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PP 284
Crumbling Wall Between Business and Editorial Departments? Corporate Interests and Journalistic Autonomy in Times of Crisis
S. Fuerst
1
, B. Hofstetter
1
, M. Meißner
1
, P. Schönhagen
1
, M. Puppis
1
1
University of Fribourg, Department of Communication & Media Research DCM, Fribourg, Switzerland
The media and especially newspapers are currently facing an economic and structural crisis. Advertising revenues, audience numbers and thus the re‑
sources available to news organizations are shrinking (Curran 2010; Downie Jr. & Schudson 2009; Ekdale et al. 2015; McChesney & Nichols 2010). In this
context, scholars raise concerns about the wall between editorial decisions and business operations to “become a curtain” (Coddington 2015). Economic
pressures and growing market orientation are said to endanger journalistic autonomy (Beam et al. 2009; Ferrucci 2016; Gade 2008), which is“a central part
of the definition of professionalism”(Hallin & Mancini 2004: 34). However, little empirical research investigates how corporate interests are shaping the se‑
lection and presentation of news. Many scholars have argued that journalistic autonomy is particularly vulnerable when it comes to reporting on advertising
customers, media politics and one's own media company (Cohen 2002; Freedman 2010; Kepplinger 2000; McChesney 2008; Porlezza 2014; Snider & Page
2003). Yet what is missing are not only up-to-date data but also studies that include these influences in one research design. This paper sets out to fill this
gap by presenting results of a standardized online survey of Swiss journalists conducted in summer 2014 (response rate of 34%; 1128 participants from
different media types). We used a 6-point scale from not at all (coded 0) to very strong (coded 5) to measure the current influence of corporate interests on
editorial decisions. Moreover, respondents were asked whether these influences have decreased or increased in the last five years. Results indicate that news
with a potentially negative impact on advertising customers are infrequently published (m=1.9), even though journalists rarely respond to direct pressure
from advertising customers (m=1.6).When journalists report on media policy, they can only partially decide on the content of the article (m=2.2). In many
cases, it goes without saying that editors have to adopt the company’s position when reporting on media policy (m=2.5). Reporting on one's own media
company is even more restricted. It is nearly impossible to report critically about the own media company (m=1.2). Even if developments inside the own
media company are criticized publicly by other media, editorial departments cover those stories only in some cases (m=2.3). On the contrary, it counts as
quite self-evident to report positively on one's own media company (m=3.1). Although restrictions of journalistic autonomy are observed in all media
types, this holds especially true for the weekly press. The data also reveal that newsrooms facing staff cuts in recent years show lower levels of journalistic
autonomy. All in all, results indicate a slight decrease of journalistic autonomy in the last five years, and hence a further erosion of the wall between business
and editorial departments. In light of these results, the presentation will conclude by discussing policies appropriate for journalism in times of corporate
consolidation and economization.
PP 285
On the Validity of Extra-Media Data as Criteria for Journalistic Objectivity: The Case of Economic Growth
L. Hagen
1
, C. Seifert
1
1
Technical University Dresden, Insitute for Communication and Media Studies - IfK, Dresden, Germany
Rosengren (1970) coined the term "extra-media data" which also stands for a methodological approach to measure the objectivity of reporting. According‑
ly, statistical data and other external, primarily statistical measures are a valid means to assess the performance of media by comparing their coverage to
such indicators. This view has been and still is heavily contested (e.g. Schulz 1976). In this paper, we argue that extra-media can be valid criteria to assess
the objectivity of journalistic constructions of reality - as long as they meet the foll owing three prerequisites Donsbach (1990, p.25): 1. They have to be
derived from theory of democracy or from political norms, 2. they must not be biased due to specific interests or professional functions of the generating
institutions, and 3. they should allow for a comparison with media content. At first, our paper will prove that economic growth, as one of the most im‑
portant objects of economic news coverage, meets all three conditions. Secondly, the paper specifies what kind of standards for news coverage emerge
from economic growth being an external criterion. In a nutshell, we find that six standards of news coverage can be derived from the economic growth
statistic. The first two standards, namely “Correct Quotation” and “Proportional Reporting” refer mainly to the factual description of the economy. Of even
greater importance are the following four standards that relate to an objective interpretation of economy growth: the standard of “Linear Evaluations”
requires that the chronological development of verbal descriptions proceeds proportional to the development of economic growth. The fourth standard
of“No Instrumental Actualization”describes the requirement of all deviations from linearity not being determined be media’s or journalist’s intentions and
the fifth (“Linear Thematization”) and sixth standard (“Asymmetric Thematization”) are at first glance contradictory to each other, but on the second easily
elaborated: whereas the standard of “Linear Thematization”requires a linear function between positive or negative development of economic growth and
the respective evaluations in the news, the sixth standard of “Asymmetric Thematization” stresses the surveillance function of the media and therefore
justifies a stronger emphasis on negative developments. Thirdly, to analyze whether or not those standards play a role in research on the medial depiction
of economic growth and, in consequence, whether media meet those requirements, the results of existing empirical studies are assessed. Additionally we
examine how objective – in the sense of a realistic depiction – news coverage on economic growth in Germany’s leading Elite Newspapers actually is. For
this purpose an automated content analysis assesses positive and negative evaluations of the economy between 1992 and 2014. Subsequently a time series
analysis relates these results to growth indicators from national accounting. Donsbach, W. (1990). Objektivitätsmaße in der Publizistikwissenschaft. In:
Publizistik 35, S. 18–29. Rosengren, K. E. (1970). International news: Intra and extra media data. Acta Sociologica, (13) , 96–109. Schulz,W.: Massenmedien
und Realität. Die„ptolemäische“ und die„kopernikanische“ Auffassung. In: Kaase, Max/Schulz, Winfried (Hrsg.): Massenkommunikation. Sonderheft 30 der
Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie 1989, S. 135–149.