News sources and the epistemic authority to represent reality: How journalism constructs an order of authorized knowers in local television news.

This article examines how local television news constructs epistemic authority among different types of sources—specifically distinguishing between narrative authority (the authority to characterize social reality) and eyewitness authority (the authority to bear witness to personal experience). Using quantitative content analysis of Oklahoma City local newscasts, the study finds that citizens contribute uniquely through eyewitness authority by taking more speaking turns than other sources, especially in crime and human-interest stories, but their narrative authority is often coopted by elite sources such as government and civil authorities who primarily characterize social reality based on their social status. The research also reveals demographic patterns, notably that white women citizens take more witnessing turns than other citizen groups, highlighting how social status and identity influence the distribution of epistemic authority in news. Overall, the findings suggest that while citizen witnessing lends authenticity to news, the power to define broader meanings remains concentrated among elites, reinforcing existing inequalities in journalistic authority.