Svetlana Pasti, University of Tampere
The 5th International Media Readings in Moscow
Mass Media and Communication- 2013’
November 14-15, 2013
Media system: Human dimension
• Among the many dimensions of media systems:
Journalism and the people behind it, journalists
• Global comparisons in two journalist profile
projects:
Weaver and Willnat, eds (2012) The Global
Journalist for the 21st century
Hanitzsch, et al. (2012) Worlds of Journalism Study
(WJS)
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BRICS study
• Neither of these global projects included
journalists from all five BRICS countries
• Our study will compare the BRICS countries’
journalists:
• 1) with journalists in Western countries
• 2) with journalists from the countries in the
second wave of the global WJS study
• 3) with journalists in the BRICS countries
themselves
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BRICS study
 The study will examine differences between new
and old news media
 In mainstream comparative research, ONLINE
NEWS MEDIA have received little attention
 Number of online media continue to increase
 The definition of new media is unclear
4
New media in the BRICS study
 Our study defines new online news media as
separately established, registered and independent
internet media organizations
 They are not digital newsrooms or online versions
of conventional newspapers, magazines or radiotelevision stations
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BRICS study sample: Cities
 Four cities in each country
 Brazil: Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Natal, Juiz de Fora
 Russia: Moscow, St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg,
Petrozavodsk
 India: Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune
 China: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xian
 South Africa: Jonannesburg, Cape Town, Durban,
Port Elizabeth
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BRICS study sample: Media
 Traditional media and new online media
 National media and local media
 Different types of media (newspaper, magazine,
radio, television, registered online media)
 and their subcategories in terms of:
quality (citizen – oriented) and popular
(consumer – oriented)
state – owned/public; private; mix (state – owned
& private)
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BRICS study sample: Media
 Media sample in capital and 2nd metropolis
includes 12 traditional media + 12 new online
media, in total 24 media, where 48 journalists are
interviewed
 Media sample in two provincial cities half of
above: 6 traditional media + 6 new online media,
in total 12 media, where 24 journalists are
interviewed. In-depth, semi-structured interview,
face-to-face, using a recorder, in the native
language of the interviewee
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Interview: Main topics
 Social profile
 Job Conditions: new technology, economy,
satisfaction
 Journalists and society: citizen participation,
freedom of speech
 Professionalism and ethics: perceptions on
professionalism, political independence, self
regulation, corruption
 Present status and future of the profession
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Work in progress
 Interviews: 144 per country, total 720 in 2013-early
2014
 Analysis and city + country reports in 2014
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Brazil, Russia, China in GJ and WJS
 Weaver and Willnat, eds (2012) The Global
Journalist in the 21st Century:
3 countries from BRICS, traditional media
Findings: demographics, working conditions,
values
 Hanitzsch, et al. (2012) Worlds of JournalismStudy:
Same 3 countries from BRICS, traditional media
Findings: journalism cultures, professional
autonomy, influence on news work
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Brazil, Russia, China in GJ: Profile
 The largest populations of journalists:
 China – 700,000
 Russia - 250, 000
 Brazil – 30, 000
(70, 000 from the BRICS data)
 US – about 120, 000
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Age: GJ
 Chinese journalists – the youngest - 33
 Brazilian journalists – 40
 Russian journalists– 41
 US journalists – 41
 The highest mean age was among journalists in
Denmark (45) and Sweden (45)
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Two trends in the profession
 Feminization and
high education
 Brazil – 40% of female
100%
 Russia –60% of female
90%
 China – 53% of female
93%
 US – 33% of female
 Special education in journalism:
 Brazil – 100%
 Russia – 44%
 US – 36%
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Working conditions: Job satisfaction
 Job satisfaction is linked to journalists’ perceived
autonomy (Weaver 2012)
 Perception of freedom is related to high job
satisfaction in such countries as: Russia, the US,
Chile, Colombia, Finland, Hong Kong, Israel,
Korea, Malaysia, Sweden, Taiwan
 Level of job satisfaction (who said ‘very satisfied’):
Brazil – 21%, Russia – 19%, US – 33 %,
Finland – 84%
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Working conditions: Job satisfaction
 3 most important predictors of job satisfaction
 Brazil: ‘pay’, ‘professional recognition’ and
