Changes in media, changes in the profession? The shifts of the journalistic field as a challenge for young Austrian journalists

Based on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of the social field, the following article examines how changes in the journalistic field are related to self-perceptions and career strategies of individuals working in Austrian news media. In making use of Bourdieu’s theory, survey-based information regarding role models and self-perception can be interpreted within its proper context and thus be made accessible to educational and other institutions in a practice-oriented manner. Data from three interrelated studies show that journalists in Austria see their job as a creative profession with little need for formal education, and insist on the importance of personal networks. Despite this, the younger and female journalists are more likely to educate themselves in hopes of finding a permanent job in a crowded profession that offers little job stability.