"Malawian journalists are ambivalent in their roles. They perceive themselves as faithful reporters and objective analysts of current affairs, who not only help their audiences make informed decisions, but also give voice to the people (see Table 1). They also perceive themselves as monitors and scr
...
utinizers of political leadership and business. This approach would classify Malawians journalists as operating within the Occidental/Western journalism framework. However, the same journalists also see themselves as advocates for social change, supporters of national development, motivators of popular political participation, and educators of their audiences. More than half of the respondents stuck to their traditional roles of providing advice, orientation and direction for daily life as well as providing entertainment and relaxation. While the Malawian journalists portray themselves as professionals with the mission to contribute positively to national governance and promote social change, they avoid being adversaries of their government or promoters of political leadership." (Journalistic roles, page 2)
more
"Scholars have repeatedly expressed concern about the societal consequences of negative media coverage toward public institutions and political actors. Yet, there remains a lack of systemic understanding about the determinants of this cynical attitude. To examine this issue, we combine aggregate dat
...
a on political and economic performance with Worlds of Journalism Study (WJS) survey data on journalists’ institutional trust, watchdog and loyalty roles, editorial autonomy, professional experience, and news media ownership. Derived from interviews with 27, 657 journalists from 67 countries included in the second wave of the WJS (2012–2016), results show that democracy and press freedom are negatively correlated with journalists’institutional trust. Quite notably, autonomous and watchdog journalists are less trusting than loyal journalists. The findings also suggest that corruption levels, annual economic growth, and type of media ownership are essential determinants in this regard." (Abstract)
more
"This study profiles Tanzanian journalists at a time when the role of the media occupies the centre stage. Specifically, it seeks to answer this critical question who are Tanzanian journalists? In terms of socio-demographics, work environment, specialisation, editorial autonomy, professional attitud
...
es and beliefs, institutional trust, and major threat in exercising their journalistic freedom." (Introduction)
more
"Following months of mass antigovernment demonstrations in Belarus, this report widens the focus beyond the protesters and takes stock of the views and preferences of Belarusian citizens at a critical moment. A new ZOiS survey conducted in December 2020 among Belarusians aged between 16 and 64 revea
...
ls rare insights into the political and social mood across the country, trust in its institutions, the dynamics of the recent political mobilisation, and the domestic and foreign policy preferences of Belarusian citizens [...] The survey confirms the extent to which the protests were carried by private citizens, rather than organised civil society, trade unions, or churches, which played only peripheral roles. Social and online media dominate society’s news consumption, with over 70 per cent of respondents using these media as their main source of information. Belarusian state television, Russian media, and international media are used as well but are significantly less prominent as primary information sources. Trust in Belarus’s political institutions in general remains weak. Confidence has not eroded completely, but trust in all institutions is on balance negative, with very similar scores for the executive, the legislative, the judiciary, and the security apparatus. In absolute numbers, the opposition Coordination Council and the Orthodox Church are the most trusted institutions." (Executive summary)
more
"How do journalists around the world view their own function and role in society? Based on a landmark study that has collected data from more than 25,000 journalists in 66 countries between 2012 and 2015, Worlds of Journalism examines the different ways journalists conceive of their responsibilities
...
, their relationship to society and government, and the work they do. The authors conclude that there is no one conception of journalism and instead advance a global classification of journalistic cultures: the corporate libertarian model (e.g., U.S. and Australia); the public-service remit model (e.g., parts of continental Europe); the social interventionist model (e.g., parts of the Islamic World); the developmental faciliative model (e.g., parts of Africa and Asia); and the coercive heteronomy model (e.g., China and Russia). The book is organized around a series of key questions regarding journalists' autonomy, influences on their practice, journalism's role in society, journalists' trust in social institutions, and their perceptions about the ongoing transformation of journalism. Worlds of Journalism reveals how perceptions of journalism are created and re-created by journalists and how the practice of journalism is affected by different political, social, and economic institutions. The authors challenge essentialist ideas about journalism and provide an understanding of the diversity of worldviews and orientations of journalists in terms of roles, ethics, and influences." (Publisher description)
more
"This article analyzes how journalists in the Western Balkans consider the roles of journalism in times of transitions in the region. Findings from the Worlds of Journalism (WJS) study reveal that journalists and editors in the Western Balkans perceive their roles to be broader than those in traditi
...
