Zheng TANG: Active presence: position ot authority in mediaconvergence age——in-depth interviews with about 100 journalists

Keywords: Media Convergence, Position of authority, Journalist

Abstract: Through in-depth interviews with 98 Chinese journalists, this research tried to find out their local perception of the concept of vocational identity. The shock of occupational condition and social cognition in media convergence age was taken into consideration to study what contemporary journalists expect and how they construct their position of authority in the vocational identity. On one hand, with emerging technology characteristics in the media convergence age, journalists have lost their original advantages as “gatekeeper". The independence and personal identities have also appeared a blur due to the “central kitchen" pattern, bringing journalists in front of uncertainty of occupational identity during turbulence in journalism and making them a particular component of а machine for socialized large scale production. On the other hand, such a background puts confused and anxious journalists in eager for an occupational identity which is clearer and permanent according to their imagination and aspiration for group occupational cognition. Organization identity, social identity and group identity are involved in the construction of vocational identity of contemporary journalists, whose active presence" become essential to the maintenance and consolidation of position of authority.

Chinese Journal of journalism & communication, 06, 2019

Authors: Zheng Tang ( an associate professor of Journalism and Communication School, Renmin University of China, and a research fellow at the Research Center for Journalism and Social Development, Renmin University of China.)