Séminaire Axe 2 en partenariat avec le Réseau Thématique 37 (Sociologie des médias) de l’AFS

Invitée : Sandra Vera Zambrano (UI- Mexico City)

Dans le cadre du Réseau Thématique 37 (Sociologie des médias), le LaSSP accueillera Sandra Vera-Zambrano pour une présentation de l’ouvrage qu’elle vient de publier avec Matthew Powers,The Journalist’s predicament.

La rencontre se déroulera le 21 novembre à partir de 10h en salle MD 404 Sciences Po Toulouse (bâtiment D)

Pour celles et ceux qui ne pourraient être présentes une visioconférence sera disponible (faire la demande à contact.lassp[at]sciencespo-toulouse.fr)

The Journalist’s Predicament Difficult Choices in a Declining Profession

Matthew Powers and Sandra Vera-Zambrano
Columbia University Press

Low pay. Uncertain work prospects. Diminished prestige. Why would anyone still want be a journalist ? Drawing 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.

For many people, journalism represents a job that is interesting and substantial, with opportunities for expression, a sense of self-fulfillment, and a connection to broader social values. By distilling complex ideas, holding the powerful to account, and revealing hidden realities, journalists play a crucial role in helping audiences make sense of the world. Experiences in the profession, though, are often far more disappointing. Many find themselves doing tasks that bear little relation to what attracted them initially or are frustrated by institutions privileging what sells over what informs. The imbalance between the profession’s economic woes and its social importance threatens to erode individuals’ beliefs that journalism remains a worthwhile pursuit. Powers and Vera-Zambrano emphasize that, as with many seemingly individual choices, social factors—class, gender, education, and race—shape how journalists make sense of their profession and whether or not they remain in it.

An in-depth story of one profession under pressure, The Journalist’s Predicament uncovers tensions that also confront other socially important jobs like teaching, nursing, and caretaking.

About the Author
Matthew Powers is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he codirects the Center for Journalism, Media, and Democracy. His books include NGOs as Newsmakers : The Changing Landscape of International News (Columbia, 2018).

Sandra Vera-Zambrano is a member of the National Research System and coordinates both the PhD program in communication and La Revista Iberoamericana at Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City.