Journalism under Duress: Worlds of Journalism Study Report (Wave 3: 2021–2025)
Munich: Ludwig-Maximilian Universität (LMU), WJS Center (2025), 371 pp.
Contains many tables
"This report presents findings from the third wave of the Worlds of Journalism Study (WJS3), conducted between 2021 and 2025. In this iteration, we focused on journalists’ perceptions of risk and uncertainty in their profession and sought to identify key factors that shape how journalists navigate journalism’s changing environment. These risks and uncertainties arise from four partially overlapping domains: politics, economy, technology, and news consumption. Accordingly, the WJS3 questionnaire addressed journalists’ safety, editorial freedom, professional roles, news influences, and labor conditions. Our survey confirms that journalism is under pressure. Journalists worldwide are often undercompensated, and more than one-third engage in secondary employment. Economic pressures on news organizations have intensified in most countries. Nearly half of journalists have been targeted with hate speech, while psychological, physical, and digital threats are more prevalent in the Global South than in the Global North. More than 300 researchers from 75 countries participated in WJS3. This report provides a concise overview of key global findings. Subsequent publications will analyze specific topics in greater depth; please visit worldsofjournalism.org for more information." (Foreword, page 4)
"Since 2006, the Worlds of Journalism Study (WJS) has examined journalism’s response to a changing environment. That year, researchers from seven countries met to discuss a draft questionnaire. Following further expansion and the addition of dozens of countries, WJS was officially founded in 2011 as a semi-institutional network of journalism researchers. To date, the network remains open to participation by colleagues from across the globe. The study’s mission has coalesced around assessing the state of journalism throughout the world. Its primary objective is to help researchers, media practitioners, and policymakers better understand journalists’ professional views, the conditions under which they work, and the social roles of journalism in a transforming world.
WJS offers three key advantages over similar projects. First, it relies on a joint conceptual and methodological framework, continuously reviewed by global experts. This framework ensures that all researchers use a standardized questionnaire and adhere to the same research protocols. Second, the study’s conceptual and methodological tools were developed collaboratively through multiple iterations, with all network members having equal opportunities to contribute. Third, WJS is guided by democratically elected researchers from all regions, allowing the project to leverage the cultural knowledge of its participants and present a truly global perspective. At the same time, the study functions as a democratic scholarly community rather than an academic empire." (Foreword)
WJS offers three key advantages over similar projects. First, it relies on a joint conceptual and methodological framework, continuously reviewed by global experts. This framework ensures that all researchers use a standardized questionnaire and adhere to the same research protocols. Second, the study’s conceptual and methodological tools were developed collaboratively through multiple iterations, with all network members having equal opportunities to contribute. Third, WJS is guided by democratically elected researchers from all regions, allowing the project to leverage the cultural knowledge of its participants and present a truly global perspective. At the same time, the study functions as a democratic scholarly community rather than an academic empire." (Foreword)
