Insulted and outraged: How do Portuguese journalists experience precarity

Abstract

Journalism studies’ literature on precarity has mainly focused on job insecurity, job loss, and the increase of atypical work relationships. Several studies report a growing deterioration of journalists’ work conditions worldwide, indicating a precarization of journalism. Precarity may impact journalistic norms and routines, it may contribute to dissatisfaction and loss of quality of life, it may impact journalists’ health and wellbeing, and even the quality of news content. Journalists’ experiences of precarity should, therefore, be explored. This study aims at assessing Portuguese journalists’ perceptions of precarity through semi-structured interviews (N = 50) followed by a qualitative content analysis. Precarity emerged as one of journalists’ top concerns, and several interviewees classified their incomes as “insulting,” “ridiculous” or “outrageous.” Journalists also worry that precarity may be contributing to a lack of diversity within newsrooms, making the profession “off-limits” to many.

Introduction

While “journalism used to be a dream job for many” (Borchardt et al., 2019: 9), that dream has progressively become harder to support. Precarity, which has been defined as “a state of persistent uncertainty or insecurity with regard to employment” (Chadha and Steiner, 2022b: 15), has been studied in relation to journalism studies and is associated with job insecurity, job loss, and the increase of non-traditional employment relationships or atypical work. The news industry has faced several challenges in the past decades, not only due to technological changes and the subsequent digitalization of newsrooms, but also to the fragmentation of audiences and the flexibilization of newswork. Working conditions have been deteriorating and all this was accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic (Araújo et al., 2023; Camponez and Oliveira, 2021; Lopes et al., 2020; Miranda et al., 2021). Moreover, nowadays risk and violence are also more present in journalists’ lives. All this contributes to a precarization of journalism, and some authors even argue that within journalism atypical work became common and may now be the “new normal” (Örnebring, 2018; Rick and Hanitzsch, 2024).

For all this, it is important to explore journalists’ experiences of precarity, namely those who are employed and hold stable labor relationships, since they are understudied (Rick, 2023). Hence, we propose to assess Portuguese journalists’ perceptions of precarity through semi-structured interviews (N = 50). Our sample is mainly composed by journalists holding stable and permanent work relationships, with fixed incomes, and interviewed journalists have a wide range of years of experience within the profession. Results from qualitative content analysis show that precarity is a common concern among them. Issues such as generalized low incomes and lack of career progression, job insecurity, or the lack of diversity within newsrooms were the most discussed ones. Our analysis also shows a relation between precarity and journalists’ age and years of experience, indicating that those with more years of experience and those who are older talk more about precarity. Even though there is already a wide array of journalism scholarship that acknowledges a shift towards precarity in journalism, we need to explore journalists’ experiences with precarity and the way it may impact their work, their professional norms and their identity. Our results contribute to unpacking journalists’ experiences with precarity and add to the already substantial body of knowledge that reports precarity within newsrooms. Furthermore, they shed light into a geographical reality that is often underrepresented in the literature, contributing to the internationalization of journalism studies.

Precarity in journalism

The issue of precarity has mainly been studied within Sociology (of work), and potential consequences of precarious work, namely outside the workplace, represent areas of concern to sociologists (Kalleberg, 2009). Scholarship traces back the origins of precarity to the 1970s, with the collapse of social democratic models that had emerged in post- World War II and gave way to neoliberalist economic models (Standing, 2018). Indeed, while notions of precarity emerged in the 19th century, with industrial capitalism, it was only in the past two decades that the term started being used to refer to “a state of persistent uncertainty or insecurity with regard to employment” (Chadha and Steiner, 2022b: 15). Guy Standing explains that the neoliberal economics that shape the global economy resulted in “global rentier capitalism and a global class structure in which the precariat is the new mass class” (2018: 1). This precariat is then characterized by “unstable labor, low and unpredictable incomes, and loss of citizenship rights” (Standing, 2018: 1). In 1998, Bourdieu had already claimed that “precarité is everywhere now,” referring to precarity as an aspect of social domination and a characteristic of work within the capitalist system, and establishing a difference between workers with permanent employment and others with casual employment (Chadha and Steiner, 2022a: 15). Even though precarity and precariousness are often used interchangeably, some authors argue they refer to conceptually different aspects of social reality (Rick and Hanitzsch, 2024). While precariousness is a generalized human condition, a global vulnerability, precarity refers to a specific kind of vulnerability that affects certain groups of society unevenly, it is an uneven distribution of precariousness that is dependent on power relations and social hierarchies (Rick and Hanitzsch, 2024).

