The American Journalist in the 21st Century

by David H. Weaver

An authoritative and detailed illustration of the state of journalistic practice in the United States today, The American Journalist in the 21st Century sheds light on the demographic and educational backgrounds, working conditions, and professional and ethical values of print, broadcast, and Internet journalists at the beginning of the 21st century. Providing results from telephone surveys of nearly 1,500 U.S. journalists working in a variety of media outlets, this volume updates the findings published in the earlier report, The American Journalist in the 1990s , and reflects the continued evolution of journalistic practice and professionalism.

The scope of material included here is extensive and inclusive, representing numerous facets of journalistic practice and professionalism, and featuring separate analyses for women, minority, and online journalists. Many findings are set in context and compared with previous major studies of U.S. journalists conducted in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.

Serving as a detailed snapshot of current journalistic practice, The American Journalist in the 21st Century offers an intriguing and enlightening profile of professional journalists today, and it will be of great interest and value to working journalists, journalism educators, media managers, journalism students, and others seeking insights into the current state of the journalism profession.

302 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

David H. Weaver has been the Roy W. Howard Research Professor in the School of Journalism in Bloomington since 1988 and Distinguished Professor in 2011. His books include Global Journalism Research (2008), The American Journalist in the 21st Century (2007), Mass Communication Research and Theory (2003), The Global Journalist (1998), Communication and Democracy (1996), The American Journalist in the 1990s (1996), The Formation of Campaign Agendas (1991), Contemporary Public Opinion (1991), The American Journalist (1986; 2nd Ed. 1991), Videotex Journalism (1983), Media Agenda-Setting in a Presidential Election (1981), and Newsroom Guide to Polls and Surveys (1980, 1990). He has also published numerous book chapters, articles and reports on U.S. journalists, media agenda-setting, newspaper readership, foreign news coverage, and journalism education.

Weaver serves on the editorial boards of Asian Communication Research, Chinese Journal of Communication, Journalism & Communication Monographs, Journalism Studies, Journalism, Political Communication, and the International Journal of Public Opinion Research. He was the 1987-88 president of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), and from 1986-87 he was president of the Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research (MAPOR). He received his Ph.D. in mass communication research from the University of North Carolina in 1974, after working as an editor and reporter on four daily newspapers in Indiana and North Carolina. He has a B.A. and M.A. in journalism from Indiana University and has taught at Indiana since 1974, mainly in the areas of research methods, public opinion, media and government, and depth reporting. The 11 different classes he has taught have ranged from introductory media writing to advanced reporting at the undergraduate level, and from beginning research methods to an advanced seminar on media and government at the graduate level. He has been nominated for the School of Journalism's Gretchen Kemp Teaching Award and has directed numerous dissertations and theses.

He is the recipient of the 1983 AEJMC-Krieghbaum Under 40 Award to recognize excellence in teaching, research and service in journalism and mass communication; the 1986, 1996, and 2006 Sigma Delta Chi Distinguished Service Award for Research About Journalism; the 1993 MAPOR Fellow Award for significant contributions to public opinion research; the 2005 Trayes Award for outstanding contributions to mass communication scholarship; and the 2006 AEJMC Presidential Award for outstanding service to journalism education. He was named a Fellow of the International Communication Association (ICA) in 2000 for his research contributions. He was born in northwest Indiana and attended IU Bloomington as an undergraduate and graduate student in the 1960s.