Typical Journalist Is 41-Year-Old White Male (And TWO 1/2 TIMES AS LIKELY to be a Democat!)

Editor & Publisher ^ | April 16, 2003 | Mark Fitzgerald

[Timesink]

APRIL 16, 2003

Typical Journalist Is 41-Year-Old White Male

Study: About a Third Are Women

By Mark Fitzgerald

NEW ORLEANS -- The typical U.S. journalist is a 41-year-old white man who makes $43,600, has a college degree but didn't major in journalism, and is more likely to vote Democratic than Republican, according to "The American Journalist in the 21st Century."

This latest profile, conducted by five faculty members of the Indiana University School of Journalism, brings up-to-date surveys conducted every decade, starting in 1971. Since the 1992 survey, the median age of journalists has increased five years and median pay has risen 39.3%. About a third of all journalists are women, a proportion unchanged since 1982. And while 90% of journalists have college degrees, only 36.2% majored in journalism.

For more information, visit http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/895.html.

[Timesink]

Landmark research into the backgrounds of American journalists continues

Study finds them to be older, better paid, better educated

EDITORS: This information is embargoed until 3:45 p.m. CDT on Thursday (April 10). Additional information will be available at the Web site of the Poynter Institute at http://www.poynter.org. Key findings also are available by e-mail and U.S. mail by calling the media contacts listed on this release.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The reporters, editors and producers who put out the news every day on television and radio and in print are a more professional group than a decade ago, according to the initial findings of Indiana University journalism professors in their research study, "The American Journalist in the 21st Century."

Traditional, general news journalists make higher salaries. More have college degrees. They are older, but there are still more men than women. More who stay in journalism are happy with that choice.

"The popular image of undisciplined, unknowing and uncaring journalists is not supported by these findings," said David Weaver, the Roy W. Howard Professor in journalism and mass communication research at IU Bloomington, one of the authors of the report. "This core group of journalists takes their work and their reporting ethics more seriously than a decade ago."

The 2002 survey continues the series of major national studies of U.S. journalists begun in 1971 by sociologist John Johnstone and continued in 1982 and 1992 by Weaver and G. Cleveland Wilhoit, IU professor of journalism. Much as the U.S. census does for the general population, these studies provide an important decennial measure of the pulse of U.S. journalism.

It was presented today (April 10) at the annual meeting of the American Society of Newspaper Editors in New Orleans.

Key findings about U.S. journalists in 2002:

-- Traditional journalists are getting older. The median age of full-time U.S. journalists increased by five years to 41 from 1992.

-- Female journalists aren't increasing overall. They're still one-third of all full-time journalists, as they have been since 1982, even though those hired in the last four years outnumber men for the first time.

-- Journalists of color are slowly increasing. The percentage of full-time journalists of color working for traditional news media -- 9.5 percent -- is still seriously below the percentage of people of color in the U.S. population (30.9 percent).

-- Journalists are more likely to have at least a bachelor's degree. Nearly 90 percent do, but slightly fewer proportionately are journalism majors (36.2 percent).

-- Median income has climbed to nearly $43,600, up 39.3 percent since 1992. This increase was ahead of inflation. Women's salaries still trail those of men overall, but not among journalists with less than 15 years experience.

-- The Internet has changed the way journalists do their work. Four in five journalists used Web sites and listservs at least weekly to read news by others, gather background information and get news releases.

-- Fewer journalists say they are Democrats. In 2002, 37.1 percent identified with that political party, down 7 percentage points from 1992. Republican journalists increased from 16.3 percent to 18.6 percent.

-- Job satisfaction rose, but not to its old peak. In 2002, 33.3 percent said they were very satisfied with their work, up from 27.3 percent in 1992.

-- Journalistic values persist despite profit pressure. While three in four journalists said the owners of news organizations think high profits are very important, three in five said journalistic quality was rising.

-- Training is the biggest influence on news judgment. More journalists say that journalism training had more influence on their ideas of what is newsworthy than did their supervisors, news sources or peers in the newsroom.

