Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

In times of democratic backsliding, expectations of a pro-democratic media role are intensifying. This study examines expectations and evaluations of pro-democracy journalism among German citizens, journalists, and politicians. Findings show strong public and political support for a more active pro-democracy stance, which is also part of journalists’ role conception, but perceived media performance falls short in practice. Right-wing and anti-democratic public and political actors oppose such a role, raising concerns over increasing delegitimization of news media. The study highlights a gap between normative ideals and perceived performance, urging stronger journalistic engagement to defend democracy and its values.

Keywords

pro-democracy journalism political media functions elite survey journalistic role conceptions media performance

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abdenour

McIntyre

Dahmen

N. S.

(2021). Seeing eye to eye: A comparison of audiences’ and journalists’ perceptions of professional roles and how they relate to trust. Journalism Practice, 15(3), 329–347. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2020.1716828

Andersen

Shehata

Andersson

(2021). Alternative news orientation and trust in mainstream media: A longitudinal audience perspective. Digital Journalism, 11(5), 833–852. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2021.1986412

Angiolillo

God

A. G.

Nord

Lindberg

S. I.

(2025). Democracy report 2025: 25 years of autocratization—democracy trumped? https://www.v-dem.net/documents/54/v-dem_dr_2025_lowres_v1.pdf

Avery

J. M.

(2009). Videomalaise or virtuous circle? The influence of the news media on political trust. International Journal of Press/Politics, 14(4), 410–433.

Baugut

Fawzi

Reinemann

(2017). Close, dependent, and out of touch with the people? Investigating and explaining local political communication cultures in a multilevel analysis. International Journal of Press/Politics, 22(3), 357–379. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161217705470

Berkowitz

D. A.

(2011). Cultural meanings of news: A text-reader. Sage.

Boykoff

M. T.

Boykoff

J. M.

(2004). Balance as bias: Global warming and the US prestige press. Global Environmental Change, 14(2), 125–136.

Brants

de Vreese

C. H.

Möller

van Praag

(2010). The real spiral of cynicism? Symbiosis and mistrust between politicians and journalists. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 15(1), 25–40.

Brems

M. K.

(2024). A left-right divide? Alternative news use and political trust, populist attitudes, and populist vote intentions in the case of Denmark. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612241301647

10.

Brüggemann

Engesser

(2017). Beyond false balance: How interpretive journalism shapes media coverage of climate change. Global Environmental Change, 42, 58–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2016.11.004

11.

Brüggemann

Engesser

Büchel

Humprecht

Castro

(2014). Hallin and Mancini revisited: Four empirical types of western media systems. Journal of Communication, 64(6), 1037–1065.

12.

Campos-Rueda

Goyanes

(2023). Public service media for better democracies: Testing the role of perceptual and structural variables in shaping citizens’ evaluations of public television. Journalism, 24(11), 2493–2513. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849221114948

13.

Cappella

J. N.

Jamieson

K. H.

(1997). Spiral of cynicism. The press and the public good. Oxford University Press.

14.

Carlson

(2017). Journalistic authority: Legitimating news in the digital era. Columbia University Press.

15.

Carlson

Robinson

Lewis

S. C.

(2021). News after Trump: Journalism’s crisis of relevance in a changed media culture. Journalism and political communication unbound. Oxford University Press.

16.

Christians

C. G.

Glasser

T. L.

McQuail

Nordenstreng

White

R. A.

(2009). Normative theories of the media: Journalism in democratic societies. History of communication. University of Illinois Press.

17.

Cohen

B. C.

(1964). Press and foreign policy. Princeton Legacy Library. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400878611

18.

Costera Meijer

. (2022). What is valuable journalism? Three key experiences and their challenges for journalism scholars and practitioners. Digital Journalism, 10(2), 230–252. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2021.1919537

19.

Curran

(2011). Media and democracy. Routledge.

20.

Dohle

Blank

Vowe

(2012). Wie sehen Parlamentarier den Einfluss der Medien? Ergebnisse einer Befragung der Bundestagsabgeordneten [How do parliamentarians view the influence of the media? Results of a survey of members of the German Bundestag]. Zeitschrift Fr Parlamentsfragen, 43(2), 376–388.

