Table 1
Nordic WJS sample methodology
| Country | Year of data collection | Sample | Method | Number of respondents | Response rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | 2015 | All members of Journalism Union | Online | 1,362 | 19 |
| Finland | 2013 | Stratified sample (media type and geographical location) of all journalists | Mixed (phone & email) | 366 | 50–55 |
| Iceland | 2012 | The whole population of journalists | Mixed (face-to-face & online) | 187 | 53 |
| Norway | 2013 | All members of Union of Journalists and Union of Editors | Online | 656 | 36 |
| Sweden | 2013–14 | Members of online Journalist Panel | Online | 675 | 36 |
[i] Source: Ahva et al., 2017: 601
Figure 1
Indexes for perceived roles and influences for European journalists
Comments: Bertin graph with country means for perceived roles and influences. 18 countries, N = 10,254. Black categories are above-average for the variable.
Source: Authors
Table 2
Principal component analysis of journalists in 18 European countries
| Axis 1 | Axis 2 | Axis 3 | Axis 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eigenvalue | 6.38 | 4.69 | 2.77 | 2.37 |
| % of explained variance | 14.9 | 10.9 | 6.4 | 5.5 |
| Cumulated % | 14.9 | 25.8 | 32.2 | 37.8 |
| % of contribution to axes | ||||
| Roles | 51.5 | 61.0 | 66.0 | 45.8 |
| Influences | 48.5 | 39.0 | 34.0 | 54.2 |
| Correlation with indexes | ||||
| Monitorial | 0.57 | −0.70 | −0.11 | −0.05 |
| Interventionist | 0.68 | −0.31 | 0.42 | −0.01 |
| Collaborative | 0.48 | 0.07 | 0.50 | −0.13 |
| Populist | 0.26 | 0.35 | 0.44 | 0.48 |
| Political | 0.61 | 0.30 | −0.24 | −0.54 |
| Organisational | 0.49 | 0.40 | −0.10 | 0.14 |
| Procedural | 0.46 | 0.05 | −0.49 | 0.33 |
| Economic | 0.44 | 0.50 | 0.08 | 0.19 |
| Personal | 0.39 | 0.37 | −0.18 | 0.10 |
| Autonomy | −0.04 | −0.16 | 0.05 | 0.16 |
[i] Comments: 18 countries (N = 10,254).
Figure 2
Perceived roles and influences (European variations)
Comments: Map of the variations in perceived roles and influences among journalists in 18 European countries. Principal component analysis, Axis 1–2. Active and passive categories. Non-European liberal countries added for reference.
Source: Authors
Figure 3
Media systems and perceived roles and influences
Comments: The figure shows the relative placement and spread of journalists from different media systems in the space of European differences in perceived roles and influences. Principal component analysis, axes 1–2: Concentration and confidence ellipses for Hallin and Mancini’s (2004) media systems; Eastern Europe added for reference. The five small confidence ellipses show the uncertainty in the different media systems’ positions. These ellipses’ separation indicates their significantly different positions on the plane. The five big concentration ellipses show individuals’ spread. A normally shaped cloud contains 86% of the individuals in a category.
Source: Authors
Table 3
Principal component analysis of Nordic journalists
| Axis 1 | Axis 2 | Axis 3 | Axis 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eigenvalue | 5.63 | 4.03 | 3.01 | 2.59 |
| % of explained variance | 13.1 | 9.4 | 7.0 | 6.0 |
| Cumulated % | 13.1 | 22.5 | 29.5 | 35.6 |
| % of contribution to axes | ||||
| Roles | 69.6 | 42.4 | 78.2 | 56.4 |
| Influences | 30.4 | 57.6 | 21.8 | 43.6 |
| Correlation with indexes | ||||
| Monitorial | −0.72 | 0.53 | −0.18 | 0.10 |
| Interventionist | −0.67 | 0.14 | 0.53 | −0.13 |
| Collaborative | −0.32 | −0.11 | 0.52 | −0.06 |
| Populist | −0.16 | −0.41 | 0.14 | −0.62 |
| Political | −0.53 | −0.44 | −0.13 | 0.53 |
| Organisational | −0.37 | −0.37 | −0.01 | 0.00 |
| Procedural | −0.34 | −0.26 | −0.42 | −0.22 |
| Economic | −0.31 | −0.44 | 0.10 | −0.15 |
| Personal | −0.28 | −0.51 | −0.12 | 0.02 |
| Autonomy | 0.04 | 0.13 | −0.12 | −0.15 |
[i] Comments: Five countries (N = 3,246).
