Terje Steinulfsson Skjerdal
Biographic Data
| ID | 4052592 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Terje Steinulfsson Skjerdal |
| GIVEN NAMES | Terje Steinulfsson |
| FAMILY NAME | Skjerdal |
| SIGNATURE | SKJERDAL T S |
| AFFILIATIONS | NLA University College |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7863-8598 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 24 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 150 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 24 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2000 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Spurring or Blurring Professional Standards? The Role of Digital Technology in Implementing Journalistic Role Ideals in Contemporary Newsrooms
This study examines the perceived relevance and implementation of competing normative ideals in journalism in times of increasing use of digital technology in newsrooms. Based on survey and content analysis data from 37 countries, we found a small positive relationship between the use of digital research tools and “watchdog” performance. However, a stronger and negative relationship emerged between the use of digital audience analytics and the pe…
Comparing Journalistic Role Performance Across Thematic Beats: A 37-Country Study
Studies suggest that, at the routine level, news beats function as unique “micro-cultures.” Exploring this “particularist” approach in news content, we compare how the interventionist, watchdog, loyal, service, infotainment, and civic roles materialize across 11 thematic news beats and analyze the moderating effect of platforms, ownership, and levels of political freedom on journalistic role performance in hard and soft news. Based on the second …
Journalistic Roles and Political Parallelism in a Transitional Society: The Case of Ethiopia
The article is an assessment of journalistic role performance and political parallelism in an African media system, specifically Ethiopia. Transitional countries such as Ethiopia are often associated with high levels of political parallelism in the media landscape. However, the assumption tends to be drawn on the basis of ownership only, while the degree to which political parallelism transpires in journalistic role performance is rarely subject …
The societal context of professional practice: Examining the impact of politics and economics on journalistic role performance across 37 countries
The impact of socio-political variables on journalism is an ongoing concern of comparative research on media systems and professional cultures. However, they have rarely been studied systematically across diverse cases, particularly outside Western democracies, and existing studies that compare western and non-western contexts have mainly focused on journalistic role conceptions rather than actual journalistic practice. Using journalistic role pe…
Investigating the Gap Between Journalists’ Role Conceptions and Role Performance in Rwanda and Ethiopia
This study reports select findings from the second wave of the Journalistic Role Performance cross-national project involving 37 countries (www.journalisticperformance.org). Specifically, this study combines survey (N = 83) and content analysis data (N = 4,044) to explain gaps between journalists’ role conceptions and their media organizations’ performance in two African countries, Rwanda and Ethiopia. In 2020–21, we analyzed news stories from 10…
Journalistic Role Performance in Times of Covid
This paper examines journalistic role performance in coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, based on a content analysis of newspaper, television, radio and online news in 37 countries. We test a set of hypotheses derived from two perspectives on the role of journalism in health crises. Mediatization theories assume that news media tend to sensationalize or to politicize health crises. A contrasting perspective holds that journalists shift toward more…
Does News Platform Matter? Comparing Online Journalistic Role Performance to Newspaper, Radio, and Television
The shifting role of journalism in a digital age has affected long-standing journalistic norms across media platforms. This has reinvigorated discussion on how work in online newsrooms compares to other platforms that differ in media affordances and forms. Still, more studies are needed on whether those differences translate into distinct practices, especially when examining cross-national studies. Based on the second wave of the Journalistic Rol…
A critical analysis of a local non-governmental organization community-based environment and forest development programs and its implication for sustainable development: Evidences of participatory env…
The purpose of this study was exploring evidence of a community-based environment and forest development program run by an organization. It is a thematic analysis of scientific documents related to the experiences and challenges were explored. The academic study carefully followed a holistic approach to meet the needs of diverse stakeholders. The organization has been striving to improve environmental challenges, climate change, and sustainable d…
Environmental conflicts as key factors influencing participatory environmental communication and sustainable development of a rural society
