ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the possibilities and limitations of diverse transparency and accountability instruments in digital journalism. It shows whether there can be too much transparency and investigates what transparency can and cannot achieve in order to explore a tendency to regard transparency as a somewhat magical idea with a capacity to maintain democracy. In dialogue with empirical studies and academic reflections of media accountability instruments and transparency devices, the chapter discusses challenges for digital journalism as a public good. It provides a few relevant perspectives for an updated understanding of transparency and accountability in theory and practice. Since accountability and transparency are becoming central maintenance tools in modern journalism, they require a critical analysis. Accountability assumes an institutional perspective. Media accountability systems and transparency efforts can be interpreted as a reorientation to account for an increasing need for the justification and legitimation of journalism. An accountability instrument is a particular manifestation of human agency.
