Media coverage of major news events is often discussed in public and followed up in news commentaries in the press or in debate shows on radio and television. Public service radio, Sveriges Radio, produces a daily show on current topics, including discussions of media performance and a weekly show dedicated solely to media matters, Medierna [The Media]. Specific media critique is also offered on websites by media bloggers, and in podcasts about journalism. Private and state-financed institutes publish books on media performance based on investigative journalism and academic research and arrange public seminars or debates to discuss the findings. The Publicists’ Club holds monthly live-streamed debates on current media and journalistic issues, and the current media ombudsperson, Ola Sigvardsson, is an active participant in the general debate on media ethics and media performance on his blog, op-ed pages, public service shows, and the union magazine Journalisten’s podcast.
Even though the “control of the controllers” takes place in diverse fora, it is difficult to articulate a permanent debate on media watchdog functions, although there are indications of top editors’ growing awareness of potential scrutiny in Medierna on Sveriges Radio (Rosenvinge, 2019). Discussions can be very intense, but they often occur outside any specific organisational setting. Furthermore, debates generally only include media professionals, academics, and other elite groups. Media critique that engages a wider public is rare, and when it happens, it is most often politically biased, and less focused on the democratic role of news media. Some exceptions to this are increasing awareness of blind spots in local journalism and social media influence on #metoo reporting in general news media.
