hess-journalismandthesocialsphere-2017.pdf (351.66 kB)
Journalism and the “social sphere”: reclaiming a foundational concept for beyond politics and the public sphere
This article realigns the field of journalism studies to acknowledge within itself the multiple dimensions of social life and, as well, to provide greater clarity on the social and cultural forms and functions of journalism. It reclaims the importance of the “social sphere” as a key foundational concept for journalism studies with its links to collective identity, sociability, social honour, and soft coercion. We argue the relevance of the social sphere has been subsumed over time by the dominance of the “public sphere” and, most recently, has been considered synonymous with the rise of social networking platforms and tools. Here, we recommend that scholarship shifts from the dominant influence of political theory in explanations of journalism's societal function to the value of critical cultural sociology, which reconciles power with the basic human desire for social order within individual–institutional–cultural interactions informed by and through journalism.
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Journal
Journalism StudiesPagination
1 - 16Publisher
RoutledgeLocation
Abingdon, Eng.Publisher DOI
ISSN
1461-670XeISSN
1469-9699Language
engPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2017, Informa UKUsage metrics
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