"I'm a little bit like a small-town preacher, these people are my congregation": conducting professional journalism in rural Alberta
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Date
2022
Authors
Lockett, Monica
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Sociology
Abstract
In rural settings, professional work is adapted to fit the needs of the community (Mellow,
2005). I question what, if any, professional adaptations are made by journalists who work in rural
communities. The production of journalistic work is highly contextual, and it is important to
understand how working in rural areas impacts the development of a professional identity in
journalists. I approach this study through a symbolic interactionist lens, utilizing semi-structured
interviews with journalists working in a designated rural community in Alberta. Between July-
August 2021, nine journalists were interviewed. My findings show deep, ingrained attachments
that journalists have to their communities. These participants take the notion of objectivity and
mold it to their own unique surroundings and relationships, highlighting the evident subjectivity
of objective reporting. These findings are compared with the state of local media in Canada with
a discussion on the changing nature of journalistic work.
Description
93 pages
Keywords
Professional identity , Professional journalism , Rural Alberta