The Theoretical Deficit of the Discursive Turn in Journalism Studies: A Systematic Literature Review

Discourse analysis has a long history within journalism studies, representing a key area of theoretical cross-fertilization with linguistics, semiotics, continental philosophy and political theory. In recent years, interest in discursive approaches has grown in journalism research, with scholars calling for a ‘discursive turn’ in research on journalistic roles and boundaries. To study this analytical development and map its inter-disciplinary theoretical foundations, this article presents a systematic literature review of discourse analytical studies of journalism between 2018 and 2022. Based on a quantitative content analysis of 100 articles collected from five leading academic journals in journalism studies, the study confirms the growing prominence of discourse analysis in the field. Notably, the study also finds a theoretical deficit, with 24 out of 100 studies not engaging with theoretical literature within any major school of discourse analysis. The study finds limited theoretical diversity among those that reference major schools, with most drawing on Critical Discourse Analysis (n=60) and few engaging with alternatives such as Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (n=4), (the Essex School of) Discourse Theory (n=1), or Discursive Psychology (n=1). These findings call for deeper theoretical engagement and more diverse approaches to better understand journalism as a discursively constituted institution and practice.