U.S. news executives worry about the future state of journalism and its fundamental values

A study of the attitudes of newspaper and broadcast executives about the future of journalism in their media found them concerned about the state of journalism.

The study was conducted with 208 executives by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. And while they see some positives in the changes they are witnessing, they are worried about the future. 

For instance, they were asked how the internet is changing the fundamental values of journalism and 65% said it was loosening standards, 30% said it was putting an emphasis on speed (good and bad), 16% said there was more opinion and bias and 13% said the coverage was more superficial and with less analysis.

The survey found some significant differences in the attitudes between leaders of newspaper-based newsrooms and those of broadcast. Among them was their view of journalism’s future. Broadcast news executives were strikingly more pessimistic, with those who see journalism headed in the wrong direction outnumbering those who think it is headed in the right direction by almost two-to-one. Leaders of newspaper newsrooms, by contrast, are split, with a slight tilt toward optimism.