Independent or a political pawn? How recipients perceive influences on journalistic work compared to journalists and what explains their perceptions

Abstract

Journalistic autonomy is a prerequisite for the public function of journalism. Although most journalists in Western democracies indicate particularly low political or economic influences on their work, there is evidence that recipients assume that journalism is driven primarily by political and economic interests. These perceptual discrepancies can be problematic as perceived influences on journalistic work are known to reduce recipients’ media trust. Hence, this study addresses the extent to which recipients perceive influences on journalistic work, how their perceptions differ from that of journalists, and which variables explain recipients’ perceptions. A representative online survey of German recipients ( n = 1000) and the representative sample of German journalists of the Worlds of Journalism Study ( n = 775) demonstrate that recipients perceive stronger influences on journalistic work than journalists do, especially in regard to politics and economics. Furthermore, recipients who display higher levels of anti-elitism, selective exposure and media literacy assume stronger influences on journalistic work.

Public service media for better democracies: Testing the role of perceptual and structural variables in shaping citizens’ evaluations of public television

“…This finding is also in line with previous research that shows discrepancies between the audience and the journalists' assessments of their performance (Gil De Zuñiga and Hinsley, 2013). The latter tend to rate themselves higher in their adversarial and information roles, while the audiences perceive a more significant influence of power on journalists (Obermaier et al, 2021). These results hint at the audience's perceptions regarding decision-making in TVE and how the poor assessments of TVE's independence could be partially explained by Spain's history.…”

“…However, it is yet unclear how the different levels of analyses affect each other and relate to other aspects of media evaluation (Strömbäck et al, 2020). Some studies suggest that low evaluations of journalists' performance amplify low levels of media trust (Obermaier et al, 2021). When asked to assess media trust, respondents refer alternatively to media outlets and journalists when evaluating independence and professionalism (Knudsen et al, 2021).…”

Does the audience welcome an audience-oriented journalism?

“…In general, the more someone consumes news, regardless of the source, the more they value an audience-oriented journalism. This is logical because the audience constructs their opinion of journalists, and therefore also their opinion of journalistic roles, on what they see them doing (Obermaier et al, 2021). As people consume more journalism, their expectations of journalists to adhere to these roles increase.…”