Success and Failure in News Media Performance: Comparative Analysis in The Media for Democracy Monitor 2021

"It appears that leading news media, irrespective of language, culture, size, and location of the country, share rather similar problems when it comes to their role in democracy. Solutions, however, differ considerably."

The Media for Democracy Monitor (MDM) evaluates the performance of leading news media in contemporary, mature democracies. This publication draws on the results from individual country assessments of 18 countries from Europe and beyond, which are presented in a series of articles. They offer a cross-country and longitudinal comparison, searching for patterns and tendencies across countries, with a particular focus on the influence of digitalisation. The individual country results were presented in the first two volumes of the 2021 MDM (see Related Summaries, below). This is the third volume in the trilogy of publications on the results of the MDM 2021.

The MDM assesses the performance of leading news media with regard to three core dimensions of democracy - freedom, equality, and control - using a set of 30 indicators for each dimension (see Related Summaries, below, for more information on the methodology). After monitoring 10 countries in 2011, the MDM project expanded to cover leading news media of 18 democracies in 2021. Countries include: Australia, Austria, Belgium (Flanders), Canada, Chile, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. All chapters are informed first and foremost by the comparative results of the MDM country reports, but they also include other relevant sources.

The articles reflect the most salient issues emerging from the research, which fall into four categories:

1. There are prominent issues on the public agenda. Results show that digitalisation in conjunction with cyclical crises of capitalist economies resulted in aggravating deterioration of journalistic working conditions, and leading news media are still searching for the best strategies with which to tackle them.
2. There are critical issues of continuity. In general, findings confirm that digitalisation did not solve any of the preexisting problems but instead created a plethora of new ones.
3. Underresearched issues of growing relevance highlight that seemingly simple solutions and concepts become complex when applied to democratic requirements.
4. With regard to issues on the rise, additional challenges are to be expected, rather than simple solutions for democracy-related problems.

As the editors explain, "Some of the key results are the ubiquitousness of the news media's financial crisis, increasing consumption gaps as younger generations prefer online platforms, and persisting gender inequalities, both in news content and in newsrooms. However, the volume also shows that the reach of news media remains high, the watchdog role and investigative journalism are increasingly relevant in daily practice, and that public service media, in general, continue to play a vital role for democracy. These results have implications for media policies, regulations, and practices to improve news quality and, ultimately, democracy worldwide."

The results are seen to be useful in various areas. According to the editors, "News practitioners and media managers can find best practice examples on how common problems are addressed in other countries and can assess action in their own news organisations. Media politics can extract areas of contention and find inspiration from the comparative study. Academics can use the book for teaching topics of relevance for democracy, making full use of examples from the 18 participating countries."

The contents include:

1. "Democracy at stake: On the need of news media monitoring" - by Tales Tomaz & Josef Trappel
Abstract: "In this chapter, we discuss why news media monitoring is needed and propose a theoretical and methodological framework to implement it, which underlies the MDM research project. The framework is derived from normative theories of the roles of news media and journalism in liberal democracies. These are roles related to core dimensions of democracy, namely freedom, equality, and control, which reunite elements from liberal and republican theories. The context of this discussion is the increasing popular suspicion regarding liberal democracy and the crisis around news media as institutions..."

Prominent Issues on the Public Agenda

2. "Countering misinformation in and from the newsroom: How digital platforms redefine journalistic practice and the democratic role of news media" - by Eva Mayerhöffer, Marinella Belluati, Brooks DeCillia, Leen d'Haenens, Alice Fubini, Wai Han Lo, Enrique Núñez-Mussa, Jón Gunnar Ólafsson & Rossella Rega
Abstract: "Based on evidence from the 18 countries included in the 2021 MDM, this chapter provides the first comparative analysis of whether and how the issue of online misinformation is being interpreted and dealt with in newsrooms around the world. We analyse to which degree news media view online misinformation as a challenge that needs addressing and what measures they take to avoid relaying online misinformation..."

