More of the same or is there something more?

Transcription

1 IAMCR rd Conference in Barcelona: paper for the Working group Broadcasting in Europe: coming to terms with the new public commercial competitive challenge (ECCR). More of the same or is there something more? Diversity in a changing television market: A Swedish example Anna Maria Jönsson Department of Journalism & Mass Communication Göteborg University Department of Journalism & Mass Communication Box 710 SE Göteborg Sweden Phone: Fax: annamaria.jonsson@jmg.gu.se

2 Introduction Broadcasting is a market in constant change and even the concept itself is eroding in these days of digitalization and convergence. In Western Europe, one of the most profound changes was the deregulation when public service monopolies were replaced by dual systems with commercial and public service channels acting side by side. Since then much attention has been directed towards the question of diversity, especially in the program supply, whereas studies of diversity in certain genres and the actual content are less common. The main purpose of this paper is to present and discuss some possible theoretical and empirical definitions of the concept of diversity and to, on the basis on this discussion, present some relevant empirical findings on the state of diversity in Swedish television. One aim of this paper, using the Swedish television as an example, is also to discuss what implications the changing media context may have had on the diversity of media content. Both external as well as internal diversity are addressed and one question is the role of the competition between commercial and public broadcasters and its effects on diversity. Is there a convergence or a divergence going on? Another interesting question is if there have been any changes in the diversity in the public service channels after the deregulation. In the era of the public service monopoly in Sweden, the whole broadcasting market was influenced by the main thoughts of the public service ideology; Radio and television have a social responsibility and obligations to society, which means they should live up to certain norms and standards. Broadcasting media performance should be characterized and guided by norms like e.g. quality, diversity, independence, information and culture. Public service should be a radio and television for all. These norms are still central in the public service idea and diversity is even more today then ever an important part in media policy. The deregulation of the broadcasting market and the new competitive situation has put pressure on the public broadcasters and there seem to be a need for redefinition of important values and the ways for reaching or maintaining these values. This goes for the broadcasters themselves as well as for external actors like politicians, other societal representatives and media researchers. How do we value and define diversity in this new era? Diversity is a complex concept and often merely used rhetorically. To be meaningful it must be clearly defined and thoroughly looked in to. It is therefore also a part of this paper to try some different ways for analyzing diversity. The paper starts with a overview over what has happened in the Swedish television market the last years and a discussion on diversity and different ways of defining and study this concept. The empirical discussion will start with a general overview of the television program supply, and then look more closely at the state of the diversity in the national television news, addressing issues like: Is there a difference between commercial and public service news? Has the diversity of the public service news changed since before the deregulation? A changing television market An interest for the media market is common for several perspectives, like e.g. media economic theory and the theory of political economy, and is based on the thought that market structure determines market conduct and media performance. The structure of 2

3 the market is dependent on different factors including number of buyers and sellers, product differences and barriers for entrance of new competitors. It also must be noted that the relationship between competition and diversity is quite complicated. In a first stage competition tends to improves diversity, but in the next stage when broadcasters adapt similar low cost strategies, diversity decreases (McQuail, 1992:87). During the years, a strong press and a strong non commercial public service broadcasting monopoly have characterized the Swedish, as well as more or less the whole Western European media landscape. The media has been considered to be not just any business or market, but a market that has an important role to play in society and for democracy. Therefore there has been an unwillingness to let the market forces take over the control of the media. Media ownership has been in the hands of several interests and even though there have been some dominating owners, they ve generally been concentrating their activities to one specific market. This changed though with the deregulation of the broadcasting market that started in the 1980s, and has among other things led to a whole new commercial media sphere with several new actors. Today the most obvious and interesting trends and tendencies are on the one hand the concentration of media ownership, the commercialization and internationalization of the media market, and on the other hand the digitalization, the fast spread of the Internet and the increasing convergence of both equipment and markets. Interestingly enough though, both the traditional press as well as the public service-media still have a relatively, and maybe surprisingly, strong position. The change of the broadcasting structure in the end of the 1980s, which brought about a whole new situation with a multi channel television market and competition between different channels, has resulted in a commercialization of the broadcasting market and a focus on economical aspects and profit. The effects of the commercialization on the general television supply is generally said to be that the share of entertainment and fiction increases as well as the imported programs (mainly then from the USA). One central ingredient in the commercialization of the television news is often said to be an increased focus on sensational and negative news (see e.g. Asp, 1995:4p). Today the Swedish broadcasting market is a dual market with private commercial radio and television channels existing side by side with the still non commercial, license fee financed public service channels. This transformation happened quite rapidly and some of the main reasons behind it were the technological development with e.g. cable and satellite television on the one hand, and a change in the politics and ideology towards a more liberal way of looking at the media on the other. The public service-companies SVT (television) and SR (radio) are not formally owned by the state, but instead since 1993 owned by a foundation funded by government money. Before that, they were formally owned by newspapers and organizations, although the majority of board was appointed by the government. Neither SR nor SVT carry any advertising and are financed with the incomes from the license fee. Since the introduction of private commercial channels in Sweden, SR and SVT have had some problems with defining themselves and their mission in the new competitive situation. There has also, not surprisingly, been a loss in audience share during the 1990s, though compared to many other public service-channels in Europe, SR and SVT still maintain quite a high level. 3

