Media Accountability in Northern Europe and the Anglo-American World
Session 11
Photo: imago/ecomedia/robert fishman
July 2013 Session 11 – Media Systems 2
Media Systems in Northern Europe and the Anglo-American World
Hallin & Mancini (2004)
– A division of media systems based on their distinct historical featuresDemocratic
Corporatist ModelNorthern Europe
FinlandSwedenNorway
DenmarkGermany
The NetherlandsBelgium
Switzerland…
Austria ...
Estonia (?)
Liberal Model Anglo-American World
United KingdomIreland
USACanada
July 2013 Session 11 – Media Systems 3
Democratic Corporatist Model: Specific Features
Mass circulation of newspapers
Duopoly in broadcasting
Unionization, emphasis on
self-regulation
Faded political
parallelism
Public service ethos
Press subsidies(gradually removed)
Media market Relationship to politics
Ideas of professionalism
Role of the state in the media
Adapted from Hallin & Mancini (2004)
July 2013 Session 11 – Media Systems 4
Liberal Model: Specific Features in the United Kingdom
Quality vs. popular press
Duopoly in broadcasting
Unionization, self-regulation
Commercial and unpolitical press
Critical distance
Wary of regulation and interventions
Media market
Ideas of professionalism
Relationship to politics
Role of the state in the media
Adapted from Hallin & Mancini (2004)
July 2013 Session 11 – Media Systems 5
Liberal Model: Specific Features in the United States
Regional actors dominate
Commercial broadcasting
Objectivity, individual integrity
Commercial and unpolitical press
Political polarization
(recently)
Strictly non-interventionist
Media market
Ideas of professionalism
Relationship to politics
Role of the state
in the media
Adapted from Hallin & Mancini (2004)
July 2013 Session 11 – Media Systems 6
Public Trust in the Press and Government– One way of measuring citizens‘ attitudes towards media accountability
Country Trust in press
Trust in government
Austria 59 % 54 %
Belgium 59 % 36 %
Finland 57 % 48 %
The Netherlands 55 % 49 %
Germany 48 % 40 %
Denmark 45 % 57 %
United States 45 % 49 %
United States 45 % 49 %
Ireland 38 % 15 %
EU average 42 % 29 %
Ireland 38 % 15 %
Estonia 43 % 47 %
Sweden 42 % 59 %
Great Britain 18 % 19 %
Sources: Eurobarometer 72 (2010) [trust in government], Eurobarometer 74 (2011) [trust in press];
figures for the USA: Gallup (2009)
Democratic Corporatist Model: High public trust in the press
(+ other institutions)
Liberal model: More suspicion about all
institutions
General Trends
July 2013 Session 11 – Media Systems 7
Layers of Media Accountability: An Analytical Model (Bardoel and d’Haenens 2004)
Accountability to the state (1)
Accountability to the market (2)
Professional accountability (3)
Public accountability
(4)
Developed by Heikkilä, Domingo, Pies, Głowacki, Kuś and Baisnée (2012, 6)
– Who are the media generally speaking accountable to?
July 2013 Session 11 – Media Systems 8
The Varying Roles of the State
www.persinnovatie.nl/www.levesoninquiry.org.uk/
Leveson Inquiry (UK): Independent inquiry and policy initiative
commissioned by the state
EXCEPTIONAL
Press Stimulation Fund (The Netherlands): Independent governing body to fund
R&D in media organizations
COMPATIBLE WITH THE FACILITATIVE ROLE OF THE STATE IN NORTHERN EUROPE
July 2013 Session 11 – Media Systems 9
Journalists’ Attitudes towards the State– Journalists are generally supportive of the facilitative role of the state
– UK results influenced by the Leveson Inquiry– Note the huge difference in Estonia!
