Kaikki toistaiseksi hyvin: kansainvälinen finanssikriisi talousjournalismissa (English translation of the Finnish title: No panic: The international financial crisis in economic journalism)
(2010) ISBN: [978-951-44-8219-9], 203 pages, published
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- Abstract
- The study examines the role of journalism in the building of trust in the economy and the legitimation of economic policies during the financial and economic crisis that started in 2007. The crisis is seen as an international economic and political phenomenon, which national policymakers, economic elites and journalists were forced to introduce to their own publics. The study utilizes both the methods of quantitative and qualitative content analysis. The analysis compares reporting on the economy and economic policies in Finnish mainstream newspaper Helsingin Sanomat and two financial publications: the Finnish Kauppalehti and the British Financial Times. In this comparison arrangement, Financial Times represents journalism directed at international economic and political elites, while the national publications represent journalism directed to both lay and specialized national audiences. The research data consists of news articles, spanning from January 1 2007 to March 31 2009, dealing with recurrent economic events and discussions and stories related to the economic crisis itself. This data is compared with the views expressed by 18 Finnish experts on economic affairs interviewed for the study. The analysis identifies some weaknesses in the manner in which the Finnish newspapers expound the relation between the financial markets and the real economy on the one hand, and the connection of the Finnish economy to the global economic system on the other. The problems of the international financial markets were not broadly discussed in the Finnish context until September 2008, when the crisis became a reality also in Finland. The economic press reports routinely on short-term economic events like stock market movements and economic forecasts, but since there are few references to earlier forecasts and estimates for the economy, it is difficult to get a general view of the state of the economy based on these news articles. In those occasions where the state of Finnish economy was mentioned, its position was long told to be secure in spite of the international crisis. In contrast with the American financial sector, it was emphasized that Finnish authorities, banks as well as consumers had acted in a respectful manner during the years preceding the crisis. The press received the “no panic” message from the key Finnish politicians with little criticism or comments. A variable was created in the content analysis to assess the level of optimism or pessimism of the news coverage during the crisis. This was then compared with statistical indicators describing trust in the economy, i.e. the consumer confidence index (CCI) and the stock market index (OMXH25) for the Helsinki Stock Exchange. The analysis indicates that a significant and sudden dimming of the “sentiment” of the news coverage anticipates a weakening of consumer confidence, especially in a situation where the focus of the coverage turns to the home country. However, the dramatic and negative news from foreign economies did not seem to have the same effect in Finland. When it comes to the investor sentiment in the stock market, the Finnish press seems to be more like a reporter of the market events, while the Financial Times, being an international and highly esteemed financial publication, might have more importance also in the investment decision-making process of the business elites. Economic life dominated the publicity of the crisis, both in the Finnish newspapers and in the Financial Times. The largest group of commentators was composed of representatives of banks and financial institutions. Respectively, the number of Finnish politicians commenting on the crisis in the newspapers was notably low, especially before the autumn 2008. The economic policies were discussed more as a matter of technical solutions than a question of conflict of interests or exercise of power. Thus, the Finnish economic press seems to have some difficulties in unfolding the process of economic policymaking when there is no open political dispute involved. The economic crisis challenged the Finnish press to seriously attempt explaining the complexity of the current construction and functioning of the international financial system. The absence of this kind of reporting before the crisis might partly explain the fact that the financial crisis caught the press off guard. In order to prevent surprises of this kind in the future, economic journalism should put more effort into explaining the structure of the international economic system and its risks.
- Affiliations
Tampere University Research Centre for Journalism, Media and Communication
Citations
Simola, A., & Reunanen, E. (2010). Kaikki toistaiseksi hyvin: kansainvälinen finanssikriisi talousjournalismissa (English translation of the Finnish title: No panic: The international financial crisis in economic journalism). Tampere University. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/251907