4 Table 1. cent) The viewing share of the Swedish public service-television (SVT) (per Swedish public service-channels viewing share Source: Nordström, 2001 Privately owned television channels financed by advertising thus were introduced in Sweden in the second half of the 1980s. The first were mainly a spin off of the very liberal cable legislation in Sweden, enacted in Since cable penetration soon was quite high, it offered an interesting market for satellite television. In 1987 the TV3 started, and some year after that the Nordic Channel, later Kanal 5 (Channel 5), and both were transmitting in Swedish to the Swedish people, but from abroad. In 1991, a decision was taken to establish a Swedish terrestrial television channel and in 1992 TV4 formally started, or better moved from satellite to terrestrial transmissions. Today the main commercial broadcaster is TV4. TV4 hold the license for terrestrial commercial television at least until the year The organization is quite small and almost all programs are bought from domestic or foreign production companies. Only the news and some public affairs programming are organized within TV4. Its news programs, as also the channel in general, have attracted younger viewers than e.g. SVT. Public service as an idea thus still has a relatively strong position in the Swedish media landscape, although it is struggling with defining and placing itself in the new situation. Traditionally public service in Sweden is quite broadly defined and can be said to consist of three corner stones: information, education and entertainment. A more narrow definition focuses on certain areas that have been considered most important to protect and where regulation is and have been quite strong; i.e. for example news, culture, facts and programs for minorities. The situation of the news market and especially then the public service television news has been and still is widely debated, both when it comes to the organization and the actual supply. During the 1990s there has for example been a more or less constant debate in the Swedish media politics concerning the question of if and why the public service television (SVT) really needs two separate news organizations as it has today. The main argument for keeping the current system of two independent organizations has been the important part this is thought to play for the diversity. The arguments against this system has been about resources and the thought that there are no the need for two public service news organization after the deregulation of the broadcasting market and the rise of several competing channels. Today there are commercial alternatives to SVT and so it should be enough with only one public service editorial organization. Diversity What is media diversity? Diversity as a general concept means many objects, but not just many but also many different objects, or objects by different character. In a media context diversity is often used as a normative concept and presupposes, most generally, that the more, and the more different, channels of public communications there are, carrying the maximum 4

