Local journalists weigh coverage’s impact on marginalised communities before publishing.

Evidence

While local journalists uphold the principle of serving the public interest in their coverage of Muslim-related topics, they also conscientiously weigh the potential adverse repercussions of their reporting on local Muslim communities. The findings support recent research from Wahl-Jorgensen (2024) who reported that editors of local outlets based in deprived or marginalised areas demonstrated strong commitments to the fostering of positive representations of marginalised members of the local community and of community diversity. Wahl-Jorgensen contends that local journalists wield an epistemic authority derived from their intimate, reciprocal ties with the communities they serve, thereby empowering them to challenge representation injustices as trusted insiders within the community fabric. — Nadia Haq, ‘The National Media Just Sees Muslims…, 57

Categorization

• XREF: The ‘epistemic authority of the insider’ concept dovetails with standpoint-theory literature and with participatory-action research traditions.
• DEFINE: Introduces the useful concept that proximity to a community grants reporters a form of insider epistemic standing.