21.

Donohue

(2022). We’ll find out whether journalism can, indeed, save democracy. NiemanLab. https://www.niemanlab.org/2022/12/well-find-out-whether-journalism-can-indeed-save-democracy/

22.

Egelhofer

J. L.

Aaldering

Lecheler

(2021). Delegitimizing the media? Analyzing politicians’ media criticism on social media. Journal of Language and Politics, 20(5), 653–675. https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.20081.ege

23.

Esser

Stępińska

Hopmann

D. N.

(2017). Populism and the media. Cross-national findings and perspectives. In Aalberg

Esser

Reinemann

Strömbäck

de Vreese

C. H.

(Eds.), Populist political communication in Europe (pp. 365–380). Routledge.

24.

Fawzi

(2018). Beyond policy agenda-setting: Political actors’ and journalists’ perceptions of news media influence across all stages of the political process. Information, Communication & Society, 21(8), 1134–1150. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1301524

25.

Fawzi

(2020). Right-wing populist media criticism. In Krämer

Holtz-Bacha

(Eds.), Perspectives on populism and the media: Avenues for research (pp. 39–56). Nomos Verlag.

26.

Fawzi

Mothes

(2020). Perceptions of media performance: Expectation-evaluation discrepancies and their relationship with media-related and populist attitudes. Media and Communication, 8(3), 335–347. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v8i3.3142

27.

Fawzi

Obermaier

Reinemann

(2017). Germany: Is the populism laggard catching up? In Aalberg

Esser

Reinemann

Strömbäck

de Vreese

C. H.

(Eds.), Populist political communication in Europe (pp. 111–126). Routledge.

28.

Fawzi

Steindl

Obermaier

Prochazka

Arlt

Blöbaum

Dohle

Engelke

K. M.

Hanitzsch

Jackob

Jakobs

Klawier

Post

Reinemann

Schweiger

Ziegele

(2021). Concepts, causes and consequences of trust in news media—A literature review and framework. Annals of the International Communication Association, 45(2), 154–174. https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2021.1960181

29.

Ferree

M. M.

Gamson

W. A.

Gerhards

Rucht

(2002). Four models of the public sphere in modern democracies. Theory and Society, 31(3), 289–324.

30.

Gans

H. J.

(1998). What can journalists actually do for American democracy? Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 3(4), 6–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/1081180X98003004003

31.

Gans

H. J.

(2010). News & the news media in the digital age: Implications for democracy. Daedalus, 139(2), 8–17.

32.

Garmissen

von, Lauerer

Hanitzsch

Loosen

(2025). Journalismus in Deutschland 2023. Befunde zur Situation und Selbsteinschätzung einer Profession unter Druck [Journalism in Germany 2023. Results on the situation and self-assessment of a profession under pressure]. M&K Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft, 73(1), 3–34.

33.

Geiß

(2023). Two Journalisms? Linear and curvilinear relationships between journalists’ role ideals and degree of democracy. Journalism Studies, 24(9), 1149–1174. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2023.2203270

34.

Gil de Zúñiga

Hinsley

(2013). The press versus the public: What is “good journalism?”. Journalism Studies, 14(6), 926–942. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2012.744551

35.

Graber

(2003). The media and democracy: Beyond myths and stereotypes. Annual Review of Political Science, 6(1), 139–160.

36.

Grossman

(2022). Media and policy making in the digital age. Annual Review of Political Science, 25, 443–461. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-051120-103422

37.

Gurevitch

Blumler

J. G.

(1990). Political communication systems and democratic values. In Lichtenberg

(Ed.), Democracy and the mass media: A collection of essays (pp. 269–287). Cambridge University Press.

38.

Habermas

(2006). Political communication in media society: Does democracy still enjoy an epistemic dimension? The impact of normative theory on empirical research. Communication Theory, 16(4), 411–426. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.2006.00280.x

39.

