Independence and pluralism of political journalism in Spain. Contrast between journalistic, political and citizens’ perceptions

Abstract

Political information is a strategic resource for the normative functioning of the democratic system. Its contents condition citizens’ access to major events and social debates, determine the establishment of the public agenda, and stimulate the process of forming public opinion. This paper examines the present degree of independence and pluralism of political journalism in Spain. These two elements are approached through an empirical analysis of the perceptions of journalists and political actors, and of how they contrast with citizens’ opinions. Our results indicate a disparate evaluation of the situation of political journalism in Spain. As opposed to the preoccupation of citizens, journalists express a fairly moderate or even optimistic diagnosis when evaluating the level of news pluralism in Spain, although the latter are somewhat more critical and nuanced about the degree of independence in professional practice.

Keywords: professional autonomy, degree of independence, news pluralism, journalists, political actors, citizens’ perceptions.