Study on Journalists,Some Very Interesting Results. (1 Viewer)

[tom22406]

Just 7 percent of journalists are Republicans. That’s far fewer than even a decade ago.


A majority of American journalists identify themselves as political independents although among those who choose a side Democrats outnumber Republicans four to one, according to a new study of the media conducted by two Indiana University professors.
Write Lars Wilnat and David Weaver, professors of journalism at Indiana, of their findings:



Compared with 2002, the percentage of full-time U.S. journalists who claim to be Democrats has dropped 8 percentage points in 2013 to about 28 percent, moving this figure closer to the overall population percentage of 30 percent, according to a December 12-15, 2013, ABC News/Washington Post national poll of 1,005 adults. This is the lowest percentage of journalists saying they are Democrats since 1971. An even larger drop was observed among journalists who said they were Republicans in 2013 (7.1 percent) than in 2002 (18 percent), but the 2013 figure is still notably lower than the percentage of U.S. adults who identified with the Republican Party (24 percent according to the poll mentioned above).


The great thing about this survey, called "The American Journalist in the Digital Age", is that its been conducted four previous times -- in 1971, 1982, 1992 and 2002. That allows for some fascinating comparisons of how partisanship (or the lack thereof) among reporters has evolved over that time.

Back in 1971, the first time this survey was conducted, there was simply more partisanship among reporters. More than one in three (35.5 percent) said they were Democrats while more than one in four (25.7 percent) described themselves as Republicans. At that point, 32.5 percent called themselves independents.

Over the last several decades, three things have happened: 1) The number of Democratic-identifying reporters increased steadily prior to a significant drop in the latest survey 2) The number of Republicans has steadily shrunk with that number dipping into single digits for the first time ever in the new survey c) more and more reporters are identifying as independents. What seems to be happening -- at least in the last decade - -is that journalists are leaving both parties, finding themselves more comfortable as unaffiliateds.

These numbers will likely affirm the belief in conservative circles that "all" reporters are secretly Democrats. (The study was conducted via online interviews with 1,080 reporters.) While I am not in the business of disputing the study's finding, I would note two caveats:

1. This is among all reporters not just political reporters. While that may seem like a minor issue, it's worth noting that assuming these party ID numbers are true for those of us -- like me -- who cover politics day in and day out may not be entirely accurate.

2. The movement toward independent status among reporters is in keeping with a similar move in the broader electorate as they find the two parties increasingly rigid and, therefore, less welcoming.

The entire study, which details that journalists are less happy in their jobs than ever before and that most believe the industry is headed in the wrong direction, is worth reading in its entirety.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/05/06/just-7-percent-of-journalists-are-republicans-thats-far-less-than-even-a-decade-ago/

Added this as the original post to try and spark more conversation.

Clearly,that hasn't been the case so far.

 

[roadkill1292]

The logic of that article is all over the place. The newsroom is generally aging and still mostly white, therefore the angry white guys should be thinking and writing conservatively but don't because of the liberal nazis in charge? So even though most of the media is owned by big corporations and most of the reporters are now angry white men, content is controlled by minorities and liberals who have elbowed their way into the positions that make the coverage decisions? And what about all the conservative outlets, you can't surf news topics without tripping over the Blazes and Breitbarts and Town Halls of the internet.

The only thing that makes sense in that piece to me is that media should be challenging authority.

 

[Cjw_55106]

So...if you are not "very satisfied" with your job, you are angry?

 

[TheIronSheik]

So...if you are not "very satisfied" with your job, you are angry?

I had no idea I was so angry.

 

[tom22406]

Another take on this from the Wash. Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/05/06/just-7-percent-of-journalists-are-republicans-thats-far-less-than-even-a-decade-ago/

Also has a link to the study being talked about.

 

[roadkill1292]

Are repressives really crappy at getting their message out or is their message just really crappy?

 

[FlapJacks]

Are repressives really crappy at getting their message out or is their message just really crappy?

dehumanizing...

 

[FlapJacks]

I think a lot of liberals on this board, like Big Steel Thrill, UrbanHack, PantherClub etc come off as angry white men

 

[ElGatoLoco]

The logic of that article is all over the place. The newsroom is generally aging and still mostly white, therefore the angry white guys should be thinking and writing conservatively but don't because of the liberal nazis in charge? So even though most of the media is owned by big corporations and most of the reporters are now angry white men, content is controlled by minorities and liberals who have elbowed their way into the positions that make the coverage decisions? And what about all the conservative outlets, you can't surf news topics without tripping over the Blazes and Breitbarts and Town Halls of the internet.

The only thing that makes sense in that piece to me is that media should be challenging authority.

The first clue of the bad journalism in this article should have been that there is no such place as the University of Indiana.

 

[FlapJacks]

I think a lot of liberals on this board, like Big Steel Thrill, UrbanHack, PantherClub etc come off as angry white men

Almost forgot Fatness, he may be one of the angriest

 

[Apes with Guns]

I think a lot of liberals people on this board, like Big Steel Thrill, UrbanHack, PantherClub etc come off as angry white men

 

[D_House]

I think a lot of liberals on this board, like Big Steel Thrill, UrbanHack, PantherClub etc come off as angry white men

Same can be said for conservatives like TinHat, Brock Middlebrook, Sam Quentin, Rove!, etc. Anger kind of goes with the whole territory of message board political bickering, has little to do with affiliation.