Natural resource protection in Africa, particularly in rural communities, requires effective communication between resource managers and community residents. Environmental conflict, however, impedes the efficacy of communication strategies. Thus, this study investigates evidence of environmental conflicts as impeding factors for participatory environmental communication in a rural community‐based environment and forest program in Northern Ethiopi…
Not quite an echo chamber: Ethnic debate on Ethiopian Facebook pages during times of unrest
Social media commonly function as alternative channels for debate in controlled media societies, often supported by the digital diaspora. This study takes a closer look at Ethiopia, where communication traditionally has been controlled by the government. The situation was particularly tense between 2016 and 2017, when a state of emergency act was declared following anti-government protests. The study scrutinizes three of the most popular online c…
Blurred boundaries: Citizens journalists versus conventional journalists in Hong Kong
Hong Kong has a reputation for being one of the freest media societies in Asia, but its ranking on press freedom indices has fallen steadily since the Chinese takeover in 1997. The online media have nevertheless created a space for a widened public sphere. In a situation of growing self-censorship and rise of alternative journalism formats, this study asks whether citizen journalism represents a viable alternative to conventional journalism. The …
Professional perceptions among male and female journalists on the Horn of Africa: A quantitative study
The article discusses differences in professional perceptions among male and female journalists in Ethiopia, which is a country known for low scores on gender equality and limited women representation in the media. The approach is quantitative, involving a survey of 350 local journalists. The study observes gender differences in the monitoring and scrutinizing functions of the media, which are found to be more important for the male journalists, …
Journalists’ Development Journalism Role Perceptions: Select countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa
Development journalism remains an important concept in the journalism studies literature, but it has, at the same time, suffered from a lack of empirical research. Drawing on a survey of 2598 journalists from eight South Asian, Southeast Asian, and sub-Saharan African countries, which was conducted as part of the Worlds of Journalism Study, this study assesses the importance journalists ascribe to three key development journalism roles—social int…
Why the ‘African’ still matters in African journalism studies
Additional informationNotes on contributorsTerje SkjerdalTerje Skjerdal is Associate Professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, NLA University College, Kristiansand, Norway
Reading the Narratives: Relocation, Investment and Development in Ethiopia
This article examines the narratives presented on the subjects of relocation, investment and development in Ethiopia. In particular, we focus upon representations given by the Government of Ethiopia and Human Rights Watch (HRW) of the Gambella Region. The article deconstructs and critically assesses the discourse and the way in which representations and descriptions are made in order to advocate a particular position. We argue for a less polarizi…
The three alternative journalisms of Africa
Much African journalism scholarship has had a critical stand towards ‘Western’ journalism models. The criticism has resulted in the submission of alternative African journalism models such as ujamaa journalism, ubuntu journalism and oral discourse journalism. The present article reviews a number of significant contributions to normative African journalism models over the past 50 years and argues that they constitute three major streams: journalis…
Communication and media ethics in South Africa
Development journalism revived: The case of Ethiopia
In 2008, Ethiopian authorities presented a draft policy document which established development journalism as the official reporting style for the state media. The policy prescribes that the media and journalists should play an active role in the country's development scheme. Assigning such a role to the media is controversial – not the least since it is seen to be at odds with media independence and press freedom. The present study discusses the …
Journalists or activists? Self-identity in the Ethiopian diaspora online community
This study investigates the role of the diaspora online media as stakeholders in the transnational Ethiopian media landscape. Through content analysis of selected websites and interviews with editors, the research discusses how the sites relate to recognized journalistic ideals and how the editors view themselves in regard to journalistic professionalism. It is argued that the journalistic ideals of the diaspora media must be understood towards t…
Freebies and Brown Envelopes in Ethiopian Journalism
