Journalism in the United States

Journalism is the backbone of information in the United States. As co-owner of the Washington Post, Phillip Gram, “Journalism is the first rough draft of history”. However, this vital industry is suffering hard times from public mistrust to worker dissatisfaction. Thus, the question arises, how can we find a solution to help the industry of Journalism.

There are three main issues that face the journalism industry in the United States. First, job dissatisfaction. Many employees in the field are unhappy with the current conditions they are facing. According to a Pew Research Center survey from February - March 2022, 72% of those surveyed used negative connotations to describe their job. These words often were “struggling”, “chaos”, “biased”, “partisan”, and more. This lies the root of the issue. If employees are unhappy, it is impossible to have a stable and functioning job field. Part of what fuels this negative description of the journalism field is the amount of hate and health issues that follow this job. From the same survey, 44% of reporters/journalists state that they face job related threats and harassment. This creates harmful working conditions if journalists cannot produce work without worrying about the backlash they might receive from it. In addition, the current conditions in this industry foster negative health habits/conditions for workers. In an article by Nylah Burton, NBCU, in 2023, 38% of journalists experience exhaustion and burnout relating to the political climate, systemic inequities, and living paycheck to paycheck. This then leads to 70% citing that they faced mental health impacts from the working conditions.

The second issue faced that leads to dissatisfaction of workers is the low pay for the amount of work that is done. Paul Tenkins, Brilliantio 2022, stated that journalists are vital because of the role they play for society. They are the watchdogs to hold authority figures accountable and gives voice to the voiceless. Despite this vital role journalists play, the pay they receive is very low. Salary.com, as of January 2023, details that the average salary for an entry level journalist is $39,301. When we compare this from the average salary in the United States, according to the First Republic 2022, is $54,132 per year. The salary of a journalist is $14,831 less than the national average salary in the United States. Not only this but when it is compared to the average poverty line in the United States ($35,801), journalists are only making $3,500 more than what is considered the poverty line. This significant under pay of journalists is what causes the dissatisfaction because if you do not pay workers for the time and effort they put in, it creates a dysfunctioning and toxic work environment.

The third issue that faces the industry is outside forces. These outside forces are the public opinion and problems that arise, harming journalism. The Pew Research survey found that 42% of journalists say that the public has little or no trust in news information. This is due to the increase of false/misinformation that is being put out into society. The survey stated that 71% say that this made-up news is the biggest problem that is facing journalism in the United States. They explain that even if journalists are putting out correct information, it can be hard for the public to try and distinguish what is true and what is false. The rise of social media has also expanded this problem. Journalists say that social media has had a negative influence on journalism due to how it is expanding the spread of fake news.

With these issues in mind, how can we try to solve this? One of the main things is journalism advocacy. This is just interacting with articles, sharing articles, etc. all to help support the journalism industry. For more information on this, go to these websites: (https://bookriot.com/ways-to-support-journalists/) (https://www.cblohm.com/blog/education-pr-blog/journalism-advocacy-cba_pr/)

Another solution is educating on how to spot fake news. Since this is one of the biggest issues facing the journalism industry, learning how to know if something is fake or not is essential. Spotting fake news starts with the source. Look and consider if this is something that seems credible and reliable to receive facts from. Along with this, look at the sources that the article cites they got the information from. This can help see if the places they go information from line up with what is being said. For more information on spotting fake news, visit this website: (https://www.factcheck.org/2016/11/how-to-spot-fake-news/)

Journalism is an important industry that needs to be protected. By doing our part of separating fact from fiction and supporting journalism agencies, we can help to revitalize this necessary field.