Arts & Culture
Boundary Work and the Maintenance of Professional Jurisdiction in Journalism
Quick fact
When citizen-captured footage of events like the Arab Spring went viral, many professional journalists publicly distanced themselves from such material, arguing that unverified clips fail to meet the standards of 'real' journalism—a classic act of boundary work to maintain their professional jurisdiction.
Why this is interesting
You've probably seen a viral video of a big event posted by an ordinary person. But why do news outlets still call their own coverage 'real journalism'? How do they decide who belongs in the club?