An article based on a comparative study of lifestyle journalists in Australia and Germany was recently published in the highly-regarded journal Media, Culture & Society. The article, co-authored with Thomas Hanitzsch, explores lifestyle journalists’ professional views.

Despite having experienced rapid popularity over the past two decades, lifestyle journalism is still somewhat neglected by academic researchers. So far mostly explored as either part of wider lifestyle programming, particularly on television, or in terms of individual sub-fields, such as travel, fashion or food journalism, lifestyle journalism is in need of scholarly analysis particularly in the area of production, based on the increasing importance which the field has in influencing audiences’ ways of life. This study explores the professional views of 89 Australian and German lifestyle journalists through in-depth interviews in order to explore the ways in which they engage in processes of influencing audiences’ self-expression, identities and consumption behaviors. The article argues that through its work, lifestyle journalism is a significant shaper of identities in today’s consumer societies.

The article is available at the publisher’s website. The accepted version is also available through QUT ePrints.