Study title

Journalists' Views on Reporting Tragedy 2019

Dataset ID Number

FSD3483

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3483
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3483

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Heiskanen, Benita (University of Turku. The John Morton Center for North American Studies)
• Cheas, Kirsi (University of Turku. The John Morton Center for North American Studies)
• Kannisto, Maiju (University of Turku. The John Morton Center for North American Studies)
• Hirvioja, Jaakko (University of Turku. The John Morton Center for North American Studies)

Abstract

The survey charted the professional experiences, values and opinions of journalists working for Finnish news media regarding the objectives of the media and the ethical challenges when reporting on cases of violence, specifically school shootings. The survey was conducted as part of the #TRAGE research project by the University of Turku John Morton Center for North American Studies. The project examines the media's reporting on school shootings and aims to open a new avenue for discussing the challenges posed by such reporting. The project is funded by the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation.

First, the respondents were asked how often they had reported on cases of violence or on school shootings, how independently they could plan and carry out journalistic content, and whether they felt they had enough journalistic freedom. Questions also focused on what the respondents thought were the biggest challenges in reporting school shootings and whether they thought there had been a specific shooting that changed the way tragedy is reported. Additionally, the respondents were asked whether tragedy journalism and its conventions and impacts had been separately discussed in their organisation. The survey also extensively charted the journalists' views on ethical journalism with questions on, for instance, whether they thought it possible that one set of ethical guidelines could be applied by all journalists globally and what they thought were the best tools for preparing a journalist to create ethical content (e.g. ethical guidelines, workshops or supplementary education, advice from a colleague).

Next, the respondents were asked what they thought was essential information that should be published when reporting on tragedy (e.g. suspect's name or photo, names or photos of victims). Views on the motivation and reasons behind school shootings were examined, and the respondents were asked whether they were familiar with and adhered to the 'No notoriety' principle. Furthermore, the respondents' opinions on what should be taken into particular consideration when dealing with underage victims and what kind of responsibilities a journalist has when reporting on traumatising events were surveyed. Finally, the respondents were asked how they dealt with the stress caused by reporting on tragedy, whether they had a personal Twitter account and how openly they shared their personal opinions on their Twitter account, and whether they thought social media had changed journalism.

Background variables included the respondent's age, gender, work experience, role at work, and which political party they voted for in the last elections. Additionally, background information was collected on the format in which the respondent usually published news content, the primary target audience of the news media/organisation they worked for, and whether the news media/organisation was local or regional.

Keywords

crimes against persons; journalism; journalists; news; professional ethics; social media; working conditions

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Media (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Occupational health (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Crime and law enforcement (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• Cheas, Kirsi (University of Turku. The John Morton Center for North American Studies)
• Kannisto, Maiju (University of Turku. The John Morton Center for North American Studies)
• Hirvioja, Jaakko (University of Turku. The John Morton Center for North American Studies)

Funders

• Helsingin Sanomat Foundation

Time Period Covered

2019

Collection Dates

2019-05-01 – 2019-05-22

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Journalists working for Finnish news media, especially those who reported on cases of violence

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Respondent-assisted

They survey was sent to the respondents as an anonymous link. The respondents were reached with assistance from the editors-in-chief of Finnish news media, who were asked to share the survey to journalists.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Semi-structured questionnaire

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Data Version

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

The following variables are included in the data but are missing from the questionnaire included in the dataset: q13, q19, q28 and q34.

To prevent identification of respondents, open-ended variable q18_1 specifying the respondent's education was removed and one response in variable q36_1 denoting the respondent's role at work was categorised as missing information during archiving. Additionally, all open-ended responses were reviewed, and any identifiers were removed or coarsened if necessary (e.g. name of the newspaper, target audience, professional specialisation). Changes made at FSD were marked with [square brackets].

Weighting

There are no weight variables in the data.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Heiskanen, Benita (University of Turku) & Cheas, Kirsi (University of Turku) & Kannisto, Maiju (University of Turku) & Hirvioja, Jaakko (University of Turku): Journalists' Views on Reporting Tragedy 2019 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2021-07-28). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3483

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Other Material

See downloadable files at the top of the page.

More information on the #TRAGE research project on the project's website.

The website contains, for instance, news related to the project and a link to the project's blog, which is also a database of the material produced for the project.

Related Materials

Tragediauutisoinnin haasteet [verkkodokumentti]. #TRAGE-tutkimushankkeen päätösseminaarin raportti. Helsingin Sanomain säätiö. https://www.hssaatio.fi/tragediauutisoinnin-haasteet/ [viitattu 5.8.2021].

FSD has not been informed of any publications related to the data.