De-coupling of journalism and democracy: Empirical insights from discussions with leading Nordic media executives

Abstract

This article contributes to recent discussions on the relationship between journalism and democracy. It presents empirical data on how corporate Nordic media executives perceive the state of journalism in their organizations. It shows how these executives assess the changing media logic and its effect on the journalistic agency of the institutions. The journalistic culture of the media institutions is related to the Habermasian view of democracy. The findings suggest that the colonization of the public sphere has increased and that market imperatives are forcing the media executives into a position where the legitimacy of their journalistic agency is compromised. There is an incongruity between some of the executives’ views and the general conception of journalism as a prime tool for democratic communication. The de-coupling of journalism and democracy could be seen as bi-directional. In addition to journalism not needing democracy to function, it becomes relevant to ask whether democracy could in fact function without the current type of Nordic news-journalism.