First comparative data from the Worlds of Journalisms project is now available for download from the project web site at http://www.worldsofjournalisms.org
The Worlds of Journalisms study set out to compare journalism cultures across nations, news organizations and professional milieus. Another major goal was to identify the driving forces behind still existing differences in journalistic cultures. The data is based on interviews with 1800 journalists working for 356 news organizations in 18 countries.
The study is one of the largest collaborative endeavors of journalism scholars from different countries. These countries include : Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Egypt, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Mexico, Romania, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda and the United States.
- The overall purpose of the project is to define journalism culture and explore cultural variation in professional orientations across nations, organizations and journalistic milieus. Planned and executed as collaborative effort of an international group of experienced researchers, the study aims at developing a conceptual common ground on the basis of which comparative research on journalism cultures is feasible and meaningful. In order to establish concepts and measurement tools that are functionally equivalent across cultural boundaries, the advantages of qualitative and quantitative research are joined in a complex cross-cultural multimethod design. Specifically, the following aspects constitute the focus of the study :
- – Existing notions of journalism culture will be assessed and transformed into a universal concept. The purpose is to deconstruct journalism culture in empirically measurable terms and assess its functionality across cultural boundaries.
- – The principal dimensions of journalism culture will be identified. Diverse journalism cultures will be mapped across three basic levels of analysis : systems (nations), organizations and individuals.
- – Assumptions of a universal professional journalism culture will be interrogated. If the existance of such a universal culture is supported by the findings of this research, the study will identify its basic tenets and explore its significance in diverse cultural contexts.
- – The relative contribution of contextual factors (gender, media ownership, cultural values, political systems, economic and human developments, media systems, etc.) to the variation in journalism cultures will be determined and principal driving forces will be identified.
