Collaborative Journalism Around the Globe: A Systematic Review

History of Collaborative Journalism

According to Garcia (2018), collaborative journalism has a long history that dates back to the mid-19th century, when newsrooms shared information through wire services. Silberstein-Loeb (2014) avers that one of the earliest examples of collaborative journalism was the formation of the American Associated Press (AP) in 1846. Silberstein-Loeb (2014) reveals the AP was created by five New York newspapers who wanted to pool their resources to cover the Mexican American War. By sharing news and expenses, the AP was able to provide its member newspapers with more comprehensive and timely coverage of the war than any individual newspaper could have done on its own. The creation of wire services revolutionized news distribution. For the first time, newspapers could quickly share and receive news from different parts of the country and the world. According to Silberstein-Loeb (2014), this development marked the beginning of a more interconnected and collaborative approach to news gathering and dissemination.

From the 20th century, international collaborations have become more common. Journalists and news organizations across different countries worked together to cover significant events such as wars, child trafficking, arms deals, and international summits. Birnbauer (2015) indicated that the formation of investigative journalism teams, such as the Washington Post that worked on the Watergate scandal, highlighted the benefits of collaboration in producing in-depth, and impactful journalism. Martínez (2018) contends that the emergence of digital media has therefore created new avenues for collaboration. Journalists could share information and resources more easily, leading to the growth of collaborative projects. For example, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has become a significant force in collaborative journalism, bringing together reporters from around the world to work on in-depth investigative stories (Martínez, 2018). Projects like Wikileaks showcased the power of pooling data and resources from various sources.

Prior research has examined the increasing significance of collaborative practices since the late 2000s (Castells, 1996; Powell & Hierarchy, 1990). For example, a study by Castells (1996) highlighted the role of networks in enhancing collaborative journalism. Furthermore, Martinez (2018) affirms that the 20th century has witnessed an upsurge in research on the growing role of collaborative journalism. This upsurge validates the observable trend that collaborative journalism has become more prominent.

Concept and Practice of Collaborative Journalism

The concept of collaborative journalism encompasses various forms, including co-production, co-reporting, co-editing, and co-distribution, each fostering active citizen participation in the news gathering and reporting processes (Flew et al., 2012; Jenkins & Graves, 2019; Relly & Pakanati, 2021). Qin et al. (1997) argue that collaborative endeavors may vary in duration, scope, and structure, ranging from temporary to ongoing, local to global, and formal to informal collaborations. While formal collaborations entail explicit agreements and structured processes, Aaltonen et al. (2018) affirms that informal collaborations rely on flexible arrangements and trust-based relationships.

Collaborative journalism covers a wide range of topics and genres, including investigative reporting, data journalism, and public service journalism. The main objective is to address global challenges such as corruption, human rights violations, human trafficking and environmental issues (Jenkins & Graves, 2024; Mesquita & de-Lima-Santos, 2021). This view aligns with research conducted by scholars like Alfter (2019), Alves et al. (2014), Frey et al. (2019), and Mesquita (2023), who affirm that collaborative journalism exists to help fight cross-border crimes.

Graves and Konieczna (2015) indicate that collaborative journalism involves multiple news organizations, journalists and information outlets, aiming to optimize the impact of generated content by enhancing the resources of each participating entity. Consistent with the above view, Alfter (2019) avers that collaborative journalism can be viewed as a reaction to the opportunities and difficulties posed by the changing media landscape, such as the proliferation of information sources, fragmentation of audiences, decline of advertising revenues, and the rise of misinformation and disinformation (Alfter, 2019).