Figure 4
Perceived roles and influences (Nordic variations)
Comments: Map of the variations in perceived roles and influences among journalists in the Nordic countries.
Principal component analysis, Axis 1–2. Active and passive categories.
Source: Authors
Figure 5
Nordic differences
Comments: The figure shows the relative placement and spread of the five countries’ journalists in the Nordic plane of perceived roles and influences. Principal component analysis, axes 1–2: Concentration and confidence ellipses.
Five Nordic countries, N = 3,246.
Source: Authors
Table 4
Selected characteristics of Nordic journalists
| Iceland | Norway | Finland | Sweden | Denmark | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reach | ||||||
| Local | 2 | 27 | 13 | 27 | 10 | 16 |
| Regional | 6 | 22 | 27 | 32 | 20 | 23 |
| National | 91 | 51 | 60 | 40 | 70 | 61 |
| Ownership | ||||||
| Private | 75 | 81 | 77 | 72 | 68 | 73 |
| Public | 25 | 19 | 23 | 28 | 32 | 27 |
| Medium | ||||||
| Newspaper | 64 | 60 | 49 | 59 | 50 | 55 |
| Magazine | 3 | 12 | 27 | 14 | 20 | 18 |
| Broadcasting | 32 | 28 | 24 | 27 | 29 | 28 |
| Online outlet or standalone | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 |
| Beat | ||||||
| Generalist | 72 | 65 | 52 | 38 | 59 | 56 |
| News/current affairs | 1 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Politics | 7 | 6 | 6 | 25 | 11 | 12 |
| Economy | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| Crime and law | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Culture | 3 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| Sports | 8 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Health | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Entertainment | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Other | 5 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 11 | 11 |
| Full-time, part-time, or freelance | ||||||
| Full-time | 90 | 73 | 78 | 74 | 71 | 74 |
| Part-time | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| Freelance | 5 | 23 | 18 | 18 | 23 | 21 |
| Editorial rank | ||||||
| Senior/executive manager | 16 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 7 |
| Junior manager | 15 | 6 | 20 | 18 | 23 | 18 |
| Rank-and-file | 69 | 83 | 73 | 78 | 71 | 75 |
| Experience | ||||||
| Less than 5 years | 24 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 12 | 10 |
| 5 years or more | 76 | 85 | 93 | 98 | 88 | 90 |
| Age (mean) | 39.6 | 43.3 | 43.4 | 51.3 | 45.9 | 44.7 |
| Gender | ||||||
| Female | 35 | 50 | 55 | 46 | 43 | 46 |
| Male | 65 | 50 | 45 | 54 | 57 | 54 |
| Educational level | ||||||
| High school | 21 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 6 | 9 |
| Bachelor | 47 | 67 | 27 | 52 | 65 | 57 |
| Master’s or higher | 32 | 25 | 61 | 35 | 29 | 34 |
| Educational specialisation | ||||||
| Journalism | 22 | 48 | 45 | 61 | 78 | 63 |
| Other communication | 9 | 17 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 10 |
| Both | 1 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| Neither | 68 | 28 | 37 | 22 | 13 | 23 |
[i] Comments: Iceland (N = 187); Norway (N = 656); Finland (N = 366); Sweden (N = 675); Denmark (N =1,362); Total (N = 3,246). Note that the percentages in different categories do not always add up to 100 due to rounding error.