@inproceedings{01GMATYHH34RKWMKHTCY2Q74EH,
  abstract     = {{The Center for Journalism Studies (Ghent University, Belgium) has a long tradition in profiling studies of journalists based on survey research in collaboration with the Belgian associations of professional journalists (VVJ and AJP). Every five years (since 2003, last wave in 2018), a representative sample of Belgian journalists answer a series of questions about their background, work conditions and role conceptions. Following the start of the corona pandemic, we have launched an intermediary survey in April 2020 to collect data on how the crisis impacts important aspects of the journalistic profession, including news gathering, autonomy and income. 628 completed questionnaires were returned, i.e. a response rate of 20% of the total population of professional journalists. The findings of this representative survey reveal, first, that the consequences of the crisis are felt most strongly by freelance journalists, who reported a substantial decrease of assignments and income. It is remarkable that this was also the case for freelance journalists who work for the public broadcaster, which has a rather stable source of income not directly impacted by the corona pandemic. In contrast, commercial news media are more susceptible to sudden market changes and are therefore more associated with fluctuating employment of freelancers. Seen that the last profiling study in 2018 revealed a substantial increase of freelance employment in Belgian newsrooms from 18 to 25%, our findings point to increasing precarity in the journalistic workforce. A second important finding is that more journalists (both freelance and staff reporters) report problems with access to news sources and news gathering locations, indicating that safety measures are also used strategically by unwilling news sources. This raises concerns about the quality and independence of Belgian journalism during the corona pandemic. We end with a critical reflection about our collaboration with the professional associations to gather data on journalistic profiles and work conditions, and we show how our research can be useful in negotiations with news media groups and policy makers.}},
  author       = {{Van Leuven, Sarah and Vanhaelewyn, Bart and Raeymaeckers, Karin}},
  booktitle    = {{ECREA Journalism 2022, Abstracts}},
  keywords     = {{journalist,survey,COVID-19,pandemic,working conditions}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  location     = {{Utrecht, the Netherlands}},
  pages        = {{1}},
  title        = {{Precarity in the journalistic workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic : a representative survey of Belgian journalists}},
  url          = {{https://ecreajournalism2022.journalismlab.nl/abstracts/}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}