Collaborative journalism tap into expertise across countries to unravel issues of global concern (Alves et al., 2014; Frey et al., 2019), and network to fact-check information (Alfter, 2016; Mesquita, 2023). For instance, Mesquita (2023) investigated the dedication, standards, and principles of collaborative journalism practitioners across a range of contexts and discovered that, given the obstacles presented by digitalization and platformization, collaboration in journalism has grown in significance. Frey et al. (2019, p. 129) explored the “students thoughts and opinions regarding professional roles and boundaries as well as areas of tension and spaces of mutual understanding in the collaborative context.” Findings of the study resonates with the view of Mesquita (2023) who highlights that in the newsroom, there is now more crossover between technology and journalism as a result of the digitalization of journalism. This pose significant ramifications for journalism education from this development.

Mesquita (2022) also looked into normative roles and what it means for the cooperative work of news organizations, media practitioners, and journalists in Latin America. The study revealed that despite its growing popularity and potential benefits, collaborative journalism faces significant challenges, particularly regarding legal and security threats that could jeopardize the safety and freedom of journalists, especially in regions with restrictive regimes. However, Boland-Rudder (2019) holds a divergent view, indicating that successful collaborative initiatives, such as the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), and European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) demonstrate the transformative power of collaborative journalism in uncovering global issues and holding those in power accountable. Consistent with the view of Boland-Rudder (2019), Konow-Lund (2019) add that the emergence of the internet has facilitated global collaboration among journalists, enabling them to share information and work together seamlessly. Considering the above discussions, we recommend the need for more research that will delve into how these challenges associated with collaborative journalism could be addressed.

Although the practice of collaborative journalism dates back to the mid-19th century, research covering the area is rather emerging with limited systematic reviews and meta-analyses that should provide the necessary global insight and guide the field’s focus. The early works of Deuze (2006), Ryfe (2013), Alfter (2016), Bruno and Nielsen (2012) have laid the necessary foundations in terms of research on collaborative journalism which has informed our review’s focus. The following research questions (RQs) guided the study:

Manuscript Selection Process

To address the study’s research questions, SLR was conducted in November 2023 to identify publications on collaborative journalism in internationally recognized journals. The review process was undertaken following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines (Deeks et al., 2019). The PRISMA statement was published in 2009 to assist systematic reviewers in clearly outlining the purpose of the review, the actions taken by the authors, and the results they discovered (Page et al., 2021). The SLR criteria used during the manuscript selection process are identification, duplication, screening, exclusion, eligibility, and inclusion (see Figure 1).

OPEN IN VIEWER

Figure 1.

PRISMA Model With the Literature Review Process on Collaborative Journalism.

Identification

During the identification stage, two databases (ProQuest and Scopus) were selected due to their relatively high impact, ability to attract more citations, rigorous peer-review processes, in-depth research contents, and their long history in academic publishing. From an evaluation perspective, journals with a high impact factor have the advantage of being seen to broadly reflect quality work (Thelwall et al., 2023). Similarly, McKiernan et al. (2019) argue that databases attracting more citations tend to publish more useful articles and are good for systematic reviews. In addition, academic databases with rigorous peer-review processes produce quality work (Björk & Solomon, 2012; Jefferson et al., 2002). During data identification to discover relevant research on collaborative journalism within the past decade (2013–2023), the following search terms were used:

There were no limitations on language, publication type, or document type throughout the identification phase of the study. Further searches were carried out with the CORE academic paper aggregator to obtain sufficient and important peer-reviewed articles that were difficult to find from the chosen databases (ProQuest and Scopus). Data from eligible papers were extracted by the first author and reviewed by the rest of the authors. Disagreements among authors such as which articles to include during data identification and extraction phases were resolved at their meetings to ensure accuracy in extracted data.

The authors read through the final extracted data, organized data into themes and results presented and discussed. The researchers identified 3,236 articles published between 2013 and 2023 from ProQuest and Scopus databases. The chosen decade (2013–2023) is particularly relevant for studying collaborative journalism because the period witnessed a significant increase in published scholarly articles (Brysbaert et al., 2021), as evident in the Pew Research Center’s journalism report (Stonbely, 2017). This suggests that collaborative journalism, as a subject area, could have had a commensurate increase in publications as the data of this study seems to suggest. Out of the 3,236 articles identified, ProQuest had 33.71% (n = 1,091) and Scopus 66.29% (n = 2,145).

