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Abstract:
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The entry of non-traditional actors into aspects of journalistic
practice has been widely explored in scholarship, as have
expressions of the public’s trust in journalistic work. However,
there is a scarcity of research addressing the construct of trust in
relation to the interactions among traditional and non-traditional
journalism actors engaged in news production. Through the use
of actor-network theory and by applying qualitative case study
design, this study focused on the nature of journalistic practice in
a digitally disrupted Kenyan newsroom, and how trust/mistrust
manifested itself within the actor-network of journalistic practice.
Theoretical and thematic analyses established the social and
technological actors that had joined the process of journalistic
practice while four findings emerged addressing notions of trust/
mistrust within the actor-network. These findings were as follows:
trust occurs within an established routinized process; trust is
enacted within a particular news media environment; new
entrants in journalistic practice need to demonstrate value to
gain trusted entry in the actor-network; and trust is engendered
at institutional level but needs acceptance at individual level. |