Gaining skilled standing as a journalist fairly often entails a protracted and troublesome interval of precarity. And as Italian freelancer Sara* urged within the first a part of this sequence, the truth that the job is usually seen as a “mission” solely makes issues worse.
Alice Facchini, an Italian freelance journalist and creator of a survey on psychological well being inside the occupation in Italy for IrpiMedia, explains that “precarity on the earth of journalism – or at the very least the precarity we uncovered – can be linked to an identity-based imaginative and prescient of the occupation: as in lots of artistic professions, I settle for precarity as a result of I establish with the occupation; I consider in it as a worth, and I’d subsequently do something to have the ability to interact in it as a result of I see it as a mission.”
Esperanza* is a Spanish journalist who agreed to speak about her expertise: “I attempted to place apart motivation and vocation and channel them elsewhere, to not cling to the mere truth of being a journalist. I didn’t wish to situation my life on my vocation.”
After some expertise in one other discipline, Esperanza returned to being a journalist. When requested whether or not it’s doable in Spain to pursue the occupation no matter social class, she replies: “Frankly, it’s very troublesome should you don’t have mother and father who can assist you for an prolonged interval. Most of my college buddies had to enter communications and advertising, or spent loads of time residing off different jobs in order that they might ‘make investments’ in changing into journalists. This is what occurred to me too: I do loads of communication and advertising work. Doing journalism is a luxurious.”
Access to the occupation: how does one turn into a journalist?
It is usually stated that anybody beginning out in journalism have to be ready to take dangers: to spend time researching the tales and angles that curiosity editorial employees, which are related and authentic, or to bear the prices of a report with out even being certain that anybody will run it. “We’re advised that it’s higher to go freelance at first, to take dangers, and so on. But taking dangers when you’ve got the means is simple; doing it if you battle to pay the lease will not be solely difficult, it’s unattainable. It is inconceivable to assume that it’s important to find yourself on the road to be able to do your job.” This is Sarah Ichou, director of the Bondy Blog, an unbiased French newspaper based within the wake of the French banlieue riots in 2005, exactly to symbolize these working-class neighbourhoods – the banlieues – and the voice of the individuals who stay there.
“The actual downside, which we’ve got denounced for the final twenty years, is that of who makes the information” – Sarah Ichou, Bondy Blog
Bondy is likely one of the communes of Seine-Saint Denis, the poorest and youngest division in metropolitan France. In the midst of an editorial assembly (which is a mirror of in the present day’s France, by way of voices, gown and backgrounds) Ichou tells me that “the true downside, which we’ve got denounced for the final twenty years, is that of who makes the information. […] Sociologically talking, maybe when the journalists and newsrooms of the ‘conventional’ media begin to resemble the Bondy Blog’s newsroom, maybe then we may have, at the very least partly, an answer.”
According to Alessandra Costante of the National Federation of the Italian Press (FNSI, Italy’s largest journalists’ union), “in the present day, to endure poverty whereas ready for a contract, it’s important to be wealthy or be a burden to your loved ones.”
Jana Rick is a doctoral pupil and analysis affiliate concerned in a undertaking funded by the German Research basis (DFG), “Prekarisierung im Journalismus” (”Precarity in Journalism”), on the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. The examine, carried out from 2019 to 2024, surveyed one thousand journalists in Germany. Asked whether or not journalism is a class-specific occupation, Rick replies: “Based on our analysis, we argue that journalism is a occupation that you’ve got to have the ability to afford financially. Journalists (particularly freelancers) compensate for precarity with their companions’ revenue or obtain assist from different relations. This might level to a development whereby journalism turns into a occupation for the elite, which constitutes a risk to variety within the media sector.”
Harald Fidler of the Viennese newspaper Der Standard argues that the media sector in Austria is diversifying, albeit slowly: “The starting of a profession is usually characterised by poorly paid internships and freelance work, which one has to have the ability to afford financially. It is simpler for these from households with greater incomes.” According to the final main survey, for 2018-19 (Journalismusreport/Medienhaus Wien), out of 501 journalists surveyed, 62 had a migration background (about 12 p.c, versus 23.7 p.c of the whole inhabitants).