Executive Summary / Edson Tandoc Jr., Janara Nicoletti & David Blanco-Herrero, 5
WJS3 Methodology / Corinna Lauerer & Mia Grünewald, 8
Personal Backgrounds of Journalists / Folker Hanusch & Beate Josephi et al., 11
Employment Conditions / Janara Nicoletti & Deimantas Jastramskis, 14
Safety And Work-Related Risks / Vera Slavtcheva-Petkova & Jyotika Ramaprasad, 17
Editorial Autonomy and Media Freedom / Edson Tandoc Jr. & Hanan Badr, 25
Perceived Influences / Alice Němcová Tejkalová, Peter English & Corinna Lauerer, 28
Perceptions of Journalistic Roles / Thomas Hanitzsch & Basyouni Hamada, 35
Journalistic Epistemologies / Jesús Arroyave, Tim Vos & Wiebke Loosen, 42
Ethical Orientations and Practices / Terje Skjerdal & Marenet Jordaan, 47
Technology in the Newsroom / David Blanco-Herrero & Carlos Arcila Calderón, 52
Media Platforms, Formats, and News Cultures / Neil Thurman & Adriana Amado, 55
References, 60
COUNTRY REPORTS, 63
Albania / Jonila Godole, Rrapo Zguri & Besmir Godolja, 64
Argentina / Adriana Amado, 68
Australia / Folker Hanusch, Peter English & Kim Löhmann, 72
Austria / Raoul Mitterstainer, Folker Hanusch, Kim Löhmann, Ramona Meier, Kai Daniel Preibisch, Andreas Riedl & Josef Seethaler, 76
Belgium / Olivier Standaert, Stefan Mertens & Lavinia Rotili, 80
Bhutan / Bunty Avieson, Beate Josephi, Tshering Palden & Alicia Wang Sin, 84
Bolivia / Mireya Márquez-Ramírez, Víctor Oliver Quintanilla-Sangüeza & Miguel Ángel Flores-Olmos, 88
Brazil / Marcos Paulo Silva, Laura Storch, Janara Nicoletti, Kérley Winques, Sonia Virginia Moreira et al., 92
Bulgaria / Vera Slavtcheva-Petkova & Christopher Karadjov, 96
Canada / Terra Tailleur, Lisa Taylor & Megan Krempa, 100
Chile / William Porath, Daniela Grassau & Constanza Ortega-Gunckel, 104
China / Baohua Zhou & Jingwen Xue, 108
Colombia / Jesús Arroyave-Cabrera & Miguel Garcés-Prettel, 111
Costa Rica / Celeste González De Bustamante, Jeannine E. Relly, Vanessa Bravo & Silvia Dalben Furtado, 115
Croatia / Antonija Čuvalo, 119
Cuba / Dasniel Olivera Pérez & Carlos Fernández Hernández, 123
Czech Republic / Alice Němcová Tejkalová, Sandra Lábová, Barbora Součková & Anna Hrbáčková, 127
Denmark / Roger Buch, Arjen Van Dalen, Nicholas Haas, Kresten Roland Johansen & Morten Skovsgaard, 131
Ecuador / Martín Oller Alonso, 134
Egypt / Basyouni Hamada, Fatma Elzahraa Elsayed & Hanan Badr, 138
El Salvador / Summer Harlow & Alexia Raquel Ávalos Rivera, 141
Estonia / Ragne Kõuts-Klemm & Liis Auväärt, 145
Ethiopia / Timothy Klein & Terje Skjerdal, 149
Finland / Jari Väliverronen, Mikko Villi & Reeta Pöyhtäri, 153
Germany / Anna Von Garmissen, Mia Grünewald, Corinna Lauerer, Thomas Hanitzsch & Wiebke Loosen, 157
Hong Kong / Francis L. F. Lee, 161
Hungary / Róka Jolán, 165
Iceland / Birgir Guðmundsson, Guðbjörg Hildur Kolbeins, Jón Gunnar Ólafsson & Valgerður Jóhannsdóttir, 169
India / Jyotika Ramaprasad, Ambrish Saxena & Manasvi Maheshwari, 173
Indonesia / Nurhaya Muchtar & Masduki, 177
Ireland / Dawn Wheatley & Kevin Rafter, 181
Israel / Keren Tenenboim-Weinblatt & Motti Neiger, 185
Italy / Sergio Splendore & Giulia Sbaraini Fontes, 189
Kazakhstan / Gulmira Sultanbayeva & Aitolkyn Ashimova, 193
Kosovo / Kenneth Andresen & Abit Hoxha, 197
Latvia / Anda Rožukalne & Ieva Strode, 202
Lithuania / Deimantas Jastramskis, 207
Mexico / Armando Gutiérrez-Ortega, Mireya Márquez Ramírez, Martin Echeverría, Karles Daniel Antonio-Manzo et al., 211
Moldova / Natalia Vasilendiuc & Marin Eladi, 215
Nepal / Samiksha Koirala, 219
Netherlands / Liesbeth Hermans & Tineke Prins, 223
