ABSTRACT
This chapter explores relationships between media and class through the prism of one type of media producer: journalists. Using Bourdieu’s concept of structural homologies, we argue that place of birth, parents’ occupations, educational attainment are correlated to job titles, beats, and organization for which a journalist works, as well as her or his understandings of journalists’ purposes, and visions of quality. We illustrate this proposition through interviews with journalists in France and the United States. In both countries, individuals who come from “lower” middle classes (e.g., small towns, less prestigious universities, parents working as employees rather than management) tend to hold positions as general assignment reporters or freelancers, and often work for small-scale media organizations. They perceive the profession as an opportunity for social advancement and espouse “practical” views of journalism. By contrast, individuals from “upper” middle classes (e.g., urban areas, more prestigious universities, parents working as management or in liberal professions) tend to occupy more prestigious beat positions or editorships, often at large-scale media organizations. They perceive the profession as a venue for social stability, and view journalism’s purposes as primarily civic. We position this Bourdieusian approach in relation to literatures on class, gender, and audiences, and focus on media producers (rather than consumers) as well as social dynamism, and the potential for individual mobility in social space across classes.
