The J Word: A Podcast by Journalism Practice

Robert (Ted) Gutsche Jr.

What is journalism? How can we make it better? What does "better" look like? We talk about some of these questions -- and answer them -- in our discussions with academics and professionals who've published recently in Journalism Practice. We focus on meanings of advancing digital technologies in journalism, social issues and conditions that journalists (need to) cover, and the future of the field. Articles featured in the episodes are temporarily made free access for citizens, journalists, scholars, and students. While the discussions are rooted in research, they are approached to influence practice. The podcast is hosted and produced by Robert (Ted) Gutsche, Jr., a former journalist, Associate Editor at Journalism Practice, an Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) in Critical Digital Media Practice at Lancaster University in the U.K. and Visiting Professor at Vytautas Magnus University in Lithuania. Follow him on Twitter @RobertGutscheJr and the podcast @JournPractice or email us with ideas and feedback at jwordpodcast@gmail.com. read less
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Episodes

The J Word 5.8: Gender & Identity in Newswork
15-11-2022
The J Word 5.8: Gender & Identity in Newswork
In this episode, we take a global look at influences of gender and identity in newswork. With a focus on investigative journalism in Latin America, Vanessa de Macedo Higgins Joyce at Texas State University, in the U.S., discusses the opportunities and challenges for women entering that news genre. In Colombia, Julián D. Cortés-Sánchez at Universidad del Rosario who is also affiliated with Fudan University, in China, the Universidad de Los Andes, in Colombia, and Woxsen University, in India, talks through a content analysis of business journalism that, in part, discusses the role and representations of women in financial news. And, recorded separately, Tyra L. Jackson at Texas A&M, in the U.S., shares her autoethnography about working as a Black female reporter in a white newsroom.  Text Featured in this Episode:Cortés-Sánchez, J. D., & Ibáñez, D. B. (2022). Content analysis in business digital media columns: evidence from Colombia. Journalism Practice, 16(1), 218-236. Jackson, T. L. (2022). Stories that Don't Make the News: Navigating a White Newsroom as a Black Female Reporter. Journalism Practice, 1-16.Higgins Joyce, V. D. M., Cueva Chacón, L., & Alves, R. C. (2022). Moving Barriers to Investigative Journalism in Latin America in Times of Instability and Professional Innovation. Journalism Practice, 1-19.  Produced and hosted by Robert (Ted) Gutsche, Jr. Give feedback to the podcast on Twitter @JournPractice or email jwordpodcast@gmail.com
The J Word 5.7: Valuing Voices in News
01-11-2022
The J Word 5.7: Valuing Voices in News
Many of us hope that journalism provides a space for a diverse range of voices, though we also recognize that sometimes some voices are louder than others. In this episode, we hear from three scholars whose works in Journalism Practice deal with the elevations and subjugations of “voice.” In Nigeria, Nathan Oguche Emmanuel at National Open University of Nigeria, discusses the “voice,” or lack thereof, of sex workers in a patriarchal media sphere there. With a case based in Ireland, Lucia Vodanovic at the London College of Communication, in the U.K., talks through news coverage of the Irish abortion referendum, giving attention to the complexities of confessional journalism in sharing voices of those most affected by public policy. And, recorded separately, Kevin Hull, at the University of South Carolina, in the U.S., shares the influence of journalists’ voices in shaping news, having spoken for his co-authored piece with Black TV sports journalists there about their experiences in the sports media industry.  Text and Resources Featured in this Episode:Emmanuel, N. O., Suleiman, H. M., & Gever, C. V. (2022). Media and “Abhorrent” Profession: Portrayal of Sex Workers in a Patriarchal Nigerian Society. Journalism Practice, 1-23. Vodanovic, L. (2022). Confessional Journalism, Authenticity and Lived Experiences: A Case Study of News Stories Published During the Irish Abortion Referendum. Journalism Practice, 1-16.Hull, K., Walker, D., Romney, M., & Pellizzaro, K. (2022). “Through Our Prism”: Black Television Sports Journalists’ Work Experiences and Interactions with Black Athletes. Journalism Practice, 1-18.Sports Media Racial & Gender Report Card Produced and hosted by Robert (Ted) Gutsche, Jr. Give feedback to the podcast on Twitter @JournPractice or email jwordpodcast@gmail.com
