Adversarial journalism refers to a kind of journalism or a journalistic role where the journalist adopts an oppositional and combative style of reporting and interviewing.[1][2] The goal of adversarial journalism is to reveal supposed wrongdoings of actors under investigation.[1] Instead of being completely impartial, adversarial journalists take sides in what they believe to be true.[2] They deliberately combine information with commentary or opinion in their writing.[2] In particular, adversarial journalists remain relentlessly hostile and highly skeptical regarding government, big business companies, and political events, questions, institutions and personalities.[3] Adversarial journalism is thought to be traditional in liberal democracies where journalism is regarded as a "Fourth Estate" (the fourth pillar of a democracy). It is also considered an extreme form of participant journalism or advocacy journalism.[3] It has been contrasted with public or civic journalism.[4]
- ^ a b Daniel Chandler; Rod Munday (2011), A Dictionary of Media and Communication, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 4
- ^ a b c Tony Harcup (2014), A Dictionary of Journalism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 5
- ^ a b Barbie Zelizer; Stuart Allan (2010), Keywords in News and Journalism Studies, Open University Press, p. 2
- ^ Bob Franklin; Martin Hamer; Mark Hanna; John E. Richardson (2005), Key Concepts in Journalism Studies, Sage Publications, p. 7