5 variety of (changing) content to the greatest variety of audiences, the better. (McQuail, 2000:170). Diversity as a concept is according to McQuail (2000:170p) neutral as to content and what should actually be communicated. However, when it comes to actual media systems and content the concept of diversity becomes more specific and McQuail presents the following normative requirements: the media should reflect society, offer access to various voices in society, serve as a forum for different interests and offer choices of content and variety over time. There can be said to be mainly two bases for diversity as a normative media concept; On the one hand the thought of the social responsibility of the media where the public interest is in focus, and on the other hand the a normative democratic view. The question of media and diversity can also be linked to the discussion on the role of the media in society and the public sphere. The public sphere is a space where different views and interests can make their voices heard and where different interests can meet. This public conversation is an important part of the freedom of expression and opinion and therefore also is a prerequisite for the citizens participation in the democratic process. In today s society it s definitely fair to say that the media is a central part of this process. Regarding the news (here focusing on the television news) diversity is primarily about reflecting diversity in society (e.g. geographical or socio-cultural differences) and give access to and be a forum for different interests (McQuail, 2000:171). In these aspects it is very obvious that diversity as a value is strongly connected to democratic values and theories on how a democracy should work. What is the public discourse about and who gets access to the public sphere? Diversity is a complex concept and is possible to approach from many different angles. One of the main dimensions in the context of media and diversity is the structure-content dimension. Discussions on media and diversity is about diversity in media structure and diversity in media content. The question of diversity and media structure is seldom addressed in itself, but rather as a prerequisite for quality and diversity in media content. Liberal media theories though often states the importance of structural diversity. Most media research and policy discussions focus on the relationship between diversity in structure and diversity in content and since the end of the 1980s, the main question in Western Europe has been how the deregulation of the broadcasting market has effected content diversity. It is in these analyses quite common to use the concepts divergence and convergence to make statements about if and to what degree public service channels and commercial channels tend to become more similar or more diverse (in its supply). Often it is the television supply in general that s been in focus and more seldom diversity in certain genres. Diversity as a value Whether or not diversity is considered to be a value in the sense of something good or even necessary, is very much depending of course of how the concept is defined. Even so it is obvious that in society today diversity is generally used as a positive term and it is almost taken for granted that it means something good. According to McQuail (2000:170) diversity is important because it reinforces what he calls the normal processes of progressive change in society. This includes e.g. replacement of ruling elites and the circulation of power. He also claims the main public benefits of diversity are that it: - open ways for social and cultural change (access to powerless voices) 5

6 - provides a check on the misuse of freedom (market failures like e.g. ownership concentration) - give opportunities for minorities to maintain their separate existence in society - limits social conflicts by increasing the understanding between different groups and interests - adding to the richness and variety of social and cultural life in general Generally, media diversity can be said to have two main functions: to serve the different interests in society and to give access to different interests in society. To reflect and give access to different interests can mainly be done in two ways, either by allowing all relevant interests equal access and space, or by reflecting and giving access proportionately to the actual influence different groups have in society. The former principle though are difficult to realize because of the limitations of the media in itself there are only a certain amount of channels, space and time in the media market. Also the principle of proportionality has its drawbacks since it will most likely mean that existing power structures are cemented and that minorities will be effectively excluded (McQuail, 2000:170p). In the end thus it is a question of power and influence. Critical theories of the media is focusing on this shortcomings of the proportional principle since it is merely a confirmation of the existing society and leaves no, or very little, room for changes of the power structures. This then works against the potential of the media for societal change. Diversity then could mean more open media and/or alternative media. It thus must be stated that diversity isn t per se a positive and desirable value. Other values can perhaps be more or equally important and therefor stand in opposition to diversity. Diversity can also be an expression or a result of something less desirable. In a discussion on news and diversity Comstock and Cobbey (1978:58) e.g. claims that When diversity occurs, observers may suspect the deviation represents less than ideal news treatment by one or more networks. One of the main functions of journalism is to select news so that not every person by him or herself will have to take in all information and try to select the most valuable and interesting. Perhaps it is fair that some areas, subjects, events, interests etc get more attention than others. Depending on if the media is mainly considered to serve the existing society or if the role of the media instead should be to challenge and maybe erase existing power structures. Another aspect of diversity as a value is the role of the audience. In e.g. the news context it can be said that diversity on the one hand is necessary to provide for the different interests in the audience, but on the other hand a more limited diversity with fewer perspectives and more depth in the reporting of one event can be the best way to satisfy the needs of a heterogeneous audience. A audience oriented perspective also puts into question the importance of internal and external diversity. Since many people only watch one television news cast everyday, it is from the individual perspective more important with internal diversity. But on a societal level the total diversity may be seen as more or equally important which then probable means that the external diversity i.e. the diversity between different media is just as important. A central question in the discussion on news and diversity is also if the news media should select and present the same events and if they shall present the same events the same way? Diversity then can mean either variation in the selection of news or variation in the presentation of the same news events. To get a diversified view on a certain event or subject it therefore is desirable that more than one media report on this event which 6

