Digitalization and journalists in the BRICS countries

Abstract

The article explores the social profile of journalists and their well-being in the profession within the context of the digitalization of their profession. The analysis focuses on five aspects of the qualitative (in-depth interview) study of BRICS journalists carried out between 2012 and 2015 under funding from the Academy of Finland. The aspects of interest are: workplace preference (traditional or online news), education, professional age, gender, and well-being. The BRICS study sample includes 729 journalists representing both traditional (484 respondents) and online news media (245 respondents) from twenty cities, ten metropolitan and ten provincial. The comparative analysis across the five BRICS countries reveals some connections between digitalization and the journalists’ profile and well-being and also specifies the political, economic and social-professional conditions in which the journalists work and live.