onally western societies. They subscribe to traditional journalism values but also argue that the media has a broad responsibility to contribute to enhance transitions of societies after longer periods of conflict. At the same time, journalists have little trust in the institutions of society entrusted with the task of leading the countries through many issues of transitional justice. The article draws on empirical material from the WJS survey in 2014 and 2015 in Albania, Croatia, Kosovo and Serbia." (Abstract)
more
"With regards to professional role orientations, Bulgarian journalists found it most important to report things as they are, to educate the audience, to provide analysis of current affairs, to be a detached observer, and to let people express their views (see Table 1). It is notable that a very high
...
percentage of Bulgarian journalists also believed that supporting national development was extremely or very important for them. However, national development was not understood in the sense of supporting government policy or indeed conveying a positive image of political leadership. Other politically assertive roles such as influencing public opinion and advocating for social change were also supported by the majority of Bulgarian journalists but only a minority supported roles such as setting the political agenda and being an adversary of the government. Similarly, monitoring and scrutinizing political leaders and business was of significant importance to roughly half of all Bulgarian journalists. A majority of journalists in Bulgaria also found it important to promote tolerance and cultural diversity, to tell stories about the world, and to provide information people need to make political decisions. A minority reported that it was important to provide entertainment and relaxation, and to provide advice, orientation and direction for daily life." (Journalistic roles, page 2)
more
"With regards to professional role orientations, Hungarian journalists found it most important to report things as they are, to be a detached observer, and to provide analysis of current affairs (see Table 1). The relevance of these “classic” roles was fairly undisputed among the interviewed jou
...
rnalists as the relatively low standard deviations indicate. Still, a majority of journalists in Hungary found it important to promote tolerance and cultural diversity, to tell stories about the world, to educate the audience, to provide entertainment and relaxation, to provide the kind of news that attracts the largest audience, to provide advice, orientation and direction for daily life, to let people express their views, and to support national development. Political roles, on the other hand, were supported by only a minority of respondents. Following traits belong to these roles: motivating people to participate in political activity, setting the political agenda, acting as adversary of the government, supporting government policy, and conveying a positive image of political leadership." (Journalistic roles, page 2)
more
"With regards to professional role orientations, Cypriot journalists found it most important to report things as they are, to provide analysis of current affairs, and, to a lesser extent, to be a detached observer (see Table 1). The relevance of these “classic” roles was fairly undisputed among
...
the interviewed journalists as the relatively low standard deviations indicate. Of high importance to them was also supporting national development, which is possibly related to Cyprus’ turbulent political past and still ‘unsettled’ present. The least important roles were supporting government policy, conveying a positive image of political leadership, and providing entertainment and relaxation. A majority of journalists in Cyprus found some politically assertive roles significant, i.e. to advocate for social change, to monitor and scrutinize political leaders, and to promote tolerance and cultural diversity as well as to let people express their views. Roles related to a ‘watchdog’ mindset, i.e. being an adversary of the government and motivating people to participate in political activity, were supported by only a minority of the respondents." (Journalistic roles, pages 1-2)
more
"With regards to professional role orientations, journalists in El Salvador found it most important to report things as they are, to monitor and scrutinize political leaders, to educate the audience, and to let people express their views. The relevance of these roles was fairly undisputed among the
...
interviewed journalists as the relatively low standard deviations indicate.