New Zealand / James Hollings, 227
North Macedonia / Igor Micevski, 231
Northern Cyprus / Sanem Şahin & Vasvi Çiftcioğlu, 235
Norway / Jan Fredrik Hovden & Steen Steensen, 239
Pakistan / Azmat Rasul, Naila Rafique & Shafique Sharif, 243
Paraguay / Mariana De Maio, 247
Peru / Lilian Kanashiro, Jessica Retis & Lourdes Cueva Chacón, 252
Philippines / Sofia Contreras Tan & Edson Tandoc Jr., 256
Poland / Agnieszka Węglińska & Katarzyna Konarska, 260
Portugal / Rui Alexandre Novais, 264
Romania / Natalia Vasilendiuc, Gherghe Anghel, Alexandra Bardan, Andrada Fiscutean, Carmen Ionescu et al., 268
Serbia / Sonja Seizova, 272
Seychelles / Timothy Klein, Tessa Henderson & Olga Klymenko, 276
Sierra Leone / Sarah Bomkapre Koroma, 280
Singapore / Matthew Chew & Edson C. Tandoc Jr., 284
Slovakia / Slavomír Gálik, Ján Višňovský, Branislav Oprala & Bianka Francistyová, 288
Slovenia / Igor Vobič & Boris Mance, 292
South Africa / Marenet Jordaan, 296
South Korea / Seungahn Nah, 300
Spain / Rosa Berganza, Beatriz Herrero-Jiménez & Azahara Ortiz-González, 304
Sweden / Nina Springer & Gunnar Nygren, 308
Switzerland / Vinzenz Wyss, Filip Dingerkus, Louis Schäfer, Guido Keel, Annik Dubied et al., 312
Taiwan / Huei-Ling Liu, Shih-Chien Chang, Chiung-Wen Hsu & Hsiou Feng Chen, 316
Tanzania / Ammina Kothari, 320
Thailand / Chanapa Noonark, Kultida Sayprom & Warat Karuchit, 324
Turkey / İncilay Cangöz & Temmuz Gönç Şavran, 328
United Arab Emirates / Elsayed Darwish & Ahmed Almansoori, 332
United Kingdom / Neil Thurman, Sina Thäsler-Kordonouri & Imke Henkel, 335
Ukraine / Dariya Orlova & Vera Slavtcheva-Petkova, 339
United States / Tim Vos, Rachel Mourão & Esther Thorson, 343
Uzbekistan / Beate Josephi & Berdak Bayimbetov, 347
Venezuela / David Blanco-Herrero, Maximiliano Frías-Vázquez & Carlos Arcila Calderón, 351
Yemen / Abdulrahman M Al-Shami & Abdu Hussein Alakoaa, 355
Zambia / Terje Skjerdal, 359
Appendix: WJS3 Master Questionnaire, 363
WJS3 Methodology / Corinna Lauerer & Mia Grünewald, 8
Personal Backgrounds of Journalists / Folker Hanusch & Beate Josephi et al., 11
Employment Conditions / Janara Nicoletti & Deimantas Jastramskis, 14
Safety And Work-Related Risks / Vera Slavtcheva-Petkova & Jyotika Ramaprasad, 17
Editorial Autonomy and Media Freedom / Edson Tandoc Jr. & Hanan Badr, 25
Perceived Influences / Alice Němcová Tejkalová, Peter English & Corinna Lauerer, 28
Perceptions of Journalistic Roles / Thomas Hanitzsch & Basyouni Hamada, 35
Journalistic Epistemologies / Jesús Arroyave, Tim Vos & Wiebke Loosen, 42
Ethical Orientations and Practices / Terje Skjerdal & Marenet Jordaan, 47
Technology in the Newsroom / David Blanco-Herrero & Carlos Arcila Calderón, 52
Media Platforms, Formats, and News Cultures / Neil Thurman & Adriana Amado, 55
References, 60
COUNTRY REPORTS, 63
Albania / Jonila Godole, Rrapo Zguri & Besmir Godolja, 64
Argentina / Adriana Amado, 68
Australia / Folker Hanusch, Peter English & Kim Löhmann, 72
Austria / Raoul Mitterstainer, Folker Hanusch, Kim Löhmann, Ramona Meier, Kai Daniel Preibisch, Andreas Riedl & Josef Seethaler, 76
Belgium / Olivier Standaert, Stefan Mertens & Lavinia Rotili, 80
Bhutan / Bunty Avieson, Beate Josephi, Tshering Palden & Alicia Wang Sin, 84
Bolivia / Mireya Márquez-Ramírez, Víctor Oliver Quintanilla-Sangüeza & Miguel Ángel Flores-Olmos, 88
Brazil / Marcos Paulo Silva, Laura Storch, Janara Nicoletti, Kérley Winques, Sonia Virginia Moreira et al., 92
Bulgaria / Vera Slavtcheva-Petkova & Christopher Karadjov, 96
Canada / Terra Tailleur, Lisa Taylor & Megan Krempa, 100
Chile / William Porath, Daniela Grassau & Constanza Ortega-Gunckel, 104
China / Baohua Zhou & Jingwen Xue, 108
