Journalistic Role Performance in the Spanish National Press

Authors

  • María Luisa Humanes University Rey Juan Carlos
  • Sergio Roses University of Malaga

Keywords:

role performance, journalism, content analysis, professional roles, Spain

Abstract

Based on a content analysis of 2,278 news items from four Spanish newspapers, this article reports the findings of a study that examines the presence of the interventionist, watchdog, loyal-facilitator, service, infotainment, and civic roles in news content as well as the factors that predict the presence of such roles in news content. We find that journalistic practices in the Spanish national press are characterized mainly by an interventionist profile, a high presence of the watchdog role, and a conceptualization of the audience as citizens—manifested by a higher presence of the civic role. The study also reveals differences in journalistic role performance across newspapers, indicating that a homogeneous model of journalism does not exist. The best predictors for the presence of the roles in the Spanish press are reporting methods and news topics; editorial identity (organization, political leaning, and religious commitment) is also important. The findings are contextualized within the cultural and political particularities of the Spanish media system and discussed accordingly.

Author Biographies

María Luisa Humanes, University Rey Juan Carlos

María Luisa Humanes is Associate professor in the Department of Communication and Sociology at Rey Juan Carlos University, Spain. Her research focuses on the study of political news and journalistic cultures. She has collaborated in important journalism research projects at national and international levels, such as Journalistic Role Performance around the Globe Project, and Journalism Students across the Globe. 

Sergio Roses, University of Malaga

Sergio Roses Campos is Associate Professor at the Department of Journalism of the University of Málaga. His research works explore the professional culture, education and working conditions of journalists, from a comparative perspective, as well as citizens’ trust in the media.

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Published

2018-02-14

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Section

Articles