Future possibilities

Tablet computer technology offers new exciting possibilities in presenting journalistic content and creating new business logics. News robots could allow journalists to free

themselves from mechanical reporting and concentrate on more important work such as analysis of different events and developments. Social media applications could increase journalists’ or newsrooms’ interaction with the audience. Taking advantage of this possibility could open doors for new kind of interactive journalism. Twitter anchoring and live tweeting offer possibilities for new kinds of roles for journalists. Live tweeting is also a new tool that especially newspaper journalists can employ to stay competitive in the accelerating news cycle.

Journalists expect media companies to make large investments in technological and content development. Media companies are currently making good profits so they do have money for investments. This means the share-holders of media companies need to be satisfied with smaller profits for some time. They need to understand that the

investments could enable the media companies to make bigger profits in the future.

As newspaper content starts to shift to tablet computers, the print media can save a lot of money from declining printing and distribution costs. The companies should invest these funds to development and improving the quality of journalism, which could attract bigger audiences for their products in the future. Bigger audiences could mean increased advertising revenues for the companies.

Media environment is fragmenting because of the low cost of starting new Internet based media. These newcomers could challenge the current hegemony of established corporate media companies and offer more critical views of societal matters and

corporate culture. It means more choice for consumers. Internet based media also offers journalists new job opportunities. If traditional media companies start to outsource journalistic work more and more, it means more opportunities for freelancers.

Table8: The best case scenario for the future of Finnish journalism

Trend / expectation Outcome Source

Better leadership. Media bosses understand journalism’s function in society better and they

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realize that media companies can’t be run purely like industrial companies.

Media companies cut their profit margins and invest in quality journalism.

More jobs for journalists mean better quality journalism. Different media will have more own stories and less copying ideas from others.

Audiences will grow.

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Media will divide into quality and bulk media.

Quality of serious media will increase.

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Some online content becomes paid.

Quality of online content will increase.

News competition will go global.

More choice for

consumers, more diverse media. Finnish media are able maintain their audiences in the competition.

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Freelancers will start to organize themselves in new ways.

Freelancers are in a better position when negotiating with large companies.

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News will shift from newspapers to tablet computers and smart phones.

Media companies save money in distribution and printing costs and invest in technology and quality journalism. Companies are able to learn to use the

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possibilities of tablet technology and create new business logics that work.

News robots will take care of mechanical reporting.

Journalists can concentrate more on analysis, digging information and finding their own stories. Quality increases.

Media are able to reach bigger audience, especially youngsters, because of interesting content.

Journalists learn new ways to present their stories and can apply these styles in all reporting making even boring subjects more interesting. Quality improves.

Thussu 2007,

Thussu & Freedman 2003, Altmeppen 2010,

Film crews become smaller because of new

technology.

Media are able to send their own foreign reporters (backpack journalists) abroad more often, because they have to pay only one

Role of social media in news business will grow.

Some journalists become Twitter anchors

(moderators). Social media offer new tools for

journalists. Media are able

Farhi 2012, Palser 2009, Clayfield 2012, Vehkoo 2011, interview data

to create an interactive relationship with their audiences. New types of journalism will be born.

Social media activism increases.

The 5^th estate compliments the media and helps journalists work as watchdogs to politicians, corporations and other institutions. The 5^th estate will also watch media and prevent it from abusing its power. Democracy is

Journalists expect their employers to defend them if they make mistakes in work. They also expect the media to offer more permanent jobs instead of chained fixed-term contracts. Currently, these expectations are not fully met by media companies. If the situation doesn’t improve and these expectations are not met in the future, there is a threat that media companies begin to lose skilled workforce. As the results of this study show, some newsrooms have already started to lose professional journalists because of these flaws. Losing experienced journalists could weaken the quality of journalistic content.

Newsrooms in many companies have been shaven in recent years. Journalists feel that this trend threatens the quality of journalism. New technology offers media companies a chance to reduce their personnel even further. For example employing news robots to do mechanical reporting could be used to justify more reductions. There is a threat that if too many journalists are kicked out of newsrooms, the quality of journalism will crash when the remaining personnel can’t handle all the work they are supposed to do. Then it will be very hard to revert back to the original situation.