Lobbying journalists


Main funder

Funder's project number20180078


Funds granted by main funder (€)

  • 45 500,00


Funding program


Project timetable

Project start date01/06/2018

Project end date31/10/2019


Summary

This project explores how journalists are used for lobbying in governmental decision-making. The use of media is the most common strategy of lobbyists to influence public decision making by utilizing media news content. The starting point of the project is to find out how lobbyists are controlling or influencing journalistic activities and how this effect could be prevented.

There is not a significant amount of information about the ways of lobbying for editorial offices. Lobbying is not currently regulated in Finland, no ethical guidance exist. Moreover, there is no official registration for lobbyists.

A clearer identification of lobbying efforts on editorial work and media content helps to create a more critical approach to lobbying companies and focuses more on their role in society and their role as a watchdog of power and decision-making. In identifying lobbying companies, media houses can strengthen their decision-making power and clarify their journalistic choices. This increases confidence in journalistic work, promotes independence of journalism and reduces potential for business-critical crises in the media. The identification of factors that jeopardize the independence of journalism as a result of lobbying also facilitates the prevention of possible ethical problems.

The results of the project highlight experiences of lobbying that editorial offices have encountered. The results also include practices and materials how lobbyists try to use journalists and the media as the intermediary of lobbying functions. The results can be utilized by media organizations, universities and journalism schools.


Principal Investigator


Other persons related to this project (JYU)

Contact person (yes/no)Yes


Primary responsible unit


Internal follow-up group

Profiling areaSchool of Wellbeing (University of Jyväskylä JYU) JYU.Well


Related publications and other outputs


Last updated on 2023-24-08 at 20:51