Abstract
With the proliferation of digital and social media in particular, non-traditional actors are entering journalism based on their personal rhetorical competencies, rather than their formal journalistic credentials. Among such actors are public debaters who establish themselves as professional opinion-makers and media personalities via ‘media provocations’. In this article, we develop a conceptual framework for studying how these media provocateurs emerge as influential personas in journalism. Whereas previous research has provided important insights into how similar non-traditional actors have challenged journalism from a sociological perspective, we adopt a rhetorical perspective on the phenomenon and describe how the provocateurs’ public persona constructions evolve in a sequential, cumulative, and transformative communicative process that cuts across different rhetorical situations in a hybrid media system. The proposed framework points to several future avenues of research into how non-traditional actors, such as media provocateurs, (micro-)bloggers, and social media influencers, may reflect the current state and direction of journalism.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Journalism |
Volume | Online first |
ISSN | 1464-8849 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2022 |
Keywords
- Media provocateur
- (Media) provocation
- Persona
- Rhetorical situation
- Style
- Non-traditional actors in journalism
- Media capital