Global study launches “third wave”

The Worlds of Journalism Study has entered its “third wave” (WJS3).

The Study began in 2007, with teams in 21 countries conducting structured interviews until 2011 to probe journalists’ perceptions of their roles, values, ands professional identities.  In the “second wave” (2012-2016) teams in 67 countries interviewed 27,500 journalists.

Planning for WJS3 has included teams from 110 countries. Canada’s team will be led by Lisa Taylor and includes two Ryerson colleagues, Heather Rollwagen and Nicole Blanchett, plus Colette Brin, director of Laval University’s Centre d’études sur ales medias.

As in WJS2, all country teams use a standard global questionnaire supplemented with optional local questions.

The WJS global effort is supported by UNESCO and the International Federation of Journalists. The Canadian second-wave study was supported by an Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), with seed funding from the Ryersion Journalism Research Centre. We are currently seeking funds to begin interviewing for WJS3 in Canada.

The thematic focus of WJS3 is “journalism, risk, and uncertainty.”