Former students in journalism: between success and disillusion

This article examines what students in journalism become after their studies in order to better understand the job risks and opportunities these graduates face. The study is both quantitative and qualitative. On the quantitative side, it shows that women are much more likely than men to refrain from a professional career in journalism: only 38.2% of female students in journalism who graduated in 2006-2007 are working as journalists in 2009 compared with 73.1% of male students. On the qualitative side, based on interviews with female graduates in journalism, it shows that in the majority of cases, women had no wish to pursue a career in journalism after having finished their studies because they believed a priori that the difficulties of entering the professional world of journalism were too huge. The female graduates interviewed also pointed toward the low wage level at the early stages of a career in journalism. Another reason why women drop out are the weak employment opportunities.

Key information on trends and challenges on women and the media:

women are much more likely than men to refrain from a professional career in journalism

Bibliographic Citation:

Dodier O. (2009), "Anciens étudiants en journalisme: entre réussite et désillusion [Former students in journalism: between success and disillusion]", Médiatiques. Récit et Société, nr° 45, pp. 31-34

Format: pdf; 4 p.