This article discusses the practices of freebies (taking items such as free tickets or dinners for the journalist's personal gain) and brown envelopes (the informal transfer of money from sources to journalists) among journalists in the stateowned Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency (ERTA). Such practices are known in journalism fraternities all across the African continent but are rarely studied. This study into the Ethiopian state media shows…
Between journalism universals and cultural particulars: Challenges facing the development of a journalism programme in an East African context
One of the main dilemmas facing journalism education across Africa is whether one can argue for a universal set of journalistic standards while at the same time maintaining a culturally sensitive journalism practice. Underlying the dilemma is the question of whether there is a need to identify an African journalism philosophy that is normatively different from its Western counterpart. In light of a newly started MA programme in journalism at Addi…
Institutional and governmental challenges for journalism education in East Africa
Journalism education and training in Eastern Africa has commonly been a result of fragmented initiatives by Western donor organisations, but there is now a growing tendency to formalise programmes in established colleges and universities. The merger of existing journalism programmes, as has happened recently in Ethiopia and Tanzania, is a notable trend. Generally, while a major challenge for journalism in East Africa is fighting institutional and…
Mapping the gap: Finding a raison d'être in South Africa's TRC's media hearings
The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hearings on the media in 1997 were probably unique from a world perspective. In contrast to attempts made elsewhere world to investigate the role of the media in relation to political procedures, the TRC specifically called for the media to participate in the truth telling and reconciliation process. The process regarding the TRC media hearings, with emphasis on the press, is explained a…
Bill on demand: South African newspapers fighting the abortion issue in 1995/96
This study seeks to explore the mediated discourse of the South African abortion debate 1995/96. It is limited to the editorials in 13 of the largest newspapers, totalling a number of 24 editorials. Through a discourse analysis approach, the writer attempts to show how words and argumentation were used to associate the new liberal abortion bill with positive values. The argumentation used by the newspapers can be read as a political discourse tha…
The three alternative journalisms of Africa
Much African journalism scholarship has had a critical stand towards ‘Western’ journalism models. The criticism has resulted in the submission of alternative African journalism models such as ujamaa journalism, ubuntu journalism and oral discourse journalism. The present article reviews a number of significant contributions to normative African journalism models over the past 50 years and argues that they constitute three major streams: journalis…
Journalists or activists? Self-identity in the Ethiopian diaspora online community
This study investigates the role of the diaspora online media as stakeholders in the transnational Ethiopian media landscape. Through content analysis of selected websites and interviews with editors, the research discusses how the sites relate to recognized journalistic ideals and how the editors view themselves in regard to journalistic professionalism. It is argued that the journalistic ideals of the diaspora media must be understood towards t…
Journalists’ Development Journalism Role Perceptions: Select countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa
Development journalism remains an important concept in the journalism studies literature, but it has, at the same time, suffered from a lack of empirical research. Drawing on a survey of 2598 journalists from eight South Asian, Southeast Asian, and sub-Saharan African countries, which was conducted as part of the Worlds of Journalism Study, this study assesses the importance journalists ascribe to three key development journalism roles—social int…
Development journalism revived: The case of Ethiopia
In 2008, Ethiopian authorities presented a draft policy document which established development journalism as the official reporting style for the state media. The policy prescribes that the media and journalists should play an active role in the country's development scheme. Assigning such a role to the media is controversial – not the least since it is seen to be at odds with media independence and press freedom. The present study discusses the …
Journalistic Role Performance in Times of Covid
This paper examines journalistic role performance in coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, based on a content analysis of newspaper, television, radio and online news in 37 countries. We test a set of hypotheses derived from two perspectives on the role of journalism in health crises. Mediatization theories assume that news media tend to sensationalize or to politicize health crises. A contrasting perspective holds that journalists shift toward more…
Does News Platform Matter? Comparing Online Journalistic Role Performance to Newspaper, Radio, and Television
