New Research Project Examines Footnote Journalism as an Innovative Transparency Practice
(October 1, 2026) How are new journalistic practices adopted by journalists and the public, and how do they become the norm over the long term? This is the question addressed by the new research project “From Novelty to Norm: The Habitualization and Internalization of Footnote Journalism as an Example of an Innovative Transparency Practice in Journalism.” Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), the project is led by Dr. Lars-Ole Wehden of the University of Münster and Dr. Bernadette Uth of the University of Vienna.
Transparency is increasingly being discussed as a central norm of journalism. While the ideal of journalistic objectivity has long been the primary focus, newsrooms today are increasingly committed to disclosing the conditions under which their reporting is produced—for example, by providing information about reporters, news selection, or the sources used. This is often linked to the hope of strengthening the credibility of journalistic content and the public’s trust.
A relatively new form of this transparency can currently be observed in Germany and Austria: citing scholarly sources in the form of footnotes, for example, in journalistic articles or as on-screen captions in news videos. The term “footnote journalism” has been coined to describe this practice.
However, new journalistic practices do not necessarily align with the audience’s existing expectations and habits. Before they can be accepted and contribute to strengthening the relationship between journalism and the audience, they must first become established and normalized. This is precisely where the research project comes in: it examines how footnote journalism is internalized, becomes habitual, and is ultimately accepted as a journalistic practice by journalists and the audience.
To this end, several sub-studies are planned in Germany and Austria. In guided interviews, journalists will be asked about their routines, motivations, and expectations regarding footnote journalism. The evolution of audience perception will be examined over multiple survey time points using qualitative interviews and an experimental survey. Between survey rounds, participants will be exposed to various forms of footnote journalism. In addition, an eye-tracking study aims to demonstrate how source citations can be designed to enhance their perception and acceptance among the audience.
The project thus not only contributes to research on a new form of journalistic source transparency, but is also intended to provide insights into how new journalistic standards and practices emerge and become firmly established, both within the field of journalism and among the public.
The research project will run from October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2029, and will receive funding totaling €643,848. Of this amount, €403,940 is allocated to the German portion of the project, which is funded by the DFG.
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Dr. Stephan Völlmicke
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