## Editorial preface

EVA MAYERHÖFFER Roskilde University

We are happy to present the 2023 issue of Journalistica. The 2023 edition opens with a special issue on 'Nordic Narratives: Embracing narrative  journalism  in  the  Nordic  countries',  edited  by Rasmus Rønlev and Steffen Moestrup . The special issue presents an exciting, interdisciplinary compilation of studies in narrative journalism as an emerging field of research. The two guest editors will introduce the issue and its contributions in full detail on the following pages.

The issue also includes four open-themed articles. Two of these articles have first been presented at the Journalistica pre-conference for early career researchers, which was held in connection with the 2022 ECREA conference:

In the article 'From stark opposition to partial adaption: How 12 Danish alternative media construct and position themselves vis-àvis  the  media-  and  political  mainstream', Miriam Brems investigates differences and commonalities in how Danish alternative media construct and position themselves against the media- and political  mainstream and discusses the different potentials for impact that alternative media may have on the media and political systems they  enter.  The  Danish-language  article  'Event-driven  or  topicdriven climate journalism? A content analysis of Danish newspapers'  climate  coverage  between  2018  and  2021',  written  by Line Weldingh ,  shows  that  climate  journalism  in  Denmark  is  by  no means only driven by external events. Topic-driven climate journalism more often puts people in the center, but citizens remain underrepresented as sources also in topic-driven climate-related news articles.

In  addition  to  these  two  articles  from  talented  early  career  researchers, the current issue also include the article 'From investigative  to  critical  local  journalism:  A  quantitative content analysis of critical reporting in local Swedish newspapers with a new analytical focus', where Magnus Danielson and Ari Nykvist revisit the question  of  what  constitutes  critical  journalism  in  local  journalism. Based on a content analysis of three Swedish local newspapers, they show that the amount of critical journalism is limited and that it is very seldomly the journalists themselves that are agents of criticism.

Finally,  the  article  'Persona-driven  journalism  at  Radio24syv: Ditte  Okman's  affective  labor  of  performing  an  unashamed  persona' by Steffen Moestrup proposes an analytical approach to the study of persona-driven journalism, drawing on concepts from performance studies. The article uses an exemplary case from Denmark to describe a journalism practice that draws on bodily expressivity, outspoken attitudes, and the creation of a socializing media space.

Last year, in 2022, we introduced the Journalistica Methods Section, which puts a spotlight on research methods used in journalism studies and/or journalism practice in an accessible format. We are very pleased to see this format grow, and in 2023 we have been able to  include  three  new  Methods  Section  articles. Morten Thomsen presents online text-based focus groups in journalism studies, Nils Holmberg, Lene Heiselberg, Jenny Lindholm, and Erik Knudsen discuss the application of psychophysiological methods in journalism  studies,  and Johan  Farkas contributes  a  piece  on  discourse analysis in journalism studies. Two of the method articles have also been published as a podcast, a format which we will develop further in the coming year.

Finally, the 2023 edition also includes a review by Erik Svendsen of the book 'Kulturjournalistikens världar: Om kulturbevakningens politiska,  globala  och  digitale  dimensioner'  by  Kristina  Riegert, Anna Roosvall og Andreas Widholm, which examines the development of cultural journalism since the 1980s in Sweden.

All in all, the 2023 issue is an excellent showcase of Journalistica's interdisciplinary  profile  as  it  incorporates  articles  drawing  on  a broad variety  of  theoretical  and  methodological  approaches.  The 2023 edition also further consolidates Journalistica's Nordic profile with contributions in English, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish.

A big thanks to all the contributors, internal and external editors, and reviewers. A special thanks to our student podcast editor Julienne C. Raboca, and not least our editorial assistant Leif Hemming Pedersen  for  keeping  the  ship  afloat.  Last,  but  not  least,  we  say thanks to Jannie Møller Hartley from Roskilde University, who will step down from her role as associate editor with the end of this year.

God læselyst!

On behalf of the Journalistica group of editors,

Eva Mayerhöffer, editor-in-chief

## EVA MAYERHÖFFER

Associate professor Department of Communication and Arts Roskilde University evamay@ruc.dk

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