Call for Papers: People and Networks in the History of Nordic Journalism

In the Nordics, research on journalism history has traditionally stuck within national borders (Bruhn, 1996–2015; Bastiansen & Dahl 2003, Gustafsson, Rydén, 2000) or focused singularly on institutional perspectives. However, in contemporary scholarship new historiographical, methodological and theoretical trends and perspectives have come to the fore. These include but are not limited to scholarship on transnational, intermedial and cultural historical perspectives (Cronqvist & Hilgert 2017), digital methods with regard to the exploration of journalism history (Bunout, Ehrmann & Clavert 2022) and an increased emphasis on knowledge transfer between professional spheres (Ziemer 2023). Recently, a new emphasis on the significance of news workers, i.e. journalists and other newsroom personnel, has also emerged, as has criticism of “media-centrism” (Lundell 2008; Kurvinen 2018).

This special issue call starts from the premise that media and journalism history may thrive from an approach that cuts across traditional dividing lines such as media genres, national borders and professional organizations. By employing open-ended and innovative approaches to historical research on journalism, a new understanding of the actors behind journalism (journalists, editors and other news workers), their networks, formal and informal practices, their legitimization and their products will inevitably follow. It will also allow us to explore how these may be understood as part of broader societal processes. Hence, we call for contributions to a special issue of Journalistica that highlight new conceptual and methodological research perspectives on the history of journalism as a distinct subfield of media history.

The special issue will approach the topic in the broadest possible sense, but we particularly welcome submissions that address research questions pertaining to the role of people and networks in journalism history. Such contributions could, for example (but are not required to)

• Employ biographical, collective biographical or prosopographical approaches in the history of Nordic journalism
• Focus on journalism as people and/or as a practice and investigate the ambiguity of these actors as performing other roles alongside journalism.
• Focus on journalistic products/output (“journalism”) but understand these in broader societal contexts, including the sphere of political decision making, propaganda, advertisement, diplomacy, intelligence, debates on the rights of minorities and the like.
• Study political, social, economic and/or cultural intersections and collaborations between journalists and non-media actors.
• Problematize craft practices in Nordic journalism and the role of individuals and groups of journalists in shaping them.
• Trace and map journalistic networks across borders within and involving the Nordic region.

The special issue is edited by Dr. Emil Eiby Seidenfaden (ees@hum.ku.dk) and Dr. Heidi Kurvinen (heidi.kurvinen@utu.fi). Article proposals (max 500 words) are due on October, 30th, 2024 and should be sent to the editors of the special issue through e-mail. We invite contributions in Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and English.

Invitations to submit a full paper will be sent to selected authors by November 15th, 2024. Articles (6-8.000 words) will be due on February, 15th 2025. All articles will undergo double-blind peer review. The special issue will be published in Winter 2025, individual articles will be published online first, once accepted. Authors are asked to follow the instructions of Journalistica when finalizing their manuscripts. 

Journalistica is a Nordic open-access journal that publishes academic research articles on journalism understood as an interdisciplinary field. You can read more about Journalistica and its submission guidelines: https://tidsskrift.dk/journalistica/about