<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>To date, specialised sub-groups of journalists have received little attention in comparative studies of the professional values of journalists. To shed new light on the situation in Finland, this article explores the role perceptions and ethical stances of an elite group of reporters – political journalists – in comparison with other Finnish journalists. A statistical analysis of two surveys from the Worlds of Journalism Study (WJS) project is undertaken, indicating that political journalists stand out from others by endorsing the role of analytical independent watchdogs and by maintaining more distance to audiences and commercialism. Ethically, they are more cautious than other journalists in using controversial reporting practices. These attributes should stem from the demands of political journalism and the high status of this form of journalism in newsrooms. Political journalists are also more uniform in their values than other sub-groups, but their uniformity is likely to be challenged by current external and internal pressures.</p>
</abstract>

To date, specialised sub-groups of journalists have received little attention in comparative studies of the professional values of journalists. To shed new light on the situation in Finland, this article explores the role perceptions and ethical stances of an elite group of reporters – political journalists – in comparison with other Finnish journalists. A statistical analysis of two surveys from the Worlds of Journalism Study (WJS) project is undertaken, indicating that political journalists stand out from others by endorsing the role of analytical independent watchdogs and by maintaining more distance to audiences and commercialism. Ethically, they are more cautious than other journalists in using controversial reporting practices. These attributes should stem from the demands of political journalism and the high status of this form of journalism in newsrooms. Political journalists are also more uniform in their values than other sub-groups, but their uniformity is likely to be challenged by current external and internal pressures.

More of the Same or a Different Breed Altogether?: A National Comparison of Role Perceptions and Ethical Stances among Finnish Political Journalists

Nordicom Review

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

To date, specialised sub-groups of journalists have received little attention in comparative studies of the professional values of journalists. To shed new...

More of the Same or a Different Breed Altogether?: A National Comparison of Role Perceptions and Ethical Stances among Finnish Political Journalists

Published Online: May 26, 2018

Page range: 51 - 66

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2018-0001

Keywords
Finland, journalists, professional values, statistical analysis, Worlds of Journalism Study

© 2018 Jari Väliverronen, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

More of the Same or a Different Breed Altogether?: A National Comparison of Role Perceptions and Ethical Stances among Finnish Political Journalists

Published Online: May 26, 2018

Page range: 51 - 66

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2018-0001

KeywordsFinland, journalists, professional values, statistical analysis, Worlds of Journalism Study

© 2018 Jari Väliverronen, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Finland, journalists, professional values, statistical analysis, Worlds of Journalism Study