UK journalism is increasingly becoming a freelance occupation leading to “increasingly unstable” conditions, according to a new survey.
The report, published by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, also found that UK journalists are getting older and while young journalists are far more likely to be female, older journalists (over 50) skew strongly towards men.
The survey of 1,130 UK journalists was carried out between September and November 2023, eight years after the last comparative study.
One of the biggest changes in that time has been the political leanings of UK journalists. In 2015, 54% self-identified with the political left and this has since risen to 77%. But only 13% said their personal values and beliefs were extremely influential on their work.
Who are journalists in the UK? Age, ethnicity, education and class
Journalists in the UK appear to have got older since the last survey, with the profession becoming “less attractive to Generation Z and millennials” (currently those aged between approximately 18 and 44).
The average age of a UK journalist is 45, three years older than the median for the working age population but “in line with other academic professions”.
More than six in ten (63%) UK journalists are aged 40 or over and just 14% were under 30. Those aged 50 and over have increased from 34% of the profession in 2015 to 39%.
The report said: “This is in contrast to the global average – where journalists’ median age is below 40, and often lower than the median age of the working population – but is in line with the US and the rest of Europe, where a lack of growth in the industry might explain the prevalence of older journalists.”
The report also flagged that women over 50 were “markedly underrepresented” in the profession. Overall 50% of journalist respondents were women but this fell to 36% among the over-50s.
In addition, two-thirds of newer journalists with up to five years of work experience were women, but men made up 66% of journalists with more than 30 years of experience.
Ethnic minority journalists were most likely to be aged 30 to 39 (some 32% of their total fall in that age category, compared to 22% of white journalists). When it came to those aged over 50, 40% of white journalists fall in this category versus 21% of ethnic minority people.
The report said: “There are two (non-mutually exclusive) explanations. First, it may be the case that the data on both female journalists and those from an ethnic minority background were ‘catching up’ with changes to hiring policies that were made after those now aged 50 entered the profession. However, we note that comparison with the data from the previous survey shows no change in the age distribution of female journalists since 2015.
“Another explanation may be that age discrimination hits female and ethnic minority journalists harder than their white and male colleagues, meaning that they exit the profession at an earlier age.” The report also suggested these journalists “may experience less job satisfaction”.
Overall white journalists make up 90% of the industry and are overrepresented compared to the UK population (82% according to the 2021/22 Census). Some 3% of journalists were from an Asian or Asian British background, compared to 9% of the population, and 1% of journalists were from Black, Black British, Caribbean or African backgrounds, compared to 4% of the population.
In 2015, white journalists made up a higher percentage of survey respondents at 95%, while a smaller percentage were Black (0.3%). A small increase in the share of journalists with an Asian background was described as “not statistically significant” while the report warned that minor differences between the 2015 and 2023 surveys “could be due to a sampling error”.
“Importantly, though, compared with the 2021–2022 UK censuses that record a notably higher percentage of people with a Black (4%) or an Asian (9%) background, journalists from these ethnic groups were still underrepresented,” the report said. “In this regard we find little change to the situation in 2015.”
Journalists from an ethnic minority background were also less likely to hold a management role: 75% had no managerial responsibility versus 62% of white journalists. The gap however was smaller at the highest level, with 23% of white journalists having a top management role compared to 22% of ethnic minority journalists.
The report said the data “aligned with what a number of qualitative studies have suggested in recent years, namely that news organisations in the UK still struggle with ethnic diversity, and, in some cases, systemic racism”.
Looking at education, the 2023 survey found that 91% of journalists who responded had a university degree, up from 86% in 2015. The percentage of those with higher degrees such as a Masters also rose from 32% to 41%.
A higher percentage of UK journalists were privately educated (13% at primary, 22% at secondary schools) than is the case for the general population (6%). Comparative data from 2015 for this is not available.
Seven in ten (71%) journalists were defined as being from a privileged background, defined as growing up in a household where the main earner had a job in one of the three leading occupational categories. This aligns with other research into journalist demographics, in particular the NCTJ’s Diversity in Journalism reports.
However, the data findings do not suggest that it is more likely for those from a privileged background to rise up to the most senior positions, the report found.
In terms of religion, 71% of respondents said they had no religious affiliation, up from 61% in eight years in line with the broader trend among the UK population. However journalists were much more likely to have no religious affiliation when compared to the general population (38%).
The report stated: “The survey data show that the median UK journalist in 2023 was white, university educated, over 40, not affiliated to any religion, from a privileged socio-economic background, and left-leaning.
“We also observe marked differences between groups of journalists. Such inequalities between journalists matter. Although female and male journalists were almost equal in number, women were clearly underrepresented among the over 50s (who are more likely to occupy senior positions) – with the same being true for journalists from an ethnic minority background.
“Compared with the 2015 survey, very little progress has been made towards a more representative share of Asian, Black, and other ethnic minority groups among UK journalists. Although journalists’ political stance has moved towards the left, this does not appear to be reflected, so far, in more equality within their own profession…”
Why is the UK journalism industry getting more ‘precarious’?
In 2015, three-quarters (74%) of journalists reported being on permanent contracts. This has since dropped to 65% in, the report said, a “broader shift in the media industry towards more flexible, yet often precarious, employment arrangements”. Male journalists were more likely to be on permanent contracts.
Meanwhile, the proportion of freelance journalists has risen from 17% to 28%, although the survey may actually underreport part-time, and therefore freelance and temporary contract, workers due to its methodology.
The report noted that use of freelances “allows media organisations to scale their operations quickly and cost-effectively, but it places significant burdens on journalists” in terms of benefits such as pensions.
“Economic pressures and organisational dynamics have undoubtedly contributed towards this shift, but other influences, such as personal choices or broader societal changes, may also be contributing to this trend,” the report added.
It suggested that the rise in freelance working has led to a spate of union sign-ups. Just over half (52%) of journalists in 2023 said they belonged to a union, rising from 44% in 2015.
It has also likely contributed to worries about job insecurity, although there were no comparative figures with 2015. A third (32%) of respondents to the survey said they were worried about losing their job in journalism within the next 12 months.
What do UK journalists earn today?
The median annual income for UK journalists was between £37,501 and £45,000 after taxes in 2023. Men had the same average salary band but women were on average between £30,001 and £37,500 demonstrating the industry’s gender pay gap.
Those aged 40 and over had a higher annual salary after tax of between £45,001 and £60,000, compared to between £30,001-£37,500 for those younger.
The median salary finding in the 2015 survey was £28,812–£38,400 but this was before tax so is not directly comparable.
Some 57% of journalists said they concentrated on a specific beat (up slightly from 53% in 2015). The most commonly cited was business (22% of those with a specific beat) followed by lifestyle (13%), culture (9%), sport (7%), politics (6%) and technology (5%).
Most journalists still produce, edit or supervise the production of content primarily in text form (86% saying they do so always or often). This is followed by photos (39% doing so always or often), multimedia stories (36%), audio (21%) and video (20%).
Stress and safety of UK journalists
A third of women journalists and almost a quarter (23%) of male journalists said they felt stressed out about their work “very often” in the six months before completing the survey.
Women were also more likely to have experienced demeaning or hateful speech very often or often than men (17% vs 10%).
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