Study title

Media and Power 2009

Dataset ID Number

FSD2504

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2504

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Kunelius, Risto (University of Tampere. Department of Journalism and Mass Communication)
• Noppari, Elina (University of Tampere. Department of Journalism and Mass Communication)
• Reunanen, Esa (University of Tampere. Department of Journalism and Mass Communication)

Abstract

The study charted the relationship between the media and political decision-making in Finland. Representatives of the Finnish decision-making system answered questions focusing on themes such as the use of power in the Finnish society, media use, cooperation between decision-makers and journalists, influence of the media on decision-making, and journalism and political publicity.

The data are part of "Media as a Holder and a Vehicle of Power" research project. The aim of this survey was to test the findings derived from the interviews conducted by the project with a larger sample and to complement some of the themes and interpretations that emerged during the interviews.

First, the respondents' status, gender, and age group were queried. Next, their views on power in Finnish society were charted by presenting them with a set of attitudinal statements. The respondents also evaluated to what extent their influence or authority was based on official position, the financial resources of the organisation, expertise, connections, and visibility in the media. In addition, they evaluated the changes in the influence or authority of various public actors (e.g. trade unions, Parliament, the European Union, police, civic organisations) in the past twenty years.

The respondents' media use was canvassed by asking how often they follow various media. They were also asked whether co-operation with journalists had increased, whether they received information from journalists, and whether they had conducted any confidential background discussions with journalists about how they should react to an issue at hand. The respondents evaluated the frequency of their performances in various media. Further questions charted the respondents' external communication and media strategies. They were asked for example whether they had been able to bring the desired points of view into public, whether their organisation influenced through direct contacts with decision-makers or through the media, whether they experienced appearing in entertainment publicity as beneficial, and whether they avoided publishing objectives or opinions related to unfinished issues.

The influence of the media on the respondents' and others' decision-making was investigated by asking them to give their opinions on a set of statements on the topic. The respondents' views were also probed on journalism and political publicity. They were asked, for instance, whether they experienced factual journalism was tabloidising, whether they felt journalism avoided issues unpleasant to decision-makers, and whether journalism stimulated diversified public discussion. Finally, the respondents were asked whether journalism mostly reflected the attitudes and values of citizens, decision-makers, or journalists.

Background variables included the respondent's age group, status, and gender.

Keywords

administration; authority; decision making; journalism; mass media; political power; politics; private voluntary organizations; research workers; social systems; trust

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Media (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (A) openly available for all users without registration (CC BY 4.0).

Data Collector

• Kunelius, Risto (University of Tampere. Department of Journalism and Mass Communication)
• Nopari, Elina (University of Tampere. Department of Journalism and Mass Communication)
• Reunanen, Esa (University of Tampere. Department of Journalism and Mass Communication)

Data Producers

• University of Tampere. Journalism Research and Development Centre

Time Period Covered

2009

Collection Dates

2009-01-21 – 2009-02-15

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Representatives of the Finnish decision-making system

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Purposive

The survey was sent to 1,145 representatives of the Finnish decision-making system, and altogether 419 responses were received. The respondents were mainly gathered through Internet searches and they were e-mailed a request to fill in an online questionnaire.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

37

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Data Version

2.0

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FSD3529 Media and Power 2019

Weighting

There are no weight variables in the data.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Kunelius, Risto (University of Tampere) & Noppari, Elina (University of Tampere) & Reunanen, Esa (University of Tampere): Media and Power 2009 [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2018-07-19). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2504

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Publications

Kunelius, Risto & Noppari, Elina & Reunanen, Esa (2009). Media vallan verkoissa. Tiedotusopin laitoksen julkaisuja A 112. Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto.

Noppari, Elina (2010). "Ihmisiähän tässä kaikki ollaan." Suomalaisten päättäjien ja journalistien vuorovaikutus ja luottamuksen rakentumisen käytännöt. Media & Viestintä 33:3, 32-49.

Kunelius, Risto & Reunanen, Esa (2012). Media in Political Power: A Parsonian View on the Differentiated Mediatization of Finnish Decision Makers. The International Journal of Press/Politics 17 (1): 56-75.

Kunelius, Risto & Reunanen, Esa (2012). The Medium of the Media. Journalism, Politics, and the Theory of 'Mediatisation'. Javnost - The Public 19 (4): 5-24.

Reunanen, Esa & Kunelius, Risto (2021) Medioitunut valta ja politiikan paluu. Kyselytutkimus suomalaispäättäjien suhteesta mediaan 2009 ja 2019. Tampere: Tampere University Press. https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-359-030-4