Follow the Nordic journalism research

Want to start following the Nordic journalism and journalism education research more systematically? Or narrow down the monitoring of international studies to those conducted in the Nordic countries? Here are some essentials to teachers and students.

What makes it often difficult to follow research related to journalism, journalism research and journalism education is the fact that the research is typically scattered around different disciplines such as sociology, political science, philosophy, educational sciences, cultural studies and, for example, economics and business studies.

In today’s global culture it may also be increasingly irrelevant to draw lines between ”Nordic” and ”non-Nordic”. In a world of complex relationships, ”Norden” is becoming more and more interlaced with other geographically and culturally defined areas, or less relevant in favour of a more ”international” scope of attention and interests. This does, however – and luckily – not undermine the distinct Nordic identity; it may just make it slightly more difficult to trace the work of the Nordic-based scholars.

As many of the academic journals nowadays follow an Open Access policy, original studies are easy to use on courses or for purposes of self-study. The communication about the Nordic-originated research has increased, enabled by a number of different platforms and organisations. In this post I want to collect some relevant sources for those who want to start keeping an eye on the Nordic media and communication research.

Academic journals

The most important sources for following recent research are, of course, the academic journals. They can be found in the national databases (The Danish National Research DatabaseJufo in Finland, DHB in Norway). A common Nordic database is currently under construction.

Besides the national journals typically given out by the researchers’ associations and the international journals open to scholars all around the globe, there are academic publications with a distinctively Nordic scope. Below is a list of the academic peer-reviewed journals published in English and/or Scandinavian languages, relevant to and influential within the field of media and communication research, and, more specifically, research on journalism and journalism education.

Media and communication studies, social sciences:

  • Journalistica is a peer-reviewed journal in journalism research, published in Scandinavian languages and English, funded by Danish journalism education institutions.
  • MedieKultur is a peer-reviewed journal of media and communication research, published in Scandinavian languages and English by SMiD, the Association of Media Researchers in Denmark.
  • Nordicom Review is a peer-reviewed journal published in English and given out by the Nordic Information Centre for Media and Communication Research Nordicom.
  • Nordisk kulturpolitisk tidskrift is a peer-reviewed journal on cultural policy published in Scandinavian languages and English, funded by Nordic research institutions.
  • Norsk medietidskrift is a peer-reviewed journal published mainly in Norwegian but also in other Scandinavian languages and English by NML, the Norwegian Association of Media Researchers .
  • Northern Lights: Film and Media Studies Yearbook is a peer-reviewed journal focused on research on film, television and new media, published in English.
  • WiderScreen is a peer-reviewed journal on multimedial, audiovisual and digital media culture, published in English and Finnish.

Journalism/media education and media literacy:

Cultural research

  • 16:9 is a Danish peer-reviewed journal focused on film studies, published in Danish and given out in Aarhus.
  • Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research is a peer-reviewed journal in cultural studies, published in English by three research units at the Linköping University.
  • Nordic Journal of Aesthetics is a peer-reviewed journal focused on research within arts and aesthetics with a Nordic scope, published in English.
  • Sensorium Journal is a peer-reviewed journal for interdisciplinary questions on aesthetics, technology and materiality, organized around the Sensorium Network at the Linköping University.
  • Nordic Journal of Literacy Research is a peer-reviewed journal for culturally oriented literacy research, which includes the research on reading, writing and literacy practices and education, published in Scandinavian languages and English.

Research on technology and innovations:

Gender studies:

Organisations, networks and platforms

Besides the established large Nordic organizations for cooperation, such as the Nordic Council of Ministers and its infrastructure for the funding, administration and development of research (e.g. NordForsk), there are a number of research-related platforms and networks.

Selected individual bloggers

Nowadays, the numerous platforms of social media may provide us with a direct contact to an individual media or communication scholar. The use of social media for scholarly purposes has become more popular in the Academy; however, it is still not very easy to find, for example, bloggers specialized in media and/or communication research. Maybe it is just that the cobbler’s children are the worst shod, as the old saying goes?

Here are some examples to begin with:

  • From Denmark: Active bloggers include, for example, the journalism researcher Aske Kammer at the University of Copenhagen, Associate Professor Torill Elvira Mortensen at the IT University of Copenhagen, and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Director of Research at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, the UK.
  • From Norway: Associate Professor in Digital Culture Hilde G. Corneliussen at the University of Bergen, Associate Professor Bente Kalsnes at Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, and Professor in Digital Culture Jill Walker Rettberg at the University of Bergen.
  • From Finland: Almost all the Finnish media scholars blog in Finnish, such as the co-blogging media professors Janne Seppänen from the University of Tampere and Esa Väliverronen from the University of Helsinki, as well as, for example, the political historian Mari K. Niemi who blogs for the magazine Suomen Kuvalehti.
  • From Sweden: Most of the blogging journalism and media researchers are gathered to the blog portal Medieforskarna which hosts 17 blogs altogether. In addition, Professor of Political Science Henrik Ekengren Oscarsson blogs on electoral studies, and researchers in political science have a blog community of their own, Politologerna.

In addition, you should not forget the active tweeters in the Nordic countries. On Twitter you can find research-related topics, among other things, with the hashtags #medieforskning, #jagforskar,  #journalistik, #Nordpub#NordicomOA, and the varying conference hashtags (e.g. #NordMedia2017, #NordMedia2015, #Nordmedia2013 etc.).

Do you miss something essential on the list? Please do not hesitate to mail your suggestions to the author.

