KOM seminar: Living the liquid life: Gender, precarity, and journalism in the post-#MeToo era

This talk critically examines the evolving conditions in journalism, focusing on the precarious and often unequal structures shaping the profession today. Central to this discussion is my recent article Living the Liquid Life: Gender, Precarity, and Journalism in the Post-#MeToo Era (Melin & Wiik, 2024), which explores how post-#MeToo dynamics have exposed entrenched gender inequalities and increased precarity within the media industry. The study highlights significant barriers to career stability, safety, and growth for many journalists, especially women and marginalized groups, and considers how these conditions affect journalists' identities and sense of purpose. To contextualize, I will discuss the friction between professionalism and other logics within newsrooms, where technological and market influences often undermine journalistic autonomy. This organizational shift toward efficiency and control adds another layer of precarity, challenging journalists' ability to uphold core values. Ultimately, my research raises the question of whether newsrooms today are becoming spaces of constrained professionalism, where journalistic values and identities are continuously negotiated under mounting organizational and societal pressures. This talk will explore how these challenges shape journalists' lives and discuss the implications for journalism’s democratic role in an era of heightened precarity and social change.

Jenny Wiik is an Associate Professor at the Department of Journalism, Media and Communication (JMG) at the University of Gothenburg. Her research focuses on the evolving conditions of journalism, with particular emphasis on professional autonomy, institutional conditions, and organizational dynamics within media industries. In her two current projects, she studies the emergence of AI in newsrooms, as well as the professional challenges of Russian journalists in exile.