Duplication

Since systematic reviews aim to provide a comprehensive and unbiased synthesis of existing research, removing duplicate articles is essential in the process. This helps to eliminates redundant articles and provides consistent and reliable data (Kwon et al., 2015). During the process of identification, full-text articles reporting the same information are often retrieved concurrently. Kassirer and Angell (1995) and Kwon et al. (2015) argue that multiple reports of the same observations can overemphasize the importance of the findings and that the removal of duplicates is necessary to ensure a valid and reliable pool of studies for inclusion in a systematic review. The SLR revealed that 2.31% (n = 75) duplicates were removed and 97.69% (n = 3,161) retained. The duplicates consist of ProQuest (0.99%, n = 32) and Scopus (1.32%, n = 43). Because the duplicates were various versions of the same document that had been published in other publications, they were eliminated.

Screening

The 3,161 articles retained after removing the duplicates were screened to eliminate errors and prepare the data for analysis. The screening resulted in 47.90% (n = 1,550) articles being eliminated across ProQuest 20.09% (n = 650) and Scopus 27.81% (n = 900). The reason these articles were removed was that they were not published in academic, peer-reviewed journals.

Exclusion

Excluding articles that do not meet the predefined inclusion criteria during SLR helps to maintain the focus and precision of the review. Excluding articles that are not directly relevant to the research question ensures that the included articles address the review’s objectives (Page et al., 2021). During the exclusion process, 48.55% (n = 1,571) of articles were eliminated. Details are ProQuest 12.36% (n = 400) and Scopus 36.19% (n = 1,171). These articles were excluded because they did not answer the research questions.

Eligibility for Inclusion

For an article to be included in the SLR, it should satisfy four criteria. First, it should have the following expressions: collaborative journalism, collective reporting, cooperative journalism, joint investigative reporting, team journalism, shared news coverage, unified reporting, and coordinated journalism, in the title, abstract or keywords. Second, it should be a peer-reviewed research article. Third, the language should be English; and finally, it should have been published between 2013 and 2023.

Inclusion

The workflow shows that out of the 3,236 articles accessed from ProQuest and Scopus databases, only 1.24% (n = 40) passed the inclusion criteria. Details are ProQuest (0.29%, n = 9) and Scopus (0.95%, n = 31). Figure 1 presents an overview of the article selection process of the SLR.

Thematic Analysis

The data were coded by the researchers using the thematic analysis criteria provided by Braun and Clarke (2006). The themes that emerged from the data were those that were in line with the study’s research questions and did not stem from preexisting themes. The adoption of thematic analysis by the authors was motivated by its theoretical flexibility as well as its promise to yield rich, intricate, and multifaceted descriptions of the data. To achieve this, the authors thoroughly familiarized themselves with the depth and breadth of the data, developing and categorizing codes into possible themes and gathering all pertinent coded data extracts within the themes that were found.

The primary and subthemes were then determined and reviewed through two phases. First, we examined the coded data at the level of the themes and evaluated if they fit together as a logical pattern. And second, we ascertained the validity of each theme to determine whether the themes accurately convey the meanings found in the data set as a whole. We then defined and named the themes, and described the main idea behind each overarching theme and subtheme highlighted. To ensure the rigor of the process, the researchers created a comprehensive and internally consistent account with a narrative by reviewing the compiled data extracts for every theme. Furthermore, all authors discussed the emerging themes until they came to a consensus. Finally, we compiled the report based on the themes that emerged.

Coding

To answer the research questions of this study, data was systematically extracted from the content of the 40 selected articles relating to collaborative journalism across the globe and inputted in Ms. Excel following a coding sheet prepared as part of the analysis. This process involves recording the year of publication, research methods and geospatial distribution of individual articles. This method helps in providing a unique window into the patterns and trends evident in scientific research, as indicated below.

