ABSTRACT
The tension between the professional roles of journalists (which have strong idealist and normative components) and the actual practice of journalism looms large in any discussion of epistemology and journalism. This tension is the focus of this chapter: research tells us that when asked about professional roles, norms, and ideals, journalists across the world are strongly committed to very strict epistemological beliefs and practices; but when we look at what journalists actually do, we nd much more pragmatic attitudes and that many epistemic practices (e.g., verication) are more honored in the breach than in the observance. The chapter is divided into three main parts. The rst part starts from what is arguably the central epistemological debate in journalism, that on objectivity. This notion, while problematic, has been central to the role conceptions of journalists all over the world, and thus provides an entry-point into the broader linkage
between professional roles and role performance. The second part examines how epistemology and epistemological beliefs among journalists have been linked to role ideals of journalists in survey studies. The third part deals with the (comparatively less voluminous) research on how epistemology is linked to role performance, i.e. what journalists actually do in order to test the knowledge claims of their sources and to justify their own knowledge claims. This is followed by a summary section highlighting a fundamental epistemological paradox that journalists must negotiate on a daily basis.