7 means less diversity in the news selection. To decide what is desirable in this context is a complex matter. If the audience only use one news channel then does it matter if all news media reports on the same events in the same way? Maybe it is a good thing that all members of the media audience get the same news no matter what newscast they choose. McQuail (1992:249) thus claims that a consonance in the news reporting reduces the selective perception in shaping the views in different societal questions and that this in the end leads to a constructed situation of consensus. Many cultural perspectives and the theories of post modernity often states that the text actually isn t of great (if any) importance for how the audience interpret and use the content of the media. If the heterogeneity among the audience is the most important aspect in this process then the question of if and how media content is characterized by diversity is not important. This though is only if the text is thought to have no importance at all and that certainly isn t my view. Texts can be more or less open and the characteristics of the person using the text is of course very important for the interpretation of the text, but so is the actual content of the text. Empirical studies of diversity measures and material How then is it possible to study media diversity and what is it that is being studied? The empirical analysis in this paper, as in most other research on media and diversity, is about content diversity. The structure is merely seen as a factor possibly effecting content diversity. Diversity in media content could mean either reflection of different interests in society, to give access to different interests in society, or to provide choices for the audience. From the definition of diversity as many different objects or objects of different character, diversity can be broadly defined as representation and variation. Diversity as reflection and giving access to different interests is about representation and the covering of e.g. different areas and subjects. Variation, the other main aspect of diversity, is about differences and similarities between different media. Diversity therefore can be internal and focusing on the representation in one medium or channel, as well as external and focusing on the similarities and differences between different media or media channels. Diversity in the television supply seen in this perspective can be about representation of different programs and genres to satisfy different interests and provide choices and variation in the supply between different television channels. Representation in the news context is mainly about if and how the news mirrors and/or leaves access to the different groups and interests that constitute the pluralistic society. Studies of diversity from this perspective often concern what McQuail (1992) speaks of as the political, geographic and socio-cultural dimensions of differentiation and focus on both content and form. It could e.g. be a content analyses about subjects, geographical areas, sources, etc. The variation perspective is mainly about the selection process and the events or processes that the media chose to report on. This could also be seen as a measure of independence (McQuail, 1992:130). While the representation perspective is possible for both studies of one or several newscasts and is about reporting, the variation perspective is about different events and a comparisons between different newscasts. Duplication is a central concept when it comes to the question of news and diversity, as it is a measure of to which degree different newscasts report on the same events. The 7

8 main part of the research about duplication is normative in some way and one common opinion is that if all news media selects and presents the same events, then there will be many events and processes that never will come to public knowledge. A situation which isn t ideal according to the idea of the pluralistic society. I consider both the reporting and the event perspective to be important for studies on news and diversity and my opinion is that they either by themselves or together could prove some interesting points. It s also important to think about the relation between these two perspectives. Both selection and presentation depends partly on the same values and principles for what is considered important to report on and therefore also concerns the same question; A news program could for example be characterized by diversity when it comes to presentation and the different dimensions of differentiation and at the same time as the selection of events points to a high degree of duplication, that is lack a of diversity. It s worth noting that this is only one way of defining and looking at diversity in television news and that there of course are many other alternatives. One of the most difficult questions in the analyses of media diversity is what is to be considered as a high and a low degree of diversity and how diversity should be operationalized and measured. Of course this depends on what one is studying and what the norms are. During the years though some ways for measuring diversity has been used and developed and below I ll present some of these and then conclude with presenting the empirical material and the measures used in this study. A measure of diversity that s been used quite frequently in research on media and diversity in the terms of diversity in television supply is relative entropy (see e.g. Ishikawa, 1994; Wakschlag and Adams, 1985). This is an index on diversity of program types in one channel or one media system and as a measure it has its origin in physics. To be able to use the measure relative entropy it is necessary to first calculate the theoretical entropy. The basis for entropy is to study the number of program categories and also the number of programs in every such category: To accomodate both the number of content categories available and the relative amounts of time devoted to each category, an entropy-based measure of variety was used. (Wakschlag och Adams, 1985:26). To get the relative entropy the reached entropy value is divided with the maximum entropy. This measure thus varies between 0 and 100 where 100 is a maximum diversity. To summarize, it is the sum of the probabilities for the different program types to appear in a certain television channel during a certain period of time. High relative entropy means high program diversity. Relative entropy has quite often been used in studies of diversity in television supply in general and had been tested several times internationally. What is good about it is that it is not easily effected by the number of categories and is much effected by the concentration to one or a few program types (Hillve and Majanen, 1998). On the negative side and the main reason why there seem to be room for other measures of diversity is that this is a complex measure which definitely lacks in pedagogic qualities. Dominick and Pearce (1976) have defined diversity in television as an index on the degree of concentration to a few program categories. Also Litman (1979) used an index in his studies of diversity, namely the so called Herfindahl-index which is about the diversification of a certain program distribution. Another way of analyzing program diversity, which has a lot in common with the already mentioned measures, is to create an index on the actual representation of certain 8

