In a new study published in Nordicom Review, researchers Jaana Hujanen, Lottie Jangdal, and their colleagues examine how Nordic journalists perceive their roles when reporting on environmental issues.
In a Nordicom Review article, authors Jaana Hujanen, Lottie Jangdal, Olga Dovbysh, Ida Vikøren Andersen, Guðbjörg Hildur Kolbeins, Katja Lehtisaari, and Teemu Oivo examine how Nordic journalists perceive their roles when reporting on environmental issues and how they make sense of the idea of intervening in their coverage. According to Jaana Hujanen, the idea of intervening is actively discussed among the professional community of Western journalists. The findings suggest that journalists renegotiate their passive, fact-based, disseminator role to intervene in the interpretation of facts and events, as well as engaging their audiences in environmental issues, she explains.
The environmental reporting is of relevance everywhere, Lottie Jangdal inserts:
– Countries around the globe are all affected by environmental change – last year being the warmest on record – and the roles that journalists play are of vital importance. Professional news media facilitate future-oriented discussions and solutions regarding the environment, nature, and climate, and journalists are now rethinking their professional roles, says Jangdal.
Professional news media facilitate future-oriented discussions and solutions regarding the environment, nature, and climate, and journalists are now rethinking their professional roles.
The study
Through semi-structured interviews with journalists from Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, two questions were posed in the study:
Q1: What are the roles constructed in Nordic journalists’ talk regarding environmental issues?
Q2: How is the idea of intervening made sense of and defined within the roles?
The findings provide insights into the ways journalists perceive their roles, where four journalistic roles were identified: 1) objective news provider, 2) critical watchdog, 3) sense-maker and educator, and 4) environmental advocate.
– Previous research shows that journalists believe their professional performance includes various roles in environmental issues. These roles include a variety of partially contradictory tasks: disseminating topical information on the environment, acting as a critical watchdog, facilitating a civic function towards audiences, and actively intervening for the sake of the environment, nature, and future generations. We also see this in our research, Hujanen says.
Intervention in focus
Hujanen and Jangdal point out that Nordic journalists do not seek to intervene by taking sides but by remaining professional. It is of importance for them to stay detached from interest groups and practices of activism.
– So, for them, intervening is about setting the agenda and assessing and interpreting facts, but also raising awareness and facilitating grassroots engagement among the audiences. And in some cases, even supporting and advocating certain actions and decisions, remarks Jangdal.
However, while maintaining this professional distance, journalists are still aware of the urgency surrounding environmental issues.
– We can’t say that there is increased urgency, but we can say that there is a sense of urgency. We see in our data that journalists talk about the negative consequences of environmental problems and that the issues don’t receive sufficient attention in the media. They also stressed the importance of showing the gravity of the situation. However, despite seeing it necessary to intervene, the journalists differentiated between journalists and activists. They emphasised the importance of following the code of journalism ethics by relying on facts and remaining detached from interest groups, for example, Hujanen says.
Despite seeing it necessary to intervene, the journalists differentiated between journalists and activists.
Looking ahead
As a final point, Jangdal and Hujanen discuss further research on the topic, highlighting the two remaining sections of the interview guide that fell outside the focus of this study, namely newsroom practices and routines, and politicisation of the agenda.
– We have talked within the research group of a possible continuation, but it has not been decided yet. We could potentially continue with some of the material we already have or expand the material to a different level. Time will tell, Jangdal concludes.
Read the full article
Intervening by staying professional: How Nordic environmental journalists make sense of their roles
Photo: Adobe Stock