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One of the key aspects of newswork evaluated by the Worlds of Journalism Study refers to journalists' perceptions of what they think their roles in society should be.
One of the key aspects of newswork evaluated by the Worlds of Journalism Study refers to journalists' perceptions of what they think their roles in society should be.
Based on the findings of this study, almost all journalists (92,8%) agreed that it is “very important” (23,4%) or “extremely important” (69,4%) to educate their audiences. Other, equally significant roles for these journalists, included the need to shine a light on society’s problems (91,5%) and to counteract disinformation (91,4%). Respondents also felt strongly about monitoring and scrutinising those in power (84,2%) and discussing future implications of current events (80,5%).
Conversely, only 1,3% of respondents agreed that conveying a positive image of political leaders is important, while one in ten respondents (11,2%) thought it is important to support government policy. Less than a quarter (22,4%) of respondents thought it was important to set the political agenda. Noteworthy here, is the fact that respondents seemed divided on some of the other roles – especially when it comes to providing orientation and direction for daily life, the need to provide entertainment and relaxation and the need to motivate people to participate in politics.
The data suggests that there were gendered differences when it comes to the perceptions about some of the roles journalists should fulfil.
The data suggests that there were gendered differences when it comes to the perceptions about some of the roles journalists should fulfil.
For respondents who identified as female, the most important roles were, firstly, to speak on behalf of the marginalized (75,9%), point towards solutions to society’s problems (74,6%) and then to provide analysis of current affairs (71,6%). Male respondents, on the other hand, believe the most important roles to fulfil are, firstly, to provide analysis of current affairs (81,9%), be a detached observer (71,6%) and, of equal importance, to speak on behalf of the marginalized (69,0%) and to point towards possible solutions to society’s problems (69.0%).
In other words, both male and female respondents agreed that providing analysis of current affairs is “very” or “extremely” important, however, this view was stronger amongst males (by 10,3%). There was also a 10% gender gap on views toward advocating for social change (9,8%) and providing advice, orientation and direction for daily life (9,3%); sentiments which were stronger amongst female respondents. More respondents who identified as male also considered providing analysis of current as “very” or “extremely” important (81,9%), compared to 71,6% of female journalists in response to the same statement. Conversely, female respondents in this study (62,4%), consider it significantly more important than their male counterparts (52,6%) to advocate for social change.
These findings certainly warrant further research to establish why and how journalists of different genders approach news selection and production. Keeping in mind that most of the respondents in this study identify as female (58,6%), one would have to interrogate these views further and examine whether these beliefs are reflected in news coverage and content.
The response categories for the questions on roles were on a five-point scale (1 = “not at all important”; 2 = “slightly important”, 3 = “moderately important”; 4 = “very important” and 5 = “extremely important”). These five categories have been collapsed into three (1-2 = not important; 3 = moderately important; 4-5 = important) to simplify analysis and presentation.
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