"As in other regions, journalism in Southeast Asia is under pressure. Journalists in many of the region’s emerging markets have to develop their profession while struggling with changing market conditions, increasingly more demanding audiences, different degrees of authoritative states and growing
...
competition from the Internet. Based on qualitative interviews and drawing on a combination of role theory and Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory, this article compares the role performances of journalists in Singapore and Vietnam by looking into the different expectations journalists in the two countries meet. The article illustrates how journalists continue to feel most conflicted about conforming with the states’ expectations to their profession. However, online actors imposing on the journalistic field are beginning to have a progressively bigger impact. Though they push the boundaries and set the media agenda, journalists fear they are changing the journalistic habitus, devaluing the journalistic capital and eroding years’ worth of professionalization progress." (Abstract)
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 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, 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
"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, 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 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
"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
"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
"Este libro presenta y analiza el estado de los medios de comunicación y del ejercicio periodístico en la República Dominicana. Es el resultado de un proceso de investigación que abarcó dos encuestas nacionales: una en 1,200 hogares de todo el territorio nacional para medir el grado de credibil
...
idad de los medios y la importancia que la población le atribuye a éstos; otra entre 330 periodistas de distintos medios sobre el rol de su profesión en la construcción de la democracia y sobre las condiciones socio-laborales en que se desenvuelven. El estudio también consultó a ejecutivos de medios, a investigadores y expertos del área, a funcionarios gubernamentales del sector comunicación, a representantes de la sociedad civil y dirigentes de los principales gremios periodísticos." (Reverso)
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
"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
"Comparative studies of journalism have become immensely popular in recent times, yet a range of methodological and logistical challenges persist in existing work. This introduction to the special issue on “Comparing Journalistic Cultures” provides a brief overview of these challenges, before pr
...
oviding an overview of the genesis of the Worlds of Journalism Study, an unprecedented, global and collaborative undertaking to examine journalistic culture in 66 countries. In particular, we reflect on how the study approached and aimed to solve methodological challenges, providing some ideas that may aid future studies in this field." (Abstract)
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
"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, 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
"Comparative research across the world has shown that nation-level variables are strong predictors of professional roles in journalism. There is, however, still insufficient comparative research about three key issues: cross-national comparison of journalistic role performance, exploration of how -
...
or whether - organizational variables account for variation in role performance across countries, and the performance of specific journalistic roles that prevail in regions with post-authoritarian political trajectories. This article tackles these three issues by comparatively measuring journalistic performance in five Latin American countries. Based on a content analysis of 9841 news items from 18 newspapers, this article reports findings from Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador and Mexico, by analyzing the presence of the 'interventionist', 'watchdog', 'loyal', 'service','infotainment', and 'civic' roles. Results show that the region is far from homogeneous and that while 'country' is a strong predictor for most of the roles, other variables such as 'media type', 'political orientation', and 'news topic' are also significant predictors to varying levels." (Abstract)
more
"The top six roles, all with means above 4.5 and standard deviations below 1, for Botswana journalists, were a mix of those aligned with a liberal press (e.g., report things as they are) and those relevant to development journalism (e.g., support national development). “Report things as they are
...
(mean=4.80) and “Educate the audience” (mean=4.70) were the top two roles for these journalists (see Table 1) with 96.2 percent and 94.1 percent of the journalists respectively saying that they considered these roles “extremely” or “very” important. The least important roles, both with means below the midpoint of three, were “Be an adversary of government” (mean=2.62) and “Convey a positive image of political leadership” (mean=2.40); these journalists did not want to take a seriously adversarial stance with government but neither did they want to convey a positive image of political leaders." (Journalistic roles, page 1)
more
"With regards to professional role orientations, the vast majority of journalists in Mexico found it extremely or very important to report things as they are, followed in second place by the role of promoting tolerance and cultural diversity, and the role of advocating for social change in third pla
...
ce. The fourth role to which Mexican journalist gave top importance in a most (5) to least (1) scale was to let people express their views, followed by the role of monitoring and scrutinizing political leaders in fifth place. The top roles show a rich mixture of adherence: from the classic Western roles of dissemination (reporting things as they are), to the roles more associated with mobilization and promotion of positive social outcomes (promoting tolerance or advocating for social change), followed by democratic roles such as serving as forum (let people express their views) and the watchdog function of the press (monitoring political leaders). There appears to be greater consensus around the ten most-popular roles, as shown by the relatively lower standard deviations, than in the bottom ten roles. This indicates the journalists who support those roles are unusual and the values they represent are a point of contention within the corps of journalists. For example, the least prioritized role was to convey a positive image of political leaders which however had a fairly high standard deviation, followed by the role of being an adversary to the government, which ranked in penultimate place in order of priority and had the second highest standard deviation of them all. This suggests some journalists consider both roles very important while others do not at all. The support of government policy was also the third least prioritized role, followed by that of providing entertainment and relaxation in fourth place and by the role of being a detached observer of events in fifth place of low priority, but which had the highest standard deviation of them all, suggesting very little agreement on how distant should journalists be from the stories they report on." (Journalistic roles, page 2)
more