-- The role of the press as the watchdog of government has increased. When asked to identify priorities for news media, a clear majority of journalists say investigating government claims is extremely important. The perceived importance of getting information out quickly has fallen, as has reaching the widest possible audience. Providing entertainment and relaxation also fell as a priority of news organizations perceived by journalists.

-- Civic journalism has been embraced, but cautiously. The idea of giving ordinary people a chance to express their views on public affairs and motivating people to become involved in issues was supported by a wide majority of journalists. But the jury is out on which methods can be used to achieve this public engagement.

The survey at the IU School of Journalism was funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The authors are Weaver; Wilhoit; Randal Beam, associate professor of journalism; Bonnie Brownlee, associate dean of journalism; and Paul Voakes, associate professor of journalism.

The survey sample included 1,149 randomly selected journalists picked to match characteristics of the universe of 116,000 editors, reporters and producers working full-time in the mainstream news media. The overall number of journalists was down from 122,000 in 1992.

Survey results can be found online at http://www.poynter.org. A book, The American Journalist in the 21st Century, is expected to be available in the summer of 2004.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the vitality of 26 U.S. communities.

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Related Information:

Media Contacts:

• George Vlahakis
  IU Media Relations
  gvlahaki@indiana.edu
  812-855-0846
  
  
• Larry Meyer
  Knight Foundation
  meyer@knightfdn.org
  305-908-2610
  
  

Related Links:

• The Poynter Institute [http://www.poynter.org/]
• John S. and James L. Knight Foundation [http://www.knightfdn.org/default.asp]
• IU School of Journalism [http://www.journalism.indiana.edu/]

[ladtx]

And TWO 1/2 TIMES AS LIKELY to be a Democat!)

That figure may change when the embeds get back.

[Timesink]

Poynteronline
Posted, Apr. 10, 2003
Updated, Apr. 10, 2003

The Face and Mind of the American Journalist 4th decennial survey finds an older, better paid, more professional workforce