Within journalism studies, precarity has been explored in specific literature on job insecurity, job loss, and non-traditional employment. The news industry has been through several changes in the past decades. Starting with the technological changes that led to the digitalization of newsrooms and promoted the fragmentation of audiences, newswork became more flexible and consequently more precarious. Indeed, organizational changes have resulted in a “culture of job insecurity” within journalism, one within which both news organizations and newsworkers have become “casualties” (Ekdale et al., 2015). Furthermore, risk and violence are now more present in journalists’ lives, which raises the issue of “emotional precarity” (Steiner and Chadha, 2022). While the existence of precarity “is hardly novel” (Choonara, 2020: 428), the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated an already existing crisis in the industry, leading to the closing of newspapers, layoffs, dismissals, buyouts, and even threats to media freedom. Precarity is usually associated with a decrease in standard employment relationships, meaning permanent, full-time positions, with a fixed income, and the increase in non-standard work relationships or atypical work. The latter, contrary to standard work relationships, do not provide labor stability or income security (Schoukens and Barrio, 2017: 309). Several authors argue that within journalism, “atypical” work became common and it is now the “new normal” (Örnebring, 2018; Rick and Hanitzsch, 2024). While it is not easy, or even feasible, to grasp the number of journalists with “atypical” employment relationships, there is broad consensus that non-standard work relationships are increasing worldwide (Gollmitzer, 2014). Hence, Örnebring (2018) claims that precarity is a key characteristic of contemporary journalistic work. The same author says that precarity has always existed, “what is new” about it is that it now affects many workers who were previously exempt from that labor insecurity – and we would include journalists here. Indeed, “an increasing number of journalists belong to the precariat class” (Splichal and Dahlgren, 2016: 8). Deuze and colleagues even recognize that working in journalism “can be increasingly considered to be a luxury, only a few can afford” (Deuze et al., 2020: 2).

Journalists’ experiences of precarity

It is important to explore journalists’ experiences of precarity, since it may impact the way journalists produce the news (Rick, 2023). Research on precarity in journalism studies has mainly been focused on the Global North, through the analysis of labor insecurity. In a foreword to a special issue of the journal Employment and Society on precarity, Alberti et al. (2018) point out that some authors underline the importance of measuring precarity through clear definitions and measurable criteria, such as the type of labor relationship, while others prefer a more qualitative approach to precarity. Although that special issue received several submissions, only a few proposed a quantitative approach (Alberti et al., 2018). Indeed, most studies apply qualitative methods, such as interviews to journalists (Ekdale et al., 2015; Gollmitzer, 2014; Örnebring, 2018; Sybert, 2023) or surveys (Cohen et al., 2019; Ekdale et al., 2015; Rick, 2023; Ricketson et al., 2020). Other studies are focused on specific groups of journalists, such as intern or freelance journalists (Gollmitzer, 2014; Higgins-Dobney, 2022), or on those who left the profession (Gollmitzer, 2021; Örnebring, 2018). Morini et al. (2014) gathered journalists and editors and promoted narrative group discussions, conducting an analysis of experiences and subjective representations of precarity amongst journalists. They found differences among journalists with a permanent contract and others with more precarious work relations, who are simultaneously younger journalists. Gollmitzer (2014) also found differences between younger and older journalists. Sybert explores the concept of “compounding precarity,” which refers to the “cumulative effects of unstable working conditions that unsettle the daily lives of journalists and, by extension, the institution of journalism” (2023: 740). In the Global South, conditions of instability are usually prevalent and the precarity is associated with challenges to professional practice, such as forms of censorship or effects of colonialism that are still present in media systems (Matthews and Onyemaobi, 2020). Matthews and Onyemaobi conducted interviews with journalists and editors in Nigeria (N = 15). Their results show that instability is approached through two main questions: journalists’ low income, which affects not only their professional lives but also their personal lives; and media organizations being the accelerator of that instability (Matthews and Onyemaobi, 2020). Rick (2023), who has been studying precarity amongst German journalists, points out that the fact that most previous research is qualitative is also related to the subjective assessment of precarity. Indeed, studies that describe precarity within journalism often do it through the analysis of perceptions of work-related characteristics, such as the presence of an excessive workload, the existence of violence towards journalists, lack of training, or the amount of income. Moreover, most existing studies have focused on atypical employers, such as freelance journalists, which leaves employed journalists understudied (Rick, 2023). Our research aims at filling this gap, by exploring the experiences of journalists from different backgrounds, including when it comes to labor relationships. This is important because precarity is also about the lived experiences of journalists navigating certain conditions in their daily work, often precarious ones (Sybert, 2023). Recognizing that precarity is a complex and multifaceted concept, Rick and Hanitzsch (2024) propose a conceptual model of precarity that distinguishes between causes of precarity, dimensions of objective precarity, and individual dispositions that drive or moderate subjective perceptions. Looking at individual dispositions, the authors refer to factors of insecurity and factors of security, with both including the stage of life, financial resources, professional resources, and personality.