Maarit Jaakkola

Maarit Jaakkola works as a postdoctoral researcher at Nordicom at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and as a lecturer in journalism at the University of Tampere, Finland. You can reach her at maarit.jaakkola@nordicom.gu.se.

I found the passion for my work in DMJX

When I think back to the semester I spent as an exchange student in Denmark, I now realize how much it changed me and my career. Stepping out of my everyday life in Finland helped me find my passion as a photojournalist.

In autumn 2015 I spent four months in Aarhus Denmark studying photojournalism in Danish School of Media and Journalism (DMJX). In November 2016 I was awarded in prestigious CPOY for several of my short documentaries – and I have DMJX to thank for that.

I was encouraged to find my own style

I had studied photojournalism in the University of Tampere for four years and had worked as a visual journalist in newspapers for couple of years before I left for Denmark. Despite the years of studies and work I still felt I hadn’t found the right path for me yet. I was constantly questioning my skills and passion for my work.

Moving to a new country and getting to know new people provoked new ideas of what I could do with my career. In DMJX I was surrounded by great teachers and skillful colleagues from around the world – and just getting to know them, I was introduced to so many different ways of being a visual journalist.

One crucial thing in finding one’s love for their work is getting the support they need from people around them.

In DMJX the teachers emphasized that they wanted us to find our own style as photojournalists: whether it was fast-paced news photography or long term personal projects, film or digital photography, still images or video.

This was the key for me to realize that no matter what my style was, the most important thing was that I would do my work with passion. No journalism is ever good if it’s not done with great care and inspiration for the subject.

Me and my classmates on our graduation day in DMJX.
Me and my classmates on our graduation day in DMJX.

Workshops with international professionals

In DMJX I began to look back at my work experience in newspapers and I realized that daily news work really wasn’t what I wanted to do as a journalist. Then I started to ask myself: Was it worth doing work that I didn’t feel passionate about? What would I do If I listened to my heart?

In DMJX the photojournalism studies consist of several workshops with different areas of photojournalism. The teaching is in English so there’s no language barrier to keep you from learning everything you want.

For me the crucial workshop in finding the passion for my work was the video workshop with Bombay Flying Club. During the workshop we produced web documentaries about the refugee crisis in Denmark. I spent over a week living in the house of a Syrian-Iraqi refugee family documenting their life and struggle with the Danish immigration policies.

Being able to spend all that time with my subject and really getting to know their story was something I had never experienced working as a news photographer. During that week I felt such a love for my work that I had never felt before.

I felt like I was doing something meaningful and I was good at it.

 

I documented the life of Abdulhamid family in Denmark. The picture is from the short documentary 'Everything For Family' which tells how the family is torn apart by Danish immigration policies.
I documented the life of Abdulhamid family in Denmark. The picture is from the short documentary ’Everything For Family’ which tells how the family is torn apart by Danish immigration policies.

Following your passion pays off

After I returned to Finland one year ago I continued to follow my passion: I started producing short documentaries for Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE. During this year three of my documentaries have been broadcasted.

A couple of weeks ago I also received amazing news: three of my short documentaries were granted with an award in College Photographer of the Year (CPOY) -competition. The awards gave me confidence that I’ve taken steps on the right path when following my passion for documentary filmmaking.

Of course I still feel insecure at times and have doubts about my work. However, the past year I’ve felt more confident and happy with my work than ever before. In DMJX I learned that if I continue to follow my heart, it eventually takes me a lot further than any rationally made career plans.

Otto, 67, sits in his kitchen at Hipposkylä, Finland. Otto is one of the main characters in the documentary 'Alone together' which won the Award of Excellence in CPOY 2016.
Otto, 67, sits in his kitchen at Hipposkylä, Finland. Otto is one of the main characters in the documentary ’Alone together’ which won the Award of Excellence in CPOY 2016.

Riina Rinne

The author studied in DMJX ’s half-year-long Photo I -program in 2015, funded by the Nordplus program. Now she is finishing her Master’s studies in visual journalism at the University of Tampere in Finland. You can find Riina Rinne’s work on her website and in YLE Areena.

Material från konferensen i Ålesund

asun16-bild4Material från den nordiska lärarkonferensen i Ålesund (21 – 23 september) finns nu på hemsidan. Workshopar hölls om undervisningen i mobiljournalistik, webbjournalistik, utrikesjournalistik och intervjuteknik samt internationella projekt, nya undervisningsmetoder och pedagogiska upptäckter. Samarbetskommittén höll även sitt möte i Ålesund.

Nästa konferens ska hållas 2018 i Danmark.

Anmälan till lärarkonferensen i Ålesund har öppnats

Den nordiska lärarkonferensen i Ålesund (21-23 september) är nu öppen för anmälan. Konferensen kommer att hållas på hotellet Scandic Parken. Detaljer om övernattning samt preliminärt program hittar du på konferensens hemsida. Registrering görs här. Övernattning beställs direkt från Scandic Parken Hotel, från denna sida, där du också finner priser och kontaktinformation. Du kan också kontakta konferensarrangören på konferanse@hivolda.no om du har några funderingar.

Nästa lärarkonferens i Ålesund, Norge

Nästa konferens för nordiska journalistlärare (#NordJour2016) ska hållas i Ålesund, Norge, 21–23 september 2016. Mer information om programmet finns på konferenssidan.

Ålesund har bara 42 000 invånare men är känd för sina vackra landskap och sin stiliga jugendarkitektur – och för klippfisk: över 90 procent av världens klippfisk kommer från Ålesund. För journalist- och medieforskare kan det vara av intresse att Ålesund blev Norges första stad med telefon 1876.

Det nordiska nätverket för journalistutbildningar på högskolenivå