of control imposed by the military despite the implications of this for their ability to report independently or even impartially. In Iraq, few of them openly challenged the strictures of the embed system as it applied in 2003 or the manipulations of the military’s highly centralized and remote media operation in Qatar. Like so many wars before it, Iraq 2003 confirmed the general rule: that journalists play the military’s game during the conflict and reserve their concerns and criticisms for articles and books when it is all over. While it provides few new insights into media coverage of war, Pockets of Resistance is a scholarly study that presents its evidence methodically and transparently and then exploits it to some theoretical effect. Thus the most interesting section of the book is the concluding chapter, which considers the findings in the context of broader theoretical issues about the conduct and role of the media in wartime and, crucially, how we might explain it within a more holistic framework than previously possible. It also proposes a future research agenda for the study of how the media dealt with the build-up to the Iraq war and then the post-invasion, Iraqi insurgency against the British and American forces. The book, then, stands as a worthwhile addition to the literature and a useful resource for scholars and students in the field of media and conflict studies.
This article traces the origins of the term of the green shift, which gained increased cultural, ... more This article traces the origins of the term of the green shift, which gained increased cultural, social and political traction in Norway after it was introduced in 2015 by journalist Anders Bjartnes, editor of Energi og klima (2011-). By looking at this outlet as well as two other contemporary niche media, Harvest (2013-) and Naturpress (2016-), we show how this term provided a way of working with frequency, one of the 12 news values outlined in Galtung and Ruge’s seminal study from 1965. Inspired by discourse-historical analysis, we base our article on interviews with the editors of the three outlets, their journalistic output as well as on contextual material in order to show how the slow, uneven, global and partially invisible process of climate change was given a different temporal frame through the notion of the green shift. By addressing notions of frequency in relation to a specific time and context, we speak, on the one hand, to discussions about how an event-driven journalism struggles with the complex temporalities of climate change and, on the other, to recurrent calls for providing a more “context-driven reflection on the value and legacy of Galtung and Ruge” [Joye, Stijn, Ansgard Heinrich, and Romy Wöhler. 2016.
This article traces the origins of the term of the green shift, which gained increased cultural, ... more This article traces the origins of the term of the green shift, which gained increased cultural, social and political traction in Norway after it was introduced in 2015 by journalist Anders Bjartnes, editor of Energi og klima (2011-). By looking at this outlet as well as two other contemporary niche media, Harvest (2013-) and Naturpress (2016-), we show how this term provided a way of working with frequency, one of the 12 news values outlined in Galtung and Ruge’s seminal study from 1965. Inspired by discourse-historical analysis, we base our article on interviews with the editors of the three outlets, their journalistic output as well as on contextual material in order to show how the slow, uneven, global and partially invisible process of climate change was given a different temporal frame through the notion of the green shift. By addressing notions of frequency in relation to a specific time and context, we speak, on the one hand, to discussions about how an event-driven journalism struggles with the complex temporalities of climate change and, on the other, to recurrent calls for providing a more “context-driven reflection on the value and legacy of Galtung and Ruge” [Joye, Stijn, Ansgard Heinrich, and Romy Wöhler. 2016.
Abstract In a recent commentary, Seth Lewis calls for a “rethinking” of the “objects and objectiv... more Abstract In a recent commentary, Seth Lewis calls for a “rethinking” of the “objects and objectives” of journalism studies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst not underestimating the significant effects of this ongoing global health crisis, the authors of this commentary do not share the sense of urgency for revising the field on such a broad scale. We wish to raise three key points that criticize and supplement Lewis’ reflections in light of existing debates in and beyond journalism studies and digital journalism studies in particular. These concern (1) the assumption that news journalism is relevant independent of its orientation towards audiences, an assumption that is problematized especially in digital journalism studies, (2) the overlooked importance of journalism education in a global perspective to create impact of research, and (3) the problematic assumption of a common identity of journalism studies scholars across the field as such. In this reply, the authors wish to make a pledge towards a greater importance of diversity in relation to global journalism studies and the importance of the field of digital journalism studies to realize such an ambition.
