In the 1900s the news industry enjoyed a balance between the need to be profitable and professional journalistic ideals such as public service and autonomy. The last few decades, however, have changed the situation for the news companies. Increased market orientation as a result of increased competition, the establishment of new commercial media channels, new technology and extensive deregulations are some of the factors that have directly affected the journalistic praxis and ideology. This results in a constant negotiation between two lines, one professional discourse and one management discourse, where the former characterises the journalist’s professional role and is based on normative ideals concerning the role of journalism in the democratic society and the latter is an expression of financial and value-related globalisation trends in the labour market and in the area of communication.
The study investigates the interaction between the professional discourse and the management discourse in Swedish news companies. The objective is to contribute increased knowledge about how market mechanisms affect the autonomy of professional journalism.
Funding: Wahlgrenska stiftelsen
Period: 2009–2010
Andersson, U & Wiik, J (kommande 2013). Journalism meets management: Changing leadership in Swedish news organizations. Journalism Practice.
Andersson, U & Wiik, J (2008) Professional media practitioners on commercialization of Swedish news work. Konferenspaper, Communication Policies and Culture in Europe, ECREA's 2nd European Communication Conference, Barcelona, Spanien, 25–28 november 2008
