Petra Dvořáková: Low pay, high stress. The precarious nature of journalism threatens the quality of media

Friday, Dec 13, 2024

Journalists face increasing workload, stress, and precarious conditions due to technology and market pressures.

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[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]

The modern journalism profession demands that reporters master diverse skills beyond writing, including photography, video production, and social media marketing, which paradoxically increases stress despite declining revenue from print and advertising due to digital platforms. Personal accounts illustrate the intense pressure; one journalist experienced burnout while juggling multiple roles, leading him to leave full-time work for freelance projects focused on mental health. Internationally, journalism faces “precariodismo,” characterized by precarious working conditions. Studies across Europe confirm worsening working conditions, with many journalists feeling exploited or unable to sustain their careers without family support. Female journalists face unique challenges, including harassment and sexism, often being judged on appearance, which can lead to identity loss and burnout. While some find success in freelance work, the overall trend points to low financial valuation for journalism, threatening media diversity and democratic function as overworked reporters struggle with high stress and precarious employment.


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PULSE is an initiative for cross-border collaborative journalism in Europe co-funded by the European Commission under Grant Agreement n. PO 4500158093.

PULSE is an initiative coordinated by OBCT that has been promoting intensive journalistic cross-border collaborations in Europe since 2024. Its main aim is to help strengthen the European public sphere by reporting on and telling stories from new and diverse perspectives.

At the heart of PULSE are 10 leading national news outlets (Delfi – Lithuania, Deník Referendum – Czechia, Der Standard – Austria, EfSyn – Greece, El Confidencial – Spain, Gazeta Wyborcza – Poland, HotNews – Romania, HVG – Hungary, Il Sole 24 Ore – Italy, Mediapool – Bulgaria) and three transnational organisations, including OBCT , n-ost and Voxeurop .

Additional outlets and journalists are involved as associate partners, including EUobserver , Føljeton (Denmark), H-Alter (Croatia), Levila (Estonia), Rubryka (Ukraine), and The Journal Investigates (Ireland).

PULSE is driven by a sort of virtual transnational newsroom made up of journalists from all the publications involved. It collaboratively produces new journalistic content on European issues on a daily basis, coming in many different languages. The editorial output amounts to over a thousand publications per year, mostly in article form.

PULSE also runs 4 thematic networks open to any European journalist interested in crucial issues such as EU enlargement, relations between the EU and other global powers, the EU’s green transition, or media and the information society. These networks function as online communities and periodically publish calls for pitches.