The philosophical hermeneutics of German phenomenologist Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900-2002) is rarely cited in journalism studies, although it is better known in the fields of history, literary study and classical philology. I would like to suggest here that journalism studies can make fruitful use of the philosophical concepts he developed, in particular to use those ideas to bring journalism's interpretative work to the fore in critical enquiry. In the course of introducing some of his ideas, I emphasise implications for studying the practical knowledge of the journalist, the dichotomy between objective and subjective reporting, and neglected aspects of journalism ethics.