ABSTRACT Fact-checking is the journalistic activity of tracking and counteracting false and misleading claims. It has gained prominence over the last decade as a response to the overwhelming spread of falsehoods mostly on social media. Meanwhile, while scholarly evidence shows that fact-checkers perceive their roles in very different ways, there is insufficient scholarly attention paid to Sub-Saharan Africa. In view of this argument, this study investigates how fact-checkers in Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa perceive their roles and the challenges they encounter within distinct political and media environments. Theoretically, the study is underpinned by scholarship on journalistic cultures, political and media systems framework. The study adopted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a total of 19 fact-checkers from the four Sub-Saharan African countries. The findings reveal that the roles of fact-checkers in the countries of study are not monolithic but are significantly influenced by the political context, societal norms, and the evolving nature of misinformation. The research lays emphasis on the need for tailored fact-checking strategies that address diverse challenges.

ABSTRACT Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 19 Chinese journalists working in a range of employment types—including permanent positions (bianzhi), short- and long-term contracts, internships and freelance work—this study explores how precarious working conditions are perceived and navigated within China’s hybrid media system. It explores (perceived) precarity as a multidimensional phenomenon, shaped by factors such as employment arrangements, salary instability and power dynamics in the workplace. The findings reveal that employees with bianzhi and those on long-term contracts generally feel more secure, but a majority of journalists experience varying degrees of precarity. This precarity is exacerbated by wage volatility and workplace hierarchies. For freelance journalists, perceived precarity is compounded by a lack of institutional support and reliable income. The article argues that precarity is not only an economic experience but also an emotional and cultural one, which plays a significant role in journalists’ career decisions, particularly regarding whether to stay in the profession or leave it for an industry that offers greater security. By highlighting journalists’ perceptions and understanding of precarity in a non-Western media context, this study contributes to broader debates on labour precarity, journalistic professionalism, and media resilience under political and economic pressure.

ABSTRACT Trust is strained by polarization, platform distortion, and misinformation, and journalists are repeatedly told to “build relationships” with communities. But relationship building is usually framed as an engagement aspiration rather than as a professional practice with concrete decision points, risks, and constraints. This article asks: How do journalists describe and enact relationship building as a metacognitive news literacy behavior, and how do these practices shape reporting decisions and public-facing accountability? Drawing on newsroom-reconstruction interviews with 30 U.S. journalists, we conceptualize relationship building as an applied performance of news literacy across Context, Creation, Content, Circulation, and Consumption. Journalists describe relationship work as reflexive accountability: making knowledge-making legible (by showing verification and documenting choices), protecting access through representational care, building durable channels for reciprocal contact, and setting boundaries to manage independence and safety. They also identify enabling and inhibiting conditions—skills, orientations, professional norms, time scarcity, and platform incentives—that determine feasibility and can make relationship work uneven or counterproductive. Rather than treating trust as definitional, we position relationship building as a proximate craft and judgment work that newsrooms and journalism educators can operationalize.

ABSTRACT Constructive journalism has rapidly gained popularity in Austria, positioning itself as a solutions-oriented alternative to traditional journalism. Although it challenges established norms such as detachment and conventional definitions of newsworthiness, constructive journalism nonetheless situates itself firmly within the broader journalistic field. Constructive journalists assert their membership and legitimacy by selectively aligning with core professional norms and practices while simultaneously reframing journalistic purpose toward more socially constructive forms of reporting. Despite its growing presence, little is known about how constructive journalists articulate their position within the journalistic field and which discursive boundary markers they use to describe their relationship to traditional journalism. Drawing on 12 qualitative in-depth interviews with constructive journalists in Austria, this study examines their self-positioning and demarcation strategies more closely. The findings reveal that constructive journalists rely on their role orientations, core values, and practices to distinguish themselves from traditional journalism.

ABSTRACT In the digital age, the global news industry faces many uncertainties. Crisis discourses such as declining profits and loss of readers are prevalent in the news industry. Membership journalism, as a news innovation, has been seen as a panacea for solving audience trust and income problems in recent years. This study takes guancha.cn, a private news website in China, as a case study to analyze how the website innovates through membership plans, what impact these innovations have on production concepts and production processes, and explores how this model promotes the establishment of a reciprocal relationship between journalists and members from the perspective of reciprocal journalism. The study found that guancha.cn tried transparent content production under the membership model and formed a new production concept - the super newsroom, where journalists, columnists and members jointly produce news. In addition, the establishment of a member community allows members to participate in content production and discussions on public issues, prompting journalists and members to form an equal and reciprocal relationship. This study helps to understand the possibility of the membership journalism model in promoting the establishment of a continuous reciprocal relationship between journalists and members in the context of non-Western societies.

