## Qualitative reconstruction interviews to study journalistic practice

## Journalistica: The Methods Section

In this section, Journalistica puts a spotlight on research methods used in journalism studies and/or journalism practice.

## ALEXANDRA SCHWINGES

University of Amsterdam

## KEYWORDS

reconstruction interviews, news production, qualitative interviews, journalism

## 1. Description of the method

This	approach	to	reconstruction	interviews	focuses	on	reconstructing journalistic	 practices	 through	 retrospective	 interviews	 anchored	 in	 a concrete	news	product,	often	described	as	the	'biography'	of	a	news story	 (Brüggemann,	2013).	They	center	around	one	or	more	specific news	item(s),	and	trace	how	these	were	produced	-	from	the	initial	idea to	editorial	choices	and	publication	(Reich	&	Barnoy,	2020).	Reich	and Barnoy	(2020)	provide	a	comprehensive	overview	of	how	reconstruction	 interviews	 can	 be	 implemented	 in	 a	 quantitative	 manner;	 this method	brief	specifically	focuses	on	the	qualitative	reconstruction	interviews.	In	the	following,	a	step-by-step	guide	is	provided	using	the	example	of	a	news	story	reconstruction.

Sampling	 for	 reconstruction	 interviews	 can	 begin	 with	 either	 the journalist	or	the	journalistic	text,	depending	on	the	research	design.	The key	criterion	is	that	the	journalist	must	have	been	directly	involved	in producing	the	news	item(s)	relevant	to	the	study.	Sampling	can	be	either	purposive	or	systematic,	depending	on	the	research	objectives	and context.	 Reconstruction	 interview	 guides	 use	 open-ended	 questions that	 are	 typically	 organized	 in	 a	 two-part	 structure	 (Reich	 &	 Barnoy, 2020).	1)	In	a	biographical-narrative	section,	journalists	are	encouraged to	retrospectively	recount	their	news	production	process	in	detail.	The interview	 may	 begin	 with	 an	 open-ended	 prompt:	 'Can	 you	 walk	 us through	how	this	story	came	about,	from	the	very	beginning?'	(Boesman	et	al.,	2015,	2016).	Guided	by	the	interviewer,	journalists	narrate reasoning	behind	stylistic	or	editorial	choices,	norms,	values,	or	constraints	that	influenced	their	work,	always	centering	on	the	final	news story	to	illustrate	points.	2)	In	a	focused-discourse	section,	researchers can	probe	specific	elements	of	interest	related	to	the	study	objectives based	on	the	news	story	at	hand,	such	as	interactions	with	sources,	editorial	pressures,	or	journalistic	roles.	This	stage	allows	for	a	more	targeted	exploration	of	the	production	process,	often	returning	to	particular	story	elements,	passages,	or	decisions	to	elicit	deeper	reflection.	The method	is	flexible:	the	semi-structured	interview	guide	format	enables researchers	to	go	back	and	forth	between	sections,	the	news	story	text, and	emerging	themes,	allowing	journalists	to	introduce	themes	the	researcher	may	not	have	anticipated	-	an	important	advantage	in	complex and	evolving	media	environments.

The	systematic	analysis	of	the	interviews	typically	triangulates	two perspectives.	A	perceptual	(i.e.,	how	a	journalist	perceives	their	practice)	or	agent-based	analysis	centers	on	the	journalist's	interpretations, experiences	and	decision-making	processes	in	their	work.	A	performative	 (i.e.,	 how	 a	 journalist	 performs	 their	 practice)	 or	 item-based	 approach	anchors	the	analysis	in	the	text	-	examining	what	the	journalist actually	did,	and	how	their	narrative	aligns	with	the	finished	news	story. The	researcher	aggregates	individual	insights	into	meaningful	themes or	patterns,	for	example,	by	following	the	steps	in	thematic	data	analysis (Braun	 &	 Clarke,	 2013)	 or	 grounded	 theory	 approaches	 (Charmaz, 2015).	Reconstruction	interviews	can	also	be	supplemented	with	content	analysis	(Anderson,	2013).