Hanitzsch

(2011). Populist disseminators, detached watchdogs, critical change agents and opportunist facilitators: Professional milieus, the journalistic field and autonomy in 18 countries. International Communication Gazette, 73(6), 477–494. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748048511412279

40.

Hanitzsch

Lauerer

(2019). Berufliches Rollenverständnis [Professional role perception]. In Hanitzsch

Seethaler

Wyss

(Eds.), Journalismus in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz [Journalism in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland] (pp. 135–161). Springer.

41.

Hanitzsch

Vos

T. P.

(2017). Journalistic roles and the struggle over institutional identity: The discursive constitution of journalism. Communication Theory, 27(2), 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1111/comt.12112

42.

Heider

McCombs

Poindexter

P. M.

(2005). What the public expects of local news: Views on public and traditional journalism. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 82(4), 952–967.

43.

Imundo

M. N.

Rapp

D. N.

(2022). When fairness is flawed: Effects of false balance reporting and weight-of-evidence statements on beliefs and perceptions of climate change. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 11(2), 258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2021.10.002

44.

Jang

Kreiss

(2024). Safeguarding the peaceful transfer of power: Pro-democracy electoral frames and journalist coverage of election deniers during the 2022 U.S. midterm elections. The International Journal of Press/Politics. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612241235819

45.

Jang

McGregor

(2024). Normative needs in the study of elections and campaigns [Political Communication Report, 29]. https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/bitstream/handle/fub188/43817/PCR-24-Spring_Jang&McGregor.pdf?sequence=1

46.

Janowitz

(1975). Professional models in journalism: The gatekeeper and the advocate. Journalism Quarterly, 52(4), 618–626. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769907505200402

47.

Johnson

T. J.

Veenstra

A. S.

(Eds.). (2024). The press and democratic backsliding: How journalism has failed the public and how it can revive democracy. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.

48.

Jonge

L. de

(2021). The curious case of Belgium: Why is there no right-wing populism in Wallonia? Government and Opposition, 56(4), 598–614. https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2020.8

49.

Kalogeropoulos

Toff

Fletcher

(2022). The watchdog press in the doghouse: A comparative study of attitudes about accountability journalism, trust in News, and news avoidance. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 29(4), 485–506. https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612221112572

50.

Karlsson

Clerwall

(2019). Cornerstones in journalism: According to citizens. Journalism Studies, 20(8), 1184–1199. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2018.1499436

51.

Keilmann

Jakob

Fawzi

(2025). Activist and/or neutral disseminator? Citizens’ and journalists’ views on climate reporting. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 1–27. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612251367093

52.

Kepplinger

H. M.

(2007). Reciprocal effects: Toward a theory of mass media effects on decision makers. Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 12(2), 3–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/1081180X07299798

53.

Klawier

(2023). Intermedia agenda-setting from the far right? Three case studies on spillover effects by alternative media in Germany. Hohenheim Discussion Papers in Business, Economics and Social Sciences.

54.

Klawier

Prochazka

Schweiger

(2022). Comparing frame repertoires of mainstream and right-wing alternative media. Digital Journalism, 10(8), 1387–1408. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2022.2048186

55.

Klinger

Kreiss

Mutsvairo

(2023). Platforms, power, and politics: An introduction to political communication in the digital age. John Wiley & Sons.

56.

Knüpfer

C. B.

Bennett

W. L.

Klinger

(2025). Far-right challenges to liberal democratic press norms: “Indexing by proxy” in a German immigration debate. Journal of Communication. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqaf008

57.

Koliska

Chadha

Burns

(2020). Talking back: Journalists defending attacks against their profession in the Trump era. Journalism Studies, 21(11), 1496–1513. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2020.1763190

58.

Kozman

Mellado

(2024). Mapping journalistic role performance across five Arab countries. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 102(3), 722–749. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990241306401

59.

Krämer

(2018). Populism, media, and the form of society. Communication Theory, 28(4), 444–465.

60.

Krämer

Schindler

(2018). Zum Umgang der Medien mit dem Rechtspopulismus. Hintergründe, Herausforderungen und Handlungsempfehlungen [Dealing with right-wing populism in the media. Context, challenges, and recommendations for action]. ComSoc Communicatio Socialis, 51(2), 131–142.

