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.
"Local reporters are closer to the ""crisis"" in news than anyone. What keeps journalists going in the face of wrenching changes across the news industry? When and why do some of them give up? Matthew Powers and Sandra Vera-Zambrano offer the most convincing answer yet to these vital questions. Based on nearly a decade of comparative research in France and the United States, The Journalist's Predicament develops a powerful new framework that connects professional norms to the individual aspirations and career trajectories of working journalists. The result is a major contribution to the sociology of news: the first comprehensive account of democratic renewal—and erosion—in newsrooms under threat. -- Lucas Graves, author of <i>Deciding What's True: The Rise of Political Fact-Checking in American Journalism</i> How do French and American journalists behave in market-driven newsrooms, where they face declining work conditions? Some resist these changes and some surrender to them; some find springboards for innovation and others leave the profession entirely. To map these varied experiences, this insightful book explores journalists’ strategies and the social conditions that subtly shape them. -- Erik Neveu, emeritus professor of political science, Sciences-Po Rennes"