Radio journalists and the Internet:

A study on perceptions

Helder BastosHelena Lima

Nuno Moutinho Isabel Reis

Universidade do Porto2011

Aim

This study investigates how Portuguese radio

journalists evaluate the changes that have occurred

in the profession since the Internet has been

integrated in newsrooms

The main purpose is to understand how these

professional perceive the influence of the Internet on

journalism practices, roles and ethics

Sample

30 journalists working at the four main Portuguese

radio stations newsrooms:

RDP (public radio station)

TSF

Rádio Renascença

Rádio Clube Português (shortly after the survey, the

ending of this radio station was announced)

Methodology

Online questionnaire submitted to participants

All questions use a Likert scale where 1 indicates a strong negative influence of the internet to that factor and 5 a strong positive impact

Work enhancement

RQ1) Is the Internet considered a source of new

opportunities in terms of work enhancement, speed,

and opportunity to reach and interact with a wider

audience?

On the whole, the Internet is considered as having a

positive influence on journalism. However, to radio

journalists there's some degree of ambivalence such

as speed factor, which seems to be not too relevant

Work enhancement Radio journalists still seem to have in great account

traditional journalistic routines, such as face to face

or telephone conversation with sources. But they

also valorise web search tools to find information

Therefore: In the process of newsgathering, speed

would be the most negative effect, If they stopped

using the Internet

Work enhancement

Most radio journalist's show their disagreement

when asked if citizen journalism and blogging can

be considered serious journalism

Furthermore, journalism “do it yourself” is not

perceived as being a possible threat to radio

journalism

Changes in professional role

RQ2) Do radio journalists rate positively the changes

wrought by the Internet on their traditional profile, as

gatekeeper, investigative, and disseminative functions?

Yes: they give great importance to the influence of the

Internet, such as getting news as fast as possible,

contact with the public, broadcasting credible

information

Changes in professional role

Still, more traditional journalists’ roles, such as

watchdogging, providers of in-depth analyses or

spokespersons for groups, are seen as less

significantly influenced by the Internet

Nevertheless, radio stations must migrate to the

Internet in order to survive

Changes in professional role

Radio journalists strongly agree that online

journalism provides better tools to deliver contextual

information

On the negative side, Internet is perceived as having

some responsibility in transforming journalism in a

more sedentary or at the desk job

Professional ethics

RQ3) Are journalists developing a new ethical outlook

that mingles traditional and new values?

Journalists have a non-consensual perception on this

matter (They always enhance the tool factor)

Professional ethics

At the same time, they recognize that the Web

increases the volume of information which is hard to

confirm

Respondents do not consider Internet a threat to the

quality of journalism but are not clearly convinced

that the interactivity can help turn journalism into a

more credible profession in the eyes of the public

ConclusionsPortuguese radio journalists positively assess the

impact of the Internet on major journalistic

practices such as:

getting news as fast as possible

keeping contact with the public

broadcasting credible information

Conclusions

On a more negative perspective:

transforming journalism in a more sedentary or at

the desk job

the increase of the volume of information makes it

hard to confirm and to access its credibility

Conclusions Portuguese radio journalists tend to perceive the

Internet as an optimizer of journalistic routines

Above all it’s seen as an useful tool that serves practical

needs and purposes and not so much as an instrument

that enhances journalism traditional roles

They also tend to emphasize empirical achievements

instead of important changes in their professional

identity