Words that work?’ Practices of constructive journalism in a local Caribbean context

Bibliographic Data

ID7478233
AuthorsSanne Rotmeijer (Leiden University, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume20
Issue4
Pages600-616
Publication date2018-04-25
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1464-8849 • E-ISSN: 1741-3001
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1464884918770555
OpenAlexW2800220731
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited14

This article addresses practices of constructive journalism in the local, postcolonial context of St. Maarten, an autonomous Dutch Caribbean island. Building on extensive fieldwork at print and online news media outlets on the island and 14 in-depth interviews with reporters, editors, and news bloggers, this article shows that constructive journalism practices are widespread in St. Maarten. These are based on ideals of contributing to economic development, engagement and belonging, and social stability. The fieldwork, however, also revealed skepticism toward constructive journalism practices because of local political, economic, and socio-cultural constraints. This skepticism parallels broader critiques on active and involved forms of journalism, throwing up questions about the meaning and feasibility of a ‘constructive’ role of journalists in young, postcolonial democracies. This article argues that local constraints on St. Maarten journalism undermine the normative underpinnings of constructive journalism and calls for more disruptive journalism to serve the local community

Constructive · Context (archaeology · Epistemology · Journalism · Media studies · Normative · Political science · Politics · Process (computing · Skepticism · Sociology · Technical Journalism · Computer Science · Cruise Tourism Development and Management · Island Studies and Pacific Affairs · Media Studies and Communication · History · Law

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Open DOISci-HubOpen Access