#12505. “Possibility Generator”: A Study of Hearken As Expansion of Journalism Boundaries

November 2026publication date
Proposal available till 06-06-2025
4 total number of authors per manuscript5500 $

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Journal’s subject area:
Communication;
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Abstract:
This paper examines the expansion of journalism boundaries and explores a new type of company in the field. For that, the case of Hearken is taken as an emerging category of enterprise in journalism related to interloper media, which does not produce content, but still influences the field. The investigation addresses the following research questions: RQ1: What is the nature of Hearken as a company connected to journalism?; RQ2: How do its workers contrast their skills and experiences with journalism?; RQ3: what does this mean for the ecosystem of post-industrial journalism? A participant observation was conducted along with staff interviews. Hearken provides a new model for a journalistic company, which is not involved with content directly, organizes itself differently, but seeks to affect journalism and its ecosystem. It evidences the expansion of the skillsets related to journalism, unveiling different career paths and conceptualizations. Finally, Hearken and its employees seem to embody a journalism definition based on impact, not on method.
Keywords:
audience engagement; boundaries; digital journalism; hearken; Journalism; journalism startups; news ecosystem; post-industrial journalism

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