9 theoretically possible categories in a certain channel at a certain time. Kent Asp for instance uses this measure in his analyses of the Swedish television supply and I will show in this paper how it can also be used to study diversity in a certain genre (news). Translated directly from Swedish this measure is called the breadth index, but here I will call it an index on the degree of representation. An index is constructed that is based on a comparison between the theoretically possible objects and the actual objects present. The running point in this way of defining diversity is what is considered to be a relevant category and which and how many categories that is said to be theoretically relevant and possible. For instance; How broad shall the categories be? Is it enough in a study of television supply to have a fiction category or should this fiction be divided into subcategories like drama, sit-coms, etc? Certain types or genres are quite obvious and not controversial while others can and should be discussed (see also Asp, 2001:71). This means that the actual index isn t that important or interesting in itself, but mainly in comparison to something else, like changes over time or differences between different channels. Compared to the more frequently used relative entropy it is easier to understand and to calculate, but more effected by the number of categories (Asp, 1999). Just as relative entropy the result is that a high representation index means high program diversity. Television and diversity two examples This paper includes on the one hand a presentation of the diversity in the Swedish general television supply and on the other hand a analysis of the diversity in the Swedish national television news. The study of the overall supply here only addresses the question of representation, while the study of the news diversity is both about representation and variation. The study of the Swedish television output has been done every year since 1999 at the Department for Journalism and Mass Communication at Gothenburg University and is an assignment from the Broadcasting Commission (Granskningsnämnden för radio och TV), which is a government agency. Every year the supply of the main Swedish television channels is analyzed and classified into different program categories. This is done through a study of the program schedules for 17 randomly selected weeks every year. The results are presented in an annual report. In this paper the focus is on the television supply in the year of Diversity in the television news is a main focus in my Ph.D. project and the empirical results presented here are part of that project which will be finished by the end of this year. The part of the study presented here is an analysis of the main broadcasts from the three national Swedish television news programs Rapport, Aktuellt (public service), and Nyheterna that is broadcast in the private, commercial hybrid channel TV4. In the years 1988, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1998 and 2000 one week in March has been analyzed. Of course it should be seen as a limitation that the material only includes one week each year. It s an obvious risk that the results are too much effected of the events and occurrences during the selected week. The empirical discussion will start in a general overview of the television program supply, and then look more closely at the state of internal and external diversity in the national television news ( ), addressing issues like: Is there a difference between commercial and public service news in terms of coverage of different areas and 9

10 subjects? Has the internal diversity of the public service news changed since before the deregulation? Another form of external diversity is about if and how different editorial units report on the same events. This is a question of diversity in both selection and presentation of news. a) general supply 1 All of the five largest Swedish television channels (terrestrial and satellite) are general channels with a content mix of information, current affairs and news, as well as entertainment and fiction, etc. There are though some obvious differences between the public service- and the commercial channels; SVT e.g. generally has a higher degree of current affairs and cultural programs, while the commercial channels have more fiction, docu-soaps and entertainment. As a commercial channel with more restrictions, TV4 places itself somewhere in the middle with SVT on one side and TV3 and Kanal 5 on the other. Table 2. Content in the main Swedish television channels 2000 (per cent) SVT1 SVT2 TV4 TV3 Kanal 5 News Information/current Affairs Entertainment Infotainment Fiction Sports Children and youths Minorities Other Total Source: Asp, 2001:95. With the deregulation came a whole new market of television production companies, and today most of the content of the commercial channels is either imported, or produced by such independent producers. Since the beginning of the 1990s though, there has been a remarkable concentration also in this area, and many of these production companies are now owned by dominating media owners. As discussed above representation is defined as the number of different categories a certain television channel has in its supply. A maximum representation occurs when all the theoretically relevant program types are present in the output of a certain television channel. In the study of the Swedish television supply in the year 2000 the number of theoretically possible program types were 131 (Asp, 2001:71). For measuring the program diversity then a index of representation can be constructed by dividing the number of program types in a channel with the maximum number of program types (131). This means that if a channel in its output one year presents 65 different program types, the representation index for this channel is 0.50 (65/131=0.50). The study of the representation in the main Swedish television channels 2000 shows that the public service channel SVT1 is the channel which has the highest representation index and thus, measured like this, the greatest diversity. SVT1 has a representation index of 0.73, to be compared with 0.67 for the other public service channel SVT2, This analysis and presentation is based on Asp,

