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In this survey, journalists were asked to reflect on both internal and external influences on their newswork. They were also asked to what extent they have autonomy to select and present stories.
In this survey, journalists were asked to reflect on both internal and external influences on their newswork. They were also asked to what extent they have autonomy to select and present stories.
In terms of freedom to do their work, an overwhelming majority believe that they, as individuals, have “a great deal of freedom” (49,0%) or “complete freedom” (26,2%) in selecting their stories. Similarly, more than half of respondents (50,8%) believed they have “a great deal of freedom” when it comes to deciding which aspects to emphasise, and 26,6% have “complete freedom” to do so.
It should be noted that these percentages differ for respondents from the public broadcaster, especially in terms of the “complete freedom” response category. For instance, when it comes to the freedom in selecting stories, only 15,9% of public service journalists feel they have “complete freedom (compared to 28,9% of respondents from private/commercial media). In terms of personally deciding which aspects of a story should be emphasised, only 15,6% of respondents from public service media believe they have “complete freedom” to do so, compared to 30,8% of respondents from private or commercial media who hold the same view.
Internal influences on newswork
Internal influences on newswork
In line with the findings on ethical orientations and practices, it is understandable that more than 80% of respondents (84,8%) consider journalism ethics as a strong internal influence on the work that they do. Some of the other prevalent internal influences are more indicative of practical newsroom challenges and experiences, such as time limits (68,8%), editorial policy (67,1%), editorial supervisors and higher editors (61,6 %), and the availability of news-gathering resources (61,3%).
Interestingly, an area where respondents appear to be divided, is whether their “personal values and beliefs” impact on the work that they do. Of all the respondents who answered this question, almost half (46,7%) considered personal values and beliefs to be very influential. Yet, 24,2% of respondents only considered them as moderately influential and 29,1% believed personal values and beliefs to not be important.
Another area where respondents were more polarized is the influence of audience research and data (for example, ratings, circulation, and web metrics) in their newswork. The responses were quite evenly split between respondents who viewed these types of research data as very influential (44,5%), followed by 25,1% who considered them to be moderately influential, and 30,4% who did not consider them as influential. This finding certainly warrants further research to establish how, when and why audience-related research data impact on journalists’ reporting practices.
In terms of least influential factors, it is evident that advertising (17,1%), profit expectations (23,2%) and business managers (24,6%) did not appear to have a noteworthy influence on respondents.
External influences on newswork
External influences on newswork
In terms of external influences on newswork, only two factors were rated as very influential by more than 50% of respondents. This indicates that journalists who took part in this survey were more inclined to be influenced by what happens in their newsrooms and media outlets, than external influences that could exert pressure on their newswork. It is evident that respondents view access to information (81,4%) as by far the most influential factor. The second most influential factor are media laws and regulation (74,2%). The next three factors, while noteworthy, are at less than 50% each significantly less influential: relationships with news sources (47,2%), feedback from the audience (45,5%) and scientists or health experts (45,5%). Public relations (8.9%) and friends, acquaintances and family (8,6%) are the least influential factors when it comes to respondents’ newswork.
The response categories for the questions on internal and external influences were originally coded on a five-point scale (1 = “not influential”; 2 = “slightly influential”, 3 = “moderately influential”; 4 = “very influential” and 5 = “extremely influential”). These five categories have been collapsed into three (1-2 = not influential; 3 = moderately influential; 4-5 = very influential) to simplify analysis and presentation. Respondents also had the option of indicating that that specific statement is “not relevant to my work”. Those responses are not included in the analysis.
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