61.

Kurbjuweit

(2025). AfD und Journalismus: Wie umgehen mit der Gefahr von rechts? [AfD and journalism: How to deal with the threat from the right?] Spiegel. https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/afd-und-journalismus-wie-umgehen-mit-der-gefahr-von-rechts-a-5adf9940-9ba8-41e0-8219-6472d9e8534d

62.

Landwehr

Häfner

Stallbaum

(2024). Conceptions of democracy among citizens and legislators in the United States and Germany. https://theorie.politik.uni-mainz.de/files/2025/01/Poster_ProjectResults.pdf

63.

Larsen

A. G.

(2021). Newsworthy actors, illegitimate voices: Journalistic strategies in dealing with voices deemed anti-democratic and violent. Journalism, 22(1), 104–121. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884918760865

64.

Lockwood

(2018). Right-wing populism and the climate change agenda: Exploring the linkages. Environmental Politics, 27(4), 712–732. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2018.1458411

65.

Loosen

Garmissen

von, Bartelt

van Olphen

(2023). Journalismus in Deutschland 2023: Aktuelle Befunde zu Situation und Wandel [Journalism in Germany 2023: Current findings on the situation and changes]. Verlag Hans-Bredow-Institut.

66.

Loosen

Reimer

Hölig

(2020). What journalists want and what they ought to do: (In)congruences between journalists’ role conceptions and audiences’ expectations. Journalism Studies, 21(12), 1744–1774. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2020.1790026

67.

Lorenz

Assmann

(2025). Defining democracy through news coverage: Democracy beat coverage by local newsrooms. News Research Journal, 46(1), 167–193. https://doi.org/10.1177/30497841251317294

68.

Lünenborg

Berghofer

(2010). Politikjournalistinnen und -journalisten: Aktuelle Befunde zu Merkmalen und Einstellungen vor dem Hintergrund ökonomischer und technologischer Wandlungsprozesse im deutschen Journalismus [Political journalists: Current findings on characteristics and attitudes against the backdrop of economic and technological change processes in German journalism]. https://www.dfjv.de/wp-content/uploads/DFJV-Studie-Politikjournalismus.pdf

69.

Márquez-Ramírez

Mellado

Humanes

M. L.

Amado

Beck

Davydov

Mick

Mothes

Olivera

Panagiotu

Roses

Silke

Sparks

Stępińska

Szabó

Tandoc

Wang

(2020). Detached or interventionist? Comparing the performance of watchdog journalism in transitional, advanced and non-democratic countries. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 25(1), 53–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161219872155

70.

Maruf

(2021, December 12). News outlets should be openly “pro-democracy,” journalism professor says. CNN Business. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/12/12/media/jay-rosen-reliable-sources-political-coverage-democracy/index.html

71.

Maurer

Jost

(2024). Comparing agenda-setting effects for the issue of migration measured with three different indicators of the public agenda. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 36(3), Article edae037. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edae037

72.

Maurer

Jost

Schaaf

Sülflow

Kruschinski

(2023). How right-wing populists instrumentalize news media: Deliberate provocations, scandalizing media coverage, and public awareness for the Alternative for Germany (AfD). International Journal of Press/Politics, 28(4), 747–769. https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612211072692

73.

McChesney

R. W.

(2016). Rich media, poor democracy: Communication politics in dubious times. The New Press.

74.

McDevitt

(2022). Journalism and democratic backsliding: Critical realism as a diagnostic and prescription for reform. Political Communication, 39(4), 500–516. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2022.2045401

75.

McIntyre

Dahmen

N. S.

Abdenour

(2018). The contextualist function: US newspaper journalists value social responsibility. Journalism, 19(12), 1657–1675. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884916683553

76.

McQuail

(1992). Media performance: Mass communication and the public interest. Sage.

77.

McQuail

Deuze

(2020). McQuail’s media and mass communication theory (7th ed.). Sage.

78.

