Perceptions of Journalism in a Cross-National Perspective An Assessment of News Users in Three European Countries

This study compares news users’ perceptions of journalism in Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. Two cross-national surveys were conducted, each with over 2,000 participants in the respective countries. The surveys examined users’ evaluations of journalism’s relevance to society and its fulfilmen...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Serrano-Puche, J. (Javier)|||/items/8a8184e2-1794-496a-a75b-4cefc66f5685, Sierra-Iso, A. (Aurken)|||/items/a38746b4-3880-4f17-8477-9174488b83bf, Rodríguez-Virgili, J. (Jordi)|||/items/f92fa933-e838-44f9-8432-60e639385dfa
Format: article
Publication Date:2024
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Navarra
Repository:Dadun. Depósito Académico Digital de la Universidad de Navarra
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:dadun.unav.edu:10171/120621
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10171/120621
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Journalism
Media performance
Professional roles
News users
Comparative analysis
Description
Summary:This study compares news users’ perceptions of journalism in Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. Two cross-national surveys were conducted, each with over 2,000 participants in the respective countries. The surveys examined users’ evaluations of journalism’s relevance to society and its fulfilment of three key functions: holding the powerful to account, rapidly disseminating information to the public and providing analysis of current affairs. The findings highlight a gap between the social importance attributed to journalism and satisfaction with media performance. Information dissemination is perceived as the most effectively achieved function, while functions requiring more watchdog or analytical efforts receive less recognition in media activity. Age and education level are influential socio-demographic variables in news users’ perceptions. Older respondents and those with higher education levels view journalism as more relevant. Finally, Germany places a higher importance on journalism compared to Spain, with the United Kingdom occupying an intermediate position.