## 2. Example of use

While	 the	 origins	 of	 reconstruction	 interviewing	 trace	 back	 to	 early newsroom	ethnographies	(Tuchman,	1978),	the	method	has	gained	increased recognition in various journalism subfields, particularly through	the	work	of	Zvi	Reich	and	colleagues	(Reich,	2006;	Reich	&	Barnoy,	2016,	2020).	Recent	scholarship	has	investigated	increasingly	complex	working	realities	of	journalists,	such	as	journalist-source	relationships	(Brüggemann,	2013;	Lawson,	2023;	Malling,	2021;	Reich,	2010), journalistic	role	negotiations	and	interactions	(Arregui	Olivera,	2024), the	influence	of	technology	and	algorithms	in	news	reporting	(de	Haan et	 al.,	 2022;	 Matsilele	 et	 al.,	 2022),	 or	 crisis	 reporting	 (Hoxha	 &	 Hanitzsch,	2018;	Lawson,	2023).	In	my	own	work,	I	have	studied	how	journalists	negotiate	their	role	and	interaction	with	lobbyists	(Schwinges	et al.,	 2024)	 to	 understand	 how	 the	 institutionalized	 role	 of	 watchdog journalism	(Bovens	et	al.,	2014)	is	transformed	when	applied	to	powerful	new	actors	like	technology	companies.

## 3. Main advantages and challenges of using the method

Qualitative	reconstruction	interviews	are	a	valuable	tool	for	studying journalism	practice	but	require	careful	methodological	considerations. While	the	method	provides	a	dual	perspective	on	journalism	practice,	it is	necessary	to	keep	an	analytical	distinction	between	agent-	and	itembased	 insights	 to	 avoid	 oversimplification	 and	 conceptual	 conflation (Schwinges,	2024);	instead,	the	method	can	be	used	to	study	their	interplay	 and	 ensure	 robustness	of	 insights.	 One	 key	 challenge	 lies	 in	 the method's	reliance	on	journalists'	retrospective	accounts.	Agreeing	on the	story	in	advance	and	using	prompts	like	the	published	article	can help	the	journalist	prepare	and	recall	details	more	accurately.	While	the method's	 flexibility	 challenges	 academic	 rigor	 and	 replicability,	 this very	same	adaptability	helps	to	reveal	previously	unexamined	and	tacit aspects	of	news-making	(Malling,	2023),	and	together	with	its	avoidance	of	a	priori	assumptions	(Reich	&	Barnoy,	2020),	makes	it	suitable in	new	research	settings.

Reconstruction	 interviews	 have	 gained	 increasing	 popularity	 as	 a way	 to	 address	 the	 complexity	 and	 opacity	 of	 journalistic	 practices (Reich	 &	 Barnoy,	 2020).	 Unlike	 think-aloud	 protocols,	 which	 capture real-time	cognition,	they	are	valuable	for	their	systematic,	reflective	examination	of	journalistic	processes	that	are	not	necessarily	visible	in	the final	news	product	(Malling,	2023).	In	increasingly	complex	information ecosystems	-	where	boundaries	between	different	levels	of	influence	are blurring	(Shoemaker	&	Reese,	1996;	Xu	&	Jin,	2017)	-	the	reconstruction method	is	particularly	well-suited	to	study	journalistic	practice	across micro,	meso,	and	macro	levels	of	influence	(Schwinges,	2024).	Newsroom	 ethnographies	 often	 integrate	 reconstruction	 interviews	 for story-level	insights	when	analyzing	journalistic	ecosystems	(Boesman et	al.,	2016).

## 4. Ethical considerations

Some	ethical	guidelines	are	paramount	to	this	specialized	form	of	interviewing.	Detailed	accounts	of	news	items	may	reveal	sensitive	details about	internal	processes,	interpersonal	dynamics,	or	editorial	conflicts. Ensuring	confidentiality	and	anonymity	of	both	the	journalist	and	others	involved	in	the	news	story	is	essential	but	also	complex.	Anonymization	may	be	insufficient	and	should	be	complemented	by	focusing	reports	on	aggregate	insights	rather	than	identifiable	news	item	content. While	 the	 item	 anchored	 testimony	 (Reich	 &	 Barnoy,	 2016)	 creates some	 robustness,	 the	 reconstruction	 method	 remains	 dependent	 on journalists'	subjective	accounts	in	need	for	further	contextualization	to ensure	accuracy	and	transparency.	Particularly	when	applied	to	novel research	settings,	insights	that	contradict	common	assumptions	should be	reported	with	nuance.

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## ALEXANDRA SCHWINGES

Assistant Professor Communication, Organizations and Society University of Amsterdam a.schwinges@uva.nl