This article reports key findings from a comparative survey of the role perceptions, epistemological orientations and ethical views of 1800 journalists from 18 countries. The results show that detachment, non-involvement, providing political information and monitoring the government are considered essential journalistic functions around the globe. Impartiality, the reliability and factualness of information, as well as adherence to universal ethical principles are also valued worldwide, though their perceived importance varies across countries. Various aspects of interventionism, objectivism and the importance of separating facts from opinion, on the other hand, seem to play out differently around the globe. Western journalists are generally less supportive of any active promotion of particular values, ideas and social change, and they adhere more to universal principles in their ethical decisions. Journalists from non-western contexts, on the other hand, tend to be more interventionist in their role perceptions and more flexible in their ethical views.

Surveying 1,700 journalists from seventeen countries, this study investigates perceived influences on news work. Analysis reveals a dimensional structure of six distinct domains—political, economic, organizational, professional, and procedural influences, as well as reference groups. Across countries, these six dimensions build up a hierarchical structure where organizational, professional, and procedural influences are perceived as more powerful limits to journalists' work than political and economic influences.

Degree of autonomy is one of the key dimensions of professionalization in journalism. However, the strive for autonomy looks different in different media systems, where pressure on autonomy can come from both political and commercial powers, outside and within the media. Media development also changes the conditions for professional autonomy for journalists, in both a positive and a negative sense. In the comparative research project "Journalism in change", the journalistic cultures in Russia, Poland and Sweden are studied. In a survey involving 1500 journalists from the three countries, journalists report on their perceived autonomy in their daily work and in relation to different actors inside and outside the media. The survey covers how the work has been changed by media developments, and how these changes have affected journalists´perceived autonomy. The results show similarities in the strive for autonomy, but also clear differences in how autonomy is perceived by journalists in the three countries.