A theoretical approach to service journalism specialized in traffic and road safety information

Abstract

Traffic and road safety information is a specialization of service journalism, just like weather and stock exchange information. Despite the utility of this information and the fact that it regularly appears in our country’s news programmes, however, few academic studies have focused on it. This paper reviews the principal milestones in the development of this journalistic field, discussing its defining traits in connection with its theoretical basis and suggesting some lines of future renewal based on the possibilities
provided by digital technology within the context of media convergence.

KEYWORDS: traffic and road safety information, service journalism, informational utility, media convergence, mobile environment, Web 2.0.