Majority Of Journalists Satisfied With Their Work, Study Finds

Journalism is not only difficult work, it is sometimes outright dangerous. Journalists are detained and killed around the world on a semi-regular basis by oppressive regimes, by citizens of their country, by insurgent groups – any issue in the world that could get a human being in trouble, a journalist has likely run afoul of it at some point in history. Combined with low salaries, dwindling opportunities with stable jobs, and a world that seems bent on self destruction, where, truly, is the reward of journalism?

It must be somewhere, because according to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, the overwhelming majority – 77 percent of journalists – are satisfied with their work. 77 percent also said they would “go into journalism all over again,” and 70 percent said they often feel “excited” about their work. This same demographic goes on to say they are “proud” of the work they do. However, when it came to the emotional well-being of these journalists, respondents were split in half; approximately 49 percent said that journalism had a “positive” impact on their well-being, while 34 percent said that it had a “negative” one. 17 percent said that journalism did not have a net-positive or negative impact on their life at all.

When it comes to the journalism industry, however, the statistics paint a different picture. When asked to use words that describe the industry, respondents most often chose “struggling” and “chaotic.” 72 percent of journalists used a word with negative connotations to describe the industry. Other words mentioned include “biased,” “partisan,” “stressful,” “inaccurate,” and “untrustworthy.” Journalists were more split on what they think the best and worst qualities are in the media today, but a small majority said that they believed current newsrooms and papers were proficient at releasing stories, but were not as concerned with getting every detail accurate – leading to “bias” or “partisanship.”

A darker piece of the puzzle shows that the majority of journalists in the United States are very concerned for the future of press freedom and the impact of misinformation and “fake news” on the country. The United States is undergoing several human rights and legitimacy crises, which culminated in the maligned-overturning of Roe v. Wade and several other decisions that have raised eyebrows around the world. A majority of the same sample of American journalists said that news sources should always report on false statements made by politicians – another thing that has been on the rise since the election of Donald Trump in 2016 and the spread of his “Big Lie” that the 2020 general election was stolen despite all evidence to the contrary. 

Jeffrey Gottfried, the co-author of these studies and a senior researcher for Pew’s journalism division, said that the numbers “reflect[s] journalists’ passion for what they do.”

He added:

“They just love it and they are excited by it … (even as) they recognize all the challenges they face. … One of the most telling points was that they would go into it again if they could start their careers over.”

Passion in the face of turmoil is certainly heartening. After years of endless turmoil, and the loss of public trust thanks, in large part, to the irresponsibility of public figures, the fact that journalists would face it all again is a strong indicator that most are doing what they are meant to be doing at this moment.