Mid Sweden University

Codes of ethics are one of the most widespread instruments of (self-)regulation for journalistic activity, pointing out the best professional practices and ethical standards to be followed and the need to allow some kind of scrutiny by the public. Such codes have different names, scope, authorship, range of action, and enforcement capacity, as can be seen in the various reports of the 18 countries participating in the 2021 Media for Democracy Monitor (MDM) research project. In this chapter, an historical overview of the evolution of journalistic codes of ethics in different national media contexts is given, as well as an analysis of the cornerstones such codes are built upon in various countries. We discuss the specific virtues and shortcomings of such codes, with a particular emphasis on the new challenges brought by the digital media environment. The role played by codes of ethics, compared with the laws that regulate media, is also addressed. 

This chapter investigates to what extent leading news media advocate investigative journalism and perform appropriately their watchdog function, assuming that in various media markets these core journalistic practices are currently adapting to an austere (compared with the past) media ecosystem, as well as to a differentiated newsroom role against a background of digital revolution in the media field. By means of digital tools, journalistic investigation has been facilitated to a great extent. However, the acute crises afflicting the media industries have operated as a severe deterrent to costly investigative journalism. Given the prevalent financial constraints in media markets, testified to by journalists in most countries participating in the 2021 Media for Democracy Monitor (MDM), investigative reporting seems to have become a luxury process, despite it being a journalistic bulwark against fake news narratives and unethical standards in media organisations. We conclude the chapter with a discussion of the existence of investigative reporting being proportional to the financial strength that characterises the media organisations at the national level, and that targeted public subsidies, where applicable, seem to have proved effective during times of economic recession.

Bengt Erlandsson (1933–2019) blev 1 oktober 1987 Sveriges förste läsarombudsman. Svenska Dagbladets chefredaktör Hans L. Zetterberg skrev på förstasidan att han skulle ”hjälpa läsare att få rätt mot tidningen”. Svenskan var först, Sydsvenskan höll på längst och Göteborgs-Posten placerade läsardialogen i redaktions ledningen. Torbjörn von Krogh läser ombudsmanna kolumner och ombudsmannamejl.