New research article on Journalistic social media influencers published in Journalism Practice journal

Controversies Over Journalistic Social Media Influencers: “Social Media Reality” Practices Expanding the Boundaries of Journalism

How are Journalistic Social Media Influencers, JSMI, practices debated publicly, and what does that discourse reveal about the evolving journalism practice?

We investigate the societal debate in the Finnish meta-journalistic discourse between 2019-2023, when the novel media profession gained media prominence and attention.

The findings show that (1) JSMIs are called upon to account for their monetisation practices, social responsibility, and visibility skills, and in response, (2) JSMIs subvert the calls to give an account of themselves, positioning the traditional journalistic practices as alienated from reality.

While the monetisation practices and social responsibility of JSMIs are questioned, visibility skills seem to be largely accepted and appropriated into journalists’ toolkit for personal branding.

The article is now on Taylor & Francis Online, published Open Access (pdf).

Aalto, T., & Frig, M. (2026). Controversies Over Journalistic Social Media Influencers: “Social Media Reality” Practices Expanding the Boundaries of Journalism. Journalism Practice, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2025.2612547