20.500.12556/RUL-182298 Journalistic roles and community expectations external and internal challenges for local investigative journalism Local journalism faces unique challenges, lacking the resources available to larger national or global outlets. At the local level, media professionals navigate daily news routines with limited resources, and often struggle to support investigative projects while addressing community expectations. These difficulties arise from several factors, including limited funding, staffing shortages, and a shift towards a community-oriented role. This study explores how Slovenian local journalists and editors balance their watchdog role with community expectations of being “good neighbours”, while examining the internal and external challenges shaping local investigative journalism. Through a mixed-methods approach, the findings revealed that time constraints, production pressures and limited newsroom resources often prevent sustained investigative efforts, with existing investigative practices redirected frequently towards routine news production. Journalists prioritise community-relevant topics, such as the local economy, education, healthcare and politics, over critical reporting, reflecting audience expectations. As a consequence of these factors, a hybrid professional identity has emerged, integrating watchdog ideals with community service. Despite these challenges, Slovenian local journalists maintain a strong commitment to professional autonomy and ethical standards while navigating complex professional and community demands, and they view their local media as a vital component of their communities. local media local journalism local investigative journalism investigative journalism journalistic roles local news lokalni mediji lokalno novinarstvo lokalno preiskovalno novinarstvo true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-05-06 15:24:09 2026-05-06 15:24:16 2026-05-07 04:53:20 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 Str. 1502–1520 no. 5 Vol. 20 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 316.77 1751-2794 10.1080/17512786.2025.2582166 258147075 Journalistic_Roles_and_Community_Expectations__External_and_Internal.pdf Journalistic_Roles_and_Community_Expectations__External_and_Internal.pdf 1 757EF2A68A4DACEC1363896D4601BF21 33646607de6a20012fc714c3a0de92f048f01f81cfe8d41ba52b7e86aba089c9 e3e662dd-494e-11f1-b0ab-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=233438 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17512786.2025.2582166 0 bd0e6e93-494e-11f1-b0ab-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=233437 Fakulteta za družbene vede 0 0 0