Abstract

This article examines how journalism is practised beyond institutional frameworks in the United Kingdom, using esports journalism as a case through which to explore professional identity, labour conditions, and journalistic authority. Drawing on a mixed-methods design, the study combines content analysis of UK mainstream media coverage, surveys of journalists, and eight semi-structured interviews with esports journalists. The findings reveal a substantial divergence between journalistic practice and professional recognition: participants routinely performed core journalistic functions while often rejecting the identity of ‘journalist’ and entering the field through informal pathways. Labour conditions were characterised by precarity, freelance work, and the blurring of editorial and commercial roles, while access to information was frequently mediated by industry stakeholders. Mainstream media engagement with esports remained limited, indicating the existence of a specialist journalism ecosystem operating largely outside established institutional structures. Esports journalism therefore provides a useful analytical case through which to understand processes of de-professionalisation, in which institutional boundaries weaken while journalistic work extends beyond established professional frameworks. The study argues that the growing separation between journalistic practice and professional recognition invites a reconsideration of how journalism is defined, organised, and legitimised within platform-based media environments.

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