There is already a wide array of journalism scholarship that acknowledges a shift towards precarity in journalism, and some authors refer to the impact this may have in journalistic practices. Precarity may promote feelings of stress, exhaustion, demotivation, and job dissatisfaction, which may result in journalists wanting to abandon the profession (Quintanilha, 2023; Quintanilha et al., 2020). The generalization of atypical media work, which is intrinsically related to precarity, has also led to a decline in news trust and a decline in the quality of work of journalists (Deuze et al., 2020: 6). And freelance media work has been associated with “significant levels of work stress,” mainly due to the characteristics of said work arrangements, such as irregular earnings, overcommitment, and low rewards (not only financial rewards, but also in terms of work valuation) (Deuze et al., 2020: 7–8). Research has also established that precarity may have negative effects on workers’ wellbeing and (mental) health (Julià et al., 2017). All things considered, it is important to understand precarious labor since it may encourage decision-makers to act against precarization in journalism (Rick and Hanitzsch, 2024). Steiner and Chadha (2022: 11) go even further: “Precarity needs to be mitigated for the survival of journalism and for democratic functioning itself.”

The Portuguese context

The Portuguese media landscape has been heavily influenced by its political, economic, cultural, and social evolution in the past decades. The country turned into a democratic state in 1974, after almost 50 years of dictatorship. Hence, Portugal is a small-sized country with a young democracy, a poor economy and a high dependency on the state (Fidalgo, 2021), which largely influenced the media ecosystem. The country is also characterized by a struggling media industry that is increasingly more concentrated in larger conglomerates, and low rates of media consumption apart from TV news (Fidalgo, 2021). The most recent Digital News Report by Reuters Institute highlights the trust in news and press freedom as a staple of Portuguese democracy, but highlights some new challenges that the news sector is now facing, due to disinformation phenomena and polarization which have led to a decrease in news trust. Furthermore, the report warns about the deterioration of job conditions among journalists and a general devaluing of journalism (Newman et al., 2024). When it comes to access to the profession of journalist, it is well-established. While in some countries “only those who can make a living by journalistic work are considered journalists” (Gollmitzer, 2014: 827), Portuguese law ¹ defines as a journalist anyone whose editorial activity involves the search, gathering, selection, and treatment of facts, news or opinions; and who does that as their main, permanent, and paid occupation. Furthermore, and contrary to what happens in several European countries, the law also establishes that marketing and Public Relations (PR) activities are amongst those incompatible with being a journalist. This means that Portuguese journalists cannot have a second job in PR in order to face the expenses, as described in other studies in Germany, for instance (Rick, 2023). The Portuguese Journalists License Committee ² latest numbers indicate there are 5.249 journalists with a valid license to practice, and most of them are male (58.6%). Furthermore, freelance journalists account for 20.4% of the licensed professionals. A national survey to Portuguese journalists (N = 1494) shows that more than 60% of them has already considered leaving journalism, due to low incomes, deterioration of job conditions and of the profession itself, precarity, and stress (Crespo et al., 2017). Other studies highlight the growing deterioration of Portuguese journalists’ job conditions, characterized by increasing job loss, low incomes and the flexibilization of employment relationships (Miranda and Gama, 2019; Quintanilha et al., 2020). The IBERIFIER Consortium estimates that precarity in Portuguese journalism will grow, and among the reasons is the worsening economic situation of the media. This will likely have consequences in the normalization of freelance journalism and temporary work arrangements (García-Avilés et al., 2023). Quintanilha et al. (2020) state that the negative environment within journalism results in three types of precariousness: in employment, determined by the greater or lesser stability in employment relationships; at work, characterized by job dissatisfaction, lack of perspectives and career progression; and of professional practice, due to the extension of working hours and constant pressure to produce more with less money. This last dimension leads to a deskilling of the journalistic profession, which is, according to the authors, a new type of precarity (Quintanilha, 2023; Quintanilha et al., 2020).

