According to national surveys (Asp 2007), about 80 per cent of Swedish journalists strongly endorse the professional goals of independent scrutinizing of powerholders, gathering and distributing information to citizens that is needed for their informed decisions in the democracy and giving a voice to the voiceless. 99 per cent endorse the ideals to some degree. Though many (84 per cent) are not satisfied with their efforts and want journalism to be more non-conformist.
According to the national interviews, the news organizations include enterprising and investigative reporting in their content planning. The journalists’ union stresses the increased workload of journalists when newsrooms are downsized and expresses concern about the professional identity of those who combine journalistic freelance work or short-term employments with other kinds of communication/information occupations.
In the regional interviews, all media representatives claim that investigative journalism is poorly developed in many respects. No regional media have journalists or routines designed for investigative journalism. When such journalism does occur, it is more likely to be the result of ad-hoc decisions than of long-term editorial planning.
As previously noted, there are quite a number of associations of journalists that promote and discuss ethical problems of journalism and that initiate public debates on these issues. Many newsrooms encourage further education and training in ethical reasoning.
