As Americans navigate an often-overwhelming stream of news online – some of it coming from nontraditional news providers – what it means to be a journalist has become increasingly open to interpretation.
That is apparent in several ways in a new Pew Research Center study. Who Americans see as a “journalist” depends on both the individual news provider and the news consumer, similar to the variety of ways people define “news.”
There is a lack of consensus – and perhaps some uncertainty – about whether someone who primarily compiles other people’s reporting or offers opinions on current events is a journalist, according to a new Center survey. Americans are also split over whether people who share news in “new media” spaces like newsletters, podcasts and social media are journalists.
In some ways, Americans’ ideas about journalists are still tied to what the news industry looked like in the 20th century. When asked who comes to mind when they think of a journalist, many everyday Americans who participated in our focus groups said they think of traditional TV newscasters like Walter Cronkite and Tom Brokaw, modern anchors like Lester Holt and Anderson Cooper, and even fictional characters like Clark Kent.
Most Americans say journalists are at least somewhat important to the well-being of society. At the same time, many are critical of journalists’ job performance and say they are declining in influence, an opinion that follows years of financial and technological turmoil in the news industry. And many views toward journalists continue to be sharply divided by political party, with Republicans taking a more skeptical view of the profession than Democrats.
As part of our broader study of how Americans get news and information nowadays, we wanted to know what people think about the role of journalists in the digital age – including what makes someone a journalist, what Americans think is important for journalists to do in their daily work, and what backgrounds and attributes people are looking for in their news providers broadly (whether they are journalists or not). So earlier this year, we posed these questions in a survey of more than 9,000 Americans and in online focus groups with 45 U.S. adults.
Americans want honesty, accuracy and topical knowledge from their news providers
What do people want their news providers to be like, regardless of whether they are journalists? Honesty, intelligence and authenticity are the top three traits in our survey that respondents say are important for the people they get news from to display in their work.
However, as our focus group discussions illustrate, people hold differing views of what the term “authenticity” means when it comes to news providers – and some aren’t entirely sure.
Americans also care more that someone they get news from has deep knowledge of the topics they cover than whether they are employed by a news organization or have a university degree in journalism.
Most Americans agree that the people they get news from should definitely report news accurately (84%) and correct false information from public figures (64%) in their daily work. But there is less consensus around several other job functions – and relatively few say their news providers should express personal opinions about current events.
Refer to Chapter 1 for more details on what Americans want from their news providers.
Who counts as a journalist?
Most Americans (79%) agree that someone who writes for a newspaper or news website is a journalist – higher than the share who say the same about someone who reports on TV (65%), radio (59%) or any other medium.
There is less consensus about whether people who work in newer media are journalists. Fewer than half of U.S. adults say someone who hosts a news podcast (46%), writes their own newsletter about news (40%) or posts about news on social media (26%) is a journalist. In each of these cases, roughly a quarter of Americans say they aren’t sure whether these people are journalists.
This pattern aligns somewhat with how long each format has been around: Newspapers were associated with journalism for centuries before any of the more modern media existed.
Young adults are far more likely than older adults to view “new media” news providers as journalists – but are also less likely than their elders to care whether the news they get comes from people they think are journalists.
As one focus group participant in her 20s said, “I feel like anyone can do it, in a way. There’s a lot of people out there just starting their own channels taking a little bit of the importance of somebody who maybe went to school to do that …. It can make it feel like a journalist isn’t as important. Although, they are the ones that are really skilled in that job.”
Refer to Chapter 2 for a closer look at how Americans define “journalist.”
Many Americans think journalists are losing influence in society
A majority of Americans (59%) say journalists are extremely or very important to the well-being of society. An additional 31% say journalists are somewhat important, while just 9% say they are not too or not at all important.
But about half of U.S. adults (49%) say journalists are losing influence in society, compared with 15% who say they are gaining influence. And fewer than half (45%) say they have a great deal or a fair amount of confidence in journalists to act in the best interests of the public.
As one focus group participant in his 30s said, “It’s a hit or miss, I guess. There are a handful of journalists, the ones that we say we trust, that I think are doing the right thing, following what the code of journalism should be. But the others in today’s world are all about clicks, eyeballs, money, things like that, and they don’t necessarily mind tweaking the truth to suit their audience or their advertisers.”
While majorities of the public describe most journalists as intelligent (63%) and well-intentioned (58%), more than half also say most journalists are biased (58%).
Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are far less likely than Democrats and Democratic leaners to express confidence in journalists to act in the public’s best interests and to describe them in positive terms. And Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to say negative words like “elitist” and “dishonest” describe most journalists well.
Refer to Chapter 3 for more details on what Americans think about journalists.
Americans hold mixed views on journalists as community advocates
Americans are split over whether it’s acceptable for journalists to advocate for the communities they cover, but more than half agree that journalists publicly expressing their political or religious views is unacceptable when they report on an issue or event.
Those who are open to advocacy by journalists described it in focus groups as serving some communities’ needs or speaking for those who don’t have power.
But as one participant in his 30s said, “If you’re a journalist, let’s stick to journalism. And if you want to be an influencer or a social change warrior or whatever, just stick to that.”
At the same time, more than half of U.S. adults (56%) say journalists are largely unable to separate their personal views from what they report on. Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to express this view.
Refer to Chapter 4 for more details on Americans’ expectations for journalists.
