ABSTRACT
While journalistic role performance is conceptualized as a collective outcome of journalistic decisions (Mellado, 2015; Hellmueller & Mellado, 2015), this chapter maintains that the reference to decisions cannot be limited to only newsroom decisions. Journalism is a more or less omnipresent endeavor. Relevant decisions should also include professional decisions in the eld and on the beat, and must, furthermore, include other journalistic genres than news. Moreover, journalistic decisions should be conceptually linked to journalistic role conceptions and to normative ideals. In this regard, the present chapter asks: How can we study normative categories through journalistic role performance? And what do we have to consider in terms of theoretical conceptualization and the validity of the construct of professional roles?