3. "Protecting journalists from harassment: Comparing existing protection mechanisms and the effects on democracy" - by Alice Baroni, Leen d'Haenens & Wai Han Lo
Abstract: "There is a quickly increasing body of studies and reports on harassment and intimidation of journalists around the world. These series of acts have a chilling effect on media freedom and journalists' freedom of expression. The research literature on the topic has mostly focused on intimidation and harassment of journalists - particularly sexual harassment of women journalists - or journalists' experiences of online harassment, and the impact on press censorship. In this chapter, we contribute to the debate by exploring the nexus between the harassment of journalists and the protection mechanisms adopted by leading news media organisations, professional journalism associations and other institutions, and national governments..."

4. "Gender inequalities in and through the media: Comparing gender inequalities in the media across countries" - by Claudia Padovani, Marinella Belluati, Achilleas Karadimitriou, Christine Horz-Ishak & Alice Baroni
Abstract: "Issues of women's underrepresentation and invisibility in news content and limited access to managerial and decision-making positions, as well as a gendered division of labour in news covering, have been on the international agenda since the mid 1990s, raising concerns about news media diversity and accessibility. More recently, gender pay gaps, discrimination, and harassment in newsrooms and in the online environment - and the limited extent to which media policies and self-regulatory measures have addressed these issues - have also been highlighted, signalling that basic democratic principles of freedom of expression and participation are at stake if women's views and concerns are not acknowledged nor structural aspects of gender inequality addressed. Gender equality in and through the media is crucial for democracy. This chapter provides a gender-aware analysis of the democratic performance of leading news media using data from the 2021 MDM..."

5. "Investigative journalism and the watchdog role of news media: Between acute challenges and exceptional counterbalances" - by Achilleas Karadimitriou, Torbjörn von Krogh, Christian Ruggiero, Cecilia Biancalana, Mauro Bomba & Wai Han Lo
Abstract: "This chapter investigates to what extent leading news media advocate investigative journalism and perform appropriately their watchdog function, assuming that in various media markets these core journalistic practices are currently adapting to an austere (compared with the past) media ecosystem, as well as to a differentiated newsroom role against a background of digital revolution in the media field..."

Critical Issues of Continuity

6. "Comparing news media reach: Exploring effects of asymmetric news media consumption" - by Heinz Bonfadelli, Valgerður Jóhannsdóttir, Lars Nord & Hanne Vandenberghe
Abstract: "This chapter addresses the topic of whether news media in different countries are still able to reach the general public and generate a shared public sphere as a prerequisite of democratic countries. The empirical part of the chapter focuses on the extent to which the different segments of the society use news media like newspapers, radio, television, and social media, comparing the results from 18 countries participating in the 2021 MDM research project..."

7. "Soaring media ownership concentration: Comparing the effects of digitalisation on media pluralism and diversity" - by Josef Trappel & Werner A. Meier
Abstract: "This chapter addresses the evolution of media and communication concentration, its causes, and its consequences. The political relevance of this perennial problem has amplified over the past decade, but it is still largely ignored by politics. The scholarly social science discourse has determined time and again how media ownership concentration controls editorial boards and newsrooms, curtails content diversity, marginalises less popular and consequently expensive content, and commodifies cultural industries altogether. Despite this, the concentration of media ownership remains one of the least-regulated media policy issues of the last three decades..."

8. "Commercial influence in newsrooms: Comparing strategies to resist pressure from owners and advertisers" - by Tales Tomaz, Joaquim Fidalgo, John Grönvall & Josef Trappel
Abstract: "The news industry in most democratic countries faces increasing commercial pressure. According to critical normative theories, this brings the risk of owners and advertisers influencing coverage and undermining the independence of the editorial staff, and thus the contribution of news media to democracy. In order to reduce commercial influence in newsrooms, several measures have been developed, both through theoretical analysis and journalistic practice. This chapter discusses two of them: the separation of the newsroom from ownership, management, and the sales department; and the diversity of revenue streams to ensure independence from single advertisers or sponsors..."

9. "Public service media: Exploring the influence of strong public service media on democracy" - by Barbara Thomass, Joaquim Fidalgo, John Grönvall, Achilleas Karadimitriou & Lars Nord
Abstract: "This chapter examines the extent to which public service media can constitute a countermeasure to ongoing developments in the media market, media regulation, and journalism professionalism, some of which threaten the ideal role of the media in a democracy. Within the concept of a media ecology and with respect to the overarching dimensions of the MDM project - Freedom/Information, Equality/Interest Mediation, and Control/Watchdog - we ask whether public service media make a difference for democracy..."