Interrater Reliability

One single peer-reviewed article focusing on collaborative journalism is the unit of analysis for this study. Two team members coded the subsample of 20 articles (n = 20) and compiled their agreement/disagreement using an excel sheet. The team then calculated Cohen’s kappa coefficient. The results indicate percentage agreement ranging between 70% and 80% (average 76%) and an average Cohen’s kappa of .79. Cohen’s kappa value of .79 in this coding analysis indicates substantial agreement between the coders (Landis & Koch, 1977). This signifies that the coding was consistent and reliable.

Database Selection

The study reveals that out of the 3,236 records identified from the selected databases, Scopus (0.95%, n = 31) had the highest number of publications. Smith (2020) indicates that scholars prefer publishing their articles in Scopus because they are generally considered reputable academic databases with a long history in the industry. Similarly, Björk and Solomon (2012) indicate that all articles published in Scopus journals are produced to the highest standards, involving rigorous peer review and high-quality production and publication. Publication in Scopus-indexed journals increase the visibility of articles to reach global audiences and ensure that users get the best possible evidence for their work. Even though ProQuest had the least number of articles (0.29%, n = 9), Dworak (2012) argues that the content of ProQuest Central is interdisciplinary which makes it easy to search all subscribed databases at once. Dworak (2012) further indicates that ProQuest includes indexing for over 19,000 titles, with almost 13,000 including full text coverage. About 7,900 publications are classified as academic journals, of which about 5,500 have full text coverage.

Year of Publication

The study shows that journal publications on collaborative journalism had varied yearly occurrences within the framework of this study. In 2013, there were two articles. Subsequently, two articles each were published in 2014 and 2020. Four articles each were also published in 2015, 2018, and 2019. While no article was recorded in 2016, only one article was published in 2017. Seven, six, and eight articles were published in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively. It is worth noting that the last 3 years (2021–2023) accounted for more than 50% of the selected publications. The hike in the number of research in recent years is driven by affordances enabled by increased technological advancements and access (Frey et al., 2019) and globalization of information (Martínez, 2018) which reflects growing awareness of the issue. The advancements in technology and globalization of information have led to changes in the way journalists collaborate with each other in their news reporting. This finding indicates that collaborative journalism has become a topical issue around the globe in recent years and hence the need for more research (Abraham & Murray, 2020).

Research Methods

The SLR revealed three research methods used by researchers. They are qualitative (68%, n = 27), quantitative (15%, n = 6), and mixed methods (18%, n = 7). Figure 2 presents the details. It is evident that studies in collaborative journalism is amenable to the three major research methods. The finding that the qualitative research method had the highest number of articles published in the selected databases aligns with Wenzel (2023), who has found that most of the studies on collaborative journalism used the qualitative research approach. This seems to suggest that most researchers were interested in distilling and explaining issues involving collaborative journalism from the perspective and opinions of research participants, as argued by Creswell (2013). Data collection methods used in the research methods are qualitative (interview, qualitative content analysis, focus group discussion, discourse analysis, document analysis, and textual analysis), quantitative (questionnaire, survey), and mixed methods (interview, questionnaire, qualitative content analysis, textual analysis, survey and document review). The SLR further revealed that within the selected research methods, the predominant data collection method is the interview. Jain (2021) corroborates with the findings indicating that interviews have emerged as a suitable tool for qualitative exploratory research projects. Beck and Manuel (2008) suggest the interview as a good choice for data gathering if one wants to explore a trend or an experience for themes.

OPEN IN VIEWER

Figure 2.

This Chat Displays the Research Methods of Publications Over the Decade.

