Ajalehetoimetuste riskikäsitlused ja strateegiad

Abstract

This bachelor’s thesis is titled „The planning and managing of public risks by newsrooms". The aim of this research is to find the main problems facing journalists and newsrooms when dealing with complex issues regarding risks. The study focuses on interviews with editors of major daily newspapers in Estonia. The interviews showed that while general practices among the editorial boards of newspapers are similar when covering risk issues, they occasionally differ considerably regarding important details and judgements. The greatest differences between newsrooms were found regarding the choice of sources. Päevaleht defined their sources with the strictest terms, Õhtuleht was the most lenient and Postimees was somewhere in between the two. The most apparenty possible problem with the public discussion of risks by newspapers seems to be a too high dependence on previous experiences. Obviously one must use one’s previous experiences when doing the same job, but at present the newsrooms seem to be almost totally dependent on sources they already know, which are used to either gather information directly or to help direct the newsrooms to new sources.