Academia and journalism: Two different worlds? How scientific institutions can successfully collaborate with journalistic organizations

Abstract

Traditionally, researchers have played only a limited role as experts or qualified sources for journalists—and journalists were the subject of investigation for researchers rather than cooperation partners. The rapid pace of transformation processes in media use poses various challenges for media practitioners today, which is why they increasingly rely on the support of media researchers and their valuable insights into consumer attitudes and behaviour. However, the cooperation between scientific institutions and media practitioners is marked by many challenges and apart from individual temporary projects, lasting collaborations have not yet been established. This paper presents a long-term transfer initiative that aims to promote news use and news literacy among young people in close cooperation between a scientific institution and a wide range of private and public service media. Using this initiative as an example, we analyse the opportunities, challenges, and productive dynamics that result from this project. Based on our experience, we propose four main pieces of advice for how researchers can enhance long-term collaboration with newsrooms.