Geospatial Distribution of Collaborative Journalism-Related Research

The studies that were selected for statistical analysis (n = 40) indicates that research on collaborative journalism is receiving much attention around the globe (see Table 1). This finding is in line with the view of Green-Barber and Stonbely (2020) who argue that collaborative journalism, once considered radical in journalism, has become a commonly accepted practice with many examples in the nonprofit, commercial, and public media sectors across the globe. The study further revealed that although the majority (42.5%, n = 17) of the research has occurred in Europe, there is a growing body of research into collaborative journalism occurring in North America (30%, n = 12), South America (12.5%, n = 5), Asia (7.5%, n = 3) and Oceania (5%, n = 2). This finding resonates with the study of Kleinsteuber (2011) who indicates that there has been an exponential growth in research on collaborative journalism occurring in Europe. It is important to indicate that collaborative journalism research blossomed in the global north (Europe and North America) rather than the global south due to funding opportunities and more resources available for academic research (Damme et al., 2011). Universities, research institutions, and government agencies in these regions are inclined to, and could, have allocated more resources to research in the field. Veugelers and Baltensperger (2019) argue that research and innovation (R&I) has been firmly embedded as an engine for growth among the European Union. For example, the European Research Council (ERC) provides a lot of funding to support the exchange of ideas in all fields of study.

OPEN IN VIEWER

Table 1

Study Location of Papers.

Continent	Countries
Europe	Norway, United Kingdom, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Holland, Belgium
North America	United States
South America	Brazil, Latin America, Mexico, Argentina
Asia	Hong Kong, Indonesia, India
Oceania	New Zealand
Africa	Kenya

However, Africa recorded the lowest number of papers (2.5%, n = 1) as compared to the other continents. The World Economic Forum (2024) reveals that global research capacity is not distributed equitably, with Africa particularly underserved. The Forum further argues that Africa lack access to experienced mentors, research centers of excellence, networks and international collaborative research programs. The idea that Africa is underexplored in most collaborative journalism research warrant attention.

The SLR revealed that out of the 40 peer-reviewed papers included in the study, only 45% (n = 18) used theoretical/conceptual framework to guide their research study. For example, utilizing the communication infrastructure theory, Wenzel (2023) investigated the effort of a public media station to establish a mutual aid journalism collaborative, which links a group of community and ethnic media journalists, bloggers, podcasters, and social media influencers.

Similarly, de-Lima-Santos (2022), through the agenda setting theory discussed how to tackle environmental issues with data collaboration. Findings of the study indicate that the majority (55%, n = 22) of the scholars did not apply theories to interpret their research findings. However, it is noteworthy that a theoretical/conceptual framework offers several benefits to a research work. Grant and Osanloo (2014) argue that the importance of utilizing a theoretical framework in a research study cannot be stressed enough. Among others, a theoretical framework is the foundation from which all knowledge is constructed for a research study. It provides the foundation for establishing the credibility of a research (Adom et al., 2018) and also shows how a researcher defines a study philosophically, epistemologically, methodologically and analytically (Grant & Osanloo, 2014). Imenda (2014) indicates that research without a relevant theoretical framework lacks accurate direction in the search of appropriate literature and scholarly discussions of the findings from the research. Without a theory, researchers might struggle to provide meaningful explanations and interpretations of their results, making it harder to draw valid conclusions. We argue that the lack of a theoretical framework to guide analyses of the studies we have analyzed renders them quite descriptive, like in the case of Alfter (2019) and Barnard (2016). While these studies offer a description useful for understanding collaborative journalism, they are unable to provide the needed explanatory and predictive analytical ethos of the phenomenon being described. These descriptions would have benefited from valid philosophical grounding and interpretation if they were underpinned by theories.

Collaborative journalism has emerged as a dynamic and impactful approach with a potent force in addressing challenges in news reporting across the globe (Calfano et al., 2022; Chung & Nah, 2022; Hamm, 2022; Mutsvairo et al., 2021; Zamith, 2023). The review identified four thematic areas of collaborative journalism in the literature. They are social media, journalism education and technology, challenges and barriers, and collaboration models. Table 2 presents the analysis on the dimensions of collaborative journalism identified from the study.

OPEN IN VIEWER

Table 2

Thematic Areas of Collaborative Journalism Covered by Scientific Literature.

