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Editorial Independence in the Latvian News Media: Ownership Interests and Journalistic Compromises

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Editorial Independence in the Latvian News Media: Ownership Interests and Journalistic Compromises ISSN 2029-865X 80 doi://10.7220/2029-865X.09.05 EDITORIAL INDEPENDENCE IN THE LATVIAN NEWS MEDIA: OWNERSHIP INTERESTS AND JOURNALISTIC COMPROMISES Anda ROŽUKALNE [email protected] PhD, Head of the Department of Communication Studies Faculty of Communication Riga Stradiņš University Riga, Latvia ABSTRACT: Editorial independence in the each media organization is influenced both by external factors (sources of information, business partners, advertisers) and by internal factors (business interests and the goals of the media owner and the ma- nagers of the outlet). There are at least three levels at which editorial independence can be evaluated in accordance with various players in the media environment – the level of the individual, the media organisation and the media industry. Editorial in- dependence at each of these levels, in turn, depends on self-regulation and media regulation mechanisms. In this specific research, the question about attitude to edi- torial independence has been analyzed. With the goal to determine the conditions, which affect the level of editorial independence in the media firms, the formal and informal factors in the relationship between owners and editors have been evaluated. The data of the Latvian journalist survey has been compared with data acquired du- ring semi-structured interviews with media owners and chief editors. In Latvia, the will of the owner to use media in his own interest both political and commercial is perceived as natural, as well as the belief of the owner that the opinions made by the editor must not interfere with the owner‘s business venture. However, even in edito- rial offices where strict limitations of editorial independence exist, journalists find a way to produce content independently. For journalists it doesn‘t mean the situation at the office, but their own individual work, defining the editorial independence as a chance freely produce specific content. Respondents in this survey think highly of the individual autonomy of journalists, but media workers clearly understand the limitations on editorial independence that are implemented by owners, directors or editors-in-chief. KEYWORDS: editorial independence, self-censorship, media ownership, editors Editorial independence in the Latvian news media: Ownership interests and journalistic compromises Media Transformations 81 INTRODUCTION Editorial independence is a definitive prerequisite for media quality. Traditionally, editorial independence has been defined as a separa- tion between decisions that are taken by media owners and those that are taken by editors. In reality, however, the interests of the editorial board and the media outlet’s advertising, marketing and finance de- partments interweave, which means that the existing understanding of editorial independence at each media company is crucial. This paper is part of a broader study about Latvian media owners (2010–2013), focusing on attitudes which media workers have to- ward editorial independence. The goal has been to determine the conditions which have affected the level of editorial independence during changing eras in terms of the transition of the media mar- ket and journalism, and the formal and informal factors in the re- lationship between owners and editors have been evaluated. Data from a survey of Latvian journalists has been compared with data acquired via semi-structured interviews with media owners and ed- itors-in-chief. The level of editorial independence in Latvia represents a compro- mise between the principle of media social responsibility, as defend- ed by editorial personnel, and the business or political interests of the media owners. From the perspective of owners, media independ- ence is linked to the ability to fulfil the owner’s stated goals by setting boundaries on editorial independence. Editorial staff, in turn, per- ceives independence passively and reactively and as conceivable or inconceivable work conditions. The level of editorial independence between editors and media owners is not defined in the contracts of Latvian media organisations. In Latvia, the desire of owners to use the media in terms of their political and commercial interests is perceived as natural, as is the belief among owners that opinions presented by editors must not interfere with the owners’ business ventures. Even in editorial offices in which there are strict limitations on editorial independence, how- ever, journalists do find ways of producing content in an independ- ent way. Therefore, this author proposes the concept ofindividual editorial independence to characterise the Latvian media situation. For journalists, this does not refer to the situation at the office; -in 82 Anda ROŽUKALNE stead it speaks to individual work, with editorial independence being defined as a chance to freely produce specific content. The editors and journalists of commercially focused media organi- sations are responsible for the market success of their enterprise, but the level of editorial independence is higher. Owners define market goals, but do not influence content. In this media group, the person- ality of the editor is essential to ensure editorial independence, be- cause the editor acts as a shield which protects staff from unwanted interference by owners in terms of daily content production. Data from the study reflect several contradictory media ownership strategies in various industries, making it possible to analyse the level of editorial independence, the patterns of media content production, and the correlations of self-censorship in the Latvian media. DISCUSSING EDITORIAL INDEPENDENCE Editorial independence is one of the most important principles in media operations, because at the level of the practices of media or- ganisations, it reveals the way in which freedom of the press operates (Himelboim and Limor, 2008) and how pluralism is ensured. Edi- torial independence is also a part of normative views about media operations (McQuail, 2010) in that it is linked to honesty, truth, neu- trality, objectivity and a professional understanding of journalism. Several other terms have been used to describe editorial independ- ence, including editorial freedom and editorial autonomy. Editorial independence or freedom usually means that editors-in-chief must have full authority over the editorial content of their media unit. De- scriptions of editorial independence usually emphasise the right of the editor to be independent from the owners and top managers of the media organisations, whose decisions cannot have an effect on the selection and choice of media content, the editorial process, or the form of publications. For that reason, appropriate circumstances must be created at media outlets in accordance with the aforemen- tioned principles. Editorial independence or freedom usually refers to the professional work of media professionals, while editorial au- tonomy refers to the structure of media organisations, in which the development of content at the management level is kept separate from co-operation with advertisers or other business partners, as Editorial independence in the Latvian news media: Ownership interests and journalistic compromises Media Transformations 83 well as from the company’s financial operations, marketing and oth- er functions, which are essential in medial operations. The term also covers the autonomy of journalists (Scholl and Weischenberg, 1999). In everyday situations, however, editorial independence is not some- thing unambiguous and stable in terms of editorial operations, be- cause the process of shaping content at media organisations is in- fluenced both by external factors (sources of information, partners, advertisers) and by internal factors (business interests and the goals of the media owner and the managers of the outlet). Editorial inde- pendence depends on the business models of the media, as well as on the commercialised media environment of the present way – one in which many decisions are taken on the basis of their advantages and profit potentials. Studies related to the media in Eastern Europe regularly identify violations of editorial independence because of the ability of politicians or political parties to influence media content (Metyková, Waschková and Císarová, 2009). Editorial independence in present-day media practices can be eval- uated on the basis of the extent to which the media outlet, its man- ager or editor and each journalist can collect, correlate and publish information, viewpoints and interpretations. There are three levels at which editorial independence can be evaluated in accordance with various players in the media environment – the level of the individ- ual, the media organisation and the media industry. Editorial inde- pendence at each of these levels, in turn, depends on self-regulation and media regulation mechanisms. Editorial independence is also influenced by the overall status of the media industry, the legal status of journalists, wage and compensation systems, and the operations of media regulators. There is always interaction among legal regu- lations, self-regulations and private regulations which apply to each specific media organisation. These and other issues are analysed in detail in the European Council’s Mediadem study (Mediadem, 2012), which finds that the greatest threats against editorial independence relate to the liberal and commercialised media system. The study was focused on an analysis of media policies and media freedoms in the European Union, and it concluded that
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