Worlds of Journalism Study

The WORLDS OF JOURNALISM STUDY (WJS) is an academically driven project founded to regularly assess the state of journalism throughout 110 countries throughout the world. The study's primary objective is to help journalism researchers, practitioners, media managers, and policymakers better understand the worldviews and changes that are taking place in the professional orientations of journalists, conditions, and limitations under which they work, and the role of journalism in a changing world. The proposed research project focused on understanding how journalistic practices in El Salvador and Guatemala have changed due to politics, the economy, technology, and culture. A representative sample of journalists from both countries were interviewed with survey questions that aim to identify levels of risks and how journalists are coping and adapting to these changes. Data is still being collected; the results shared are preliminary findings. WJS is important to protect the rights of the journalist and to inform the public of journalistic practices around the world and their meaningful contribution to society. Journalists shared personal experiences that emphasized the importance of Journalistic practices and the need to be understood so we can know how best to protect press freedom around the world. We found that social media plays an important role in journalistic practices as many journalists stated that social media influencers have become influential and problematic in their journalist practices. Another important finding was that government officials, military personnel, and other government-affiliated individuals influence journalists' reporting assignments not through censorship, but because of fear of retaliation.