UK journalists in the 2020s: Who they are, how they work, and what they think

Abstract

This report is based on a survey conducted in late 2023 with a representative sample of 1,130 UK journalists, a follow-up to a similar survey in 2015. The survey was part of the third wave of the Worlds of Journalism Study project. The survey covered the personal characteristics of UK journalists and their employment conditions, technology use, and experiences of safety threats. It asked how journalists perceive press freedom in the UK and the influences on their work. Journalists’ perceptions about their mental, emotional, and physical well-being; editorial autonomy; and roles in society were also gathered. Moreover, questions on UK journalists’ epistemological and ethical beliefs and their acceptance of questionable reporting practices were included. The results show increasing employment precarity, lingering inequalities between specific groups in terms of pay and seniority, the continued adoption of new technologies that bring benefits but also exacerbate risks, and changing conceptions of roles and ethics.

Keywords: UK journalists, Demographics, Employment conditions, Technology use, Editorial autonomy, Ethical beliefs, Role perceptions