Exploring representation of journalism and the free press myth in Flemish and international fictional movies and series

This study analysed how Flemish audiences perceive fiction movies and television series about journalism. First, a survey (N=150) uncovered which productions Flemish audiences recalled to construct a database on which we could perform a descriptive statistical analysis. Second, a critical textual analysis of the top-listed productions allowed us to gain insights into the data provided by respondents. We found that several variables including the country of production, the year of release, the plot, the number of journalists, their gender, their role in the production, and the demographic characteristics of respondents significantly influence how the fictional representation of journalism is perceived.