Rethinking the Sociology of News: Global Empirical and Theoretical Perspectives

The sociology of news has long shaped critical inquiry into journalism, foregrounding questions of power, ideology, and the social organisation of media. Foundational studies exposed the constructed nature of news and its role in wider systems of influence, yet they were largely rooted in Anglo-American contexts. Today, shifting media ecologies, global socio-political transformations, and the rise of decolonial scholarship challenge these traditions and demand renewed theoretical and empirical attention. The contributions assembled in this special issue respond to this task by interrogating the sociology of news across diverse contexts and perspectives. Collectively, they highlight both the continuing relevance of established frameworks and the need to centre marginalised voices, and epistemologies to revitalise the field for contemporary journalism studies.