What is the state of journalism in Germany? In her article for epd Medien, Anna von Garmissen discusses three recent studies on the state of journalism in Germany. According to von Garmissen, the findings are thought-provoking and, when considered together, should be alarming to all of us.
The article “Gefährliche Abwärtsspirale. Studien zur Lage des Journalismus in Deutschland” [A Dangerous Downward Spiral. Studies on the State of Journalism in Germany] has only been published in German.
She refers to three studies in her article, each of which highlights different aspects of journalistic work.
- The open-access study “Journalismus unter Druck” [Journalism under Duress], led by Prof. Dr. Wiebke Loosen assisted by Anna von Garmissen at the HBI, examines working conditions in editorial offices. Overall, it shows that the journalism profession is becoming less lucrative. At the same time, digitalization has significantly increased the demands of the profession: cross-media work has become the norm. The growing workload is leading to increased time pressure and stress. It is also concerning that 59 percent of surveyed journalists have been targeted by humiliating or hateful comments.
- The non-representative study, “Burning (Out) for Journalism” (open access), led by Prof. Dr. Thomas Hanitzsch at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, examines the health challenges experienced by media professionals. The findings show that respondents scored worse than the general population in terms of negative stress, psychological well-being, and risk of mental illness. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents said they had considered leaving journalism.
- The study “Ausstieg aus dem Journalismus” [Quitting Journalism] by Jana Rick at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich examines the reasons why journalists leave their profession. Rick’s research indicates that this trend is due to a combination of factors, such as structural changes in journalism, poor working conditions, and low income.
Against this backdrop, Anna von Garmissen sums up: “Findings on the state of journalism should not remain confined to expert circles. They should attract broad social and political attention and create pressure to act – in the interest of a well-informed society.”