def json_expected(self, filename, function_name):
        json_expected = None
        json_file = json_expected_file(filename, function_name)
        try:
            with open(json_file, "rb") as json_file_fp:
                json_expected = json.loads(json_file_fp.read().decode("utf-8"))
        except IOError:
            # file may not exist or the value is None for this article
            pass
        return json_expected