Anatomy of a precarious newsroom: precarity and agency in Syrian exiled journalism in Turkey

Yazan Badran; Kevin Smets

doi:10.1177/01634437211011556

Anatomy of a precarious newsroom: precarity and agency in Syrian exiled journalism in Turkey

Yazan Badran, Kevin Smets

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

24 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

This paper contributes to the ongoing debate on the precarisation of journalistic work by looking at the case of Syrian exiled journalists in Turkey, whose professional and personal lifeworlds are underpinned by multiple layers of precarity. The article builds on data collected during a 3-month-long period of participant observations at the newsroom of Enab Baladi, a Syrian news outlet based in Istanbul, Turkey. It develops a relational notion of precarity through insights from the growing body of work on precarity in the journalistic field, as well as research on precarity and migration. It proposes a multidimensional understanding of the ‘precarious newsroom’ that takes into account the people, organisation and place, as a way to map how different layers of precarity, and responses to them, are articulated, experienced and negotiated. Our research underlines the complex anatomy of the precarious newsroom as a paradoxical place and an amalgamation of precarity and agency.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1377-1394
Number of pages	18
Journal	Media, Culture & Society
Volume	43
Issue number	8
Early online date	28 Apr 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437211011556
Publication status	Published - 23 Nov 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by a PhD fellowship of the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO): [grant number 1172019N]. Additionally, the fieldwork in Istanbul, Turkey, was conducted with the generous support of a long-stay abroad grant by the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO): [Grant Number V436119N].

Funding Information:
The authors would like to express their immense gratitude to the journalists of Enab Baladi for the generosity and openness they have shown during the fieldwork for this study. We would also like to acknowledge the support of our host institute in Istanbul, Kadir Has University. In particular, we would like to thank Prof. dr. Suncem Ko?er, for her insights and guidance throughout the period of the fieldwork. The authors would also like to thank Prof. dr. Jan Loisen for his continuous support, and his feedback and comments on earlier drafts of this article. Finally, we would also like to extend our thanks to the anonymous reviewers and editors of Media, Culture and Society for their insightful comments and guidance. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by a PhD fellowship of the Research Foundation ? Flanders (FWO): [grant number 1172019N]. Additionally, the fieldwork in Istanbul, Turkey, was conducted with the generous support of a long-stay abroad grant by the Research Foundation ? Flanders (FWO): [Grant Number V436119N].

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.

Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Keywords

Ethnography
exilic media
journalism
newsroom
Syria
Turkey

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10.1177/01634437211011556

Badran&Smets-MCS-Precarity-Preprint
Under SAGE's Green Open Access policy, the Accepted Version of the article may be posted in the author's institutional repository and reuse is restricted to non-commercial and no derivative uses.
Accepted author manuscript, 188 KBLicence: Other

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Cite this

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title = "Anatomy of a precarious newsroom: precarity and agency in Syrian exiled journalism in Turkey",

abstract = "This paper contributes to the ongoing debate on the precarisation of journalistic work by looking at the case of Syrian exiled journalists in Turkey, whose professional and personal lifeworlds are underpinned by multiple layers of precarity. The article builds on data collected during a 3-month-long period of participant observations at the newsroom of Enab Baladi, a Syrian news outlet based in Istanbul, Turkey. It develops a relational notion of precarity through insights from the growing body of work on precarity in the journalistic field, as well as research on precarity and migration. It proposes a multidimensional understanding of the {\textquoteleft}precarious newsroom{\textquoteright} that takes into account the people, organisation and place, as a way to map how different layers of precarity, and responses to them, are articulated, experienced and negotiated. Our research underlines the complex anatomy of the precarious newsroom as a paradoxical place and an amalgamation of precarity and agency.",

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note = "Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by a PhD fellowship of the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO): [grant number 1172019N]. Additionally, the fieldwork in Istanbul, Turkey, was conducted with the generous support of a long-stay abroad grant by the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO): [Grant Number V436119N]. Funding Information: The authors would like to express their immense gratitude to the journalists of Enab Baladi for the generosity and openness they have shown during the fieldwork for this study. We would also like to acknowledge the support of our host institute in Istanbul, Kadir Has University. In particular, we would like to thank Prof. dr. Suncem Ko?er, for her insights and guidance throughout the period of the fieldwork. The authors would also like to thank Prof. dr. Jan Loisen for his continuous support, and his feedback and comments on earlier drafts of this article. Finally, we would also like to extend our thanks to the anonymous reviewers and editors of Media, Culture and Society for their insightful comments and guidance. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by a PhD fellowship of the Research Foundation ? Flanders (FWO): [grant number 1172019N]. Additionally, the fieldwork in Istanbul, Turkey, was conducted with the generous support of a long-stay abroad grant by the Research Foundation ? Flanders (FWO): [Grant Number V436119N]. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2021. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

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N2 - This paper contributes to the ongoing debate on the precarisation of journalistic work by looking at the case of Syrian exiled journalists in Turkey, whose professional and personal lifeworlds are underpinned by multiple layers of precarity. The article builds on data collected during a 3-month-long period of participant observations at the newsroom of Enab Baladi, a Syrian news outlet based in Istanbul, Turkey. It develops a relational notion of precarity through insights from the growing body of work on precarity in the journalistic field, as well as research on precarity and migration. It proposes a multidimensional understanding of the ‘precarious newsroom’ that takes into account the people, organisation and place, as a way to map how different layers of precarity, and responses to them, are articulated, experienced and negotiated. Our research underlines the complex anatomy of the precarious newsroom as a paradoxical place and an amalgamation of precarity and agency.

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Anatomy of a precarious newsroom: precarity and agency in Syrian exiled journalism in Turkey

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

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Other files and links

Fingerprint

FWOTM807: New communication spaces in the Arab world: A multi-method study of emerging media organisations in Tunisia, Egypt and Syria

【學者觀點】專訪媒體及傳播學者‭ ‬Yazan Badran‭: 流亡新聞的複雜性：敘利亞媒體對香港記者的啟示

Precarious newsroom: Dynamics of precarity and agency in Syrian exiled media in Turkey

Precarious newsroom: Dynamics of precarity and agency in Syrian exiled media in Turkey

The development and future of Syria’s emerging media

FWO grant for a long stay abroad

Cite this

Anatomy of a precarious newsroom: precarity and agency in Syrian exiled journalism in Turkey

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Handle.net

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Projects

FWOTM807: New communication spaces in the Arab world: A multi-method study of emerging media organisations in Tunisia, Egypt and Syria

Research output

【學者觀點】專訪媒體及傳播學者‭ ‬Yazan Badran‭: 流亡新聞的複雜性：敘利亞媒體對香港記者的啟示

Activities

Precarious newsroom: Dynamics of precarity and agency in Syrian exiled media in Turkey

Precarious newsroom: Dynamics of precarity and agency in Syrian exiled media in Turkey

The development and future of Syria’s emerging media

Prizes

FWO grant for a long stay abroad

Cite this