The J Word 5.6: Teaching Journalism Today
18-10-2022
The J Word 5.6: Teaching Journalism Today
In this episode, we talk through all things teaching and training related to journalism. From India, Harikrishnan Bhaskaran, Assistant Professor at the Central University of Himachal Pradesh, discusses how he and his coauthors have found educators and trainers talking about global efforts in teaching data journalism, including challenges and opportunities. In Norway, Ragnhild Olsen, Associate Professor at Oslo Metropolitan University, shares her coauthored work on blended learning during times of COVID and forecasts what lessons can be carried through in future journalism classes. And, recorded separately, Frances Yeoman, from Liverpool John Moores University, in the U.K., walks us through how senior journalism educators there apply aspects of practice-based learning and news literacy.    Text Featured in this Episode: Bhaskaran, H., Kashyap, G., & Mishra, H. (2022). Teaching Data Journalism: A Systematic Review. Journalism Practice, 1-22. Olsen, R. K., Olsen, G. R., & Røsok-Dahl, H. (2022). Unpacking Value Creation Dynamics in Journalism Education. A Covid-19 Case Study. Journalism Practice, 1-19. Morris, K., & Yeoman, F. (2021). Teaching Future Journalists the News: The Role of Journalism Educators in the News Literacy Movement. Journalism Practice, 1-18.Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Online Safety - Media Literacy Strategy Mapping Exercise and Literature Review - Phase 1 Report The Cairncross Review: A Sustainable Future for JournalismDepartment for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Online Media Strategy ReportProduced and hosted by Robert (Ted) Gutsche, Jr. Give feedback to the podcast on Twitter @JournPractice or email jwordpodcast@gmail.com
The J Word 5.2: Digital News, Social Influences
22-08-2022
The J Word 5.2: Digital News, Social Influences
Despite its digitization, journalism – hopefully – hasn’t lost its, what we will call, socialness. From covering issues related to #MeToo to navigating how to appear on and use social media to connecting audiences with the creation of content, this episode’s guests help us complicate and unpack the social roles of journalism in a digital age. Stine Eckert at Wayne State University in the U.S. discusses the differences in how college student journalists focused on the explanations of and connections to larger, structural issues influencing sexual assault and violence at universities while local, mainstream media tended to highlight details of the cases and maybe not the larger social influences at play. Also related to the “social,” Vaios Papanagnou at the American College of Greece helps connect some of these explanations of coverage to the roles and values of today’s “networked” journalist, albeit from a U.K. perspective. And also with us, recorded separately, is Diana Álvarez-Macías at Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México who outlines a unique form of journalistic (and social) innovation at news outlets in her country that applied social research into influencing their coverage of elections, policy, and daily life. Our interview with Diana is dual-language, with translation by Laura Gomez. This interview is also featured on its own, fully in Spanish, in a bonus episode.Text Featured in this Episode:Álvarez-Macías, D. L. (2022). Innovation in Journalistic Practices: Combining Depth, Quality, and Publication in Real Time. Journalism Practice, 1-20.Eckert, S., Metzger-Riftkin, J., Albrehi, F., Akhther, N., Aniapam, Z., & Steiner, L. (2022). # MeToo Academia: News Coverage of Sexual Misconduct at US Universities. Journalism Practice, 1-20.Papanagnou, V. (2021). Journalistic relations and values in the networked era: a case study of The Guardian. Journalism Practice, 1-17.Produced and hosted by Robert (Ted) Gutsche, Jr. Give feedback to the podcast on Twitter @JournPractice or email jwordpodcast@gmail.com
The J Word 5.01: Innovando las Noticias [Innovating the News]
22-08-2022
The J Word 5.01: Innovando las Noticias [Innovating the News]
