ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the importance of studying the influencing factors of journalism at a time when technological, economic and ideological shifts roam newsrooms around the world. The models developed in the past, however, only offer us a limited understanding of the problems – and potentials – facing journalists today. In the past, researchers have looked at both individual and collective sets of factors that can influence journalists, such as routines, news values and media organizations. But for all the merits of these models, a new, more relevant model for contemporary journalism – and journalists – is needed for both researchers and the people who do the actual reporting. Such a new model is presented in this chapter, and it is based on three internal factors that can affect journalists (principles, precedents and practices) and three external factors (production, publication and perception). Each of the six factors can affect the actions of journalists, but when taken as a whole, these factors can not only determine what helps and hinders journalists but also inspire discussions about what journalism is today – and who journalists are altogether. The basic elements of this model are introduced in this chapter, and the wider content and capabilities of the model is explicated in the coming chapters.
