Revista Latina de Comunicación Social # 069 – Pages 248to 274
Funded research | DOI: 10.4185/RLCS-2014-1011en | ISSN 1138-5820 | Year 2014
How to cite this article in bibliograhies / References
T Ramírez de la Piscina, M Gz Gorosarri, A Aiestaran, B Zabalondo, A Agirre(2014): “Quality journalism in times of crisis: An analysis of the evolution of the European reference press (2001-2012)”. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 69, pp. 248 to 274.
DOI: 10.4185/RLCS-2014-1011en
Quality journalism in times of crisis: An analysis of the evolution of the European reference press (2001-2012)
T Ramírez de la Piscina [CV] [ORCID] [GS] Departamento de Periodismo de la UPV/EHU Universidad del País Vasco / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea.
M Gz Gorosarri [CV] [ORCID] [GS] Investigadora post-doctoral en laFreie Universität de Berlin -
A Aiestaran [CV] [ORCID] [GS]
Departamento de Periodismo de la UPV/EHU Universidad del País Vasco / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
B Zabalondo [CV] [ORCID] [GS]
Departamento de Comunicación Audiovisual de la UPV/EHU Universidad del País Vasco / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea -
A Agirre [CV] [ORCID] [GS]
Departamento de Periodismo II de la UPV/EHU Universidad del País Vasco / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
Abstract
Introduction. The explosion of new technologies, the progressive implementation of the Internet, the massive use of social networks and the current economic and financial crisis have, along with other factors, provoked a drop in sales of the printed press in the western countries of the planet. This study analyses the evolution of news quality in five European reference newspapers (Financial Times, Corriere della Sera, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Le Monde and El País) over a period between 2001 and 2012. Methodology. The research method used in this work has its roots in the concept of media performance developed by Denis McQuail (1992); which allows the use of transversal parameters to evaluate news quality. Results. The results indicate (n=1,137) that the European reference press only just passes the test to which it has been subjected (5.39 out of 10). The average index shows a moderate downtrend which is not applicable to all the papers. Conclusions. All the analysed newspapers appear to have forgotten about the social function which has historically been attributed to journalism as the guardian of citizens' interests. This is reflected in the poor results which all of them obtain in the section "social contribution of the news".
Keywords: Quality journalism, news quality, news values, reference press, professionalism, press crisis.
Contents: 1. Introduction. 2. Theoretical framework. 3. Earlier studies on the subject. 4. Aims, hypothesis and research questions. 5. Methodology.6. General results. 6.1. FAZ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. 6.2. EP El País 6.3. LM Le Monde. 6.4. CDS Corriere della Sera. 6.5. FT Financial Times 7. Conclusions. 8. Notes. 9. List of references.
Translated by Angela Jones
1. Introduction
The explosion of new technologies, the progressive implementation of the Internet, the massive use of social networks and the current economic and financial crisis have, along with other factors, provoked a drop in sales of the printed press in the western countries of the planet. The increase in the number of online readers, far from generating a significant increase in revenue, has provoked a descent in the number of newsagents' customers, and, consequently, the disappearance of many printed daily papers all over the world. At the same time, in the last few years, concern about the effects which this crisis may be having on news quality has grown.
2. Theoretical framework
In spite of the interest which has always been sparked by the quality question, the scientific contribution with regard to informative excellence is geographically dispersed, depending on the language of the publication. Whilst Scandinavian authors have been pioneers with their studies about quality and in the creation of the concept of informativity, in the USA research into new business models appears to have been imposed onto that which underlines the need to move forward towards informative excellence. The German scientific community, however, articulated the theoretical framework of the quality debate, together with some methodological proposals. South American universities have recently resumed interest in the quality question, although in the end they have adopted the proposals established by the German authors. Among the most recent contributions is María G. Gorosarri’s doctoral thesis, presented in the University of the Basque Country (2011).