11 for the hybrid channel TV4 and 0.33 and 0.37 for TV3 and Kanal 5 who are the biggest commercial satellite channels (Asp, 2001:72). This means then that in the total output in the year 2000, the public service channels clearly has the highest degree of diversity in terms of representation in the program supply. Commercial, satellite channels that isn t under Swedish jurisdiction shows the lowest degree of diversity. In actual program types this means that SVT1 in 2000 presented 95 of 131 possible program categories, while e.g. TV3 in its output presented only 43 program types. This situation of course reflects the different conditions for these channels where the public service sphere hasn t have a profit demand, but have quite strong regulations about what kinds of programs they must supply. SVT among other things is obliged to supply news, cultural programs and programs for different kinds of minorities. The commercial terrestrial channel TV4 has some of these requirements but in a lesser degree than SVT. TV4 is e.g. not obliged to supply programs for minorities. It is worth noting also that the differences between the public service and the commercial channels decreases remarkably in prime time (Asp, 2001:72). Table 3. Representation in the Swedish television program supply 2000 (index) All program- Supply (131) Information & news (56) Entertainment & fiction (49) SVT SVT TV TV Kanal Note: Number of program types included in parenthesis. Sports excluded. Source: Asp, 2001:72. Table 3 also shows the representation divided into what is often used as a main dimension for television supply, that is to say information versus entertainment. On basis of what we know about how the supply of public service and commercial television channels tend to differ, it is fair to assume that the public service channels will have a relatively high degree of diversity in the area of news and information and that the commercial channels will have more diversity in the area of entertainment and fiction. As seen in table 3 this is also the case. The differences between the public service channels and the commercial channels increases if we only take into account the program types that is mainly about news and information programs that are an important part of the public service idea and often has a prominent position in media policy and the regulations of public broadcasters. Both of the public service channels shows an index of 0.75 in the area of information, which in other words means that SVT1 and SVT2 during the year 2000 presented 42 of 56 program types that is considered to be mainly about information and news. The commercial TV3 (part of the MTG-group) has an index of 0.13 which means 7 of 56 program types (Asp, 2001:72p). The analysis of the representation in the entertainment area not surprisingly shows a whole different picture. In all of the commercial channels the representation index is much higher in this area and the differences between the public service channels and the commercial channels decreases and actually almost disappears. Public service channel SVT1 is in the lead and presents most program types under the area entertainment and 11

12 fiction, while SVT2 has much less diversity in this area and is passed by both TV4 and Kanal 5 and is on the same level as TV3 (Asp, 2001:72). These results then shows that it is possible for one channel to have a high representation in one area and a low representation in another, as well as it possible for one channel to have a high representation in both areas or a low representation in both areas (Asp, 2001:74). The public service channels have a relatively high degree of diversity when it comes to both information and entertainment; SVT2 though, as the only channel, shows a higher degree of diversity in the information area than in the entertainment area. All commercial channels has quite a high representation index in the entertainment area and a low representation in information. This is especially true though about the purely commercial and London based satellite channels TV3 and Kanal 5, while the terrestrial hybrid channel TV4 takes a position between the public service channels and the purely commercial ones. It is thus obvious that financial position as well as degree and type of regulation and policy demands have an influence on the diversity of the television supply. This study only covers the years from and based on this material it is not possible to give support for either the divergence or the convergence hypothesis. The changes in the representation of the program supply are quite insignificant. There seem to be a slight trend towards a decreasing diversity in the news and information area, but this goes for all types of channels and especially the hybrid channel TV4 (Asp, 2001:75). Other studies though give some support for the divergence theory since the difference between the public service channels and the commercial channels seem to have decreased during the 1990s (see e.g. Asp, 1999:43p and Hultén, 1996:99). So, altogether it can be stated that the public service channels are characterized by a quite high degree of internal diversity which is not typically the case for the commercial channels. On a program types level though there also seem to be a relatively high degree of external diversity in the Swedish television, since there are some obvious differences between different types of channels. News and informational programs is an area that often both by definition and practice is seen as a special task and responsibility for the public service channels and the demand for diversity is often at least partly about supplying these kinds of program types. But what then about the actual content of the programs? To provide news and informational programs is thought to serve the public interest and give the audience opportunities for relevant program choices. To serve the society and function in its role in the democratic society, the media should also reflect and give access to different interests and voices. This is a responsibility for the media that is a central aspect of the public service idea. The regulations for the Swedish public service television (as well as for the hybrid channel TV4) also states that the actual content of the news and informational programs should be characterized by diversity. What then do we mean by diversity in the news context and is the Swedish television news characterized by it? b) news News and diversity - introduction News and journalism has traditionally been said to contribute to our constructions of reality, and the role of the media in the public sphere points to the importance of questions about diversity in media. It is considered important for democracy that opinions and views are presented and discussed by different groups and interests in 12