Materials and methods

This study is part of a wider project that aims to understand Portuguese journalists’ emotional labor, namely what are the factors that promote it, its potential consequences, and coping mechanisms. We followed a semi-structured script that explored the following dimensions: emotional labor in the daily practice; working during the COVID-19 pandemic; violence on the job; social media use; perceptions towards precarity; coping mechanisms; wellbeing and happiness in journalism. Building on the definition proposed by Hochschild (1983), emotional labor happens when journalists suppress, fake or enhance emotions related to work, for organizational profit and social norms of feeling in a specific situation. It is often difficult because “it requires individuals to manipulate their own naturally occurring feelings” (Hopper and Huxford, 2015). Authors are increasingly looking into the daily stressors faced by journalists which can add to their already extensive emotional labor. This includes the growing precarious job conditions, which are also associated with decreasing job satisfaction and wellbeing and may contribute to journalists’ emotional labor. Hence, we asked journalists about their perceptions towards precarity and how they felt their emotional labor was, or not, influenced by notions of precarity.

We conducted semi-structured interviews with Portuguese journalists working for several types of news media (N = 50). When it comes to data collection, our sample is purposive and we followed a snowball method. It is composed of journalists from different backgrounds, who work on several types of news media, including both legacy media, such as press, TV, radio, and the Portuguese news agency, and alternative news media (Holt et al., 2019), and with a range of experiences when it comes to years working in journalism. Most journalists interviewed are based in Lisbon and Oporto, where the main newsrooms for national media are located. Journalists were contacted via email or telephone, and interviews took place between September and December 2023, mostly via zoom (two of them were conducted in-presence). The interviews lasted between 30 min and 1 h30, and oral consent and permission to record was obtained prior to the interview.

Interviews were conducted in Portuguese, then transcribed verbatim and data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis and following an inductive approach in which researchers alternated between the analysis and existing literature (Braun and Clarke, 2019). Hence, several dominant themes emerged. The sensitive nature of the theme and the potentially traumatic experiences conveyed by interviewees required particular attention to privacy, and so all elements that could lead to a person’s identification were redacted from transcriptions in order to guarantee anonymity. Several interviewees expressed concerns about anonymity, and some only agreed to give the interview if this aspect were assured.

Data was analyzed with the support of IRaMuTeQ (Interface de R pour les Analyses Multidimensionnelles de Textes et de Questionnaires), a software that allows for several means of textual statistical analysis, from basic lexical analysis to multivariate analysis (Camargo and Justo, 2013; Vušović, 2023). We conducted a Correspondence Factorial Analysis, which describes words according to their frequency and measures the relationship between X² and different variables. For the purpose of this article, quotes from the interviews were translated from Portuguese into English by the authors.

Results and discussion

Our sample is composed of journalists from different backgrounds, who work on several types of news media (news agency, press, TV, radio, and alternative media), and with a range of experiences when it comes to years working in journalism. Most of our sample works for the press (N = 30), followed by radio (N = 8), TV (N = 5), alternative media (N = 5) and news agency (N = 2). The younger journalist is aged 21, and the oldest is 61; the minimum years of experience is 1, and the maximum is 42. Most journalists in our sample hold a permanent position within the media company they work for (N = 43). As for the journalists who do not hold permanent positions, they are either freelance journalists (N = 4) or hold temporary positions (N = 2). Another one is working under a supply contract. Freelance journalists in our sample are mostly senior professionals who have decided along the way that they did not want to work for a single media company any more, freeing themselves from some work obligations and having more time to think and cover the themes they really care about. As for people with temporary positions, they are young journalists with little to no experience who have an expectation that their contracts will become permanent by the end of the temporary period (which is usually 2 years).