As O’Donnell and McKnightpoint out (2012: 40), “[the term quality journalism] is hard to define and not universally accepted; for some, it is a code for resistance to change, while others see it as the keyword that will unlock journalism”.Although the question of quality has been largely discussed, it did not achieve research consensus until McQuail (1992) formulated the concept for media performance. The present article gathers the main international contributions to news quality research from a methodological perspective.
As a matter of fact, there is a vast terminology referring to the quality of information supply. Along with media product or media offer, three main terms have extended their meaning to this new field, such as: journalistic quality, news quality, and news content quality. To start with, journalistic quality(Schirmer, 2001; Pellegrini and Múgica, 2006) is the most extensive concept of excellence of news supply. In fact, it also alludes to quality management. Secondly, the term news quality (Vehlow, 2006) confirms news is not only content or information features. From a European perspective, such a term highlights media performance’s social responsibility. Finally, news content quality Bucher and Altmeppen, 2003) was originally conceived to designate the excellence of news agencies’ information supply. Therefore, news qualitydesignation will be used from now on, since it is the most integrating concept in the literature review (Vehlow, 2006). Accordingly, this study may help to compare the news quality of international media outlets.
3. Earlier studies on the subject
The strategies adopted so far by the major media groups are aimed, fundamentally, at increasing the profitability of their electronic editions, neglecting those aspects related with news quality. There has been little applied research carried out up to now. However, a special mention must go to the work done in July 2012 by Penny O’Donnell and David McKnight of the University of Sydney in which they clearly raise the alarm as to the possible consequences for news quality provoked by the immediacy demanded by new technologies.Theses authors point out (2012: 42) the necessity of identifying the criteria that can be used to evaluate what it does best.
In the last few years, studies about news quality have focussed particularly en the web. The research into online news quality is currently very fragmented and there are considerable differences between one work and another, without it being possible to establish general study guidelines. Therefore, this concept is measured by some authors (Rose et al., 1999: 1-74; Huizingh, 2000: 123-134; McInervey and Bird, 2005)based on three or four factors, whilst other research requires a more extensive study [Olsina et al. (2000: 266-278) propose 39 items; Zhang and Von Dran (2001: 9-33) 74 and Aladwani and Palvia (2002: 467-476) establish 102 variables].
Although most of the research recognises the lack of existing consensus in this area, hardly any make a homogenised effort to try and find a solution to this situation. Secondly, it must be taken into account that most research has limited itself to merely providing an index/theoretical model, without empirically contrasting it, which does not guarantee its influence with respect to performance obtained by the website. Lastly, most of the existent literature has been developed in a general context, which does not differentiate the analysed sector and does not take into account that the assessed factors may vary depending on domain type, and may not be applicable in all cases. This lack has been taken into account by some research which has either focussed exclusively on one industry, as in the case of the aeronautic sector(Shchiglik, 2004: 17-25), or has chosen to analyse different sectors simultaneously – finance, entertainment, education, health, government and electronic commerce (Zhang et al. 2001).
4. Aims, hypothesis and research questions
The fundamental aim of this research is clear: to analyse the evolution in the quality of the news published by the five main European reference newspapers (TheFinancial Times FT, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung FAZ, Le Monde LM, Corriere della Sera CDSand El País EP) throughout the period from 2001 to 2012. We understand that a news item is of quality when it satisfactorily fulfils a series of minimum requirements related as much to the processes of selection and preparation of the news item, as to the social contribution which the reported events make to society.
The investigative team of this research is aware that, in the field of Social Sciences, it is especially complicated to establish objective and quantifiable parameters which serve as an unquestionable universal reference. This is even more risky to do when referring to subjects which carry a substantially subjective weight, such as the idea of news quality. In spite of all this, the authors consider that the existing literature on this subject provides a sufficiently solid base on which to design the scientific method used in this current work. The very preparation of that method (in its initial phase and therefore subject to debate) is, in itself, part of the objectives of this work.
