PhD position in the project: “Financial Challenges Facing Journalism”

We are seeking a PhD candidate for the project “Financial Challenges Facing Journalism.” This is a 3-year PhD project, in which the PhD candidate will investigate the financial challenges that journalism faces regarding the ability to let audiences pay for their products, and how journalistic organizations can possibly combat this issue.

The PhD track is embedded in the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (department of Communication Science) at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam. You will be working together in a team with dr. Mark Boukes and dr. Anke Wonneberger.

What are you going to do
This PhD project focuses on the financial challenges that journalism faces and how journalists and citizens deal with and understand issues related to the willingness to consume news; ideally, in a paid kind of format. Otherwise, media become dependent on other financers or subsidisers, which potentially harms their independence or the perception of independence in the public’s eye. Hence, the central research question is:

What are the main factors contributing to journalism’s financial crisis, and what strategies may effectively safeguard journalism’s vital position in the democratic society?

The so-called “legacy” news media have lost large shares of their revenue, forcing them to reconsider their business model: With advertising profits plummeting globally (Google and Facebook now dominate this market), news media increasingly rely on the news consumer to pay for content. In the digital age, though, citizens increasingly perceive journalism as a public good and are accustomed to consume the news for free.

To make in-depth coverage feasible and impactful, journalism still needs a healthy financial foundation. This project generates evidence-based insights into how these financial requirements may be safeguarded under the current societal circumstances and changing conditions in the media landscape. Unknown is, though, how journalists cope with and experience the increasing financial pressures.

Moreover, knowledge is still needed on how the audience responds to journalistic initiatives aiming to increase profitability and what journalistic content it is willing to pay for. Perceived trustworthiness seems crucial for any journalistic product to be deemed “valuable”. Hence, explicit attention is needed for this causal—and potentially reciprocal—relationship between news consumption and media trust, which sparks interesting synergies and potential collaborations with other studies in in Boukes’ Vidi-project.

The project explores moderating factors that can be located on the micro-, meso- or macro-levels. On the micro-level, it explores citizens’ individual characteristics that may determine how susceptible people are to effects on their (paid) news consumption: including, socio-economic status, migration background, political ideology (because of the suspected “liberal media bias”) and age (differentiating between a cohort and life-cycle effect). On the meso-level, we distinguish degrees of commercialism in news media types (e.g., publicly financed media versus commercial media).

On the macro-level, the project analyses the moderating influence of national circumstances (e.g., overall trust levels, economic conditions, press freedom) on the effectiveness of journalistic strategies.

Altogether, the PhD project investigates news consumption in the digital age from three different angles:

1) Exploring the determinants of citizens to consume the news (or not) in a paid and/or free format;

2) Journalists’ responses to the decreasing revenues from the audience side, and how they want to convince the audience to still pay for their product;

3) The effectiveness of journalistic strategies to increase (paid) news consumption.

Three empirical studies are expected of the PhD candidate using different methodologies:

• a secondary, multi-level analyses of existing data (e.g., European Social Survey, World Values Survey) to construct an updated typology of the typical news consumer.
• an in-depth interview study among journalistic professionals to investigate how they perceive and are influenced by the harsher financial conditions.
• a pre-registered vignette experiment to test which journalistic strategies may improve audience’s willingness to pay for journalism.

You will/tasks

• Develop, conduct, and publish research on the consequences of journalism’s financial crisis;
• Complete a PhD dissertation consisting of research articles within the appointment period;
• Contribute to the public debate about the business of journalism;
• Present your work at national and international conferences;
• Conduct teaching-related tasks in the Bachelor programme (5% of your time).
• Contribute to the vibrant academic life in Amsterdam by attending workshops, meetings, and lectures.

What do you have to offer
The candidate has a strong affinity with the above topics, excels in research methods, and enjoys working together in a team. The candidate for this position has a (research) master’s degree in communication science or related social science field.

Your experience and profile

• A research master's degree in communication science or a related social-science field, or expect to obtain it soon (ultimately: 1 July, 2025);
• a strong interest in and preferably knowledge of the topic of journalism;
• firm basis in and ideally experience with research methods and data analysis, in particular: statistical data analysis (particularly: multi-level modelling), in-depth interviewing, experimentation, and open science principles;
• strongly committed to methodological rigor and scientific integrity;
• curious and eager to learn new skills, theoretical perspectives and practical issues;
• excellent spoken and written command of English (as you will write an English-language dissertation and present at international conferences);
• excellent spoken and written command of Dutch is desirable to ease the interactions with societal stakeholders (e.g., in interviews);
• excellent social and organizational skills;
• eager to contribute to the scientific field;
• motivated to share your knowledge with academic and non-academic audiences;
• able to work independently and open to feedback.

What can we offer you
The starting date for this project is between February 1st and July 1st, 2025 (ultimately). The position concerns temporary employment of 38 hours for a maximum term of three years. The initial employment is for one year. Following a positive assessment and barring altered circumstances, this term will be extended by a maximum of 24 months, which should result in the conferral of a doctorate. We will put together a curriculum, which will also include the opportunity to attend training courses and both national and international events. You will also be tasked with teaching (Bachelor’s) students for approximately 5% of the contract. For this position, the University Job Classification profile “promovendus” applies.

Your salary will be € 2.872 gross per month in the first year and will increase to € 3.670 in the final year (from January 2025, salary will increase by 1%), based on full-time employment and in keeping with the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities. We additionally offer an extensive package of secondary benefits, including 8% holiday allowance and a year-end bonus of 8.3%.

The UvA offers excellent possibilities for further professional development and education.

What else do we offer

• a position in which initiative and input are highly valued;
• an enthusiastic and warm team that is open to new colleagues;
• an inspiring academic and international working environment in the heart of Amsterdam.

About us
The University of Amsterdam is the largest university in the Netherlands, with the broadest spectrum of degree programmes. It is an intellectual hub with 39,000 students, 6,000 employees and 3,000 doctoral students who are all committed to a culture of inquiring minds.

The project is embedded in the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (department of Communication Science) at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. The Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR) is the research institute for the Communication Science Department in the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences at the University of Amsterdam. For more information: https://ascor.uva.nl/

About the faculty

A challenging work environment with a variety of duties and ample scope for individual initiative and development within an inspiring organization. The social and behavioral sciences play a leading role in addressing the major societal challenges faced by the world, the Netherlands and Amsterdam, now and in the future.

Want to know more about our organisation? Read more about working at the University of Amsterdam.

Questions
Do you have any questions or do you require additional information? Please contact:

• Dr. Mark Boukes, Associate Professor, m.boukes@uva.nl

Job application
Do you recognize yourself in the job profile? Then we look forward to receiving your application by November 17, 2024. You may apply online by using the link below.

Please ensure that all documents are merged into a single PDF file before submitting the application. Applications in .pdf should include ():

• Curriculum vitae;
• Letter of motivation that outlines your preparation and motivation to pursue this PhD project. Please be as specific as possible in describing how you meet the selection criteria. If you do not meet all of the criteria yet, please explain how you will acquire the required skills. Optional: please include contact details of two academic referees who know you well by the end of the letter;
• Grade transcripts of undergraduate (Bachelor) and graduate (Master) studies;
• English-writing sample (e.g., a master thesis or other recent individually writing example).

Please submit the required information as one PDF by uploading it in the required field ‘CV’.

The UvA is an equal-opportunity employer. We prioritise diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for everyone. We value a spirit of enquiry and perseverance, provide the space to keep asking questions, and promote a culture of curiosity and creativity.

No agencies please.

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