Nuestra invitada de hoy, Diana Lucía Álvarez-Macías del Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, nos habla sobre cómo los periodistas de hoy  aplican la investigación sociológica en sus reportajes.  Esta entrevista, en español, se enfoca en su más reciente artículo en Journalism Practice. Este diálogo es también parte de un episodio más extenso, en inglés, con invitados de EE. UU. y GB. Laura Gómez facilita la traducción de este episodio.Texto Incorporado en este Episodio: Álvarez-Macías, D. L. (2022). Innovation in Journalistic Practices: Combining Depth, Quality, and Publication in Real Time. Journalism Practice, 1-20.Producción y presentación por Robert (Ted) Gutsche, Jr. Déjanos tus comentarios sobre el podcast en Twitter @JournPractice o por correo electrónico jwordpodcast@gmail.comToday’s guest, Diana L. Álvarez-Macías at Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, talks with us about how journalists are applying social research in their reporting. This interview, in Spanish, focuses on her recent article in Journalism Practice. This discussion is also part of a larger episode with guests from the U.S. and the U.K., in English. Laura Gomez provides translation.Text Featured in this Episode: Álvarez-Macías, D. L. (2022). Innovation in Journalistic Practices: Combining Depth, Quality, and Publication in Real Time. Journalism Practice, 1-20. Produced and hosted by Robert (Ted) Gutsche, Jr. Give feedback to the podcast on Twitter @JournPractice or email jwordpodcast@gmail.com
The J Word 5.1: Futures in Digital News Tech
08-08-2022
The J Word 5.1: Futures in Digital News Tech
It’s almost impossible to separate today's journalism from technology. In this episode, we hear from Sadia Jamil, incoming faculty at School of International Communications, University of Nottingham, China, who gives us an update on all things journalism and AI. Specifically, she discusses her recent article from Journalism Practice related to evolving newsrooms and a second level of the digital divide in Pakistan. Our second guest, Scott Brennen, shares with us his thoughts on how journalists are dealing with new digital opportunities – and divides – in his coauthored piece that looks at journalistic approaches to new tech in the U.K. Scott is now Head of Online Expression Policy at the Center on Technology Policy at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, in the U.S. At the time of the study he discusses, he was at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and the Oxford Internet Institute, both at the University of Oxford in the U.K. These interviews were recorded separately.Text Featured in this Episode:Brennen, J. S., Howard, P. N., & Nielsen, R. K. (2021). Balancing product reviews, traffic targets, and industry criticism: UK technology journalism in practice. Journalism Practice, 15(10), 1479-1496.Jamil, S. (2022). Evolving newsrooms and the second level of digital divide: Implications for journalistic practice in Pakistan. Journalism Practice, 1-18.  Produced and hosted by Robert (Ted) Gutsche, Jr. Give feedback to the podcast on Twitter @JournPractice or email jwordpodcast@gmail.com
The J Word 4.01: "Reading" Journalistic Power
20-06-2022
The J Word 4.01: "Reading" Journalistic Power
This is the first of two bonus episodes in Season 4 of The J Word. Because practice and scholarship, global communication, and inclusivity are central to what the podcast is about, we decided to help support an award for early career scholars as part of the annual Social Justice + Media Symposium (https://www.sjmsymposium.org) that is done each year in memory of Dr. Moses Shumow. This episode features two of the award’s honorable mentions.Mimi Perreault is an Assistant Professor in media and journalism at East Tennessee State University, in the U.S. On this episode, she discusses the methodological and philosophical means by which she holds journalists to their own words through their metajournalistic discourse that fulfills a large sector of the spirit of this award to recognize the role of language to either oppress or to support communities.And, Pablo Martínez-Zárate at La Universidad Iberoamericana Mexico, in Mexico, discusses a type of manifesto he’s created to articulate layers of meanings of archives and images, histories and meanings of montage, from theatre to film to architecture. This is also important to journalism and the types of layered ways in which reporting and its artifacts are built, dissected, and reapplied throughout popular meanings.  Resources Discussed in this EpisodeOverlooked in AppalachiaForensic Landscapes Produced and hosted by Robert (Ted) Gutsche, Jr.Give feedback to the podcast on Twitter @JournPractice or email jwordpodcast@gmail.com
