PEW RESEARCH CENTER JUNE 14, 2022

JOURNALISTS SENSE TURMOIL IN THEIR INDUSTRY AMID CONTINUED PASSION FOR THEIR WORK

3. Many journalists say social media helps at work, but most decry its impact on journalism

BY JEFFREY GOTTFRIED, AMY MITCHELL, MARK JURKOWITZ AND JACOB LIEDKE

The vast majority of U.S.-based journalists today use social media sites in their work. But even as they appreciate the ways it can be helpful with several reporting tasks, most journalists think social media is having a negative impact on journalism as a whole – and one-third report being harassed on these platforms by someone outside their organization.

Two-thirds of journalists surveyed (67%) say social media has a very (26%) or somewhat negative (41%) impact on the state of journalism in this country. Conversely, only about one-in-five (18%) characterize it as having a positive impact, including just 2% who say it is very positive.

Journalists recognize several ways social media can come in handy in their day-to-day work. Among journalists who use social media for their jobs, nearly nine-in-ten (87%) say it has a very or somewhat positive impact on their ability to promote stories, while about eight-in-ten say it helps their ability to connect with their audience and find sources for stories (79% each). Three-quarters of journalists who use social media find it helpful in identifying stories that should be covered.

While social media has a big presence in newsrooms, that is not the case for artificial intelligence (AI) – at least not yet. Just 8% of journalists surveyed say their news organization (or the main one they work for if they work for more than one) relies on content generated by computer programs using AI at least a little, including only 1% who say this is the case a lot. Fully 62% say their organization does not rely on AI at all, and 29% are unsure.

Most journalists who were harassed by someone outside their organization in the past year say it happened on social media

...One issue that concerns older journalists more than younger ones is the prospect of restrictions being imposed on the profession. Roughly two-thirds of journalists ages 65 and older (68%) and those 50 to 64 (63%) say they are extremely or very concerned about potential restrictions on press freedoms in America. Smaller yet sizable percentages of journalists under 30 (42%) and ages 30 to 49 (52%) share these concerns....

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https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2022/06/14/many-journalists-say-social-media-helps-at-work-but-most-decry-its-impact-on-journalism/