The average net income is 1.495€. Nonetheless, there is a high discrepancy among incomes, with the smallest income being 700€ and the highest 3.000€. This is most likely related to the characteristics of our sample, which has a significant number of journalists holding management positions (N = 18), such as editors or coordinators and directors. Nonetheless, previous studies had already noted this discrepancy (Crespo et al., 2017; Varela et al., 2023). It is also worth pointing that the latest available data (2023) for the average monthly net income for the Portuguese population is 1.041€. ³ Another noteworthy result from a previous study is related to career progression, since 57.8% of inquired journalists reported a lack of career progression for at least 7 years before the survey (Crespo et al., 2017).

Journalists’ concerns with precarity

Following qualitative content analysis, precarity arises as a common concern among interviewed journalists, and many recognize that low incomes and job insecurity may contribute to journalists’ vulnerability towards political or economic powers. Others show concerns towards the lack of diversity that such precarity may promote, especially when it comes to the entrance in the profession.

The word “precarity” is mostly referred to both by the most experienced journalists (over 30 years of experience) and by the least experienced (up to 5 years of experience), and the latter are also the ones to employ the word “precarious” the most. Precarity is not more common amongst specific types of media, but it is perceived differentely in different generations. Indeed, results from the Correspondence Factorial Analysis show a positive association (p < .05) between precarity and more years of experience (over 30 y), as well as between precarity and older journalists. Other studies have already showed that older journalists report a higher sense of insecurity toward their job (Gollmitzer, 2014). In our sample, senior journalists express concerns with precarity mostly in relation to their younger counterparts. This means that the older interviewees, who often have higher incomes and more years of experience, are greatly concerned about the younger generations and how precarious job conditions may accelerate their exit from journalism. Some of them admit feelings of anguish towards newswork precarity and the thought of many good, hard-working, young journalists leaving the profession. Others feel it is not fair that younger generations do not have the same opportunities they had when entering journalism 20 or 30 years ago. Another common concern among older and more experienced journalists relates to job insecurity. Most of these journalists feel that, should there be a collective dismissal or a reorganization of the news media company, they will be the first in line to lose their job. As for younger journalists between the ages of 20 and 30, they are mostly concerned about the lack of career progression, which in fact means a lack of opportunities, both professionaly and personally. Some of these journalists are worried they will not be able to rent a house and live by themselves, others are concerned about starting a family.

Low incomes and lack of career evolution

The amount of income is typically one of the key variables when exploring precarity in journalism, and so we asked journalists what their net income was. This often includes editorial allowances, for instance when a journalist is working as an editor or coordinator of a news outlet. It was interesting to notice that many journalists could not report their income without these allowances. While this study did not intend to deeply explore journalists’ income, but rather journalists’ perceptions of precarity, we found that the lack of knowledge towards one’s own income indicated a normalization of editorial allowances as a financial compensation. We already stated that net incomes of interviewed journalists are highly diverse, even though the average income in our sample is close to 1.500€, which is higher than the national average. Interview results show that several journalists classify their incomes as “insulting,” “ridiculous” or “outrageous,” and most of them believe they “deserve more.” A male journalist, 19 years into the profession and a net income of 1.900€, complains: “The salary context is harsh, and there is always someone below you. It’s very precarious.” A female journalist, 15 years of experience and a net income of 1.500€, says: “My income is too low considering my responsibilities.” Another female journalist, 5 years of experience and a net income of 1.100€, recognizes that journalists often “get to the end of the month in great difficulties.” She goes on to admit living in “survival mode,” regarding both the work volume and the precariousness of her situation. A male journalist, 22 years of experience and an income of 1.600€, complains that “there is always more month than money,” which is “ridiculous.”