The J Word 4.8: Combatting Digital News Threats
09-05-2022
The J Word 4.8: Combatting Digital News Threats
For better or worse, digital technologies, with their offerings of platforms and personalities, have threatened traditional news media outlets in terms of their hold on authority, legitimacy, and money. Decades into this battle over digital terrain, our guests today discuss the continued challenges to online media of all types and focus on what’s been working – and what hasn’t – for new and old news media players.Stefanie Silveira Professor in the Journalism Department at Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, in Brazil, talks with us about a new wave of start-up digital news businesses in her country that are bringing new voices but are maybe not following traditional journalistic approaches to the news. From Hong Kong, Mistura Salaudeen, who has just completed her Ph.D. in the School of Communication and Film at Hong Kong Baptist University, discusses how mainstream journalists continue to delegitimize citizen journalism and how that form, particularly in Nigeria, is struggling for credibility. Lastly, Gregory Gondwe, an Assistant Professor in Communication Studies at California State University-San Bernardino, in the U.S., shares his work on conflicting sides of the story related to COVID-19 out of Sub-Saharan Africa where editors stood their ground for authoritative information on the pandemic, slighting the views of the citizenry.  Text Featured in this Episode:Gondwe, G., Ferrucci, P., & Tandoc Jr, E. C. (2022). Community Gatekeeping: Understanding Information Dissemination by Journalists in Sub-Saharan Africa. Journalism Practice, 1-17.Salaudeen, M. A. (2021). From Personal to Professional: Exploring the Influences on Journalists’ Evaluation of Citizen Journalism Credibility. Journalism Practice, 1-24.Saad, E., & da Silveira, S. C. (2021). New Online Journalism Businesses: Exploring Profiles, Models and Variables in the Current Brazilian Scenario. Journalism Practice, 1-18.Produced and hosted by Robert (Ted) Gutsche, Jr.Give feedback to the podcast on Twitter @JournPractice or email jwordpodcast@gmail.com
The J Word 4.6: Digital News Ethics, Data, & Disrespect
13-04-2022
The J Word 4.6: Digital News Ethics, Data, & Disrespect
This is our each-season special featuring of thoughts from Journalism Practice’s Associate and Engagement editors that focuses on their own major and recent works to get us thinking about journalism in new ways across the globe. Associate Editor and Reader in the Department of Journalism at City, University of London, Zahera Harb, shares her work on combatting hate speech in newsrooms across the Middle East. Jaume Suau, at Ramon Lull University in Spain, also an Associate Editor, updates us on issues of disinformation that’s impacting journalism and his recent work on helping to shape a code of ethics for journalists across Europe. And, the journal’s new Engagement Editor, Eddy Borges-Rey, Associate Professor in Residence in the Journalism and Strategic Communication Program at Northwestern University in Qatar, brings to light an important discussion on journalism in the Global South. Text and Resources Featured in this Episode:Borges-Rey, E. (2016). Unravelling data journalism: A study of data journalism practice in British newsrooms. Journalism Practice, 10(7), 833-843.Suau, J., Masip, P., & Ruiz, C. (2019). Missing the big wave: Citizens’ discourses against the participatory formats adopted by news media. Journalism practice, 13(10), 1316-1332.Xu, N., & Gutsche Jr, R. E. (2021). Going Offline”: Social Media, Source Verification, and Chinese Investigative Journalism During “Information Overload. Journalism Practice, 15(8), 1146-1162. Gutsche, Jr., R. E. (Ed.). (2022). The Future of the Presidency, Journalism, and Democracy: After Trump. Routledge.Harb, Z. (2011). Channels of Resistance in Lebanon: Liberation Propaganda, Hezbollah and the Media. Bloomsbury. Matar, D., & Harb, Z. (2013). Narrating Conflict in the Middle East: Discourse, Image and Communications Practices in Lebanon and Palestine. Bloomsbury.Harb, Z. (2020, August 26). “How hate speech is harming journalism in Lebanon.” Ethicaljournalismnetwork.org. Ethical Journalism Network. (nd.) “Hate speech: A 5 point test for journalists.”Produced and hosted by Robert (Ted) Gutsche, Jr.Give feedback to the podcast on Twitter @JournPractice or email jwordpodcast@gmail.com
