Stylebooks are not used in Icelandic newsrooms, and much emphasis is placed on individual journalists bringing their ideas to newsroom meetings. According to the interviewees, there is little focus on formalised rules concerning news selection, and individual journalists have much autonomy when coming up with ideas for news stories and how to cover them.
There is little training provided to new journalists, and instead they are expected to learn it on the job, with some guidance from senior staff members. News stories are usually not checked by many people, aside from the desk editors, before they are published. Several interviewees mentioned that if a story concerned a particularly sensitive matter, then it was usually checked by more people.
News originating from social media was sometimes disseminated without being critically reviewed, said the interviewees. This is often the case when public figures post something on social media platforms, which is commonly viewed as a press release (a politician announcing something, etc.). This happens the most on mainstream online news sites where the priority is usually speed (being the first to report the story). However, in cases of ordinary citizens posting something newsworthy on social media, journalists usually try to critically review it before it is published.
According to the interviewees, there was also little internal discussion concerning how equality, inequality, and diversity should be addressed in the Icelandic media.
