Who Justifies Questionable Reporting Practices? Answers from a Representative Survey of Journalists in Germany

Authors

  • Philip Baugut University of Munich
  • Sebastian Scherr University of Munich

Keywords:

Political leaning of journalists, journalism, Germany, journalistic role perception, questionable journalistic reporting practices

Abstract

Based on a secondary analysis of representative survey data of journalists in Germany (n= 1536), this paper draws attention to two variables that are important when it comes to explain whether journalists accept questionable reporting practices, such as paying people to obtain information or using confidential government documents without permission. First, perceived role achievement is important, as journalists who do not feel able to achieve an active role tend to accept questionable reporting practices more often. Second, however, this relationship is only true for journalists having a moderate tendency to the political left. Findings are explained by means of the theory of cognitive dissonance.

Author Biographies

Philip Baugut, University of Munich

Philip Baugut is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Communication Studies and Media Research, LMU Munich, Germany. His research interests include political communication with a special emphasis on politics-media relations, extremism, and political journalism.

Sebastian Scherr, University of Munich

Sebastian Scherr is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Communication Studies and Media Research, LMU Munich, Germany. His research interests focus on differential media uses and effects in topical areas such as health communication and political communication with a special emphasis on suicide prevention, and empirical methods.

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Published

2017-07-25

How to Cite

Baugut, P., & Scherr, S. (2017). Who Justifies Questionable Reporting Practices? Answers from a Representative Survey of Journalists in Germany. Global Media Journal - German Edition, 7(1). Retrieved from https://globalmediajournal.de/index.php/gmj/article/view/38

Issue

Section

Peer-Reviewed Articles