The shifting role of journalism in a digital age has affected long-standing journalistic norms across media platforms. This has reinvigorated discussion on how work in online newsrooms compares to other platforms that differ in media affordances and forms. Still, more studies are needed on whether those differences translate into distinct practices, especially when examining cross-national studies. Based on the second wave of the Journalistic Rol…
The societal context of professional practice: Examining the impact of politics and economics on journalistic role performance across 37 countries
The impact of socio-political variables on journalism is an ongoing concern of comparative research on media systems and professional cultures. However, they have rarely been studied systematically across diverse cases, particularly outside Western democracies, and existing studies that compare western and non-western contexts have mainly focused on journalistic role conceptions rather than actual journalistic practice. Using journalistic role pe…
Communication and media ethics in South Africa
Not quite an echo chamber: Ethnic debate on Ethiopian Facebook pages during times of unrest
Social media commonly function as alternative channels for debate in controlled media societies, often supported by the digital diaspora. This study takes a closer look at Ethiopia, where communication traditionally has been controlled by the government. The situation was particularly tense between 2016 and 2017, when a state of emergency act was declared following anti-government protests. The study scrutinizes three of the most popular online c…
Reading the Narratives: Relocation, Investment and Development in Ethiopia
This article examines the narratives presented on the subjects of relocation, investment and development in Ethiopia. In particular, we focus upon representations given by the Government of Ethiopia and Human Rights Watch (HRW) of the Gambella Region. The article deconstructs and critically assesses the discourse and the way in which representations and descriptions are made in order to advocate a particular position. We argue for a less polarizi…
Institutional and governmental challenges for journalism education in East Africa
Journalism education and training in Eastern Africa has commonly been a result of fragmented initiatives by Western donor organisations, but there is now a growing tendency to formalise programmes in established colleges and universities. The merger of existing journalism programmes, as has happened recently in Ethiopia and Tanzania, is a notable trend. Generally, while a major challenge for journalism in East Africa is fighting institutional and…
Investigating the Gap Between Journalists’ Role Conceptions and Role Performance in Rwanda and Ethiopia
This study reports select findings from the second wave of the Journalistic Role Performance cross-national project involving 37 countries (www.journalisticperformance.org). Specifically, this study combines survey (N = 83) and content analysis data (N = 4,044) to explain gaps between journalists’ role conceptions and their media organizations’ performance in two African countries, Rwanda and Ethiopia. In 2020–21, we analyzed news stories from 10…
Mapping the gap: Finding a raison d'être in South Africa's TRC's media hearings
The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hearings on the media in 1997 were probably unique from a world perspective. In contrast to attempts made elsewhere world to investigate the role of the media in relation to political procedures, the TRC specifically called for the media to participate in the truth telling and reconciliation process. The process regarding the TRC media hearings, with emphasis on the press, is explained a…
Bill on demand: South African newspapers fighting the abortion issue in 1995/96
This study seeks to explore the mediated discourse of the South African abortion debate 1995/96. It is limited to the editorials in 13 of the largest newspapers, totalling a number of 24 editorials. Through a discourse analysis approach, the writer attempts to show how words and argumentation were used to associate the new liberal abortion bill with positive values. The argumentation used by the newspapers can be read as a political discourse tha…
Institutional and governmental challenges for journalism education in East Africa
Journalism education and training in Eastern Africa has commonly been a result of fragmented initiatives by Western donor organisations, but there is now a growing tendency to formalise programmes in established colleges and universities. The merger of existing journalism programmes, as has happened recently in Ethiopia and Tanzania, is a notable trend. Generally, while a major challenge for journalism in East Africa is fighting institutional and…
Freebies and Brown Envelopes in Ethiopian Journalism
This article discusses the practices of freebies (taking items such as free tickets or dinners for the journalist's personal gain) and brown envelopes (the informal transfer of money from sources to journalists) among journalists in the stateowned Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency (ERTA). Such practices are known in journalism fraternities all across the African continent but are rarely studied. This study into the Ethiopian state media shows…
