Overview

Low pay. Uncertain work prospects. Diminished prestige. Why would anyone still want be a journalist? Drawing on in-depth interviews in France and the United States, Matthew Powers and Sandra Vera-Zambrano explore the ways individuals come to believe that journalism is a worthy pursuit-and how that conviction is managed and sometimes dissolves amid the profession's ongoing upheavals. For many people, journalism represents a job that is interesting and substantial, with opportunities for expression, a sense of self-fulfillment, and a connection to broader social values. By distilling complex ideas, holding the powerful to account, and revealing hidden realities, journalists play a crucial role in helping audiences make sense of the world. Experiences in the profession, though, are often far more disappointing. Many find themselves doing tasks that bear little relation to what attracted them initially or are frustrated by institutions privileging what sells over what informs. The imbalance between the profession's economic woes and its social importance threatens to erode individuals' beliefs that journalism remains a worthwhile pursuit. Powers and Vera-Zambrano emphasize that, as with many seemingly individual choices, social factors-class, gender, education, and race-shape how journalists make sense of their profession and whether or not they remain in it. An in-depth story of one profession under pressure, The Journalist's Predicament uncovers tensions that also confront other socially important jobs like teaching, nursing, and caretaking.

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Reviews

"Local reporters are closer to the ""crisis"" in news than anyone. What keeps journalists going in the face of wrenching changes across the news industry? When and why do some of them give up? Matthew Powers and Sandra Vera-Zambrano offer the most convincing answer yet to these vital questions. Based on nearly a decade of comparative research in France and the United States, The Journalist's Predicament develops a powerful new framework that connects professional norms to the individual aspirations and career trajectories of working journalists. The result is a major contribution to the sociology of news: the first comprehensive account of democratic renewal—and erosion—in newsrooms under threat. -- Lucas Graves, author of <i>Deciding What's True: The Rise of Political Fact-Checking in American Journalism</i>"

"Local reporters are closer to the ""crisis"" in news than anyone. What keeps journalists going in the face of wrenching changes across the news industry? When and why do some of them give up? Matthew Powers and Sandra Vera-Zambrano offer the most convincing answer yet to these vital questions. Based on nearly a decade of comparative research in France and the United States, The Journalist's Predicament develops a powerful new framework that connects professional norms to the individual aspirations and career trajectories of working journalists. The result is a major contribution to the sociology of news: the first comprehensive account of democratic renewal—and erosion—in newsrooms under threat. -- Lucas Graves, author of <i>Deciding What's True: The Rise of Political Fact-Checking in American Journalism</i> How do French and American journalists behave in market-driven newsrooms, where they face declining work conditions? Some resist these changes and some surrender to them; some find springboards for innovation and others leave the profession entirely. To map these varied experiences, this insightful book explores journalists’ strategies and the social conditions that subtly shape them. -- Erik Neveu, emeritus professor of political science, Sciences-Po Rennes"

Author Information

Matthew Powers is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he codirects the Center for Journalism, Media, and Democracy. His books include NGOs as Newsmakers: The Changing Landscape of International News (Columbia, 2018). Sandra Vera-Zambrano is a member of the National Research System and coordinates both the PhD program in communication and La Revista Iberoamericana at Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City.

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