13 society. This is a part of the freedom of expression and in today s society the media can be seen as a more or less necessary part of the democratic process. This of course raises questions on the relationship between the media and different power centers, both nationally and globally. Does the media generally question or preserve the power structures in society? What picture of the society and the world around us do we get from the media? These questions of course are important when it comes to all media content, though this analysis focuses on one certain genre the news, and more precisely - the television news in Sweden. This section also addresses the question of how different factors influences the television news content. News is seen as shaped and formed by different individuals working within different societal, institutional and organizational frames and practices. Presumably, different news media with different organizational requirements would produce different versions of the news. (Epstein in Paletz and Pearson, 1978:77). The frames in consideration could be for example policies, economy, market situation, resources etc. Whether the news media use their own material or material from a news agency is one important factor. Another central aspect is the media structure and the degree of competition. McQuail (1992:174) for example claims that the more different television channels compete for the same audience and the same market at the same time, the more similarity in content and sources there is to be expected. The news organization isn t willing to risk missing something that a concurrent reports on. The competition could also be thought to result in a situation where only non-controversial aspects and events are reported since no one dare to risk to offend anyone (Hoffmann- Riem, 1996:300). In this paper the diversity in Swedish television news will be analyzed from two main perspectives: on the one hand a report perspective and on the other hand an event perspective. In the report perspective internal diversity is defined as the degree of representation of different objects here areas and subjects whereas the external diversity is defined as degree of similarity. Diversity in an event perspective is about duplication and if different news organizations chose to report on the same events and if different newscasts present the same events the same way. Diversity in this case is operationalized as degree of duplication and degree of variation. This is a study of the diversity in the Swedish television news, although it is limited to the national analogous terrestrial newscasts, which in this case mean Rapport and Aktuellt in the public service television (SVT) and Nyheterna in the hybrid channel TV4. News diversity in a report perspective - degree of representation and similarities There are a number of different parts of the society that can and maybe should be reflected in the news, but this study on the degree of representation in the Swedish television news only focuses on the representation of different areas and subjects. If we first take a look at the diversity in the form of representation of different areas, there are no major differences between the three newscasts. Diversity in this case is about how well different areas in the world are covered. To analyze this, an index is constructed that is based on a comparison between theoretically possible areas and actual areas covered. The results show an increase in the diversity in this aspect during the 1990s and this especially in the commercial Nyheterna (broadcasted in the hybrid channel TV4). The diversity in the two public service newscasts have been fairly stable though during the same period. This then means that there is less difference between 13

