Precariously Employed Watchdogs?

Abstract

A growing share of the media content we encounter as consumers and investigate as scholars is produced by journalists in non-standard employment situations. Researching the labour conditions of freelancers and interns can help us to understand important aspects of contemporary journalism—as well as the role it may or may not be able to perform in postmodern democracies. This article presents results from a research project that explores this growing yet understudied segment of atypical labour in journalism. The analysis is based on a review of recent literature on news production and working conditions in the media as well as 18 in-depth interviews conducted with interns and freelancers in Germany.