innovations in journalism: comparative research in five european countries

This volume explores innovations in journalism: the goals and expectations associated with them, promoting and hindering framework conditions, and their social and industrial impact.

Drawing on an international research project conducted in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, and the UK, the book takes a complex approach, considering media policy preconditions and social impact of journalistic innovation from a comparative perspective. The key findings are examined and presented on different levels: theoretical, methodological, and - as the focus - empirical.

Having identified the most relevant innovations in each of the five countries, a total of 100 case studies are examined to explore the influence of these innovations on the quality of journalism and its normative role in democratic societies, and to analyse which preconditions support or inhibit the development and implementation of the innovations in news organizations. The interdependencies between journalistic innovations and their media policy preconditions are compared in a system-analytical way - concluding with the lessons which can be learned from the macro level (policies) and the meso level (organizations).

This insightful and truly international volume will interest professionals, scholars and students of journalism, media and communication studies, media industry studies and related fields.

Klaus Meier, Prof. Dr., holds the Chair for Journalism Studies with a focus on Innovation and Transformation at the Catholic University Eichstaett-Ingolstadt (Germany). His research explores ethics and quality of journalism, transfer between science and practice, convergence, digital journalism and journalism education.

José A. García-Avilés, PhD, is Full Professor of Journalism at Miguel Hernández University (Spain), where he lectures at the Master Program in Journalism Innovation. He was a visiting scholar at the Media Studies Center based in Columbia University (New York). His main research interests are digital journalism, news quality and media innovation.

Andy Kaltenbrunner, Dr., is managing partner of Medienhaus Wien and honorary professor at the Miguel Hernández University, Elche. He led the development of several academic and executive programs on journalism, media management and production. His main research areas are media policy, innovation and transformation in journalism. He leads programmes on these topics at the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Colin Porlezza, PhD, is Senior Assistant Professor of Digital Journalism with the Institute of Media and Journalism at the Università della Svizzera italiana. He studied communication science and holds a PhD in journalism studies. His research focuses on automated journalism and AI, the innovation and datafication of digital journalism, as well as on journalism ethics and accountability.

Vinzenz Wyss, PhD, Professor for Journalism at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences in Winterthur. His main focus is on quality and quality assurance in journalism, media ethics and media criticism. With his company ＂Media Quality Assessment＂, he evaluates the quality assurance systems of media organizations.

Renée Lugschitz, PhD, is a researcher at Medienhaus Wien and the Austrian Academy of Sciences/University of Klagenfurt. She studied history and holds a PhD in journalism studies. Her main focuses are practice-oriented research on transition in journalism, on changes in the journalistic profession and on journalism quality from a historical and gender perspective.

Korbinian Klinghardt, MA, PhD candidate, is a research associate at the Chair for Journalism Studies with a focus on Innovation and Transformation at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. He studied media studies at the University of Regensburg and at the Università degli studi Roma Tre. His research focuses on innovations and quality in journalism as well as journalism on social media.