Dimension of collaborative journalism	Authors
Social media	Al-Rahmi & Zeki, 2017; Mare, 2019; Meier et al., 2022
Journalism education and technology	Alves et al., 2014; Calfano et al., 2022; Dhiman, 2021; Dodd et al., 2017; Frey et al., 2019; Middleweek et al., 2020
Challenges and barriers	Calfano et al., 2022; Chung & Nah, 2022; Horska, 2021; Hultén & Edwardsson, 2018; Mesquita & de-Lima-Santos, 2021; Zayani, 2021
Collaboration models	Borger et al., 2013; Carson & Farhall, 2018; Cook, 2021; Cueva Chacón & Saldaña, 2021; Hamm, 2022; Robie, 2015; Zamith, 2023

Social Media

Findings of the study point to the fact that following recent global trends in the media landscape, journalists collaborate with each other in news production. This is seen most clearly with the rise of social media as a journalistic tool which connects professional reporters from different countries and backgrounds to collaborate on cross-border stories. In the last 10 years, social media platforms (such as Facebook and Twitter) have become commonplace ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) that facilitate journalists’ prompt and transparent sharing of information (Castillo, 2016). Social media has made it easier for journalists to collaborate on stories with other journalists, photographers, and videographers. This Collaboration help journalists reach a wider audience, tell more complex stories, and provide a more comprehensive perspective on events. Bercovici (2010) indicate that social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Blogs have enabled journalists across the globe to amplify the reach and impact of their collaborative journalism project. Novak et al. (2012) corroborate with findings of the study indicating that tools such as group messaging, project management software, and collaborative platforms enable journalists to exchange ideas, assign tasks, and stay updated on the progress of the project. Similarly, Al-Rahmi and Zeki (2017) indicate that social media has been utilized by journalists in a way to encourage collaborative learning and social interaction.

We argue that Social media has transformed collaborative journalism by linking reporters globally and facilitating cross-border stories. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter enhance transparent information sharing, enabling journalists to collaborate effectively with peers, photographers, and videographers. This collaboration broadens audience reach, enriches storytelling, and offers comprehensive perspectives. Understanding this is crucial as it highlights the importance of social media in modern journalism, showcasing its role in fostering cooperation, learning, and innovation in news production.

Journalism Education and Technology

The study identified the importance of incorporating collaborative journalism into journalism education (Frey et al., 2019; Middleweek et al., 2020). This approach could enable journalists to carve a path that leads to success and gain the needed skills and values that affect what they do. According to Alves et al. (2014), the goal of collaborative learning is to support education for a specific educational purpose using activities that are coordinated and shared through social interactions. Middleweek et al. (2020) aver that it is important to acknowledge the use of pedagogical and theoretical approaches, curricular design, innovations, and the development of collaborative skills among journalism students. This finding supports Bacon’s (2011) assertion that new developments in journalism education and theorization that accompany it demonstrates the need for collaboration.

Collaborative journalism reflects the reality of modern newsrooms, where journalists often work in teams and collaborate across the globe. Dhiman (2021) affirm that by incorporating collaborative journalism into journalism education, students gain practical experience and develop the skills necessary to thrive in the professional media environment. According to the study, students are better prepared with the abilities, know-how, and attitude required to succeed in the collaborative nature of contemporary journalism and contribute to influential, captivating, and morally sound reporting when collaborative journalism is introduced into journalism education. The study’s conclusions indicate that technology and journalism overlap in the newsroom, which has significant ramifications for journalism education. According to Frey et al. (2019), journalism students who are taught in technology-enabled collaboration are undoubtedly better prepared to engage in and promote this kind of collaboration in the workplace, which is in line with the findings above. This suggests that bridging the gap between technology and journalism is crucial.