ABSTRACT At a time of political polarisation, social fragmentation and continuing mistrust in journalism, the practice of “live journalism” is flourishing. The practice aims to reconnect audiences and rebuild trust in news organisations through interactive events in public spaces. The authors of this paper experimented with a new format of putting news on stage involving both journalists and actors using theatrical and comic techniques to tell exclusive, unpublished stories in a show called News Cabaret. This article explores the reactions of the audience and participants to the event. The show consisted of eight dramatic pieces of journalism involving verbatim theatre techniques, stand-up comedy, sketches, monologues, songs, masks and improvisation. Discussions between cast, crew and audience took place during and after the show. We adopted a Reflective Practitioner Case Study approach and analysed surveys, recordings, observations and interviews. Our research suggests that using actors and theatrical devices to deliver content did not detract from quality journalism and resulted in some unexpected positive outcomes. The audience reported that the event challenged them to think and prompted some action, albeit limited. Results show that such events could be useful to revitalise journalism practice, challenge social and political norms and re-engage hard-to-reach audiences.

ABSTRACT This article explores the experiences of journalists during wartime, focusing on the complexities and challenges they face while working in difficult conditions. The study involved 24 journalists who worked in conflict zones; qualitative interviews were conducted with them. Data analysis was carried out using Gilligan’s Listening Guide, which aims to uncover the personal narratives of each journalist and understand how they experience journalistic work in a wartime reality. Using this approach, the research reveals the personal and professional dynamics that shape journalists’ experiences, the ethical and moral dilemmas they encounter, and the impact of war on their sense of personal and professional identity. The findings highlight their difficulties, the trauma they confront, and how journalists maintain their professional integrity while navigating societal and political pressures.

ABSTRACT This study explores the evolving landscape of fact-checking practices in China by analyzing leading domestic platforms such as Mingcha, China Fact Check, and Fact Check. Focusing on fact-checking articles published between August 1, 2021, and July 31, 2024, the paper conducts a comprehensive content analysis of 695 articles, offering valuable insights into the structural principles guiding these platforms. The findings reveal that fact-checking in China has developed beyond a mere extension of journalism into a semi-autonomous practice, guided by standardized methods of claim evaluation, evidence presentation, and conclusion formulation. While these practices reinforce professional ideals of transparency and accuracy, the study also identifies limitations such as the overreliance on journalistic sources and the potential influence of state-aligned narratives, which complicate the objectivity of verification. By highlighting both the structural coherence and contested dynamics of fact-checking, this study contributes to a more critical understanding of its function, credibility, and constraints in China’s digital media environment.

ABSTRACT Guided by the information integration theory, this paper uses the case of “Northern Myanmar Investigation,” a series of short video investigative journalism, to conduct a content analysis on 194 news items from the perspectives of information sources, journalist roles, and news frames. Variance analysis and semi-structured interviews are used to compare audience interactions with different types of news and to explore how audiences integrate and evaluate news information. The study shows that audiences are more engaged by receiving information from a range of sources, including victim interviews, undercover investigations, and journalists’ narratives. Audiences also engage with journalists working as collectors or educators, and news frames that focus on attribution of responsibility or human interest. Most audience members primarily consider information sources as critical indicators of the importance and reliability of short video investigative journalism, rather than journalist roles or news frames. The findings suggest that short videos are suitable for investigative journalism and can cover news events relatively comprehensively, even though they consist of multiple short segments. We find it is therefore feasible to use short video platforms to publish and disseminate works of investigative journalism.

ABSTRACT Campus journalism plays a vital role in the information dissemination and transparency of universities. The present study aimed to explore the barriers faced by campus journalists while collecting news, explore the ways to mitigate the barriers and propose a framework to enhance collaboration with the university administration. Following a mixed-method approach, quantitative data were collected from 217 campus journalists working on 15 Bangladeshi university campuses, using a convenience sampling technique. Contrarily, qualitative data were collected from 25 campus journalists through an FGD and 5 representatives of the administrative authority through an interview at a public university in Bangladesh. The findings revealed that scattered sources of information, lack of cooperation from authorities, insufficient training, and political pressure are grave obstacles to campus journalism. Solutions emerging from the analysis include arranging training programs, developing communication skills and collaborating with other associations and university authorities. However, the university administrators suggested ethical journalism, prompt press announcements, and open communications strategies. Finally, the study introduced a conceptual framework in order to bring these perspectives together and provide a lens for ensuring effective campus journalism supported by institutional safeguards and cooperative efforts.