Online Newsrooms as Communities of Practice: Exploring Digital Journalists’ Applied Ethics

Abstract

Based on qualitative interviews with online media professionals conducted in several Spanish online newsrooms, this article explores the ethical issues that are debated by digital journalists, following the implementation of convergence and multiplatform production. Through the journalists’ perceptions about the challenges of convergence and the demands of online news production, the main areas of ethical conflicts are examined. Building on Alasdair MacIntyre’s theory about communities of practice, I argue that the standards and practices currently being developed in online newsrooms provide a valid framework for ethical decision making. Finally, the premises for constructing online journalism ethics in these communities of practice are discussed.