Social Journalism as a specialized area, reform perspective and professional culture. A review of concepts and debates

Abstract

This article examines the conformation of a research line on Social Journalism, in special in Spain and Latin America. Through the use of bibliographic review, we identify three layers of literature that correspond to three different understandings of the same concept: as a specialized journalistic field, as a media reform perspective, and as a role or model of professional practice. The research reveals the dominance of critical and normative approaches, and opens the discussion about the theoretical relevance of this label according to other conceptualizations about journalism, citizenship and human rights.