| Popis |
Crises recur cyclically in journalistic work and media existence. As many scholars showed, disruption brings “the changing dynamics in the journalistic field seen as a form of disruption, upsetting familiar ways of doing things” (Roe Mathisen, 2023: 8). If we add to this bleak outlook the tendency of local media to be fragile (Jenkins & Nielsen, 2020), the consequences for their existence can be fatal, leading to the emergence of local news deserts (Waschková Císařová, 2023). A typology of disruptions can be sketched along a typical view of media development oriented towards economics and technology: cutbacks, downsizing, weakening traditional business model; digital changes which affect workflow, user preferences or audience behaviour (Roe Mathisen, 2023). However, media and journalists manage and survive crises and repeatedly find ways to adapt to the changing conditions of their existence. So let’s turn the argument around, re-orientate it (Eide & Sjovaag, 2016) – not to dwell on disruptions, but to look at how resilience and sustainability are built. More particularly, how journalists respond to changes in their working environment, their practices, norms and values (Finneman et al., 2023), when „disruption provides a powerful vocabulary of motivation and justification for change” (Roe Mathisen, 2023: 10). Moreover, how the sustainability of local media is created through this resilience. Journalists’ resilience can be seen as thinking about ““under what conditions" a society can remain open and operational despite a very complex situation. The experience that a [medium] is not powerless, even if it is also in crisis, is a starting point for possible unexpected and creative solutions” (Koubová & Baronová, 2023: 415). Resilience among journalists can be for example demonstrated through team dynamics, reaffirming commitment, exploring personal development and self-reflection (Ramos & Suizo, 2024). In view of the above, the aim of my text is to focus on how local journalists build their resilience, their media sustainability, and how they perceive crises that affect their journalistic work. My paper is based on two sets of qualitative data, in-depth interviews: (1) 33 interviews with local newspapers’ journalists in 2019 and 2020; (2) 15 interviews with local journalists from both newspapers and online local media collected from March to August 2024. This sample allows me both to reflect the shift in perceptions of crises, resilience and sustainability over time among identical interviewees, often experienced journalists (“old dogs”), but also to capture the views from younger journalists who have recently launched their online projects (“young guns”). Mine findings show, consistently with other research (Finneman et al., 2023; Ramos & Suizo, 2024), that journalists’ resilience is built on their constant adaptation to emerging obstacles; on the support of teamwork; self-reflection of precariousness and repeated attempts to resolve the precarity of their journalistic work. In addition, the findings show that different journalistic strategies vary by media type (print versus online), age and length of experience in the field (e.g. younger journalists are more self-reflective and open to innovation and cooperation). Moreover, local media sustainability must be actively built, with investment and innovation in mind.
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