“Governmental pressure damages quality in journalism”Country Agree (%)Finland 8
Germany 9
Switzerland 14
Austria 15
The Netherlands 16
United Kingdom 26
Estonia 72
Source: MediaAcT survey conducted in 2011–2012 Included twelve countries in Europe and two Arab countries (N=1,762)
July 2013 Session 11 – Media Systems 10
Dynamics of the Media Market and Its Implications
Media output
Media competition
Over market
position
Over professional excellence1
2a 2b
3a 3b+ Market push towards reforms and innovations
+ Transparency as a potential niche strategy (USA)
Incentives for ImplementingMedia Accountability
– Short-term profits principle guides decisions
– Rationalization of resources undermine R&D
Source: Heikkilä et al. (2012: 37)
Restraints for Implementing Media Accountability
July 2013 Session 11 – Media Systems 11
”Economic pressure damages quality in journalism”Country Agree (%)United Kingdom 78
Austria 78
Finland 77
Switzerland 71
Germany 70
The Netherlands 68
Estonia 68
Journalists’ Attitudes towards the Market– Business imperatives are viewed very similarly across countries and models
Source: MediaAcT survey conducted in 2011–2012 (N=1,762)
July 2013 Session 11 – Media Systems 12
Professional Accountability (Self-Regulation)
www.presserat.info
Approximately 300 codes of ethics
drafted around the world
Approximately 60 press councils exist around the world
Press councils of Democratic Corporatist countries
are often regarded as benchmarks
– Presserat in Germany– RvD in the Netherlands
– JSN in Finlandwww.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
July 2013 Session 11 – Media Systems 13
Journalists’ Attitudes towards Self-Regulation– Survey results highlight the role of national traditions (see also next slide)
A Strong Impact on Journalists’ Behaviour (%)
Source: MediaAcT survey conducted in 2011–2012 (N=1,762)
Country Ethical Code Press Council
Finland 90 79
Estonia 74 39
United Kingdom 67 31
Switzerland 65 36
The Netherlands 45 26
Germany 36 30
Austria 39 20
Source: MediaAcT survey conducted in 2011–2012 (N=1,762)
Journalists’ Attitudes towards Self-Regulation– In-house guidelines as alternative for the formally approved ethical code
– The strong role of legal departments in UK relates to the Leveson Inquiry
Country In-house rules Legal dept.
Estonia 78 12The Netherlands 63 28United Kingdom 56 73Switzerland 51 39Germany 41 43Finland 40 18Austria 39 42
A Strong Impact on Journalists’ Behaviour (%)
July 2013 Session 11 – Professional Accountability 14
Source: MediaAcT survey conducted in 2011–2012 (N=1,762)
July 2013 14Session 11 – Media Systems
July 2013 Session 11 – Media Systems 15
Tendency: Self-Regulation in Self-Doubt
Council for Mass Media (JSN) in FinlandStruggling to maintain adequate funding
Aims to increase (again) the audience representation in the council
Press Complaints Commision in the UKCriticized of inaction and lack of authority by journalists,
politicians and grassroot organizations, such as Hacked Off
July 2013 Session 11 – Media Systems 16
Many Means for Public Accountability
Offline Online
Media criticism in the news media Media and journalist blogsSatire and comedy about the media Citizen and audience blogs
Journalism trade journals User comments
Letters to the editor Criticism in social media
In-house ombudsman In-house ombudsman online
Correction boxes Correction buttons
Country Criticism in news media has high impact (%)
Social media criticism has
high impact (%)Finland 64 24
The Netherlands 34 28
United Kingdom 28 21
Estonia 28 19
Austria 20 23
Switzerland 20 20
Germany 16 17
Many Means for Public AccountabilityTraditional (offline) accountability practices are usually preferred by journalists
The impact of social media is growing
Source: MediaAcT survey conducted in 2011–2012 (N=1,762)
July 2013 17July 2013 17Session 11 – Media Systems
July 2013 Session 11 – Media Systems 18
Journalists’ Attitudes towards Audience FeedbackRelation to audience feedback is problematic in most countries:
audiences are seen as recipients while journalists consider themselves as producers
Country Audience criticism is fair
(%)
User commentshave a high impact (%)
Finland 35 49
Estonia 26 23
Germany 18 30
The Netherlands 17 12
Austria 16 23
Switzerland 14 29
United Kingdom 11 26
Source: MediaAcT survey conducted in 2011–2012 (N=1,762)
July 2013 Session 11 – Media Systems 19
Convergence or Divergence of Cultures?
Media accountability practices have developed in
tandem with media systems
S t a t e
Self-Regulation
Public Trust
Changes depend on transitions in economy,
politics, technologies and lifestyles
Globalization
”Marketization”
”Internetization”
Media systems are internally diverging rather than coalescing togetherThe models of Hallin & Mancini are to a great extent outdated (but still useful
references)
July 2013 Session 11 – Media Systems 20
Media Markets Matter
NED
Smallmarket
Bigmarket
High level of competition
Low level of competition
USA
GERFIN
LESS VOLATILITY
MORE VOLATILITY
EST
AUT
SUI
UK
Size of the market and competition (See Slide 10) play a crucial part in the formation of media accountability practices