This roundtable on ‘Journalism Work, Identity & Reform in the Digital Era’ brings together media academics and practitioners to discuss emerging trends in post-industrial journalism. Mark Deuze, a leading international scholar in the field of media work, will begin the discussion with a short presentation on his latest research on journalism and the enterpreneurial society. Brief discussion starters from 3 – 4 invited speakers will follow. Topics include the entrepreneurial turn, de-institutionalisation of journalism, the politics of news work, innovative journalism practice models, new forms of digital storytelling, digital news ethics, and changing professional identities. There will be particular focus on journalism reform and the ways journalists – working in newsrooms or alternative settings – might systematically and sustainably address some of the current democratic deficits in journalism, from renewal and revitalization of the watchdog and public sphere functions, to more robust and meaningful engagements with content-creating users, marginalised voices, and non-traditional news providers.

Schedule: Lunch 12:00-13.00, Roundtable 13.00- 17.00, with coffee break 14.45-15.15pm

Abstract: Everyday life for the majority of people around the world today is marked by a heightened sense of complexity and precarity – feelings amplified and accelerated by pervasive and ubiquitous media. The same media that help people manage their physical (and emotional) environment tend to convolute the experience of everydayness. The professionals expected to help us navigate these frothy waters – journalists – struggle to find their place amidst structural transformations in the way work is organized. This paper aims to connect these social and technological trends using the concept of media life, looking specifically on the way media industries work with reference to so-called ‘entrepreneurial’ practices of journalists and corresponding challenges of journalism education.

Dr Mark Deuze was appointed to the position of Professor of Media Studies in April 2013, specialising in journalism, at the University of Amsterdam’s (UvA) Faculty of Humanities. His research covers two fields: the manner in which peoples’ lives increasingly feature in the media, and the employment positions and work experiences of journalists in the Netherlands. The journalism profession has been subjected to profound changes in recent years. Deuze is particularly interested in journalists practising their profession outside the context of an editorial team or permanent employment (e.g. freelancers, self-employed persons with no staff, and a wide range of other business structures, such as formal and informal editorial collectives, as well as correspondents). Since such journalists form the majority in journalism, particularly the younger generation, it is vital to know who they are, how they manage to practise their profession and what views steer and add significance to their work.

Deuze is the author of seven books on journalism and media, among them Media Life (Polity Press, 2012), Managing Media Work (Sage, 2012) and Media Work (Polity Press, 2007). He has also published articles in Media Culture & Society, the International Journal of Cultural Studies and Journalism Studies, among other scientific journals.