More in this series
The typical American journalist today is: At a median age of 41, five years older than a decade ago. More likely to be a college graduate than in the past. A little less likely to be a Democrat. Better compensated than a decade ago, but with a median salary that doesn't have the buying power of a 1970 journalist's median salary. More satisfied professionally than 10 years ago, but not as much so as in 1971. ABOUT THIS SURVEY Principal Researchers: School of Journalism, Indiana University David Weaver, Ph.D. Randal Beam, Ph.D. Bonnie Brownlee, Ph.D. Paul S. Voakes, Ph.D. G. Cleveland Wilhoit, Ph.D. Sponsor The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Methodology The American Journalist survey continues the series of major national studies of U.S. journalists begun in 1971 by sociologist John Johnstone, and continued in 1982 and 1992 by David Weaver and G. Cleveland Wilhoit. More? Those are a few of the findings from the latest study of U.S. journalists conducted by researchers at Indiana University's School of Journalism and sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The American Journalist survey continues a series of major national studies begun in 1971 and continued in 1982 and 1992 -- and now again in 2002. This is the decennial measure of the pulse of American journalism -- what the U.S. Census does for the general population, this study does for the journalism profession. This package of articles represents a first look at some key findings from the main sample of the 2002 study of U.S. journalists. It suggests, the study's authors say, that in a time of increasing change, the core group of general-news journalists is showing signs of increased professionalism -- not only with such indicators as more college graduates, but also somewhat increased endorsement of the journalistic roles of investigating government claims, analyzing complex problems, and being skeptical of business actions. The researchers also found other signs of increased journalistic professionalism, such as less emphasis on the entertainment role of journalism; less willingness to justify employment to gain inside information, or to use personal documents without permission, to pose as someone else, to use hidden microphones or cameras; and less support of disclosing the names of rape victims. (Article continues below ...) KEY FINDINGS FROM THE AMERICAN JOURNALIST SURVEY 1. Traditional Journalists Are Getting Older 2. Women Journalists Aren't Increasing Overall 3. Journalists of Color Are Slowly Increasing 4. Journalists Are More Likely to Be College Graduates 5. Median Income Climbs to Nearly $43,600 6. Fewer Journalists Say They Are Democrats 7. Job Satisfaction Rises, But Not to Its Old Peak 8. Journalistic Values Persist Despite Profit Pressures 9. Training Is the Biggest Influence on News Judgment 10. Government 'Watchdog' Role Increases 11. Importance of Getting Out Information Quickly Drops 12. Reaching a Mass Audience Continues to Decline 13. Civic Journalism Embraced, But Cautiously 14. Fewer Justify Undercover Reporting 15. Fewer Using Personal Documents Without Permission 16. The Internet Changes the Way News Is Gathered Journalists also continued to regard journalistic training as the greatest influence on their news values, and a majority thought that the quality of journalism has been rising steadily at their news organizations. Nearly three-fourths thought that producing journalism of high quality was very important to their owners or senior managers, and a majority disagreed that profits are a higher priority than good journalism at their news organizations. But this study suggests that there are still problems: in recruiting enough younger people to journalism; in attracting and retaining enough women and minorities; in dealing with shrinking newsroom resources. More than three-fourths of journalists think that their owners and senior managers consider above-average profits and large audience size as quite or extremely important, and a slim majority agree that at their news organizations newsroom resources have been shrinking over the past few years. As the researchers release additional, more detailed findings from the 2002 American Journalist study, Poynter.org will publish that information. Read more about this milestone study by viewing the detailed narratives and charts listed in the box above as part of this series (or click the links below).
More in this series: 4/10/2003 5:34:50 PM: The American Journalist Survey 4/10/2003 5:22:23 PM: Traditional Journalists Are Getting Older 4/10/2003 5:22:05 PM: Women Journalists Aren't Increasing Overall 4/10/2003 5:21:35 PM: Journalists of Color Are Slowly Increasing 4/10/2003 5:21:16 PM: Journalists Are More Likely to Be College Graduates 4/10/2003 5:20:58 PM: Median Income Climbs to Nearly $43,600 4/10/2003 5:20:42 PM: Fewer Journalists Say They Are Democrats 4/10/2003 5:20:27 PM: Job Satisfaction Rises, But Not to Its Old Peak 4/10/2003 5:20:08 PM: Journalistic Values Persist Despite Profit Pressure 4/10/2003 5:19:51 PM: Training Is the Biggest Influence on News Judgment 4/10/2003 5:19:34 PM: Government 'Watchdog' Role Increases 4/10/2003 5:19:19 PM: Importance of Getting Out Information Quickly Drops 4/10/2003 5:19:03 PM: Reaching a Mass Audience Continues to Decline 4/10/2003 5:18:48 PM: Civic Journalism Embraced, But Cautiously 4/10/2003 5:18:24 PM: Fewer Justify Undercover Reporting 4/10/2003 5:18:02 PM: Fewer Using Personal Documents Without Permission 4/10/2003 5:17:00 PM: Internet Changes the Way News Is Gathered 4/10/2003 5:23:00 PM: Methodology of the Study

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http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=28235

[11th Earl of Mar]

In 2002, 37.1 percent identified with that political party, down 7 percentage points from 1992. Republican journalists increased from 16.3 percent to 18.6 percent.

I guess that means that the remaining 47 percent are too liberal to consider themselves Democrats?????

[Timesink]

I guess that means that the remaining 47 percent are too liberal to consider themselves Democrats?????

A lot of reporters have had it beaten into them that it's "wrong" to admit to any political leanings at all, so they swear up and down they're "independent." Of course, then they go into the voting booth and vote straight RAT anyway ... or, worse, vote Green or something.

[Blue Screen of Death]

If you consider Helen Thomas a journalist, and if you factor her in, the average journalist is 78 years old and ugly.

[backhoe]

Professor's Study Shows Liberal Bias in News Media

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[dead]

When conservatives started using the studies that showed up to 85% of journalists were Democrats as evidence of a liberal bias, even the journalists were smart enough to realize they should deny a party affiliation when asked the question.

I imagine the real crafty ones might have even decided to negate the charge further by identifying themselves as Republican, assuming they could manage to utter the word without spitting.