What is platform journalism?
Platform journalism is a term that I developed in my PhD research to aid in the analysis of the changing media ecosystem and the place journalism has in it.
The term platform journalism was first used in an opinion article I wrote for Independent Australia called, Friendlyjordies leading the way for public interest journalism (7 September 2022). That article was a companion piece with an article I did for the Centre for Media Transition (CMT) called The Rise of Platform Journalism. In this article I gave the following definition:
“Platform journalism is an emerging form of journalism that combines the norms and routines of social media platforms (e.g. calls to action, dramatic sound effects, conversational mode of address) with journalism ideals and original investigation.”
In March 2023 I wrote another article for Independent Australia called, From 'YouTubers' to war reporters: Citizen journalism and the Ukraine war. In this article I gave a simplified explanation of platform journalism saying that it “combines "YouTuber" norms with journalism ideals, such as reporting verifiable facts to inform the public.”
The term platform journalism appeared in a journal article by Yin, Fu, and Zheng called, Meso News-Space in China: Peripheral News Production of Platform Journalism - first published online in August 2023. Their article discusses “the rise of platform journalism” and states that “Platform journalism is an emerging form of journalism in which social media platforms provide the digital infrastructure for the creation of online spaces for news production through which news-related content is shared, accessed, used and monetized by various news players, such as news organizations, individual journalists, and audiences” (p. 681). This use of the term platform journalism differs from mine. It focuses on ‘digital infrastructure’ while mine focuses more on what journalism is and how it is produced by media creators.
While I have published several media pieces on platform journalism since 2022, the wheels of academia move slowly indeed. Happily I published my first peer-reviewed journal article on platform journalism in June 2025. The article is called, Platform journalism on YouTube: A democratic functions approach to analysing journalism on digital platforms. In this article I included my updated definition of platform journalism.
“Platform journalism is created with a specific social media platform in mind, and it presents journalism using the norms and affordances of the chosen platform.”
Importantly for my definition of platform journalism, I don’t make assumptions about the definition of journalism. In my article I give three critical definitions - journalism, public interest journalism, and investigative public interest journalism. My definition for journalism is designed to be a low bar to which assess serious youtubers. For my study, journalism “the editorially independent activity of collecting and interpreting newsworthy information and publishing media content that reports or comments on information for some portion of the public” (p. 102). Public interest journalism raises the bar.
“Public interest journalism is the editorially independent activity of collecting, and honestly interpreting, verifiable information on public interest issues and publishing media content that reports on or analyses information for some portion of the public so that the public may better engage in political decision making or public sphere deliberation.”
My definition for investigative public interest journalism builds on this and raises the bar even higher.
“Investigative public interest journalism is original and exclusive, or agenda setting, public interest journalism activities that expose matters of public interest that are deliberately concealed, or that are obscured due to the complex nature of the topic.”
Check out my most recent article click this link - https://doi.org/10.1386/ajr_00178_7
In this article I use the above definitions to analyse the Australian YouTube channel friendlyjordies.
What are the legal and social impacts of youtubers producing public interest journalism? Stay tuned for more of my research addressing this and other questions.
By Christopher Hall