Mellado

Mothes

Hallin

D. C.

Humanes

M. L.

Lauber

Mick

Silke

Sparks

Amado

Davydov

(2020). Investigating the gap between newspaper journalists’ role conceptions and role performance in nine European, Asian, and Latin American countries. International Journal of Press/Politics, 25(4), 552–575. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161220910106

79.

Mellado

van Dalen

(2014). Between rhetoric and practice: Explaining the gap between role conception and performance in journalism. Journalism Studies, 15(6), 859–878. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2013.838046

80.

Muller

(2021). Journalism and the future of democracy. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76761-7

81.

Müller

Freudenthaler

(2022). Right-wing, populist, controlled by foreign powers? Topic diversification and partisanship in the content structures of German-language alternative media. Digital Journalism, 10(8), 1363–1386. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2022.2058972

82.

Nah

Chung

D. S.

(2012). When citizens meet both professional and citizen journalists. Social trust, media credibility, and perceived journalistic roles among online community news readers. Journalism, 13(6), 714–730. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884911431381

83.

Nelson

(2000). Why the media love presidents and presidents hate the media. The Virginia Quarterly Review, 76(2), 255–268.

84.

Pagiotti

Stanziano

Mazzoni

Mincigrucci

(2024). Interpreting or reporting? An analysis of journalistic interventionism across Western European countries. Journalism Practice, 18(9), 2337–2356. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2024.2326988

85.

Prochazka

(2020). Vertrauen in Journalismus unter Online-Bedingungen: Zum Einfluss von Personenmerkmalen, Qualitätswahrnehmungen und Nachrichtennutzung [Trust in journalism under online conditions: On the influence of personal characteristics, perceptions of quality, and news consumption].. Springer VS.

86.

Puppis

(2014). The regulation of political communication. In Reinemann

(Ed.), Political communication (pp. 39–61). De Gruyter Mouton.

87.

Reese

S. D.

(2024). The challenge of pro-democracy journalism. https://www.electionanalysis.ws/us/president2024/section-5-news-and-journalism/the-challenge-of-pro-democracy-journalism/

88.

Riedl

Eberl

J. M.

(2022). Audience expectations of journalism: What’s politics got to do with it? Journalism, 23(8), 1682–1699. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884920976422

89.

Ryfe

(2019). Journalism and democracy. In Wahl-Jorgensen

Hanitzsch

(Eds.), The Handbook of Journalism studies (2nd ed., pp. 293–306). Routledge.

90.

Schäfer

Zürn

(2023). The democratic regression: The political causes of authoritarian populism. John Wiley & Sons.

91.

Schmidt

V. A.

(2010). Taking ideas and discourse seriously: Explaining change through discursive institutionalism as the fourth “new institutionalism”. European Political Science Review, 2(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1017/S175577390999021X

92.

Schneider

Toyka-Seid

(2025). Wehrhafte Demokratie [Resilient democracy]. Bundezentrale für politische Bildung. https://www.bpb.de/kurz-knapp/lexika/das-junge-politik-lexikon/321402/wehrhafte-demokratie/

93.

Scholl

Malik

Gehrau

(2014). Journalistisches Publikumsbild und Publikumserwartungen. Eine Analyse des Zusammenhangs von journalistischen Vorstellungen über das Publikum und Erwartungen des Publikums an den Journalismus [Journalistic image of the audience and audience expectations. An analysis of the connection between journalistic perceptions of the audience and audience expectations of journalism]. In Loosen

Dohle

(Eds.), Journalismus und (sein) publikum. Schnittstellen zwischen journalismusforschung und rezeptions- und wirkungsforschung (pp. 17–33). Springer VS.

94.

Schuck

A. R. T.

(2017). Media malaise and political cynicism. In Rössler

Hoffner

von Zoonen

(Eds.), The international encyclopedia of media effects, 4 Volume Set (pp. 1–19). John Wiley & Sons.

95.

Schudson

(2008). Why democracies need an unlovable press. Polity Press.

96.