Furthermore, incorporating collaborative journalism into journalism education is essential for preparing students for modern newsrooms where teamwork and global collaboration are the norm. Knowing this is important because it emphasizes the need for journalism programs to evolve, integrating pedagogical innovations and technological tools to foster effective collaboration and ensure students are well-prepared for the professional media landscape.

Challenges and Barriers

Despite the numerous benefits of collaborative journalism such as its ability to provide capacity to address complicated global concerns like corruption, tax evasion and climate change, a common theme that emerged in this review was challenges and barriers that confront the field. Hultén and Edwardsson (2018) argue that even though collaborative journalism is one way for the media industry to keep up with the fast-paced development that is required in our changing world, this type of collaboration poses a significant challenge to many media companies. For example, in the ICIJ-led Panama and Paradise Papers investigations, Lück and Schultz (2019) argue that the most frequent obstacle faced by journalists was managing the intricacy of the issue and the data.

This finding resonates with the studies of Mesquita and de-Lima-Santos (2021) who aver that managing large volume of data generated through collaborative journalism could be challenging. One of the most common issues raised in the review is the day-to-day difficulties with teamwork that result from real, face-to-face cross-border collaboration. Heft (2021) affirms that coordination of teamwork has often been referred to as “complicated” when it comes to meeting schedule, individual and team agenda alignment, and general project management. The study showed that ensuring the quality of content produced during the collaboration is difficult. This finding is in line with the view of Zayani (2021) who argues that journalists who engage in collaborative work faces conflicting editorial standards, competition, and lack of understanding of parity cooperation mechanisms. Hultén and Edwardsson (2018) reveal that a lack of time to collect, analyze and present data as current challenges and hampering factors in practicing journalism within streamlined news media organizations.

We argue that knowledge of this is important because it indicates the need for improved strategies and tools to manage data, streamline coordination, and ensure content quality in collaborative journalism. Recognizing these challenges helps media organizations and journalism educators better prepare and support journalists in overcoming these obstacles for more effective collaboration.

Collaboration Models

The review identified collaboration models as the most predominant dimension of collaborative journalism. The collaborative model and structure explore how journalists and news organizations collaborate across geographic boundaries using digital tools and platforms. This dimension focuses on the dynamics of forming and maintaining collaborative networks, the challenges involved and the benefits that arise from such collaborations. This finding corroborates the view of Martínez (2018) that network collaboration encompasses current and previous journalistic practices of the last three decades.

A report released by The Center for Cooperative Media is among the earliest attempts to categorize collaborative journalism (Stonbely, 2017). It discusses models of collaborative journalism using an extensive feature matrix of this growing trend. The author defines six models of collaborative journalism, and they are based on secondary research, specifically the inductive analysis of documents like conference presentations, journal articles, and interviews with participants in collaborative efforts. These models are temporary and separate, temporary and co-creating, temporary and integrated, ongoing and separate, ongoing and co-creating, and ongoing and integrated. Three models of collaboration journalism have been identified by Jenkins and Graves (2019): (a) a permanent network of journalists and non-journalists working on topic-driven reporting projects; (b) legacy and start-up news organizations collaborating on a single, long-term investigation; and (c) regional news organizations exchanging content through a collaborative newsroom. These models rely on digital networks to enable the production and sharing of technologies, information, services, and practices through cooperative modes, regardless of their form, as they apply to journalism.

We indicate that knowing these models could help in identifying the best practices and strategies for effective collaboration and addressing challenges associated with it. This knowledge is crucial for adapting to the evolving media landscape and fostering more robust and impactful journalism.

Collaborative journalism has evolved significantly due to advances in technology, changes in media consumption patterns, and the growing importance of addressing complex, global and trans-border issues (Al-Rahmi & Zeki, 2017; Mesquita, 2023). This study supports earlier calls for more research on collaborative journalism (Alfter, 2016; Garcia, 2018; Graves & Konieczna, 2015) by providing an overview of current literature which serves as the basis for future research. See Table 3 for details.

OPEN IN VIEWER

Table 3.

Suggested Future Research Directions.

