Twenty-second International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

The situation for journalism in Argentina represents a great challenge due to the continuous economic changes linked to inflation and labor precariousness. For this explorative study, based on journalists’ innovation and sense of belonging, we conducted a focus group and a survey to analyze the self-managed media composed by recovered, cooperatives, community, popular and alternative. To do this, we have chosen a triangulation of both qualitative and quantitative approaches in the following order: first a focus group was held with 10 communicators to better understand their current situation; second, 60 journalists were consulted about their roles and innovations. The findings reveal the presence of innovative actions (90%) related to the transfer of experiences and knowledge; 70% of the consulted journalists assumed new roles –management and administration activities–. In addition, 80% of the journalists have positively highlighted community work, characterized by a sense of belonging and its benefits in motivation and freedom. This sense of belonging could be included in the fifth area of innovation in journalism, which refers to the social factor.