The J Word 4.5: Covering Climate Change Contestations
30-03-2022
The J Word 4.5: Covering Climate Change Contestations
This episode is the second of two focused on how journalists balance reporting on climate change’s synergistic effects – the related and consequential results of a changing climate. Our conversation surrounds a double special issue of Journalism Practice co-edited with Juliet Pinto from the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Pennsylvania State University in the U.S. Juliet is also co-editor of the book Climate Change, Media & Culture: Critical Issues in Global Environmental Communication, as well as News Media Coverage of Environmental Challenges in Latin America & The Caribbean: Mediating Demand, Degradation, and Development. Guests include Dimitrinka Atanasova (recorded separately), a Lecturer in the Department of Linguistics and English Language at Lancaster University in the U.K., who authored, “How constructive news outlets reported the synergistic effects of climate change and COVID-19 through metaphors.” Lawrence Brannon, a Lecturer in Media and Journalism at University Academy 92 in the U.K., shares his co-authored piece that examines the potentials of communicating against misinformation through interactivity and gamification in interactive documentaries. And, Mimi Perreault is an Assistant Professor at East Tennessee State University in the U.S. who talks through her findings of her co-authored article that examines metajournalistic discourse in the complexities of covering COVID-19 and the climate crisis. This special issue and podcast episode is a result of a 2020 Lancaster University Data Science Institute Workshop titled UK Underwater. You can learn more about that workshop at ukunderwater.com.  Text and Resources Featured in this Episode:Gutsche, Jr., R. E. & Pinto, J. (2022). Covering synergistic effects of climate change: Global challenges for journalism . Journalism Practice.Pinto, J., Gutsche, Jr., R. E., Prado, P. (Eds.). (2019). Climate change, media & culture: Critical issues in global environmental communication.Takahashi, B., Pinto, J., Vigón, M., & Chávez, M. (2018). News media coverage of environmental challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean. Perreault, G., Perreault, M. F., & Maares, P. (2021). Metajournalistic Discourse as a Stabilizer within the Journalistic Field: Journalistic Practice in the Covid-19 Pandemic. Journalism Practice, 1-19.Atanasova, D. (2021). How constructive news outlets reported the synergistic effects of climate change and COVID-19 through metaphors. Journalism Practice, 1-20.Brannon, L., Gold, L., Magee, J., & Walton, G. (2021). The Potential of Interactivity and Gamification Within Immersive Journalism & Interactive Documentary (I-Docs) to Explore Climate Change Literacy and Inoculate Against Misinformation. Journalism Practice, 1-31.Produced and hosted by Robert (Ted) Gutsche, Jr.Give feedback to the podcast on Twitter @JournPractice or email jwordpodcast@gmail.com
The J Word 4.4: Covering Climate Change Synergies
16-03-2022
The J Word 4.4: Covering Climate Change Synergies
This episode extends conversations about climate change coverage to how journalists balance reporting on climate change’s synergistic effects – the related and consequential results of a changing climate. This is the first of two episodes produced with Juliet Pinto from the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Pennsylvania State University in the U.S. about a double special issue of Journalism Practice with 16 articles from across the globe focusing on the question above – just how do you cover the synergistic effects of climate change? Juliet is also co-editor of the book Climate Change, Media & Culture: Critical Issues in Global Environmental Communication, as well as News Media Coverage of Environmental Challenges in Latin America & The Caribbean: Mediating Demand, Degradation, and Development. Guests include Waqas Ejaz at the National University of Sciences and Technology in Islamabad, Pakistan, about complications of mis- and dis-information around climate change there, Anne Hege Simonsen at the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at Oslo Metropolitan University in Norway who talks about visual meanings and contradictions in news images of land-based wind turbines, and BBC News Lab’s David Caswell who discusses the potential of structured journalism in better covering climate news. This