| Abstract: | This article presents a comparative historical analysis of the relationship between journalism as institution (i.e., a particular set of organizations in society) and journalism as work (i.e., an activity practiced by individuals) in four European countries: Britain, Sweden, Germany, and Estonia. The analysis compares the institutional context of journalistic work in these four countries around 1860, focusing in particular on the organization of journalistic labor at the national newspaper of record. The historical comparison reveals how exceptional the British case is. The study finds that British journalism circa 1860 exhibited a high division of labor, high labor specialization, and was increasingly focused on news gathering and production. Swedish and German journalism exhibited an emerging division of labor and labor specialization, and was focused on political debate (rather than news gathering and production). Estonian journalism exhibited hardly any division of labor or labor specialization, and was focused on raising national awareness. |
