The “Hierarchy of Credibility” among Economic Experts: Journalists’ Perceptions of Experts with Varying Institutional Affiliations

Abstract

Economic journalism is dependent on journalists working closely with expert sources to produce factual and nonpartisan news and analyses about economic policy. Thus, the experts routinely used in economic journalism wield power when defining the economic reality and the possibilities for policy-making. Building on 19 semi-structured interviews with Finnish economic and political journalists and a questionnaire survey conducted among journalists (N = 42), this article contributes to the existing literature on journalism practice and economic expertise by analysing how journalists perceive the credibility of various economic experts. The article draws from literature on the "hierarchy of credibility" concept and argues that journalists regard experts working for government authorities and research institutes as more credible than economic experts employed by, for example, private banks. The article argues that while a "hierarchy of credibility" exists among economic expert groups, it is difficult to make clear-cut demarcations between objective expertise and advocacy in economic journalism. Such results highlight the need for nuanced analyses on the role of economic expertise in journalism practice and in public life.

The mediatization of the economist profession: How economists use the media to promote political and economic interests

“…The economic abundance of post-war capitalism further increased the prevalence of economic policy issues in journalism (Yarrow, 2006). Consequently, the demand for social scientific expertise in the news media has steadily grown (Albaek et al, 2003), and economists have become prevalent media figures and authoritative expert sources on economic issues and policy (Brandes, 2019;Chadwick et al, 2020;Harjuniemi, 2022;Mata, 2011;Walsh, 2020). It has been argued that, since the 1960s, influential ideas of neoliberal economists, circulated by the press, have played a key role in undermining the Keynesian post-World War II sentiment (Petley, 2022).…”

“…It [media publicity] is not a value per se, but if the council is simply happy with writing reports that no one ever reads, then it is just a waste of time. [Economist, research institute] Finnish economic research institutes are professional macroeconomic research organizations, but some of them are partly funded by business or labor interest groups with policy advocacy interests (Harjuniemi, 2022(Harjuniemi, : 1643(Harjuniemi, -1644. Therefore, it is important for the leading economists of the research institutes to appear in the media to affect public opinion and shape the economic policy debate.…”

“…Economists are valuable and authoritative sources for journalists covering economic issues (Harjuniemi, 2022;Damstra and De Swert, 2021;Walsh, 2020). Sources need to foster connections with journalists to promote their interests in the media and gain visibility (Carlson, 2009;Gans, 2004;Laursen and Trapp, 2021).…”

“…Despite the prominent position of economists as policymakers and policy advisors (Markoff and Montecinos, 1993; Stasiak et al . , 2016) as well as authoritative news media sources (Chadwick et al, 2020; Harjuniemi, 2022; Walsh, 2020), relatively little is known about the relationship between the media and economists and how economists adopt to and make use of the media in their work. Mata and Medema (2013) describe how, during the twentieth century, influential economists (such as John Maynard Keynes and Paul Samuelson) became notable public intellectuals who used the media to communicate their ideas.…”

“…Similarly, Berry (2019: 230) finds that UK journalists covering the Global Financial Crisis had difficulties grasping the complexity of the crisis, further contributing to the need to rely on economic experts. Harjuniemi (2022) argues that, from the perspective of economic journalists, there is a hierarchy of credibility among economists, and those who occupy the top positions are most likely to be treated as neutral and trustworthy commentators in economic journalism.…”