2018/02/01 by Matt Carlson, Sue Robinson, Seth C. Lewis +3 · 125 citations
Social Sciences · #Communication studies #Computer science #Core (optical fiber) #Field (mathematics) #Journalism #Law #Media Studies and Communication #Media studies #Political science #Public relations #Social Media and Politics #Sociology #Telecommunications
paper · doi:10.1093/joc/jqx006
published in Journal of Communication 68(1), 6-25 (Oxford University Press)
openalex publication_date 2018/02/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
This article conceptualizes the distinctiveness of fields of scholarship within the discipline of communication through particular normative assumptions and identity practices defined here as commitments. A case study of journalism studies results in the postulation of six conceptual commitments that define its core ontological and epistemological premises: contextual sensitivity, holistic relationality, comparative inclination, normative awareness, embedded communicative power, and methodological pluralism. These interrelated features articulate the central dimensions of journalism studies, establishing the boundaries of the field and its relational, cultural, holistic, ecological, and contextual acts of scholarship. This article provides a blueprint for other communication scholars to address assumptions and commitments that situate and define their subdisciplines as distinct fields.