In order to fulfil the above aims, the work group used the following hypotheses (H) and Research Questions (RQ), as its starting point:
H1. The technological advances experienced by the printed press of the 21st century, together with the immediacy demanded by electronic editions is provoking an acceleration in news selection and preparation processes, which, in the end, could affect news quality.
Research Questions associated with the hypothesis:
RQ1. How has the quality index of the European reference press news evolved during the period between 2001 and 2012?
RQ2. Are there significant differences between the newspapers?
RQ3. Is the quality index maintained in the same way in all the sections of the paper?
Second work hypothesis of this research:
H2. The news quality index varied depending on the news format. Large format news items have, a priori, more possibilities of obtaining a higher quality index than other smaller news items.
Research Questions associated with hypothesis:
RQ4. Are there significant differences in the quality of the news published on the front page, large format news items inside and those in a secondary hierarchical position?
Third work hypothesis of this research:
H3. The economic and financial crisis affecting a large part of the planet has generated many types of servitude; relationships of dependency which also affect the quality press which seems to have forgotten the social responsibility inherent within the practice of journalism.
Research Questions associated with the hypothesis:
RQ5. How far does the European reference press carry out its function as counterbalance, or watch dog, with regard to the established powers in their respective countries?
RQ6. Does the European reference press encourage citizen participation in the social debate, through, for example, the presence of different viewpoints in the same news item?
RQ7. Does the European reference press respect universal values, human dignity or cultural diversity?
5. Methodology
Before going any further in this section, it should be pointed out that the method used in this current research aims to provide a useful instrument for measuring news quality. However, the research team recognises that, in addition to the variables mentioned below, there are other factors which directly affect the quality of the media and which are difficult to quantify.
The method used in this study examines the news published in the media. We are aware, for example, that the quality of the media is determined by its published and unpublished news. The measuring of the latter would enormously complicate the method and deserves a separate study. The same could be said, for example, about the influence which layout has on news quality. Similarly, we could speculate about how the crisis within investigative journalism is affecting the watch-dog function which this profession should carry out in relation to power and which also forms part of what we understand as information quality. All these variables, along with others, do not form part of our study. Our method covers only informative pieces published by the press and belonging to informative genres, excluding therefore: interpretative texts such as analysis, reports, features, interviews or opinion columns.
The parameters set out below are open to debate. We have tried to objectivise them as much as possible, whilst knowing that this would imply certain risks and be open to criticism. In spite of that, the team believes that it was essential to go to such lengths. Having made all these observations, the research team would point out that methodology used in this work is based on the concept of media performance developed by Denis McQuail (1992) which allows the use of transversal parameters capable of accurately evaluating news quality. The method we used provides numerous relative data, both about the format quality of the analysed item (technical, aesthetic and functional aspects, among others), and about its quality index, evaluating in a precise and differentiated way both the selection and preparation processes of the news, together with the social contribution which that news generates in society as a whole.
According to traditional standard theories, evaluating news quality presents an enormous challenge. However, the concept of media performance developed by Denis McQuail provided an extremely interesting viewpoint (1992: 17):
“The independent assessment of mass media provision according to alternative ‘public interest’ criteria, by way of objective and systematic methods of research, taking account of other relevant evidence and the normal operating conditions and requirements of the media concerned.”
The concept of media performance became especially rooted in western democracies, gradually becoming linked to the idea of “social responsibility”. Gorosarrideveloped an integrating concept of News Quality even formulating a method which makes a cross-media analysis possible, similar to the Germanic line of research which surrounds the concept of ‘professionalism’. Germanic literature quickly accepted the new viewpoint outlined by McQuail(Maurer, 2005: 85-88; Vehlow, 2006: 23-24), underlining the need to combine highly demanding quality parameters in strictly professional terms with others related to the social responsibility of the media(McQuail, 1992: 66-68).
The method used in this research to determine news quality combines both qualitative and quantitative aspects. The first area includes matters relating to format quality (technical aspects, aesthetic or functional mistakes such as the presence of lapsus clavis[1]), the section in which the profile of the protagonists appears, their gender and scope of influence. These sections are not rated from 0 to 10. Their presence or absence is simply noted and is used to form final conclusions.
