Ethics in the free : A qualitative interview study of freelance journalists’ professional perceptions of ethics

Ethics is an important part of journalism and something that every journalist works with daily and in every aspect of their work. This study aims to examine how Swedish freelance journalists relate to and deal with journalistic ethics in their daily work, but also how freelance journalists handle ethical dilemmas and which factors influence their ethical decisions. Freelance journalists are a group which is most often forgotten within journalistic research, even though they work under different terms than journalists who are permanently employed. Previous studies regarding freelance journalists and ethics have, among other things, shown that freelance journalism is often associated with economic stress and that this can affect their ethical thinking. Studies also show that many freelance journalists experience a lack of support in their work and that they often construct their own ethical guidelines to adhere to in the blurring borders between journalism and PR. To explore how Swedish freelance journalists deal and work with ethics we conducted a qualitative interviews study, interviewing six freelance journalists working in Sweden. The data from the interviews was then analyzed using the theory of professionalization. The result is in many aspects similar to that of previous studies. The result shows, among other things, that the interviewed freelance journalists have a strong professional approach to ethics, describing it as a very internalised and integral part of their everyday work life. Some of them even describe themselves as having more time for ethical thinking than their permanently employed colleagues, since freelance journalists do not experience the stress and speed often associated with working in a newsroom. They do, however, experience an economic insecurity, which sometimes leads to taking on non-journalistic assignments. Operating in the grey areas between journalism and PR or information work is somewhat difficult and controversial for some and in doing it they set up their own boundaries. The results also indicate that sometimes professional journalistic ethical values seem to shape how they view non-journalistic assignments. The study has also found that working alone without colleagues can be difficult for freelance journalists and that it may affect ethical thinking and decision making. Some freelance journalists express limited support in their daily work, particularly from editors, while professional networks such as the Swedish Union of Journalists are perceived as important sources of ethical support. This study provides valuable insights into and a deeper understanding of how freelance journalists, a seldom studied group of journalists, relate and deal with ethics in their professional