Still, a majority of journalists in El Salvador found it important to support national development, to promote tolerance and cultural diversity, to advocate for social change, to provide information people need to make political decisions, to influence public opinion, and to set the political agenda. Political roles like supporting government policy, conveying a positive image of political leadership, and acting as an adversary of the government were supported by only a minority of respondents." (Journalistic roles, pages 1-2)
more
"With regard to professional role orientations, Russian journalists found it most important to report things as they are and to educate the audience. The relevance of these roles was fairly undisputed among the interviewed journalists as the relatively low standard deviations indicate. Likewise, the
...
re was a strong consensus among the respondents over the little importance of supporting government policy and conveying a positive image of political leadership. Still, a majority of journalists in Russia found it important to provide advice, orientation and direction for daily life, to advocate for social change, to provide the kind of news that attracts the largest audience, to provide analysis of current affairs, to tell stories about the world, to be a detached observer, to let people express their views, to promote tolerance and cultural diversity, and to support national development. Politically more assertive roles, on the other hand, were supported by only a minority of respondents. Following traits belong to these roles: influencing public opinion, setting the political agenda, and acting as adversary of the government." (Journalistic roles, pages 1-2)
more
"With regards to professional role orientations, Brazilian journalists found it most important to report things as they are, to promote tolerance and cultural diversity, to be a detached observer, to let people express their views, and to provide analysis of current affairs (see Table 1). These resu
...
lts express the relevance of the “classic” roles of journalism as indicated by the quite low standard deviations. There was also a consensus among the respondents over the little importance of conveying a positive image of political leadership, being an adversary of the government, and supporting government policy. Most of Brazilian journalists supported politically assertive roles, like advocating for social change, providing information people need to make political decisions, monitoring and scrutinizing political leaders, and supporting national development. On the other hand, the interviewees consider less important to provide entertainment and relaxation, and to monitor and scrutinize business." (Journalistic roles, page 2)
more
"The top six roles, all with means above 4.3 and standard deviations below 1, for Tanzanian journalists, were a mix of those aligned with a liberal press (e.g. promote tolerance and cultural diversity) and those relevant to development journalism (e.g. support national development). “Provide the k
...
ind of news that attracts the largest audience” (mean=4.58) and “Promote tolerance and cultural diversity” (mean=4.56) were the top two roles for these journalists (see Table 1) with 97.8 percent and 98.5 percent of the journalists respectively saying that they considered these roles “extremely” or “very” important. As the low standard deviations indicate, the journalists showed high agreement on the importance of these roles. The least important roles, both with means well below the midpoint of three, were “Be an adversary of government” (mean=1.98) and “Support government policy” (mean=1.99)." (Journalistic roles, page 1)
more
"With regards to professional role orientations, Chilean journalists found it most important to report things as they are and to provide analysis of current affairs. The relevance of these “classic” roles was fairly undisputed among the interviewed journalists as the relatively low standard devi
...
ations indicate. Likewise, there was a strong consensus among the respondents over the little importance of acting as an adversary of the government and conveying a positive image of political leadership. Still, a majority of journalists in Chile found it important to educate the audience, to promote tolerance an cultural diversity, to let people express their views, to influence public opinion, to monitor and scrutinize political leaders, to tell stories about the world, to provide information people need to make political decisions, to monitor and scrutinize business, and to advocate for social change. Only a minority of respondents supported roles like providing entertainment and relaxation, motivating people to participate in political activity, supporting government policy, being an adversary of the government, and conveying a positive image of political leadership." (Journalistic roles, pages 1-2)
more
"With regards to professional role orientations, journalists in Turkey believe that reporting things as they are and to be a detached observer are the most important aspects of their work. To provide analysis of current affairs, to let people express their views, to monitor and scrutinize political
...
leaders, and to advocate for social change are also considered to be very important aspects of journalistic work. Journalists in Turkey also believe that to promote cultural diversity and to provide information people need to make political decisions are crucial professional roles. In contrast, very few journalists believed that their role is to support government policy or to convey a positive image of political leadership." (Journalistic roles, page 1)
more
"With regards to how Colombian journalists reportedly viewed their professional purpose/role, they found it was most important to report news accurately, to provide analysis of current affairs, to promote tolerance and cultural diversity, to promote social change, and lastly, to educate the audience
...