‘possibility for promotion’
 Russia: ‘job autonomy’, ‘opportunity to help people’
and ‘political line of the media’
 Brazilian journalists – more pragmatic, prioritizing
material values (income and rising mobility)
 Russian journalists – more oriented to idealistic,
spiritual values (autonomy and helping people)
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Six main journalistic roles: GJ
 Reporting news quickly – 53%
 Reporting objectively – 51%
 Providing analysis of events – 49%
 Providing access for public – 36%
 Being watchdog of government – 33%
 Providing entertainment – 19%
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Perceptions of Roles: Brazil, Russia
 Similar in support Providing analysis of events:
Brazil (72%) and Russia (78%)
 Different to other roles:
 Reporting news quickly: Brazil (38%), Russia (81%)
 Watchdog role: Brazil (15%), Russia (53%)
 Providing access for public: Brazil (38%),
Russia (69%)
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Watchdog role decreasing: GJ
 Correlation is not always present between
level of freedom and importance of watchdog role
 In free countries (rated by Freedom house)
watchdog role of government: the US journalists –
71%, Germany – 7%, Switzerland – 27%, Sweden –
22%, Netherlands – 18%
 In non-free Russia (53%), partly free Brazil (15%)
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Watchdog role: GJ and WJS
 Results does not match between the Global
Journalist and Worlds of Journalism Study on the
watchdog of the government:
 Brazil – 15% GJ and 89% WJS
 Germany – 7% GJ and 88% WJS
 Switzerland – 27% GJ and 81% WJS
 Indonesia – 39% GJ and 81% WJS
 Chile – 39% GJ and 64% WJS
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Roles: GJ (WJS in brackets)
Provid
Report analysi
news
s of
quickl events
y
Be
watchdo
g of
gover-t
Provida
ccess
for
public
Provide
ntertai
nment
Report Freedom
objectiv House
ely
Score
Brazil 38
72
15
(89)
38
20
----
43
Russia 81
78
53
(57)
69
25
----
81
----
----
----
84
39
11
52
18
China ---- ---- ---(83)
USA
59
51
71
(86)
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WJS: Journalism cultures
 Journalism culture: roles, epistemologies, professional





autonomy
3 clusters of countries along common political and cultural
dimensions:
Western countries – Western journalism culture
Non-Western countries – Peripheral Western journalism
culture – Brazil
Non-Western countries – Authoritarian journalism culture
– China and Russia
Hypothesis: China and Russia more similar than Brazil
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Brazil, China, Russia in WJS: Roles
 No evidence that China and Russia similar and
different from Brazil
 Watchdog of the government : Brazil is similar with
China, Germany and Uganda
 ‘Providing the audience with the information that is
most interesting’: Brazil is similar with Russia and
dissimilar with Germany and Austria
 China and Russia are different in roles’ perception of
support of official politics and advocating for social
change, but similar in influence on public opinion
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Brazil, China, Russia: epistemologies
 No confirmation of similarity between China and
Russia (authoritarian culture) and difference from
Brazil (peripheral western):
 ‘I always stay away from information that cannot be
verified’ : Brazili (54) close to Russia (50) and both
different from China (88), as well as Germany (77),
and Austria (84)
 ‘I think that journalists can depict reality as it is’: Brazil
(77) different from Russia (33) as well as Germany (35)
and Austria (39)
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Brazil, China, Russia: Ethics
 In some questions China and Russia are similar:
‘approving a situational behavior in dependence
from the circumstances’, as distinct from Brazil
disapproving situational ethical practice
 In other questions: ‘avoiding questionable
methods of reporting’ China is similar with Brazil
(majority does not accept them) and different from
Russia showing a high tolerance to questionable
methods
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Brazil, China, Russia: Influences
 Three most important sources of influence:
 Supervisors and higher editors: China (80) and Brazil
(79) similar
 Management and ownership : China (81:76) and
Russia (66: 62) similar
 Newsroom conventions and professional conventions:
important for Brazil (80: 78)
not so important for China (57: 53) and Russia (60: 52)
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Findings of Influences
 In comparison to the Western journalists: only for
China and Russia ‘management’ and ‘ownership’ were
on the top, whereas for Germany and Austria they were
non-important and for Brazil and the USA – not so
very important
 This testifies about the political and economic
pressures on the media and journalists in Russia and
China – the double control of the state – (in)direct
media owner (or manager) and the capital, non-free
from the political control of the state
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Svetlana.pasti@uta.fi
http://www.uta.fi/cmt/en/contact/staff/svetlanapasti/index.html