Between journalism universals and cultural particulars: Challenges facing the development of a journalism programme in an East African context
One of the main dilemmas facing journalism education across Africa is whether one can argue for a universal set of journalistic standards while at the same time maintaining a culturally sensitive journalism practice. Underlying the dilemma is the question of whether there is a need to identify an African journalism philosophy that is normatively different from its Western counterpart. In light of a newly started MA programme in journalism at Addi…
Development journalism revived: The case of Ethiopia
In 2008, Ethiopian authorities presented a draft policy document which established development journalism as the official reporting style for the state media. The policy prescribes that the media and journalists should play an active role in the country's development scheme. Assigning such a role to the media is controversial – not the least since it is seen to be at odds with media independence and press freedom. The present study discusses the …
Journalists or activists? Self-identity in the Ethiopian diaspora online community
This study investigates the role of the diaspora online media as stakeholders in the transnational Ethiopian media landscape. Through content analysis of selected websites and interviews with editors, the research discusses how the sites relate to recognized journalistic ideals and how the editors view themselves in regard to journalistic professionalism. It is argued that the journalistic ideals of the diaspora media must be understood towards t…
The three alternative journalisms of Africa
Much African journalism scholarship has had a critical stand towards ‘Western’ journalism models. The criticism has resulted in the submission of alternative African journalism models such as ujamaa journalism, ubuntu journalism and oral discourse journalism. The present article reviews a number of significant contributions to normative African journalism models over the past 50 years and argues that they constitute three major streams: journalis…
Communication and media ethics in South Africa
Why the ‘African’ still matters in African journalism studies
Additional informationNotes on contributorsTerje SkjerdalTerje Skjerdal is Associate Professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, NLA University College, Kristiansand, Norway
Reading the Narratives: Relocation, Investment and Development in Ethiopia
This article examines the narratives presented on the subjects of relocation, investment and development in Ethiopia. In particular, we focus upon representations given by the Government of Ethiopia and Human Rights Watch (HRW) of the Gambella Region. The article deconstructs and critically assesses the discourse and the way in which representations and descriptions are made in order to advocate a particular position. We argue for a less polarizi…
Professional perceptions among male and female journalists on the Horn of Africa: A quantitative study
The article discusses differences in professional perceptions among male and female journalists in Ethiopia, which is a country known for low scores on gender equality and limited women representation in the media. The approach is quantitative, involving a survey of 350 local journalists. The study observes gender differences in the monitoring and scrutinizing functions of the media, which are found to be more important for the male journalists, …
Journalists’ Development Journalism Role Perceptions: Select countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa
Development journalism remains an important concept in the journalism studies literature, but it has, at the same time, suffered from a lack of empirical research. Drawing on a survey of 2598 journalists from eight South Asian, Southeast Asian, and sub-Saharan African countries, which was conducted as part of the Worlds of Journalism Study, this study assesses the importance journalists ascribe to three key development journalism roles—social int…
Blurred boundaries: Citizens journalists versus conventional journalists in Hong Kong
Hong Kong has a reputation for being one of the freest media societies in Asia, but its ranking on press freedom indices has fallen steadily since the Chinese takeover in 1997. The online media have nevertheless created a space for a widened public sphere. In a situation of growing self-censorship and rise of alternative journalism formats, this study asks whether citizen journalism represents a viable alternative to conventional journalism. The …
Not quite an echo chamber: Ethnic debate on Ethiopian Facebook pages during times of unrest
Social media commonly function as alternative channels for debate in controlled media societies, often supported by the digital diaspora. This study takes a closer look at Ethiopia, where communication traditionally has been controlled by the government. The situation was particularly tense between 2016 and 2017, when a state of emergency act was declared following anti-government protests. The study scrutinizes three of the most popular online c…
Environmental conflicts as key factors influencing participatory environmental communication and sustainable development of a rural society
