arbiter
JournalsAccount

Why journalism needs a generalist epistemology

Zvi Reich

Communication Theory2026https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtag001article
ABDC A
Weight
0.50

Abstract

The “generalist turn,” where different disciplines are recently discovering the merits of knowledge breadth, is a favorable zeitgeist for journalism to turn an alleged weakness, its generalism, into an epistemic strength. However, to become “synthesizing minds” and integrators of knowledge in an era of siloization and hyper-specialization, journalism needs more robust generalism. The current article suggests that journalists are a unique type of “reactive generalists” who face asymmetric pressures toward excessive breadth and scarcity of depth. This mechanism shapes not only the weaknesses of their knowledge but also some of its potential strengths. An initial framework for a generalist epistemology in journalism is presented, where all journalists are placed on the generalist spectrum. The article offers specific measures required to develop an epistemically defensible generalism, learning mainly from two role-models: general practitioners in medicine and “neo-generalists.”

Open via your library →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtag001

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{zvi2026,
  title        = {{Why journalism needs a generalist epistemology}},
  author       = {Zvi Reich},
  journal      = {Communication Theory},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtag001},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

Why journalism needs a generalist epistemology

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.