Intermediaries between Journalism and Arts: Shared Concerns, Work Processes and Strategies Outlining an Emergent Practice

Abstract

Innovation, creativity, and interdisciplinary collaboration in journalism are generally viewed as necessary goods, given the profound challenges of the profession, but institutionalised repertoires and routines tend to keep radical transformation at bay. Change in journalism therefore tends to rely on intermediaries, operating both within and outside of the profession, to facilitate innovation. This article explores the shared concerns of one such community of intermediaries working at the boundary between journalism and the arts. Through a series of in-depth interviews, this study documents key issues, how they solve problems, and how this shapes the practice of artistic journalism. These intermediaries create, facilitate, and promote an interdisciplinary practice of rigorously researched journalism and impact-focused storytelling using art-inspired methods. The key issues found in this study include the effort going into vocabulary alignment, managing expectations on what counts as professionalism, dealing with ‘uncertainty’ as a structural feature of the work, and dealing with occupational value clashes, such as regarding autonomy and rigour. The findings suggest these practitioners and intermediaries between journalism and the arts feel they shape the contours of an emergent practice.

Keywords

• artistic journalism
• interdisciplinarity
• boundary work
• autonomy
• impact
• immersion