418 / 658
416
Saturday, November 12
1 6 : 0 0 – 1 7 : 3 0
PP 665
Critical Creativity: Creativity as Strategic Resource in Journalistic Work
N. Malmelin
1
, P. Poutanen
2
1
Aalto University, Department of Management Studies, Helsinki, Finland
2
University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
The paper focuses on the critical impact and the strategic role of creativity in media organizations, especially in journalistic work and media work. The re‑
search on the role of creativity in the media industry has been scarce although recently there have been some studies on creativity in media organizations
and in media work (e.g. Malmelin & Nivari-Lindström, 2015; Malmelin & Virta, 2015; Nylund, 2013; Markham, 2012; Berglez, 2011; Hesmondhalgh and
Baker, 2011). However, because of the rapid transformation in the media industry, organizational creativity and renewal capability are pivotal to the fu‑
ture success of the media companies. From the resource-based view of company (Penrose, 1959/2009; Mierzejewska, 2011), they can be conceptualized
as strategic resources of the media organizations coping with the changes of the media transformation. We argue that there is an urgent need for new
understanding about what critical or strategic creativity is, particularly from the point of view of a media company and media work. The paper is based on
an empirical analysis of journalists’comprehensions and interpretations about the role of creativity in their work and in the operations of the media organi‑
zation.The empirical data were collected among the journalism professionals of the magazine industry in Finland.The magazine publishing is a particularly
interesting sector of the media industry, because it is characterized by the continuous, incremental renewal of the media products, in addition to the need
for adapting to the present changes in the operational environment. Using the critical incident technique and web-based questionnaire, some 150 writings
about critical incidents regarding creative work in media organizations were collected. The paper contributes to the evolving research field concerned
with the media organizations, especially about media work and its management (e.g. Deuze, 2007; Deuze, 2009). The paper produces new empirically
grounded theoretical model about the role and impact of creativity in media organizations. The findings have significant implications both for the research
field and for the practices of journalism and media management. References Berglez, Peter (2011). Inside, outside, and beyond media logic: Journalistic
creativity in climate reporting. Media, Culture & Society, 33 (3), 449–465. Deuze, Mark (2007). Media Work. Cambridge: Polity. Deuze, Mark (2009). Media
industries, work and life. European journal of communication 24 (4): 467–480. Hesmondhalgh, David & Baker, Sarah (2011). Creative Labour. Media work
in three cultural industries. London: Routledge. Malmelin, Nando & Nivari-Lindström, Lotta (2015). Rethinking creativity in journalism: Implicit theories
of creativity in the Finnish magazine industry. Journalism, DOI: 10.1177/1464884915620272. Malmelin, Nando & Virta, Sari (2015). Managing creativity
in change: Motivations and constraints of creative work in media organisation. Journalism Practice, DOI: 10.1080/17512786.2015.1074864. Markham, Tim
(2012). The politics of journalistic creativity: expressiveness, authenticity and de-authorization. Journalism Practice, 6 (2), 187–200. Mierzejewska, Bozena
(2011). Media Management in Theory and Practice. Pp. 14–30. In Deuze, Mark (Ed.), Managing Media Work. Los Angeles: Sage. Nylund, Mats (2013).
Toward Creativity Management: Idea Generation and Newsroom Meetings. International Journal on Media Management, 15 (4), 197–210. Penrose, Edith
(1959/2009). The Growth of the Firm. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
PP 666
Recent Advancements in News Literacy: An Assessment from the Perspective of Emerging News Use Practices
L. Bleumers
1
, I. Picone
1
1
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Communication Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
News literacy has come under academic scrutiny as a specific form of media literacy (Mihailidis, 2012). The case for news literacy as a core component for
an engaged citizenship has been successfully made (see e.g. Mihailidis andThevenin, 2013).The way in which news literacy is being implemented in official
curricula is being explored (Schwarz, 2012). These developments seem to reflect a focal shift: if journalistic ideals are increasingly pressured by commercial
logics, then we should reflect on howmedia users themselves can be empowered to become informed and engaged citizens. Focussing on developing news
literacy amongst citizens would also require us to measurement it. A good example is the news literacy scale developed by Ashley, Maksl and Craft (2013).
However, measuring and conceptualising news literacy is still a work in progress, especially because news as a mediated, cultural product is continuously
evolving under influence of the ongoing digitalisation of media and accompanying changes in citizens’ news use practices. This paper hence proposes
some important additions to the measurement of news literacy based on emerging news use practices, like the access of news trough social media, which
is already common amongst youngsters. We will first discuss where we see the need for more conceptual advancement. We will argue that in addition to
an understanding of how news is made, an understanding of how news is distributed and of what the affordances of specific online platforms are is of equal
importance. In terms of news consumption, this refers amongst others to the way algorithms filter the news feeds on many social media, based on personal
and social preferences (see Pariser (2011) on filter bubbles). In terms of citizens’ participation to the news, news literacy scales should take into account
news users’awareness of their own role in spreading news when sharing and commenting on social media. Through qualitative diary studies with 22 social
media users (average age= 22), we explored their awareness of possible issue when consuming or interacting with news on social media in terms of content
filters, trust and information handling (e.g. double-checking) when sharing information. Based on the insights gained, we propose additional dimensions
to be incorporated into news literacy measurement scales. We conclude by discussing the lack of comparative research on this respect and propose some
possible perspectives in this regard. Keywords: news literacy – media literacy – social media – informed citizens – citizen engagement References: Ashley,
S., Maksl, A., & Craft, S. (2013). Developing a News Media Literacy Scale. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 68(1), 7–21. Mihailidis, Paul. (2012).
News Literacy in the Dawn of a Hypermedia Age. In Mihailidis, Paul (Ed.), News Literacy. Global Perspectives for the Newsroom and the Classroom (pp.
1–20). New York: Peter Lang Publishing. Mihailidis, P., & Thevenin, B. (2013). Media Literacy as a Core Competency for Engaged Citizenship in Participatory
Democracy. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(11), 1611–1622. Pariser, E. (2011). The Filter Bubble. London: Viking/Penguin Books. Schwarz, F. (2012).
Media Literacy and the News. Zwolle, Netherlands: Windesheim School of Media.