Evolution of the profession and citizen expectations: what are the findings for French journalism in 2021?
Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2025 9:05 am
By Chrystal Delfosse and Louise Faudeux, France Télévisions Information MediaLab
While journalists are still seen as very useful by 89% of French people in 2021, they must face new challenges. The unprecedented context of the health crisis as well as the increasingly important societal and environmental issues must lead journalists and editorial offices to rethink their practices.
The social barometer of the profession, based on the latest gambling data taiwan survey by Jean-Marie Charon and Adénora Pigeolat , as well as the ViaVoice barometer , both presented at the 14th edition of the Tours International Journalism Conference, take stock of the professional situation of journalists, as well as the treatment of current affairs.
Who are the journalists who are leaving the profession?
As every year, like a “ritual of the Assises”, the sociologist Jean-Marie Charon presented in Tours the social barometer of journalism for the year 2020. This year could only be a special year, given the health crisis which will have pushed the editorial offices to rethink their working methods and the journalists to question the meaning of their profession.
The result is another year of decline in the number of journalists in France. Over the past eleven years, this figure has fallen by almost 10%, from 37,392 press cards in 2009 – the highest period – to 34,132 in 2020 .
The year was particularly marked by the drop in the number of journalists entering the profession, with almost 40% fewer requests for press cards compared to the previous year . For Jean-Marie Charon, this is evidence of a decline in job openings.
Above all, behind these figures are more and more journalists leaving the profession. To understand this phenomenon, Jean-Marie Charon conducted the survey with Adénora Pigeolat, a researcher at the University of Le Havre – Normandy. Published on September 30, 2021, under the title “Yesterday journalists, they left the profession” , this survey focuses on the journey of 55 journalists in the process of retraining.
While journalists are still seen as very useful by 89% of French people in 2021, they must face new challenges. The unprecedented context of the health crisis as well as the increasingly important societal and environmental issues must lead journalists and editorial offices to rethink their practices.
The social barometer of the profession, based on the latest gambling data taiwan survey by Jean-Marie Charon and Adénora Pigeolat , as well as the ViaVoice barometer , both presented at the 14th edition of the Tours International Journalism Conference, take stock of the professional situation of journalists, as well as the treatment of current affairs.
Who are the journalists who are leaving the profession?
As every year, like a “ritual of the Assises”, the sociologist Jean-Marie Charon presented in Tours the social barometer of journalism for the year 2020. This year could only be a special year, given the health crisis which will have pushed the editorial offices to rethink their working methods and the journalists to question the meaning of their profession.
The result is another year of decline in the number of journalists in France. Over the past eleven years, this figure has fallen by almost 10%, from 37,392 press cards in 2009 – the highest period – to 34,132 in 2020 .
The year was particularly marked by the drop in the number of journalists entering the profession, with almost 40% fewer requests for press cards compared to the previous year . For Jean-Marie Charon, this is evidence of a decline in job openings.
Above all, behind these figures are more and more journalists leaving the profession. To understand this phenomenon, Jean-Marie Charon conducted the survey with Adénora Pigeolat, a researcher at the University of Le Havre – Normandy. Published on September 30, 2021, under the title “Yesterday journalists, they left the profession” , this survey focuses on the journey of 55 journalists in the process of retraining.