Abstract In a recent commentary, Seth Lewis calls for a “rethinking” of the “objects and objectiv... more Abstract In a recent commentary, Seth Lewis calls for a “rethinking” of the “objects and objectives” of journalism studies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst not underestimating the significant effects of this ongoing global health crisis, the authors of this commentary do not share the sense of urgency for revising the field on such a broad scale. We wish to raise three key points that criticize and supplement Lewis’ reflections in light of existing debates in and beyond journalism studies and digital journalism studies in particular. These concern (1) the assumption that news journalism is relevant independent of its orientation towards audiences, an assumption that is problematized especially in digital journalism studies, (2) the overlooked importance of journalism education in a global perspective to create impact of research, and (3) the problematic assumption of a common identity of journalism studies scholars across the field as such. In this reply, the authors wish to make a pledge towards a greater importance of diversity in relation to global journalism studies and the importance of the field of digital journalism studies to realize such an ambition.
The attack on the Bataclan Theatre in Paris in November 2015 arguably targeted a transnational co... more The attack on the Bataclan Theatre in Paris in November 2015 arguably targeted a transnational community of youths able to move and convene freely; as such, it was an attack on the liberal and cosmopolitan core of the European project. Cafébabel (cafebabel.com), a multilingual current affairs online magazine co-funded by the European Union, is intricately linked to this project. This article consequently investigates how Cafébabel, in the aftermath of the attack, appropriated the notion of ‘Génération Bataclan’ from a front page of Libération and how this may be seen as a constructive intervention in the relations between terrorism and journalism in Europe. Cafëbabel’s coverage was, it will be argued, linked to efforts to reflect and/or construct a generational and transnational ‘cosmopolitan identity’ within journalistic practices that largely can be called participatory. Following this, the article consequently argues for seeing Cafébabel’s coverage as instances of constructive ne...
As much as news websites news can be characterised by speed and immediacy, they are also recognis... more As much as news websites news can be characterised by speed and immediacy, they are also recognisable online periodicals, which accumulate preceding news items. This is, as with the constitution of time in general, linked to relations between change and continuity. This article aims to understand how the temporalities of online news have developed since the first news sites in the mid-1990s. The analytical starting point for this is that such temporalities must be understood as a complex interplay between textual elements on different and overlapping levels of the webpage. This article consequently employs a framework for webpage analysis that primarily focuses on the syntactical level where temporalities emerge as relations between textual elements that change at very different intervals. This framework is applied to examples from the different stages of The Guardian’s webpage from 1996 to the present retrieved from the Internet Archive ( www.archive.org ). The shifting constitutio...
evidence for oppositional or critical reporting. The journalists interviewed for the book asserte... more evidence for oppositional or critical reporting. The journalists interviewed for the book asserted their duty to be independent in wartime and to be critical when and where warranted. Yet this does not acknowledge that the large majority of journalists in major, inter-state conflicts, cooperate with the culture of control imposed by the military despite the implications of this for their ability to report independently or even impartially. In Iraq, few of them openly challenged the strictures of the embed system as it applied in 2003 or the manipulations of the military’s highly centralized and remote media operation in Qatar. Like so many wars before it, Iraq 2003 confirmed the general rule: that journalists play the military’s game during the conflict and reserve their concerns and criticisms for articles and books when it is all over. While it provides few new insights into media coverage of war, Pockets of Resistance is a scholarly study that presents its evidence methodically and transparently and then exploits it to some theoretical effect. Thus the most interesting section of the book is the concluding chapter, which considers the findings in the context of broader theoretical issues about the conduct and role of the media in wartime and, crucially, how we might explain it within a more holistic framework than previously possible. It also proposes a future research agenda for the study of how the media dealt with the build-up to the Iraq war and then the post-invasion, Iraqi insurgency against the British and American forces. The book, then, stands as a worthwhile addition to the literature and a useful resource for scholars and students in the field of media and conflict studies.
