The American Journalist Under Attack: Media, Trust, and Democracy

Drawing on a 2022 national survey and five decades of decennial studies, this book offers a comparative portrait of U.S. journalism in crisis. It examines journalists’ changing demographics, working conditions, ethics, and professional norms, including challenges to objectivity and strategies to protect democracy amid growing threats and abuse. Drawing on a 2022 national survey of U.S. journalists and more than five decades of decennial studies, this book offers a timely, comparative portrait of journalism during a period of crisis for both the nation and the news media. The study examines journalists’ changing demographics, working conditions, ethics, and professional norms, including challenges to objectivity and newsroom strategies to protect democracy amid growing threats and abuse. It also analyzes structural and cultural shifts in the profession, such as the expanding roles of women and minority journalists, changing political attitudes, a shrinking workforce, and evolving views of social media’s impact on a fragmented, disinformation-prone audience. The book concludes with a cautiously optimistic assessment of a resilient profession driven by altruism and renewed purpose.