Mixed Feelings: Future Journalists' Perspectives on News Industries Across the World

Authors: Jackson, D. and Thorsen, E.

Conference: International Communication Association Annual Conference

Dates: 25-29 May 2017

Abstract:

Across the world, established forms and practices of journalism are being challenged. Meanwhile, many journalists are still facing fundamental challenges, from state interference to censorship and physical threats. Uncertainty and unpredictability therefore characterise the industry that journalism students are soon to inhabit. But is this how they see it? In this paper we explore questions that focus around: • How they rate news media performance in their country.

How optimistic they are for the future of quality news in their country.
What they see as the major threats facing quality journalism in their country.

Findings suggest a far more complex picture than might be anticipated. The Press Freedom Index, for instance, only partly predicts our variables. Other explanations are therefore required, and here we turn to comparing media systems. Furthermore, we find that journalism education moulds students towards more critical observers of news industries, but again contradictions and anomalies emerge.

Source: Manual