Description
Book SynopsisDrawing 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.
Trade ReviewWhat keeps journalists going in the face of wrenching changes across the news industry? Matthew Powers and Sandra Vera-Zambrano offer the most convincing answer yet to this vital question. 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. -- Lucas Graves, author of
Deciding What's True: The Rise of Political Fact-Checking in American JournalismHow do French and American journalists behave in market-driven newsrooms, in the face of 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, coeditor of
Bourdieu and the Journalistic FieldPowers and Vera-Zambrano's excellent book analyzes how journalists in the United States and France respond to the economic and symbolic decline of their profession
. They
reveal the pragmatic adjustments that journalists must make to continue believing in their work.
The Journalist's Predicament is a profoundly humane, generous, and compelling book on the current transformations of newsmaking. -- Angèle Christin, author of
Metrics at Work: Journalism and the Contested Meaning of AlgorithmsIn a path-breaking sociological analysis, Powers and Vera-Zambrano force a reckoning with the journalistic profession's enduring inequalities. Read this essential book to gain a deeper understanding of journalism's contemporary "crisis"—who thrives, who barely survives, who leaves, and why. -- Rodney Benson, author of
Shaping Immigration News: A French-American ComparisonRecommended. * Choice Reviews *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction: Why Would Anyone Be a Journalist?
1. The Genesis of the Journalist’s Predicament
2. Living For—and Maybe Off—Journalism
3. At Their Best
4. Conserve, Challenge, Accede
5. Leaving Journalism
Conclusion
Epilogue: Is Journalism Dying?
Appendix A: Interviewing as Comprehension
Appendix B: Seattle and Toulouse as Regional Media
Appendix C: Tables and Data
Notes
Bibliography
Index