This article traces the origins of the term of the green shift, which gained increased cultural, ... more This article traces the origins of the term of the green shift, which gained increased cultural, social and political traction in Norway after it was introduced in 2015 by journalist Anders Bjartnes, editor of Energi og klima (2011-). By looking at this outlet as well as two other contemporary niche media, Harvest (2013-) and Naturpress (2016-), we show how this term provided a way of working with frequency, one of the 12 news values outlined in Galtung and Ruge’s seminal study from 1965. Inspired by discourse-historical analysis, we base our article on interviews with the editors of the three outlets, their journalistic output as well as on contextual material in order to show how the slow, uneven, global and partially invisible process of climate change was given a different temporal frame through the notion of the green shift. By addressing notions of frequency in relation to a specific time and context, we speak, on the one hand, to discussions about how an event-driven journalism struggles with the complex temporalities of climate change and, on the other, to recurrent calls for providing a more “context-driven reflection on the value and legacy of Galtung and Ruge” [Joye, Stijn, Ansgard Heinrich, and Romy Wöhler. 2016.
This article traces the origins of the term of the green shift, which gained increased cultural, ... more This article traces the origins of the term of the green shift, which gained increased cultural, social and political traction in Norway after it was introduced in 2015 by journalist Anders Bjartnes, editor of Energi og klima (2011-). By looking at this outlet as well as two other contemporary niche media, Harvest (2013-) and Naturpress (2016-), we show how this term provided a way of working with frequency, one of the 12 news values outlined in Galtung and Ruge’s seminal study from 1965. Inspired by discourse-historical analysis, we base our article on interviews with the editors of the three outlets, their journalistic output as well as on contextual material in order to show how the slow, uneven, global and partially invisible process of climate change was given a different temporal frame through the notion of the green shift. By addressing notions of frequency in relation to a specific time and context, we speak, on the one hand, to discussions about how an event-driven journalism struggles with the complex temporalities of climate change and, on the other, to recurrent calls for providing a more “context-driven reflection on the value and legacy of Galtung and Ruge” [Joye, Stijn, Ansgard Heinrich, and Romy Wöhler. 2016.
Abstract In a recent commentary, Seth Lewis calls for a “rethinking” of the “objects and objectiv... more Abstract In a recent commentary, Seth Lewis calls for a “rethinking” of the “objects and objectives” of journalism studies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst not underestimating the significant effects of this ongoing global health crisis, the authors of this commentary do not share the sense of urgency for revising the field on such a broad scale. We wish to raise three key points that criticize and supplement Lewis’ reflections in light of existing debates in and beyond journalism studies and digital journalism studies in particular. These concern (1) the assumption that news journalism is relevant independent of its orientation towards audiences, an assumption that is problematized especially in digital journalism studies, (2) the overlooked importance of journalism education in a global perspective to create impact of research, and (3) the problematic assumption of a common identity of journalism studies scholars across the field as such. In this reply, the authors wish to make a pledge towards a greater importance of diversity in relation to global journalism studies and the importance of the field of digital journalism studies to realize such an ambition.
Abstract In a recent commentary, Seth Lewis calls for a “rethinking” of the “objects and objectiv... more Abstract In a recent commentary, Seth Lewis calls for a “rethinking” of the “objects and objectives” of journalism studies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst not underestimating the significant effects of this ongoing global health crisis, the authors of this commentary do not share the sense of urgency for revising the field on such a broad scale. We wish to raise three key points that criticize and supplement Lewis’ reflections in light of existing debates in and beyond journalism studies and digital journalism studies in particular. These concern (1) the assumption that news journalism is relevant independent of its orientation towards audiences, an assumption that is problematized especially in digital journalism studies, (2) the overlooked importance of journalism education in a global perspective to create impact of research, and (3) the problematic assumption of a common identity of journalism studies scholars across the field as such. In this reply, the authors wish to make a pledge towards a greater importance of diversity in relation to global journalism studies and the importance of the field of digital journalism studies to realize such an ambition.
