To be a journalist in Poland, Russia and Sweden means - in many ways - to be a part of the same community: the most important ideals are the same, the daily work is performed with similar tools, formats and expressions are similar. On the surface there are many similarities, but still there are important differences when it comes to the conditions for  professionals. The frames in the daily work  describing the boundaries for each journalist are different – commercial and political limitations for what is possible in journalistic practice. There are commercial pressures from owners and advertisers and political influence on media companies and newsrooms on journalists to adapt in their daily work. Additionally, what is more important, these limitations differ between the three countries and among different types of media.

These are some of the results presented in previous chapters in this anthology. The point of departure for the project has been the rapid changes in media technology, society (changes in users’ behaviour) in combination with crisis for business models and increasing market influence in the media sector. The question is how these changes influence professional journalistic cultures in different media systems. Poland, Russia and Sweden represent different traditions in journalism, and the position of media in relation to political power and society differs as well. We knew from the beginning that there were differences – but is it also possible to identify similarities between journalistic cultures in the era of globalization of professional cultures (Waisbord, 2013)?

The project has researched the changes in journalism from the perspective of representatives of this profession. With a survey to a representative sample of 500 journalists in each country, opinions and experiences were  studied. In 20 in-depth interviews in each country journalists were asked to give more detailed answers going beyond the questions in the survey. All the empirical work was accomplished by national teams in 2012, and the results were analyzed and presented at international and national conferences in 2013-2014 (see Chapter 2).

The results of the project have been presented in thematic chapters. In this final conclusion we summarize and present answers for the following research questions:

-      How is technological and economic development influencing professional journalistic cultures in the three countries?

-      Do the changing practices influence journalists’ perception of routines and values?

-      What are the consequences for professional autonomy – in daily work and in relation to other social fields such as politics and the economy?

-      Is media development making journalism more similar in spite of differences in traditions and media systems? Is there a homogenization of journalism or is it more correct to label it hybridization?

-      Is the status of journalism as a social field changing; is there a de-professionalization as a result of media development?