Access to the occupation: colleges
Across Europe, the scenario tends to fluctuate – generally considerably – from nation to nation. In some international locations, reminiscent of France and Italy, attending knowledgeable faculty is the principle route, whereas internships are extra widespread in different international locations. However, in all circumstances the query of financial, social and cultural capital is central.
In France there are 14 Grandes écoles: recognised coaching programs that put together aspiring journalists for the occupation and are recognised by the Commission Paritaire Nationale de l’Emploi des journalistes (CPNEJ). A college programme or a publicly‑funded grasp’s diploma prices just a few hundred euros per yr, whereas non-public colleges begin at round 7,000 euro per yr.
The similar is true in Italy, the place along with the bar examination there are colleges: a two-year grasp’s diploma prices from 8,000 to over 20,000 euro a yr.
In Spain the scenario is much less structured. Beatriz Lara, secretary of the Press and Communication part of the Spanish commerce union Confederación Nacional del Trabajo, explains to El Confidencial {that a} clear development is rising: “In order to be an info skilled, you normally should pay for personal masters levels, which frequently don’t even qualify, and value from 10 to fifteen thousand euro. Who can turn into a journalist when the value of admission to the media is between 10 and 15 thousand euro, with no assure of job safety?” Moreover, Lara provides, “it’s the identical social class who has entry to the occupation, and who finally will get to border actuality. Those who’ve entry to the media, those that signal the articles have a really clear class bias. People from the decrease lessons haven’t any voice.”
“We are advised that what issues are the problems that have an effect on an typically well-off, extremely educated and politically related social class,” says Mazin Sidahmed, co-founder of Documented, a media created to serve the immigrant communities of New York City, in an interview with Lighthouse Reports. “What pursuits this social class turns into a very powerful information of the day, and should you write for them, you make a reputation for your self as a journalist, as a result of that’s how most newspapers have structured their operations: in actuality, they serve that social class.”
‘Despite my huge privilege, I couldn’t get a spot within the faculty I wished.’
Claire* is 24 years outdated and attended the Institut français de Presse, the oldest journalism faculty in France. In her course, she tells me, there was actually a variety of ethnic backgrounds, however no variety of social class. Claire explains that competitors to enter the college is “extraordinarily powerful, extraordinarily selective”, and that there are numerous who undertake a yr of preparatory examine earlier than even attempting to get a spot.
There can be a really particular subject: education in France is prime for entry to knowledgeable profession. Knowing the right way to get into which faculty and why additionally means attending the appropriate secondary faculty. “Since secondary faculty I already knew what I wished to do. In my household and in school all the things was clear.” The guidelines of the system are clear for everybody in that context, says Claire.
Claire’s father is a diplomat father and her mom is a translator. She has lived and skilled overseas (together with at King’s College in London) and speaks 4 languages. “Despite my huge privilege, I couldn’t get a spot within the faculty I wished,” she explains, referring to the complexity of getting a spot within the prestigious Science Po, which was her first selection.
During our dialogue, Claire insists on the intense selectivity of this competitors: the quota for accepted candidates is “too low”, the variety of candidates is just too excessive, and people who have already got the appropriate background – culturally talking – have “disproportionate benefits.” Moreover, she provides, some colleges, along with the competitors, make their choice on the idea of a candidate’s presentation file. For instance, those that, like Claire, have already accomplished an apprenticeship or labored within the media have a powerful benefit. “Without my mother and father this is able to not have been doable,” she says.
An answer for variety within the media
In 2009, the Bondy Blog created the “Prépa égalité des probabilities” in collaboration with the Ecole supérieure de journalisme de Lille (ESJ Lille), probably the most prestigious colleges within the nation. This “equal alternatives” coaching course is freed from cost and open to younger individuals from low-income households. “Although the outcomes have been very constructive,” Ichou explains, “it doesn’t imply that the issue has been solved: integration in editorial departments stays very difficult. And as soon as a certain quantity of expertise has been acquired, entry to sure positions of accountability stays very, very difficult”.
Since 2007, La Chance has been offering coaching to younger individuals with much less entry to those colleges. Every yr, due to round 350 volunteer skilled journalists, the affiliation prepares round 80 fellows for the competitions of the journalism colleges in Bordeaux, Paris, Marseille, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Grenoble and Rennes. “The competitors is a obligatory step for aspiring journalists wishing to enter a college. The downside is that not all younger individuals have the identical probabilities of passing it. The period and value of the research discourage these of extra modest means,” explains Baptiste Giraud, who’s in command of pupil placement within the Paris workplace.
