E-book: Margins of Journalism

This book explores the margins of journalism: the peripheral journalists and media organisations who have been overlooked in our efforts to understand a changing journalistic field. Seeing local journalists as unmapped agents of the journalistic field, this book provides a comprehensive study of local journalism in the post-socialist, post-transitional Czech media system, and conceptualises these actors as unique agents within the journalistic field. Informed by Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory, it adopts an inductive approach, presenting the stories of specific journalists derived from interviews and participant observation in the places where they work, alongside surveys of local newspapers. From these studies, this book systematically maps these peripheral, journalistic actors and their positions in the journalistic field, accounting for their relationships and the trends shaping Czech journalism to give voice to those who are not usually heard – journalists on the margins.

"… a fine-grained examination into the struggles and successes of local newspaper journalists adjusting to a digital era. It demonstrates how shining a light on their unique - often underexplored - practices can provide broader learnings for the future of journalism." Professor Kristy Hess, Deakin University, Australia.

"This rich and insightful contribution directs our attention to the important but often under researched margins of journalism, and as such it contributes to a wider understanding of what it means to be a journalist." Professor Agnes Gulyas, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK.

This book explores local journalists in the Czech Republic as unmapped agents of the journalistic field. It is a case study of a local journalists and local newspapers in the post-socialist Czech media system. It uses Bourdieus’ field theory, interviews, participant observation, and survey data to map the journalistic field for journalism studies.