(Table 1). The standard deviations for each of these roles revealed that there was indisputable consensus on the perception of the relevance that these functions have within journalistic work. Still, it was found that most journalists in Colombia valued letting people express their opinions, telling stories about the world, monitoring political leaders, and supporting national development. Furthermore, they valued influencing public opinion, providing people the information they need to make political decisions, and monitoring the business world. Lastly, journalists advocated for providing entertainment and news that capture a wider audience, setting the political agenda, motivating people to participate in political activities, and providing advice for daily life. It also was found that the classic roles of impartial observers and government adversaries or watchdogs currently hold little importance for Colombian journalists. The same goes for the traditional roles of loyalists or functionalists related to promoting government policies and conveying a positive image of political leaders. The standard deviations showed divided opinions on the relevance of these roles in journalism. For some journalists, these classic and loyalist roles are not important in their work, while there are others who believe that these roles are crucial for their reporting." (Journalistic roles, pages 1-2)
more
"With regards to professional role orientations, journalists in the UAE found it most important to educate the audience, to influence public opinion, to promote tolerance and cultural diversity, to tell stories about the world, and to support government policy. Still, more than two out of five respo
...
ndents found it important to convey a positive image of political leadership, to provide the kind of news that attracts the largest audience, to report things as they are, to support national development, to provide analysis of current affairs, to be an adversary of the government, to provide information people need to make political decisions, to let people express their views, and to provide advice, orientation and direction for daily life. Other roles were supported by only a minority of respondents. Following traits belong to these roles: monitoring and scrutinizing political leaders, setting the political agenda, monitoring and scrutinizing business, motivating people to participate in political activity, being a detached observer, advocating for social change, as well as providing entertainment and relaxation." (Journalistic roles, pages 1-2)
more
"The report is based on interviews with 350 journalists from all parts of the Ethiopian media. The study detects some important changes which have occurred in the Ethiopian journalist fraternity recently. In just a few years, the local journalist population has become one of the most educated in the
...
world, with 97% having at least a bachelor’s degree. The female proportion is also on the increase, and soon every third journalist in the country is expected to be a woman. At the same time, Ethiopian journalists are among the youngest and least experienced in all countries, with an average age of 30 years. Illustratively, around 90% of today’s Ethiopian journalists were not in the profession during the 2005 elections. The study detects significant differences between journalists in the state media and journalists in the private media, but also some similarities. Journalists in the private media experience high degree of professional autonomy with 71% perceiving ‘a great deal of freedom’ in selecting news stories, compared with 41% in the state media. Both groups have high trust in the government – indeed one of the highest trust levels of the 66 countries investigated in the Worlds of Journalism Study – but nonetheless low trust in political parties and politicians in general. When asked about their political view, most journalists in the study identified themselves halfway between the government and the opposition. There is a slightly higher proportion of reporters supporting the government in the state media than in the private media. In terms of professional role, Ethiopian journalists have some features which set them apart from their counterparts in the north. Ethiopian journalists reveal strong commitment to national development and support for government policy. They also regard advocacy for social change as an important part of their work. Thus, the typical Ethopian journalist can be described as both a loyalist and a change agent." (Executive summary)
more
"Regarding professional role orientations, journalists in Oman found it most important to be detached observers, to advocate for social change, to support national development, to provide analysis of current affairs, to provide the kind of news that attracts the largest audience, to influence public
...
opinion, to provide advice, orientation and direction for daily life, to report things as they are, and to let people express their views. About half of the respondents found it is important for journalists to monitor and scrutinize business, to provide entertainment and relaxation, and to provide information people need to make political decisions. On the other hand, less than half of the journalists asserted that journalists should support government policy, set the political agenda, motivate people to participate in political activity, convey a positive image of political leadership, monitor and scrutinize political leaders, and finally, be adversaries of the government." (Journalistic roles, pages 1-2)
more
"A majority of Thai journalists viewed all roles listed in the questionnaire as very or extremely important. The roles that ranked highest included to report things as they are (88.7%), to provide analysis of current affairs (85.5%), and to be a detached observer (82.1%) (see Table 1). There was lit
...
tle dispute about the relevance of all listed roles among the interviewed journalists as the relatively low standard deviations indicate, except for acting as an adversary of the government (s=1.01). The roles of providing information people need to make political decision, motivating people to participating in political activity, and monitoring and scrutinizing business were rated as extremely or very important by a slight majority." (Journalistic roles, page 2)
more