Beyond newsrooms: Younger journalists talk about job loss and re-employment in Australian journalism

Abstract

This article examines the re-employment destinations of 10 younger journalists who lost newsroom jobs in the period 2012 to 2014, to understand the work options available in the current Australian labour market. With field theory as a framework, it considers how and why seven of these younger journalists now work beyond newsrooms, either freelancing or in corporate journalism (but not public relations). The remaining three younger journalists, who were in a position to push ahead with their careers, are still engaged in mainstream news reporting. The transition from full-time newsroom jobs to other forms of employment was tougher for some than others. The article argues these younger journalists pragmatically adjusted their ideas of journalistic work to suit their altered circumstances. These results are interpreted through the lens of field theory, and contextualised in the research on the transformation of journalism.