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.

No abstract

The fall of communism and the appearance of a free press have led to the birth of a new professional body of journalists in Romania. This situation offers a unique laboratory in which researchers can study a living, growing organism, the way a profession creates its legitimizing ideology, internal systems to control the professional body, and new power relations. On the basis of data derived from a shortened version of the Weaver-Wilhoit questionnaire, completed by 400 Romanian journalists, this paper aims to identify the social and professional composition of this new body of journalists. In the second part, analyzing the discourse of media representatives and the transformations of the newsroom, the study presents the processes of settling that have appeared since a small group of journalists-turned-owners has taken control of the professional field. From this perspective, the study stresses the idea that transition in the mass media should not be regarded from a normative view, but should be understood rather as a battle for power, the ultimate goal being the closure of the professional field and the legitimation of a new media bourgeoisie.

No abstract