Journalism as historical repair work: Addressing present injustice through the second draft of history

Author(s)

Nik UsherFollow
Matt Carlson, University of Minnesota - Twin CitiesFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Summer 7-2022

Journal Title

Journal of Communication

Volume Number

72

Issue Number

5

First Page

553

Last Page

564

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqac022

Version

Post-print: the version of the article having undergone peer review but prior to being published

Disciplines

Communication

Abstract

As part of contemporary racial reckoning, institutions are acknowledging their historical legacies of racism and discrimination. Media institutions, given their role in the social construction of reality, have been called to account by racial justice activists for perpetuating the white-dominant status quo. We develop a framework for recognizing and interpreting efforts at historical repair work in journalism, second draft of history journalism (SDOH), whereby contemporary consciousness about racial injustice, structural inequality, and exclusionary practices inside and outside journalism prompt news organizations to revisit the historical record. Through case study exemplars at U.S. newspapers, we define the three main modes—active, reflective, and active/reflective, and four key characteristics of SDOH journalism—discursive consciousness, institutional consciousness, moral consciousness, and past orientation. We address the contested boundaries of journalism’s cultural authority as journalists negotiate between SDOH journalism’s moral advocacy in pursuit of social justice and journalists’ professional journalistic norms of objectivity and neutrality.

Digital USD Citation

Usher, Nik and Carlson, Matt, "Journalism as historical repair work: Addressing present injustice through the second draft of history" (2022). Communication Studies: Faculty Scholarship. 19.
https://digital.sandiego.edu/commstudies_facpub/19