The Swedish media landscape has been changing the past fifteen years because of deregulation, digitalisation, convergence and commercialisation. There has been a shift from an analogue media system dominated by public service radio and television and a strong morning press, to a multifaceted digital and commercial media system. The media system has changed the organisational structures, the content available as well as the audience patterns.
Approaching those changes we can conclude that there is higher competition for the audiencesí attention. People can get information and entertainment from many more alternative sources today, and the news media companies must relate to those trends. One way to relate is to study the audience trust in the news media, in this case eleven news media in Sweden. The PM analyzes and discusses the importance of peopleís trust in news media, as an asset. Trust is theoretically treated as an attitude within the individual. It is the subjective belief the individual has about media. This means that individuals trust in media may change although the media itself hasnít changed. In other words, peoples trust in news media may rise or fall due to other factors such as rumours and personal influence.
A factor analysis identifies three major dimensions in peopleís trust in Swedish news media. These dimensions will be discussed in relation to what functions different news media serve for the user, and how these functions are related to the importance of journalists´ credibility. The PM will also discuss the future of journalism, as well as how news media companies can deal with the role of credibility in the modern media landscape.
The PM builds primarily upon an annual post survey conducted at University of Gothenburg in Sweden. The survey is sent to 6000 people, having an average net response rate of 67 percent. Data about Swedes trust in news media from 1999 to 2006 will be used. The PM will also make some arguments based on an in depth interview study with eleven respondents.
Oscar Westlund is affiliated with the department of Journalism and Mass Communication at University of Gothenburg as a doctoral candidate, researcher and teacher.