special issue and podcast episode is a result of a 2020 Lancaster University Data Science Institute Workshop titled UK Underwater. You can learn more about that workshop at ukunderwater.com. Text and Resources Featured in this Episode:Gutsche, Jr., R. E. & Pinto, J. (2022). Covering synergistic effects of climate change: Global challenges for journalism . Journalism Practice.Pinto, J., Gutsche, Jr., R. E., Prado, P. (Eds.). (2019). Climate change, media & culture: Critical issues in global environmental communication. Takahashi, B., Pinto, J., Vigón, M., & Chávez, M. (2018). News media coverage of environmental challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean. Caswell, D. (2021). Telling Every Story: Characteristics of Systematic Reporting. Journalism Practice, 1-18.Simonsen, A. H. (2022). Blowing in the Wind—Norwegian Wind Power Photographs in Transition. Journalism Practice, 1-19.Ejaz, W., Ittefaq, M., & Arif, M. (2021). Understanding Influences, Misinformation, and Fact-Checking Concerning Climate-Change Journalism in Pakistan. Journalism Practice, 1-21.Produced and hosted by Robert (Ted) Gutsche, Jr.Give feedback to the podcast on Twitter @JournPractice or email jwordpodcast@gmail.com
The J Word 4.3: Debates of "Alternative" News
02-03-2022
The J Word 4.3: Debates of "Alternative" News
This episode unpacks current debates on the meanings, roles, and futures of alternative news. Guests include David Dowling, Professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Iowa in the U.S., who talks about activist journalism through the case of the Unicorn Riot website coverage of social justice protests in the U.S. Jannie Møller Hartley is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Arts at Roskilde University in Denmark and talks about tensions between “objective” and activist – or alternative – coverage of #MeToo in Denmark and Sweden. And, Marcus Funk, Associate Professor of Mass Communication at Sam Houston State University in the U.S., identifies forms of alternative journalism – in this case about climate change – that could be adopted by mainstream media to connect better with audiences.Text Featured in this Episode:Møller Hartley, J., & Askanius, T. (2021). Activist-journalism and the Norm of Objectivity: Role Performance in the Reporting of the# MeToo Movement in Denmark and Sweden. Journalism Practice, 15(6), 860-877.Funk, M. (2021). Calm During the Storm: Micro-Assemblage, Meteorology and Community Building on a Local Independent Weather Blog During Hurricane Harvey. Journalism Practice, 1-17.Dowling, D. O. (2021). Alternative Media on the Front Lines: Unicorn Riot and Activist Journalism’s New Urgency. Journalism Practice, 1-20.  Produced and hosted by Robert (Ted) Gutsche, Jr.Give feedback to the podcast on Twitter @JournPractice or email jwordpodcast@gmail.com
The J Word 4.2: How Free are Journalists?
16-02-2022
The J Word 4.2: How Free are Journalists?
In this episode, we discuss not just how free journalists are across the globe, but how we can better understand the complications of journalistic autonomy. In other words, we ask, “What types of freedoms are there for journalists?” Guests include Cláudia Álvares, Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at ISCTE: Lisbon University Institute in Portugal, who discusses “journalistic freedom” from political partisanship, while Signe Ivask, a Postdoctoral Researcher at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic, examines the role of journalistic autonomy and “freedom” in making tough editorial decisions, specifically in publishing visuals of violence and death. Basyouni Hamada, Professor in the Department of Mass Communication at Qatar University, in Qatar, also discusses of one of the most recognized aspects of journalistic freedom and autonomy – physical safety.Text Featured in this Episode:Alvares, C., Cardoso, G., Crespo, M., & Pinto-Martinho, A. (2021). Seeking the Legitimation of Mainstream Journalism: A Portuguese Case-Study. Journalism Practice, 1-16.Ivask, S., Laak, B., & Kuulpak, K. (2021). “All by Myself?” Journalists’ Routines and Decision-making in Gathering and Publishing Death-related Visuals. Journalism Practice, 1-17.Hamada, B. I. (2021). Determinants of Journalists’ Autonomy and Safety: Evidence from the Worlds of Journalism Study. Journalism Practice, 1-21.Produced and hosted by Robert (Ted) Gutsche, Jr.Give feedback to the podcast on Twitter @JournPractice or email jwordpodcast@gmail.com