New survey explores how personal values influence journalists' work
The study comes as previous research suggests journalists cite their values as more influential than journalism ethics on their work
– 1 min read
Researchers at the University of Huddersfield and Common Cause Foundation are asking UK journalists and media professionals to take part in a new survey about their personal values. The anonymous questionnaire, launched during UNESCO's Global Media and Information Literacy Week, explores how the values that media workers hold might shape editorial decisions and news coverage.
Elsie Roderiques, who leads the Values in the Media project, explains that mainstream media has significant influence on shaping cultural values across society. Understanding what media workers themselves prioritise could reveal important insights into how pressing social issues like climate change are covered and how we approach them as a nation.
The 10-minute survey measures participants' personal values and asks what they think the wider public values too. It's based on established research methods used in the European Social Survey. Dr Kirsty Styles points out that whilst significant work has been done to understand politicians' values, far less is known about media professionals, despite their influence on society.
Previous research from the Reuters Institute found that personal values ranked in the top 10 influences on UK media workers, cited more often than journalism ethics. The researchers hope this new survey will help fill that knowledge gap.