Advocate, Copycatting or Simply Pragmatic: Reconceptualising Contemporary 'Marginal' Journalism(s)

Journalism(s) at the margins have often been perceived to focus exclusively on public service obligations.The motivation for this lies in the inability and/or unwillingness of mainstream public service and commercial media to provide a range of civic programming that caters to the needs and interests of diverse groups in society. This research, however, shows that evolving socio-political and socio-economic circumstances have had a considerable impact on contemporary marginal journalism(s). Whilst a commitment to public service goals remains perceptible, this article makes two key arguments. First, the changing conditions in which journalists at the margins operate increasingly compel them to embrace mechanised journalistic routines associated with mainstream media, thereby compromising their public-service function. Second and following on from the first point, marginal journalism(s) have devised innovative media strategies to cope with the evolving circumstances in a manner reminiscent of the concept of the “third sector”. This evidence – based on data gathered through ethnographic research at three selected case study organisations- provides us with an enhanced understanding of current trends in this field. The article highlights these developments and in doing so, makes a contribution to the development of a conceptual framework of contemporary marginal journalism(s).