Authors	Suggested future research direction
Mesquita & de-Lima-Santos (2021)	Investigating the challenges in collaborative journalism
Mesquita (2023)	Exploring normative journalism within collaborative journalism
Verkest (2021)	Investigating the effects of medialization processes and the production of institutional discourse in collaborative journalism
Frey et al. (2019)	Exploring journalism in educational and societal collaboration
Meier et al. (2022)	Comparative analysis of the media policy framework
Heim & Chan-Olmsted (2023)	Examining the impact of media usage habits or demographic information on consumer AI news
Hujanen (2018)	Exploring journalism students’ professional identity and negotiation of journalism ideas
Cueva Chacón & Saldaña (2021)	Examining the level of violence, political attacks and crime against the press
Cook (2021)	Systematic review and critique collaborative approaches to revenue creation
Chung & Nah (2022)	Exploring the ethical implications of collaborative journalism
Konow-Lund (2019)	Understanding of what takes place when traditional rules and practices come up against new roles and priorities in collaborative
Dodd et al. (2017)	Exploring face-to-face contact through video conferencing in cross-cultural and Collaborative Journalism Education
Ford et al. (2020)	Examining journalism educators need to treat diversity, equity, and inclusion as part of their core curriculum.
Heft (2021)	Considering how the proliferation of cross-national collaborations is changing the working conditions for journalists.
Heft et al. (2019)	Using parallel or follow-up issue coverage by journalists outside of the collaborative networks to trace their agenda-setting role and to enhance within-case and cross-case comparisons
Hujanen (2018)	Examining journalism students’ professional identity and negotiation of journalism ideals
Middleweek et al. (2020)	Investigating the social and cultural factors that influence journalism practice
Chung & Nah (2022)	Expanding the sample size in community newspaper editors’ perspectives on news collaboration
Verkest (2021)	Investigating how collaboration affect medialization processes and the production of institutional discourse.

Our findings indicate that there has been a rapid and significant increase in collaborative journalism research over the last 4 years (Heim & Chan-Olmsted, 2023; Mesquita, 2023; Mesquita & de-Lima-Santos, 2021). As shown in Table 3, the number of publications has increased steadily, a trajectory expected to continue due to the ongoing practical importance of the subject and the multitude of its dimensions that await further investigation. However, there remain significant gaps in research on collaborative journalism. Research areas that need to be explored include challenges in collaborative journalism, normative journalism within collaborative journalism, journalism and societal collaboration, media policy framework, and integration of technology such as artificial intelligence into collaborative journalism. Other areas not adequately captured in the data include studies on identity and negotiation of journalism ideas, violence against journalists, social and cultural factors that influence journalism practice, and ethical implications in collaborative journalism. These thematic areas have been formulated with precision as indicated in Table 3.

Limitations

We admit that this study has several limitations, but they do not take away from its valuable insights. First, due to restrictions on search strategies and database coverage, the review may not include all pertinent studies. While Scopus and ProQuest are comprehensive and widely respected databases, understanding their constraints is crucial for conducting a thorough and unbiased systematic review. Scopus and ProQuest databases may not include all journals, especially those that are newer or less prominent. Some important regional journals might be excluded. To mitigate these limitations, we recommend the use of Scopus and ProQuest in conjunction with other databases and resources that focus on regional research to ensure a more comprehensive and balanced review.

Second, collaborative journalism projects are happening globally, and including only peer-reviewed articles written in the English language may have limited the comprehensiveness of the review, given that other good research articles may also be published in non-English speaking journals. However, the authors lack other language competencies and therefore had to stick with articles written in English. We propose that future studies may address this limitation by incorporating translation tools to meet current demands. Third, the review’s focus on a specific decade (2013–2023) might omit earlier relevant research, potentially missing important historical contexts and trends. Future studies could focus on these and other gaps toward a more holistic understanding of the phenomenon. Nevertheless, these limitations do not in any way undermine the revealing outcomes of this study.