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La Chance’s “prépa” is a free coaching course “which could be taken within the afternoon, night or weekend, relying on the case,” continues Giraud. “We attempt to goal college students from the town’s precedence neighbourhoods, each city or rural.”
According to the affiliation’s knowledge, in 2024 the scholars who took half within the coaching programmes principally got here from households the place the mother and father work in what are thought-about “low‑ability jobs” (cleansing employees, safety guards, dwelling‑care and healthcare assistants, drivers). There are additionally single‑mum or dad households and a big share of blue‑collar staff—14.3% of the fathers and a couple of.6% of the moms fall into that class. 11.7% of the fathers and 15.6% of the moms are unemployed.
“For high quality information, it’s important to have journalists from totally different backgrounds: the danger is social replica, and at all times having the identical viewpoint represented,” says Giraud. In France, he says, “the scenario is altering. But it is vitally, very removed from excellent. […] I’ve many testimonies from former college students who did editorial internships. There have been many circumstances of discrimination, racism, homophobia and sexual harassment.”
“For high quality information, it’s important to have journalists from totally different backgrounds: the danger is social replica, and at all times having the identical viewpoint represented” – Baptiste Giraud, La Chance
“Indeed,” provides Sarah Ichou, “once we take a look at the truth, that is what we see. This is a occupation that has a really exhausting time renewing itself, and it’s also significantly precarious for individuals from deprived social classes, for people who find themselves victims of racism. This is determined by a number of components, however one specific issue is that many editorial places of work nonetheless don’t publish job provides publicly. It is troublesome to get forward, and much more so if you come from a working class background.”.
So, paradoxically, changing into a journalist requires a privileged social background, however when you turn into a journalist the overall rule is low pay and precarious contracts.
This is particularly true for freelancers, but in addition for these with a contract, as we defined within the first a part of this sequence. This additionally has an affect on the social status of the occupation. This is confirmed by Miteva*, a freelancer in Croatia: “Journalists in Croatia have turn into a part of the working class, judging by their earnings. The present common wage for journalists in Croatia is decrease than the common internet wage, which, in response to knowledge from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, was 1,451 euro per thirty days in May 2025. Journalists (each freelance and salaried) are underpaid, which undoubtedly impacts the standard of journalism. Journalism will not be seen as a prestigious occupation – quite the opposite, public opinion of journalists is kind of low – so those that can afford to work for much less cash typically don’t enter the occupation.”
| A lower than exemplary instance |
| Rachid Laïreche is a journalist and creator of Il n’y a que moi que ça choque? (“Am I the one one who’s shocked?”), a guide that has aroused a lot dialogue in France, particularly amongst media professionals. In the guide, Laïreche recounts his expertise within the “bubble” of political journalism, by which he spent eight years working for Libération. The guide is an train in autocritique that takes purpose at political journalism that’s characterised by conformism, an “unhealthy” relationship with political leaders and disconnected from the considerations of readers.
It’s a superb textual content, on a number of ranges. Firstly, Laïreche understands how the occupation works from the within, and has no intention to flatter. Secondly, the creator’s voice one way or the other concurrently comes from exterior the refrain and from inside the refrain: Laïreche turned a journalist by means of the secretariat of Libération, the place he labored for a number of years as a switchboard operator. Laïreche comes from a working-class background marked by immigration. He additionally represents (or represented) a category of people who suffers from sturdy structural discrimination in France, with histories rooted in colonial reminiscence and racism. He makes it clear, after I meet him, not removed from the Libé newsroom, that he’s not an instance, however “an anomaly”, with respect to the media system. He insists, a number of occasions, that his story will not be the rule. His guide additionally invitations an extra line of questioning: to whom will we communicate once we write? How can we allow this occupation to talk to everybody, to assist everybody perceive the world? In his guide, Laïreche recounts that his brother as soon as advised him that “you don’t write for individuals like us”. “He is true,” he says. “Our occupation touches all the things and everybody,” and but, says Laïreche, “we by no means ask ourselves if we’re working the appropriate method, if we’re working accurately. I don’t have the solutions. But why don’t we actually ask ourselves these questions?” |
