The Objects and Objectives of Journalism Research During the Coronavirus Pandemic and Beyond

The most immediate and important effects of the coronavirus pandemic concern public health. But the crisis also raises a number of key questions for journalism research. As scholars, we should pause, when so much of our working lives seems thrown out of routine, and critically consider what has brought us, individually and collectively, to this juncture in our research and where we aim to go in the future. I suggest two areas of journalism research that are worth pondering during this period: our objects (what we study) and our objectives (why we study). By honestly acknowledging our shortcomings-for example, in giving overweight attention to certain objects of analysis at the expense of others, or in failing to develop a stronger public voice as part of our scholarly objectives-we can reorient our research agendas to be simultaneously responsive and reflective as we address the current crisis and prepare for the uncertainties ahead. We might take the present situation not simply as an opportune moment to pivot to Covid-19 research and collect real-time data about news and journalism in transition, but also as an invitation to rethink our research enterprise in a much larger and longer-lasting sense.