The quantitative aspects reflect the quality index of the news, a value which is rated from 0 to 10 points and which is divided into three differentiated segments: selection process (maximum 2.5 points), preparation (5 points) and social contribution of the news item (2.5). The selection process includes five aspects, each one rated with a maximum of 0.5 points: a quote from the source of the information, the nature of the sources, the factual aspect of the matter (event or statements), degree of topicality and newsworthiness (the degree of interest in the news item). The preparation process is the most important and includes five sections, each with a maximum possible score of one point: accuracy (correspondence between the headline and body of the item), depth (presence of the 5 Ws), presence of different perspectives within the item, contributions made by other informative elements (photographies, graphics, infographies, etc.) and correctness of journalistic language (errors in the text). Lastly, the section relative to social contribution also includes a further five sections, each rated with a maximum of 0.5 points: power watchdog, promotion of social debate, respect for human dignity, presence of cultural references from other countries and the combating of social marginalisation. By adding up the scores from all these variables, a value of 0 to 10 is obtained for each news items. Three types of news item were evaluated: the main front page news of the day, large format news which develops the former inside the paper, and a secondary news item (published in one or two columns at most).
The sample which provided the base for our research was made following the compounded weekly technique (Wimmer and Dominick, 1996; Bardin, 2002; Echegaray, and Ayestaran, 2012 and Zabaleta, 1997). It works as follows: a day of the week is chosen at random, for example Tuesday, and the next consecutive day of the following week, Wednesday and so on until a full week is completed(Zabaleta, 1997: 197). The research consisted of a diachronic analysis of the evolution of news quality in these five newspapers in the period from 1st January 2001 to 31st December 2012. Using this technique, 84 days were chosen, spread over the twelve years (seven days per year). For each day, three different news items were analysed (main front page news, development of the main news inside, and secondary news). The maximum total of possible news items to be analysed for each paper was 252. In some cases this number was not reached for merely technical reasons. In total, the number of news items analysed was 1,137 for the five papers (252 from EP and LM, 224 from FAZ, 219 from CDS and 190 from FT), a sample which is considered to be representative of the universal total analysed.
6. General results
The processed data from the five analysed newspapers appears in the general results in table number 1. The total average score for the five papers analysed between 2001-2012 is 5.39 points, a modest figure considering the prestige and history belonging to these publications, some which, as in the case of CDS and FT have over 100 years of history to their name.
Table 1. Quality index of the European reference press (2001-2012)
Year / FAZ / EP / LM / CDS / FT / AYS (0-10)2001 / 5.65 / 5.60 / 4.97 / 5.78 / 5.76 / 5.55
2002 / 5.41 / 5.44 / 5.33 / 6.22 / 5.64 / 5.60
2003 / 6.02 / 6.05 / 5.38 / 5.97 / 5.86 / 5.86
2004 / 5.94 / 4.92 / 4.73 / 5.66 / 4.71 / 5.19
2005 / 5.85 / 5.42 / 5.44 / 6.18 / 5.61 / 5.70
2006 / 6.07 / 5.43 / 4.47 / 5.38 / 5.14 / 5.30
2007 / 6.00 / 5.41 / 4.36 / 4.64 / 4.82 / 5.05
2008 / 5.92 / 5.83 / 4.83 / 4.95 / 5.05 / 5.32
2009 / 6.40 / 5.15 / 6.45 / 4.96 / 4.35 / 5.46
2010 / 6.35 / 5.70 / 5.78 / 3.83 / 4.92 / 5.32
2011 / 6.46 / 5.28 / 5.25 / 4.27 / 4.53 / 5.16
2012 / 6.91 / 5.40 / 4.88 / 3.79 / 5.08 / 5.21
ANS (0-10) / 6.08 / 5.47 / 5.16 / 5.14 / 5.12 / TAS =5.39
AYS: Average yearly score. ANS: Average newspaper score. TAS: Total average score