Journalists’ complaints about low incomes are only surpassed by the lack of career perspective, which afflict both young and senior journalists. “I could consider myself precarious because my income is pretty low, and what is more concerning than knowing I have a low income is knowing there is no perspective of a career evolution,” male journalist, 7 years of experience, 1.100€ of net income. Another journalist says: “I don’t feel precarious, given my years of experience and my labor relationship [fixed-term contract]. What is precarious is my future predictions,” male journalist, 2 years of experience and an income of 970€. A female editor, 6 years of experience and a net income of 1.200€, says that even though she does not feel precarious, she feels undervalued. The general precarity in the profession, which is reflected by both the low incomes and the lack of career evolution, makes many journalists think about leaving the profession and leads to feelings of frustration, anguish and lack of recognition.

Job insecurity

Even though the majority of our sample (N = 43) holds permanent positions in the media companies they work for, some of them show feelings of job insecurity. Those are not related to the labor relationship per se, rather to the notion that everyone is expendable, especially when organizations have a history of collective dismissals. Several journalists recall these “difficult” processes: “It was a very difficult process, that included [emotional] blackmail even [by the administration]. In that moment I realized that I was precarious because I could be next,” says a senior female journalist. Another senior male journalist that went through a similar process in a different organization says: “I’m a spread sheet.” He recognizes that the collective dismissal caused him “physical discomfort” and “stress,” since he is always thinking “What if they want to talk to me?.” A female journalist, 15 years of experience and almost 10 without a permanent contract, admits that “precarity has a lot of impact.” And she says: “Even though I have a permanent position, that is still precarious nowadays.” A senior male journalist regrets: “It’s easier to pay a compensation to a senior journalist with 20 years of experience because afterwards there’ll always be a youngster earning even less.” Research focusing on job loss within journalism (whether voluntary or not) had already noted that journalists experience “intense, difficult emotions” after that (Cohen et al., 2019: 825). Job loss is often faced as a double loss, one that comprises material and financial stability and another related to the social role of journalists. Furthermore, several senior journalists admit they are next in line when the next collective dismissal or buyout happens. One of them, a female editor, 35 years of experience, confides: “It is almost inevitable” [to be dismissed soon].

These reports speak to the importance of mapping journalists’ subjective experiences of precarity, since they show that even journalists with full-time open-ended contracts may be the subjects of precarity. Indeed, precarity is a multilayered concept which encompasses significant subjectivity, and is also related to the state of the news industry – with the worsening of conditions after the COVID-19 pandemic. These conditions weight on journalists’ professional lives and may impact their practices. As a male editor puts it: “I shouldn’t be carrying on my shoulders the weight of the industry’s decay.”

Lack of diversity

Some journalists show concerns with the lack of diversity within newsrooms, either due to the difficulties in accessing the profession or in maintaining it (economical constraints), or due to the fact that almost every journalist holds a degree in communication or journalism, which contributes to a standardization.

A male journalist, 7 years in the profession, recalls: “I managed to enter the profession because I accepted to be without a contract for 2 years, earning 600€ and having to commute every day. I had no money by the end of the month.” He goes on, saying: “This is a profession that demands every young person who wants to become a journalist to move to Lisbon, making 600€ or 700€. This will make this a profession made of upper-middle class people, because their parents will support that initial investment.” The same journalist recognizes: “In the first years one pays to work, and this will be a severe problem to the profession because it will lead to less diversity. Our background shapes our view of the world, and the themes we work in. Journalism is nowadays a profession completely off-limits to low-income classes, and that is terrible.” Another male journalist, almost 20 years of experience, says: “Only people from Oporto and Lisbon will become journalists, because they can stay at their parents’ home and work as a journalist. Otherwise, it won’t be possible, no one can move to these cities without their parents’ help. This leads to a lack of diversity within newsrooms, since those who can access the profession have a certain socioeconomic status and their families will either have to live in big urban centers or be able to support their living.” A female journalist living in Lisbon, 7 years of experience and a net income of 1.200€, reports that her income used to be lower than 900€. Her parents used to support “the luxury” of being a journalist. “It was a privilege, because I had my parents’ support,” she says. Another female journalist, 22 years of experience, tells that only recently did she stop asking her parents for money: “I often depended on my parents’ support.”

