Nordic journalists’ conceptual roles and perceived influences. A European and inter-Nordic comparison

Abstract

In this article, we comparatively explore Nordic journalists’ perceived roles and influences on their work using survey data from the Worlds of Journalism project (2012–2016). In a European context, a principal component analysis of 18 Western and Southern European countries (N = 10,254) finds that Nordic journalists generally resemble journalists in other democratic corporatist countries, particularly by their relatively low experience of political and economic influences. Restricting the analysis to the Nordic countries (N = 3,246) finds that Swedish and Danish journalists stand out by their stronger adherence to monitorial roles. By their weaker attachment to political roles and weaker experience of political influences, Icelanders differ from Finns, with Norwegians in an intermediate position. The large intranational variation in both analyses suggests that in addition to media systems and national contexts, the role of different beats and positions within news organisations is crucial for understanding journalists’ perceived roles and felt influences.