Schultz

(2020). In der Aufmerksamkeitsfalle. Über den medialen umgang mit rechtspopulisten und rechtsextremisten. In Russ-Mohl

(Ed.), Streitlust und streitkunst: Diskurs als essenz der demokratie (pp. 250–277). Herbert von Halem Verlag.

97.

Štětka

Mihelj

(2024). The illiberal public sphere: Media in polarized societies. Palgrave Macmillan.

98.

Strömbäck

(2005). In search of a standard: Four models of democracy and their normative implications for journalism. Journalism Studies, 6(3), 331–345. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616700500131950

99.

Strömbäck

Van Aelst

(2013). Why political parties adapt to the media: Exploring the fourth dimension of mediatization. International Communication Gazette, 75(4), 341–358. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748048513482266

100.

Tandoc

E. C.

Hellmueller

Vos

T. P.

(2013). Mind the gap: Between journalistic role conception and role enactment. Journalism Practice, 7(5), 539–554. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2012.726503

101.

The Commission on Freedom of the Press. (1947). A free and responsible press: A general report on mass communication: Newspapers, radio, motion pictures, magazines, and books. The University of Chicago Press.

102.

Tsfati

Meyers

Peri

(2006). What is good journalism? Comparing Israeli public and journalists’ perspectives. Journalism, 7(2), 152–173. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884906062603

103.

UseTheNews. (2025). Aktivismus und journalismus—passt das zusammen? https://www.usethenews.de/de/aktuelles/aktivismus-und-journalismus-passt-das-zusammen

104.

Valgarðsson

V. O.

Devine

(2022). What satisfaction with democracy? A global analysis of “satisfaction with democracy” measures. Political Research Quarterly, 75(3), 576–590. https://doi.org/10.1177/10659129211009605

105.

Van Aelst

Brants

van Praag

Vreese

C. de

Nuytemans

van Dalen

. (2008). The fourth estate as superpower: An empirical study of perceptions of media power in Belgium and the Netherlands. Journalism Studies, 9(4), 494–511. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616700802114134

106.

Van Aelst

Strömbäck

Aalberg

Esser

Vreese

de, Matthes

Hopmann

Salgado

Hubé

Stępińska

. (2017). Political communication in a high-choice media environment: a challenge for democracy? Annals of the International Communication Association, 41(1), 3–27.

107.

van Dalen

. (2021). Rethinking journalist–politician relations in the age of populism: How outsider politicians delegitimize mainstream journalists. Journalism, 22(11), 2711–2728. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884919887822

108.

van der Wurff

Schönbach

. (2014). Civic and citizen demands of news media and journalists: What does the audience expect from good journalism? Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 91(3), 1–19.

109.

van Dijck

Poell

Waal

M. de

. (2018). The Platform society: Public values in a connective world. Oxford University Press.

110.

Vincent

(2023). Reorienting journalism to favor democratic agency. In Dallas

Ellis

(Eds.), Reinventing journalism to strengthen democracy (pp. 7–30). Kettering Foundation.

111.

Vos

T. P.

Eichholz

Karaliova

(2019). Audiences and journalistic capital: Roles of journalism. Journalism Studies, 20(7), 1009–1027. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2018.1477551

112.

Walgrave

Van Aelst

(2006). The contingency of the mass media’s political agenda setting power: Toward a preliminary theory. Journal of Communication, 56(1), 88–109.

113.

Weaver

D. H.

Wilhoit

G. C.

(1996). The American journalist in the 1990s: U.S. news people at the end of an era. Erlbaum.

114.

Willnat

Weaver

D. H.

Wilhoit

G. C.

(2019). The American journalist in the digital age. Journalism Studies, 20(3), 423–441. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2017.1387071

115.

Willnat

Weaver

D. H.

Wilhoit

(2024). The American journalist under attack: An institution at risk. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 102(1), 37–61. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990241292080

116.

Wodak

(2020). The politics of fear: The shameless normalization of far-right discourse. Sage.

The Media as Defenders or Disruptors of Democracy? Comparing Citizens’,Politicians’,and Journalists’ Perspectives on Pro-Democracy Journalism

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References