Journalister och deras publik. Förhållningssätt bland svenska journalister

Abstract

Journalists and their audience aims to explore and explain journalists´ approach to the audience. Fulfilling the normative assignment as advocates of the audience usually means balancing between professional ideals and audience-demands. But do journalists emphasis more of a profession-orientated or an audience-orientated approach to the audience? The study defines journalists' approach to the audience as a combination of the perceptions, attitudes, interest and knowledge that journalists express in various matters relating to the audience. This approach is analysed through four dimensions: audience-perceptions, audience-contacts, audience-orientation and audience-knowledge. The study is based on a national survey of journalists and managing editors in Sweden, conducted by the Department of journalism and mass communication, University of Gothenburg. The study also includes a complementary survey of Swedish newspaper journalists. The method used is quantitative analysis. Four types of approaches are revealed among Swedish journalists: "audience-orientated journalists", "audience-aware journalists", "indeterminate journalists" and "profession-orientated journalists". Important factors to take into account when explaining journalists´ approach are position at the editorial office, gender, and generation. The results reveal that managing editors and younger females are inclined to be most audience-orientated. The gender difference is regarded as a mark of gendered journalism. The study also finds some age-differences – especially among female journalists, differences that are explained from a perspective of experience and generation. This outcome is regarded as an indication of changing values among younger generations.