The attack on the Bataclan Theatre in Paris in November 2015 arguably targeted a transnational co... more The attack on the Bataclan Theatre in Paris in November 2015 arguably targeted a transnational community of youths able to move and convene freely; as such, it was an attack on the liberal and cosmopolitan core of the European project. Cafébabel (cafebabel.com), a multilingual current affairs online magazine co-funded by the European Union, is intricately linked to this project. This article consequently investigates how Cafébabel, in the aftermath of the attack, appropriated the notion of ‘Génération Bataclan’ from a front page of Libération and how this may be seen as a constructive intervention in the relations between terrorism and journalism in Europe. Cafëbabel’s coverage was, it will be argued, linked to efforts to reflect and/or construct a generational and transnational ‘cosmopolitan identity’ within journalistic practices that largely can be called participatory. Following this, the article consequently argues for seeing Cafébabel’s coverage as instances of constructive ne...
As much as news websites news can be characterised by speed and immediacy, they are also recognis... more As much as news websites news can be characterised by speed and immediacy, they are also recognisable online periodicals, which accumulate preceding news items. This is, as with the constitution of time in general, linked to relations between change and continuity. This article aims to understand how the temporalities of online news have developed since the first news sites in the mid-1990s. The analytical starting point for this is that such temporalities must be understood as a complex interplay between textual elements on different and overlapping levels of the webpage. This article consequently employs a framework for webpage analysis that primarily focuses on the syntactical level where temporalities emerge as relations between textual elements that change at very different intervals. This framework is applied to examples from the different stages of The Guardian’s webpage from 1996 to the present retrieved from the Internet Archive ( www.archive.org ). The shifting constitutio...
Climate Change and Journalism: Negotiating Rifts of Time, 2021
This edited collection addresses climate change journalism from the perspective of temporality, s... more This edited collection addresses climate change journalism from the perspective of temporality, showcasing how various time scales-from geology, meteorology, politics, journalism, and lived cultures-interact with journalism around the world. Analyzing the meetings of and schisms between various temporalities as they emerge from reporting on climate change globally, Climate Change and Journalism: Negotiating Rifts of Time asks how climate change as a temporal process gets inscribed within the temporalities of journalism. The overarching question of climate change journalism and its relationship to temporality is considered through the themes of environmental justice and slow violence, editorial interventions, ecological loss, and political and religious contexts, which are in turn explored through a selection of case studies from the US,
What is implied, for instance, by the often-used metaphor of a dance between journalists and poli... more What is implied, for instance, by the often-used metaphor of a dance between journalists and political sources, is a mutually beneficial activity that requires a keen attention from both sides of the movements of the other as well as an elaborate sense of timing. Or, widening the perspective with Palonen (2014), who writes “[b]oth journalists reporting on their activities and politicians themselves constantly speak of periods and situations, rhythms and tempi, urgency and delay, temporizing and precipitating, occasions and deadlines, schedules and calendars” (p. 181). Politics and journalism are thus highly related processes that, as social time in more general, depend on “simultaneity”, reciprocity” and “coordination” (Couldry & Hepp, 2017, pp. 102–105).
This monograph addresses the question of how journalistic knowledge work, and in particular infer... more This monograph addresses the question of how journalistic knowledge work, and in particular inferential reasoning, as a process of uncertainty reduction is manifested in news texts. We argue this takes place both in and in-between news media within a community of practice. The main premise is that journalistic texts reveal communal processes of knowledge creation and it is within these texts that we see the contours of what we term an "inferential community." The backdrop to this, is that the digital (news) landscape, political developments, and global issues produce an environment rife with uncertainty. We focus on three contemporary cases around the current U.S. presidency. We are, however, not arguing that the processes we study are altogether new; journalists have always, alone or together, grappled with uncertainty. Rather, we present here a conceptualization based on the premise that current circumstances offer a window into the more fundamental processes of journalistic knowledge work based on inference.
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Papers by Henrik Bødker