14 Nyheterna and the public service newscasts today than in the beginning of the 1990s (table 4). Table 4. Degree of representation of different areas in foreign news reporting in the Swedish television news during (index) Rapport Aktuellt Nyheterna Note 1: The index is constructed by dividing the number of actual categories with the number of theoretically possible categories. In this case the number of theoretically relevant categories are set to 50 and this means e.g. that if one news cast a certain year has news from 25 different areas the index will be 25/50=0.50. This then means that the index varies between 0 and 1.0. Note 2: Rapport and Aktuellt are the public service newscast and Nyheterna is broadcasted in the commercial channel TV4. Which areas of the world then is it that Swedish television news report from? First of all it s obvious that the areas and countries on a short physical and cultural distance from Sweden also are the areas that get most attention in the Swedish television newscasts. For example one half of the foreign news consists of news from Europe. When it comes to news from other more distant parts of the world, e.g. other continents, it is the news from the United States, the Middle East and South Africa that get the most attention in the Swedish television newscasts, while reports from areas like Latin America and Asia is clearly more infrequent. Sweden has not, and has not either traditionally had, any extensive political or economical contacts with these areas. Such lack of relationships between areas is a factor that according to Stevenson (1994:302) has a major negative effect on the news flow between these areas. Table 5. Geographical distribution in the Swedish national television news (percent) Rapport Aktuellt Nyheterna Nordic countries Western Europe Eastern Europe Baltic states USA/Canada The Middle East Latin- and South America Africa Eastern Asia Rest of Asia A look at similarities between the different newscasts over time (table 6) can indicate to us if there is a divergence or a convergence going on in the Swedish national news market. During the period it is the public service news casts Rapport and Aktuellt who are most alike in representation of different areas in the foreign news. From how the similarities between the different news programs changes over time it seems fair to assume that there is a slight divergence going on in the television news reporting from different geographical areas and that the similarities between the public 14

15 service and the commercial news were more marked in the beginning of the competition era. Table 6. External geographic diversity in the Swedish national television news (coefficient of similarity) Rapport and Aktuellt Rapport and Nyheterna Aktuellt and Nyheterna Note: Coefficient of similarities). Degree of similarity between different percentage distributions. A total similarity means that ök=1.0. Representation of different subjects is another aspect of the diversity in the television news which is closely connected to the thought that the media provide diversity by reflecting different parts and interests in society that can and will interest and be relevant for different groups in society. When it comes to the degree of representation of different news subjects or categories diversity also seem to be fairly stable during the period In this aspect though, there are some obvious differences between the different newscasts. Overall there is most diversity in terms of representation of news categories in the public service program Rapport and least in Nyheterna. This with two exceptions; First of all, in 1988 there is more diversity in Aktuellt than in Rapport and second of all, Nyheterna has a higher degree of representation of different subjects in Generally there is more diversity in the representation of different news categories in the public service programs than in the commercial Nyheterna. Table 7. Degree of representation of different subjects in the Swedish television news during (index) Totally Rapport Aktuellt Nyheterna Totally Note: Weather not included. The total representation degree is only calculated based on the period Table 8 below shows that during the 1990s politics, economy, crimes/accidents and war/conflict are the most frequently occurring news subjects in the Swedish national television news. This includes domestic as well as foreign news. A bit surprisingly news about crime and accidents is more prevalent in the public service newscasts Rapport and Aktuellt than in the commercial Nyheterna, although the differences are quite small. Nyheterna has less news on politics than the public service programs and is more often constituted of soft and sensational news, like e.g. sports, scandals and human interest. Human interest news are often placed last in the program and not of immediate current interest; Newborn lions in the Zoo of Kolmården and that the spring has arrived 15

16 to Malmö (town in the south of Sweden) are two examples of this kind of news from the 1990s. Table 8. Distribution of different subjects in the Swedish television news (percent) Rapport Aktuellt Nyheterna Totally Politics in general Politics, hard Politics, soft Economy Foreign news Energy/environment Culture/media Science Crimes/accidents War/conflicts Human interest Sport Other Totally Note: Domestic and foreign news. The analysis of the external diversity concerning the news subjects is presented in table 9 below. During the total period it is Rapport and Aktuellt that are most alike with a similarity index of 0.89, which means a relatively low degree of external diversity. External diversity is in this respect higher between the public service programs and Nyheterna. The public service newscasts showed the highest degree of similarity in the week in March 1988, that is before the competition from TV4 and Nyheterna in the terrestrial television market. In the beginning and middle of the 1990s then the diversity between the public service newscasts increases, but in the end of the decade and in the year of 2000, these programs once again has a relatively high degree of similarity when it comes to presentation of different subjects. Table 9. External diversity in news categories in the Swedish television news (index of similarity) Totally Rapport and Aktuellt Rapport and Nyheterna Aktuellt and Nyheterna Note: Coefficient of similarity (Överensstämmelsekoefficienten). Similarity between different percentage distributions. A total similarity means that the coefficient is 1.0. Also other studies of how the news selection in the Swedish national news programs has changed over time indicates that initial differences between the public service news casts and the commercial Nyheterna concerning selection of different news categories seem to become less evident over time (see e.g. Djerf-Pierre, 2000:246). There thus has 16