Assessing the Co-Occurrence of Professional Roles in the News: A Comparative Study in Six Advanced Democracies

Abstract

Based on a content analysis of 22 newspapers from the United States, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and Greece (N = 10,512), this study addresses the overlapping nature of professional role performance in the news. The authors analyze the interaction and co-occurrence of the interventionist, watchdog, loyal-facilitator, service, civic, and infotainment roles. The results show three main types of role co-occurrence—interventionist-watchdog, watchdog-civic, and interventionist-infotainment—from which intermediate roles emerge. The findings also shed light on the influence of organizational structures, journalistic routines, and local contexts on the interaction of different roles in professional practice.