The Swedish Constitution places all legal responsibility for newspaper content in the hands of the editor-in-chief, who is appointed by the owner, under the press laws. It is always the editor-in-chief who pays fines or goes to jail if editorial content is deemed illegal by a court of law. This is thought to make it more difficult for external forces to intimidate reporters. The situation remains largely the same as it was a decade ago (see von Krogh & Nord, 2011), with editors-in-chief appointed by the owners and the board of the newspaper. The same general rules in these processes are applied to broadcast media. Hence, no newsrooms in Sweden have internal rules for electing their editor-in-chief, and the debate on conditions for quality journalism in Sweden has never centred on the issue of newsroom democracy.
However, the lack of influence from journalists regarding the appointment of editor-in-chief does not mean they lack influence on other editorial matters. Daily news selection and news value processes are transparent, and the framing of political issues is openly discussed in the newsrooms. National media interviews indicate a mixture of ways to enhance impartiality and quality in framing and reporting political issues.
