Australian Journalists at Work: Their Views on Employment, Unionization, and Professional Identity

Abstract

The aftermath of dramatic news industry restructuring in Australia, as elsewhere, has major implications for journalistic employment, professional identity, and other collective occupational structures, including unions. Newsroom strikes over job cuts are now common. Journalists believe their livelihoods are at risk as “clickbait” displaces news reporting, degrades professional standards, and threatens public understanding and democracy. This gives rise to the question: Is Australian journalism an occupation in disarray? Drawing on academic and industry research, this chapter describes employment in Australian journalism as significantly more precarious, fragmented, and de-unionized than before. As a result, the popularity of the national journalists’ union, the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, has declined. However, by making sure journalists can speak with one voice and get a say in workplace reorganization, it continues to play a strategically important role in protecting jobs and working conditions.