10. "Ethical codes of conduct in journalism: Demands for a digitalising mediascape" - by Joaquim Fidalgo, Barbara Thomass, Christian Ruggiero, Mauro Bomba, Simone Sallusti & Torbjörn von Krogh
Abstract: Codes of ethics are one of the most widespread instruments of (self-)regulation for journalistic activity, pointing out the best professional practices and ethical standards to be followed and the need to allow some kind of scrutiny by the public. Such codes have different names, scope, authorship, range of action, and enforcement capacity, as can be seen in the various reports of the 18 countries participating in the 2021 MDM research project. In this chapter, an historical overview of the evolution of journalistic codes of ethics in different national media contexts is given, as well as an analysis of the cornerstones such codes are built upon in various countries..."

11. "Media accountability: A cross-country comparison of content monitoring instruments and institutionalised mechanisms to control news media performance" - by Barbara Thomass, Francesco Marrazzo, Werner A. Meier, Gordon Ramsay & Mark Blach-Ørsten
Abstract: "This chapter focuses on media accountability. Because of the fundamental role that news media play in a democratic society, it is of high relevance for citizens that the performance of the news media is scrutinised, which is the overall goal of the MDM research project. In this chapter, we investigate whether there are institutional mechanisms in place that hold the news media accountable to standards of performance..."

Underresearched Issues of Growing Relevance

12. "Media transparency: Comparing how leading news media balance the need for transparency with professional ethics" - by Werner A. Meier & Josef Trappel
Abstract: "This chapter addresses the merits and limitations of media transparency, both theoretically and, on a case-by-case basis, empirically. The concept of transparency has become a universal solution in political discourse. Often, transparency is abused to prevent or replace effective policy-making. In this chapter, we discuss the complex norms and values of transparency and apply the concept to journalism and the media..."

13. "Journalistic practices contesting the concept of internal pluralism: Mapping strategies for internal diversity in and through the news" - by Enrique Núñez-Mussa, Kari Karppinen & Hanne Vandenberghe
Abstract: "The concept of internal pluralism is employed in this chapter to delve into how journalists and editors from 18 countries worldwide understand and practice internal diversity in their newsrooms. The results reveal a tension between normative expectations of pluralism and the representation of society in news media, professional journalistic standards, and how aspirations to pluralism are taken into action through sourcing routines..."

14. "Practising democracy in the newsroom: Comparing practices of news processing, conflict resolution, and hiring" - by Josef Trappel, Joaquim Fidalgo & Achilleas Karadimitriou
Abstract: "Newsroom democracy, defined as the exercise of fundamental democratic principles and practices in generating and processing news within professional news organisations, is rarely addressed in communication studies. Yet, the topic contains an interesting paradox: While newsroom journalists are expected to guard democracy, newsrooms themselves are often hierarchical in organisation and practices. In this chapter, the development of the concept of newsroom democracy is discussed, up to today’s contemporary integrated newsrooms..."

Issues on the Rise

15. "The professionalisation of journalism: Global trends and the challenges of training and job insecurity" - by Christian Ruggiero, Achilleas Karadimitriou, Wai Han Lo, Enrique Núñez-Mussa, Mauro Bomba & Simone Sallusti
Abstract: "This chapter aims to answer the question of how the professionalisation of journalism is experienced in the 18 countries included in the 2021 MDM research sample. To this end, we focus on two dimensions of analysis, which concern, on the one hand, the importance of education and professional training - including the aspect of accountability processes along with the self-regulation culture - to the construction and development of journalistic professionalism, and on the other, the way in which the precariousness of journalistic work affects its perception and self-perception..."

16. "Innovation in journalism: How technology affects the news media, publication formats, and the journalist profession" - by Leen d'Haenens, Wai Han Lo & Martin Moore
​​​​​​​ Abstract: "This chapter takes as its starting point an indicator for the diversity of news formats from the 2021 MDM project as an important feature for plurality of information. A wide range of news formats through different types of newspapers, television, radio, and online media is seen as a positive characteristic of media systems, especially since ownership diversity does not automatically translate into news format diversity. We make a connection between diversity of news formats and innovation in journalism..."