A senior journalist, an editor with 27 years of experience, admits that “in this profession you only get a raise when you change jobs, and that rewards mainly those in Lisbon and Oporto. This can contribute to a lack of diversity within newsrooms.” This lack of diversity promotes a “bubble” within journalism, says a female journalist, 23 years of experience. And another one, 29 years of experience, recognizes that newsrooms used to be very “diverse” spaces. “Nowadays everyone holds a degree in communication, and only knows about communication,” he says. Related to this standardization, a young journalist, 7 years of experience, complains that journalists are “content producers, factory workers.”

Normalization of precarity

While most journalists express concerns with precarity and recognize they are, indeed, precarious, others show reluctancy in identifying themselves with precarity. “It would be totally unfair to say that I am precarious, given the overall reality. I have a low income for my responsibilities. While I am precarious, comparatively to others, I am not,” male editor, 7 years of experience, 1.600€. Another journalist, 2 years of experience and a net income of 950€, reports feelings of precarity, yet recognizes there is a normalization of precarity given the overall context. A male journalist, 33 years of experience and an income of 2.600€, characterizes his income as “ridiculous” given his experience, yet recognizes it may be “pornographic” when compared to journalists who are now entering the career with wages under 1.000€.

Other journalists do not feel precarious, but say they have not been given a raise for 15 or 20 years. These journalists often express feelings of injustice for their income, and frustration for the lack of progression.

Final remarks

This paper aimed at exploring Portuguese journalists’ perceptions of precarity, following semi-structured interviews with a diverse set of journalists (N = 50). While most studies have focused on atypical workers, such as freelance journalists, our sample is composed mostly by journalists with permanent open-ended labor relationships. Moreover, available literature recognizes that journalism is leaning towards precarity, yet scholars are still grasping the ways in which journalism, and journalists, may be affected by it. Our thematic analysis indicated that precarity is a common concern among interviewed journalists, who showed dissatisfaction with generalized low incomes and lack of career progression, revealed perceptions of job insecurity, and apprehension with the lack of diversity within newsrooms. Even though our data explores some connections between subjective precarity and diversity, namely in the composition of newsrooms or the entrance in the profession, this may affect journalistic practices in ways that are not fully disclosed yet. One of the journalists in our sample recognizes, for instance, that, when it comes to commercial interests, “journalists are subdued to certain logics that are difficult to explain and to understand.” Another journalist admits that “precarity has a tremendous impact in work relationships, and it can affect journalists’ independence” [both individual and as a group], because it influences their critical freedom.” And a male editor, 32 years of experience, acknowledges that extremely precarious situations within newsrooms “may influence journalists’ practices.”

Some authors have already discussed the relationship between precarity, professional practice, and journalism quality (Matthews and Onyemaobi, 2020; Morini et al., 2014; Quintanilha, 2023), and our results address these same relationships. A male journalist, 4 years into the profession, shows concerns about media freedom and journalism quality: “Precarious journalism is not free journalism, it cannot be.” “A journalist who works 12 h a day for minimum wage is not a free journalist, he has no room to exist, to read, to go to the theater, to question his sources. There is no good journalism under these conditions,” he explains. Indeed, our results point to a generalization (and normalization) of precarity within Portuguese journalism, reflected by low incomes and a lack of career evolution. These low rewards of the profession are not exclusive of atypical work relationships. On the contrary, they are becoming the new normal also for journalists holding open-ended contracts. This culture of job insecurity leads to feelings of frustration, demotivation and job dissatisfaction and is often the driver that makes journalists abandon the profession. It is, indeed, interesting that many journalists in our sample express feelings of job insecurity, despite holding open-ended jobs.

Örnebring (2018) wrote that “one of the defining features of contemporary journalistic work is that there is less of it – at least if you want to be paid.” Indeed, our interviews show a growing sense of precarity amongst Portuguese journalists, who feel they are underpaid and lack the conditions to evolve in the career. As they point out, generalized precarity may contribute to a concerning lack of diversity within newsrooms, which should promote a wider debate in journalism studies and reflexivity practices towards journalistic work among journalists. So, while “journalism is still a dream job for many, it seems that it has become increasingly difficult to enter the industry” and “one often needs resources to back up that dream” (Borchardt et al., 2019: 10).