Open Access

Matthias Degen, Max Olgemöller, Christian Zabel

• Our study investigates how German journalists produce quality journalism on TikTok based on 22 semistructured interviews. Specifically, we explore whether German journalists adhere to established journalistic norms and values, using Lacy & Rosenstiel's quality journalism framework as a theoretical foundation. Given the prominent role of public service media and their legal mandate to contribute to public opinion formation, Germany constitutes an interesting case. Findings suggest that German journalists rely on a mixture of traditional journalistic standards and audience-related news values on TikTok. Moreover, they tailor content to the unique platform environment. This entails the adoption of TikTok-specific storytelling with crisp openers, simplified narrating styles, and appealing audiovisuals. Editorial quality management remains crucial, with public service journalists exhibiting more sophisticated content approval and production processes than private media journalists. Overall, German journalists strike a balance between upholding journalistic integrity and adapting to TikTok's distinctive dynamics.