Colombia / Jesús Arroyave-Cabrera & Miguel Garcés-Prettel, 111
Costa Rica / Celeste González De Bustamante, Jeannine E. Relly, Vanessa Bravo & Silvia Dalben Furtado, 115
Croatia / Antonija Čuvalo, 119
Cuba / Dasniel Olivera Pérez & Carlos Fernández Hernández, 123
Czech Republic / Alice Němcová Tejkalová, Sandra Lábová, Barbora Součková & Anna Hrbáčková, 127
Denmark / Roger Buch, Arjen Van Dalen, Nicholas Haas, Kresten Roland Johansen & Morten Skovsgaard, 131
Ecuador / Martín Oller Alonso, 134
Egypt / Basyouni Hamada, Fatma Elzahraa Elsayed & Hanan Badr, 138
El Salvador / Summer Harlow & Alexia Raquel Ávalos Rivera, 141
Estonia / Ragne Kõuts-Klemm & Liis Auväärt, 145
Ethiopia / Timothy Klein & Terje Skjerdal, 149
Finland / Jari Väliverronen, Mikko Villi & Reeta Pöyhtäri, 153
Germany / Anna Von Garmissen, Mia Grünewald, Corinna Lauerer, Thomas Hanitzsch & Wiebke Loosen, 157
Hong Kong / Francis L. F. Lee, 161
Hungary / Róka Jolán, 165
Iceland / Birgir Guðmundsson, Guðbjörg Hildur Kolbeins, Jón Gunnar Ólafsson & Valgerður Jóhannsdóttir, 169
India / Jyotika Ramaprasad, Ambrish Saxena & Manasvi Maheshwari, 173
Indonesia / Nurhaya Muchtar & Masduki, 177
Ireland / Dawn Wheatley & Kevin Rafter, 181
Israel / Keren Tenenboim-Weinblatt & Motti Neiger, 185
Italy / Sergio Splendore & Giulia Sbaraini Fontes, 189
Kazakhstan / Gulmira Sultanbayeva & Aitolkyn Ashimova, 193
Kosovo / Kenneth Andresen & Abit Hoxha, 197
Latvia / Anda Rožukalne & Ieva Strode, 202
Lithuania / Deimantas Jastramskis, 207
Mexico / Armando Gutiérrez-Ortega, Mireya Márquez Ramírez, Martin Echeverría, Karles Daniel Antonio-Manzo et al., 211
Moldova / Natalia Vasilendiuc & Marin Eladi, 215
Nepal / Samiksha Koirala, 219
Netherlands / Liesbeth Hermans & Tineke Prins, 223
New Zealand / James Hollings, 227
North Macedonia / Igor Micevski, 231
Northern Cyprus / Sanem Şahin & Vasvi Çiftcioğlu, 235
Norway / Jan Fredrik Hovden & Steen Steensen, 239
Pakistan / Azmat Rasul, Naila Rafique & Shafique Sharif, 243
Paraguay / Mariana De Maio, 247
Peru / Lilian Kanashiro, Jessica Retis & Lourdes Cueva Chacón, 252
Philippines / Sofia Contreras Tan & Edson Tandoc Jr., 256
Poland / Agnieszka Węglińska & Katarzyna Konarska, 260
Portugal / Rui Alexandre Novais, 264
Romania / Natalia Vasilendiuc, Gherghe Anghel, Alexandra Bardan, Andrada Fiscutean, Carmen Ionescu et al., 268
Serbia / Sonja Seizova, 272
Seychelles / Timothy Klein, Tessa Henderson & Olga Klymenko, 276
Sierra Leone / Sarah Bomkapre Koroma, 280
Singapore / Matthew Chew & Edson C. Tandoc Jr., 284
Slovakia / Slavomír Gálik, Ján Višňovský, Branislav Oprala & Bianka Francistyová, 288
Slovenia / Igor Vobič & Boris Mance, 292
South Africa / Marenet Jordaan, 296
South Korea / Seungahn Nah, 300
Spain / Rosa Berganza, Beatriz Herrero-Jiménez & Azahara Ortiz-González, 304
Sweden / Nina Springer & Gunnar Nygren, 308
Switzerland / Vinzenz Wyss, Filip Dingerkus, Louis Schäfer, Guido Keel, Annik Dubied et al., 312
Taiwan / Huei-Ling Liu, Shih-Chien Chang, Chiung-Wen Hsu & Hsiou Feng Chen, 316
Tanzania / Ammina Kothari, 320
Thailand / Chanapa Noonark, Kultida Sayprom & Warat Karuchit, 324
Turkey / İncilay Cangöz & Temmuz Gönç Şavran, 328
United Arab Emirates / Elsayed Darwish & Ahmed Almansoori, 332
United Kingdom / Neil Thurman, Sina Thäsler-Kordonouri & Imke Henkel, 335
Ukraine / Dariya Orlova & Vera Slavtcheva-Petkova, 339
United States / Tim Vos, Rachel Mourão & Esther Thorson, 343
Uzbekistan / Beate Josephi & Berdak Bayimbetov, 347
Venezuela / David Blanco-Herrero, Maximiliano Frías-Vázquez & Carlos Arcila Calderón, 351
Yemen / Abdulrahman M Al-Shami & Abdu Hussein Alakoaa, 355
Zambia / Terje Skjerdal, 359
Appendix: WJS3 Master Questionnaire, 363