Natural resource protection in Africa, particularly in rural communities, requires effective communication between resource managers and community residents. Environmental conflict, however, impedes the efficacy of communication strategies. Thus, this study investigates evidence of environmental conflicts as impeding factors for participatory environmental communication in a rural community‐based environment and forest program in Northern Ethiopi…
Investigating the Gap Between Journalists’ Role Conceptions and Role Performance in Rwanda and Ethiopia
This study reports select findings from the second wave of the Journalistic Role Performance cross-national project involving 37 countries (www.journalisticperformance.org). Specifically, this study combines survey (N = 83) and content analysis data (N = 4,044) to explain gaps between journalists’ role conceptions and their media organizations’ performance in two African countries, Rwanda and Ethiopia. In 2020–21, we analyzed news stories from 10…
Journalistic Role Performance in Times of Covid
This paper examines journalistic role performance in coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, based on a content analysis of newspaper, television, radio and online news in 37 countries. We test a set of hypotheses derived from two perspectives on the role of journalism in health crises. Mediatization theories assume that news media tend to sensationalize or to politicize health crises. A contrasting perspective holds that journalists shift toward more…
Does News Platform Matter? Comparing Online Journalistic Role Performance to Newspaper, Radio, and Television
The shifting role of journalism in a digital age has affected long-standing journalistic norms across media platforms. This has reinvigorated discussion on how work in online newsrooms compares to other platforms that differ in media affordances and forms. Still, more studies are needed on whether those differences translate into distinct practices, especially when examining cross-national studies. Based on the second wave of the Journalistic Rol…
A critical analysis of a local non-governmental organization community-based environment and forest development programs and its implication for sustainable development: Evidences of participatory env…
The purpose of this study was exploring evidence of a community-based environment and forest development program run by an organization. It is a thematic analysis of scientific documents related to the experiences and challenges were explored. The academic study carefully followed a holistic approach to meet the needs of diverse stakeholders. The organization has been striving to improve environmental challenges, climate change, and sustainable d…
Comparing Journalistic Role Performance Across Thematic Beats: A 37-Country Study
Studies suggest that, at the routine level, news beats function as unique “micro-cultures.” Exploring this “particularist” approach in news content, we compare how the interventionist, watchdog, loyal, service, infotainment, and civic roles materialize across 11 thematic news beats and analyze the moderating effect of platforms, ownership, and levels of political freedom on journalistic role performance in hard and soft news. Based on the second …
Journalistic Roles and Political Parallelism in a Transitional Society: The Case of Ethiopia
The article is an assessment of journalistic role performance and political parallelism in an African media system, specifically Ethiopia. Transitional countries such as Ethiopia are often associated with high levels of political parallelism in the media landscape. However, the assumption tends to be drawn on the basis of ownership only, while the degree to which political parallelism transpires in journalistic role performance is rarely subject …
The societal context of professional practice: Examining the impact of politics and economics on journalistic role performance across 37 countries
The impact of socio-political variables on journalism is an ongoing concern of comparative research on media systems and professional cultures. However, they have rarely been studied systematically across diverse cases, particularly outside Western democracies, and existing studies that compare western and non-western contexts have mainly focused on journalistic role conceptions rather than actual journalistic practice. Using journalistic role pe…
Spurring or Blurring Professional Standards? The Role of Digital Technology in Implementing Journalistic Role Ideals in Contemporary Newsrooms
This study examines the perceived relevance and implementation of competing normative ideals in journalism in times of increasing use of digital technology in newsrooms. Based on survey and content analysis data from 37 countries, we found a small positive relationship between the use of digital research tools and “watchdog” performance. However, a stronger and negative relationship emerged between the use of digital audience analytics and the pe…
Political science (24 works) · Sociology (20 works) · Law (16 works) · Media Studies and Communication (15 works) · Public relations (15 works) · Law (14 works) · Media studies (14 works) · Journalism (13 works) · Politics (13 works) · Social Media and Politics (8 works)