 

[tom22406]

I doubt many of you will read this but I found it rather interesting.

http://news.indiana.edu/releases/iu/2014/05/2013-american-journalist-key-findings.pdf

 

[roadkill1292]

I doubt many of you will read this but I found it rather interesting.

http://news.indiana.edu/releases/iu/2014/05/2013-american-journalist-key-findings.pdf

Not time for anything more than a quick look but I was pleased to see that the percentage of journalists who thought the role of "government watchdog" was "very important" was at its highest since the 1970s. It may be more bark than bite these days but I'm glad they at least give lip service to it. When they stop doing even that is when we're all in trouble.

 

[Freelove]

I think a lot of liberals on this board, like Big Steel Thrill, UrbanHack, PantherClub etc come off as angry white men

Almost forgot Fatness, he may be one of the angriest

There's a reason there's a stereotype painting liberals as an old, out-of-touch, curmudgeonly white men who hate diversity and change. Just as there's a reason most people see conservatives as young, hip, intellectually curious, worldly men of color.

 

[tom22406]

I doubt many of you will read this but I found it rather interesting.

http://news.indiana.edu/releases/iu/2014/05/2013-american-journalist-key-findings.pdf

Not time for anything more than a quick look but I was pleased to see that the percentage of journalists who thought the role of "government watchdog" was "very important" was at its highest since the 1970s. It may be more bark than bite these days but I'm glad they at least give lip service to it. When they stop doing even that is when we're all in trouble.

Give it a good look when you have time,I think you will get something out it.

 

[roadkill1292]

I think a lot of liberals on this board, like Big Steel Thrill, UrbanHack, PantherClub etc come off as angry white men

Almost forgot Fatness, he may be one of the angriest

There's a reason there's a stereotype painting liberals as an old, out-of-touch, curmudgeonly white men who hate diversity and change. Just as there's a reason most people see conservatives as young, hip, intellectually curious, worldly men of color.

The partisan sniping aside, there are always lots of fun questions regarding demographics and political views. For instance, do liberal boomers turn more conservative as they age? If so and newsrooms are aging, wouldn't that that mean that newsrooms are becoming more conservative? Shouldn't they be haranguing liberal legislators and courts to start cracking down on diversity, legalized drug use and same sex marriage?

Or do liberal boomers just turn into angry old liberals? Maybe it's the "angry" part that is most closely affiliated with age. Maybe they'll be mad that what used to be revolutionary is now mainstream. Where's the fun in that? It's no fun taking on the power structure once the power structure starts doing the right things.

 

[NCCommish]

I think a lot of liberals on this board, like Big Steel Thrill, UrbanHack, PantherClub etc come off as angry white men

Almost forgot Fatness, he may be one of the angriest

There's a reason there's a stereotype painting liberals as an old, out-of-touch, curmudgeonly white men who hate diversity and change. Just as there's a reason most people see conservatives as young, hip, intellectually curious, worldly men of color.

The partisan sniping aside, there are always lots of fun questions regarding demographics and political views. For instance, do liberal boomers turn more conservative as they age? If so and newsrooms are aging, wouldn't that that mean that newsrooms are becoming more conservative? Shouldn't they be haranguing liberal legislators and courts to start cracking down on diversity, legalized drug use and same sex marriage?

Or do liberal boomers just turn into angry old liberals? Maybe it's the "angry" part that is most closely affiliated with age. Maybe they'll be mad that what used to be revolutionary is now mainstream. Where's the fun in that? It's no fun taking on the power structure once the power structure starts doing the right things.

Boomers are the power structure they are no longer interested in revolution.

 

[roadkill1292]

I think a lot of liberals on this board, like Big Steel Thrill, UrbanHack, PantherClub etc come off as angry white men

Almost forgot Fatness, he may be one of the angriest

There's a reason there's a stereotype painting liberals as an old, out-of-touch, curmudgeonly white men who hate diversity and change. Just as there's a reason most people see conservatives as young, hip, intellectually curious, worldly men of color.

The partisan sniping aside, there are always lots of fun questions regarding demographics and political views. For instance, do liberal boomers turn more conservative as they age? If so and newsrooms are aging, wouldn't that that mean that newsrooms are becoming more conservative? Shouldn't they be haranguing liberal legislators and courts to start cracking down on diversity, legalized drug use and same sex marriage?

Or do liberal boomers just turn into angry old liberals? Maybe it's the "angry" part that is most closely affiliated with age. Maybe they'll be mad that what used to be revolutionary is now mainstream. Where's the fun in that? It's no fun taking on the power structure once the power structure starts doing the right things.

Boomers are the power structure they are no longer interested in revolution.

If so, there may be a lot of downside to that but, millennials' complaints aside, the power structure is a lot less uptight these days. Lifestyles that would have gotten you thrown in jail in the sixties are now pretty acceptable. The castigation of traditionalism from media and market may be uncomfortable for many but nobody is advocating that people should be arrested for going to church on Sunday.