Motivations for studying journalism across the world Elira Turdubaeva, American University of Central Asia Agnieszka Stępińska, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan Galiya Ibrayeva, Al Farabi Kazakh National University Ivanka Pjesivac, University of Georgia Journalism Students Across the Globe Professionalization, Identity and Challenges in a Changing Environment

Study: research questions (RQ1) To what extent journalism students across the world want to pursue a career as a journalist? (RQ2) In which areas of journalism do they want to specialize? (RQ3) What aspects of journalism did motivate them to study the degree (idealistic, practical, or personal)? (RQ4) How these motivations vary across countries?

Studies on job motivations Journalists: aspects of job that motivated them to enter the profession (memories) or motivate them to do the job (reflections on a current situation)? Students: motivations for a choice of program of study or a job? Students’ motivations for and expectations of journalism may affect their future work. A high number of journalism students – a low number of job positions on the market.

Studies on students’ motivations Previous studies: comparative studies, e.g. Splichal & Sparks, 1994; Hovden et al., 2009; Nordenstreng, 2009; Hanitzsch & Hanusch, 2012; Hanusch & Mellado, single country studies: e.g. O’Donnell (1999, 2006), Hanna & Sanders (2007); Hanusch, 2008; Mellado et al., 2013). Types of motivations: personal, practical, or idealistic. JSG study: 19 motivations; grades: 1 – 5.

Preferred area of work (N=18,568)

Do you want to pursue a career as a journalist? (N=17,973)

Do you want to pursue a career as a journalist? (%)

Preferred area of work across countries (N=18,568)

Preferred specialization across countries (N=18,568)

Motivations across countries (N=18,568)

Motivations across countries (N=18,568)

Personal motivations Journalism MSD My talent for journalism3.661,039 To be able to be creative The chance to meet people My pleasure of writing3.981,072 The opportunity to travel The possibility of being famous Non - Journalism MSD My talent for journalism To be able to be creative The chance to meet people My pleasure of writing The opportunity to travel The possibility of being famous Journalism MSD My talent for journalism3.661,039 To be able to be creative The chance to meet people My pleasure of writing3.981,072 The opportunity to travel The possibility of being famous Journalism MSD My talent for journalism3.661,039 To be able to be creative The chance to meet people My pleasure of writing3.981,072 The opportunity to travel The possibility of being famous Journalism MSD My talent for journalism3.661,039 To be able to be creative The chance to meet people My pleasure of writing3.981,072 The opportunity to travel The possibility of being famous Journalism MSD My talent for journalism To be able to be creative The chance to meet people My pleasure of writing The opportunity to travel The possibility of being famous

Practical motivations Journalism MSD My talent for journalism3.661,039 To be able to be creative The chance to meet people My pleasure of writing3.981,072 The opportunity to travel The possibility of being famous Non - Journalism MSD Varied and lively work Dynamic lifestyle To get a secure job Amount of the money one may earn The amount of autonomy one has The prestige of journalism as a profession Journalism MSD My talent for journalism3.661,039 To be able to be creative The chance to meet people My pleasure of writing3.981,072 The opportunity to travel The possibility of being famous Journalism MSD My talent for journalism3.661,039 To be able to be creative The chance to meet people My pleasure of writing3.981,072 The opportunity to travel The possibility of being famous Journalism MSD My talent for journalism3.661,039 To be able to be creative The chance to meet people My pleasure of writing3.981,072 The opportunity to travel The possibility of being famous Journalism MSD Varied and lively work Dynamic lifestyle To get a secure job3.221,183 Amount of the money one may earn 2.771,174 The amount of autonomy one has The prestige of journalism as a profession

Idealistic motivations Journalism MSD My talent for journalism3.661,039 To be able to be creative The chance to meet people My pleasure of writing3.981,072 The opportunity to travel The possibility of being famous Non - Journalism MSD The help in nation-building The chance to influence the public To work for freedom and democracy The chance to help people in their everyday life The hold people in power accountable To fight injustice The help the government achieve its goals for national development Journalism MSD My talent for journalism3.661,039 To be able to be creative The chance to meet people My pleasure of writing3.981,072 The opportunity to travel The possibility of being famous Journalism MSD My talent for journalism3.661,039 To be able to be creative The chance to meet people My pleasure of writing3.981,072 The opportunity to travel The possibility of being famous Journalism MSD My talent for journalism3.661,039 To be able to be creative The chance to meet people My pleasure of writing3.981,072 The opportunity to travel The possibility of being famous Journalism MSD The help in nation-building The chance to influence the public To work for freedom and democracy The chance to help people in their everyday life The hold people in power accountable To fight injustice The help the government achieve its goals for national development

Soft news/hard news? Those who want to purse a career in journalism are... Interested in: Culture (3.90) Travel (3.78) Entertainment (3.45) Lifestyle (3.35) Not (so) interested in: Economy/Business (2.34) Science (2.68) Sports (2.69) Politics (2.90)

Do you think you will be able to get a job as a journalist? (N=16,741)

Do you think you will be able to make a living from being a journalist alone? (N=16,842)

Motivations for studying journalism NMSD To be able to be creative The chance to meet different people The varied and lively work The dynamic lifestyle The chance to help people in their everyday life The pleasure of writing To fight injustice The chance to influence public The amount of autonomy one has

NMSD To work for freedom and democracy The opportunity to travel My talent for journalism To get a secure job The hold people in power accountable To help in nation building The prestige of journalism as a profession The amount of money one can earn To help the government achieve its goals of national development The possibility of being famous

Conclusions: Journalism students are… … interested in working as journalists. … driven by practical (and idealistic) motivations of the job choice … interested mostly in lifestyle media or soft news. …. rather optimistic about getting the job. …. moderately optimistic about their salaries.

Journalism students across the countries mostly study journalism because it gives them the ability to be creative, to meet other people, to have varied and lively work, dynamic lifestyle, and help people in their everyday needs. The first four motivations point out to creativity and dynamism of the profession, whereas the fifth one is oriented towards other people. Journalism students across the countries are least motivated to study journalism by the possibility of being famous, helping the government achieve goals of national development, money, and prestige of journalism as a profession. Conclusions