Journalisten och staden : Hur lokalreportrars rörelsemönster och bild av stadsdelar påverkar medieinnehållet

It is a fact that journalists living in the Helsinki region of Finland are concentrated to the inner city. For this reason there is a risk that the media coverage of socioeconomically weaker areas is based more on stereotypes and simplifications than what is the case for wealthier areas. The aim of this study is therefore to assess in which areas local journalists move in the city, what perceptions they have of different areas and how these factors affect their reporting. The study is based on the hypothesis that in which areas journalists live and move within the city also affects how they report on different areas. The main research method consists of semi-structured interviews with five local journalists. The interviews are supported by travel diaries of the respondents' travels during one week. This information was used as a basis for the discussion in the interviews. The interviews were analysed focusing on the contents. The results show that a large share of the respondents' trips take place in the inner city of Helsinki. Generally, the respondents seem to have a broad knowledge about different areas in the Helsinki region, but inner city areas are better known to them than suburbs. The respondents admit that also journalists have prejudices, but assert that it is part of the craftsmanship to not let the prejudices affect the reporting. Furthermore, they emphasize that news values determine on which areas are reported. At the same time, the results show that the movement patterns of the journalists and their perception of different areas affect how they judge the news value of events in the areas. If an area is known to the journalists or if it is situated in the inner city, the news value for events or phenomena in the area may be perceived as larger by the journalists. The journalists are aware of the importance of a versatile and balanced reporting on different areas. Nevertheless, the media image of underprivileged suburbs risks becoming negative and unbalanced. This is due to the media's production circumstances together with the social homogeneity of the journalists and their spatial concentration to certain neighbourhoods. The Swedish-language media's reporting may become especially unbalanced, as its audience is more strongly concentrated to certain areas. The result of the study is important in a context where segregation between the different residential areas in the Helsinki region may be increasing. In such a situation how journalists contribute to maintaining or creating differences between neighbourhoods is of great importance.