Lisbon, April 7, 2026 (Lusa) – A new survey reveals that the media financial crisis, job insecurity, and identity crisis are the three primary concerns for Portuguese journalists, who also identify artificial intelligence, social media, and disinformation as a “significant risk” to the profession.
The survey, which Lusa had access to on Tuesday, was conducted by Felisbela Lopes, a Professor at the University of Minho’s Department of Communication Sciences, who emphasised the urgent need for the government to accelerate and expand axes 3 and 4 of the media action plan originally launched in 2024.
The plan provided mechanisms to support the sector’s economic sustainability, improve working conditions for journalists, and help media organisations adapt to the technological and digital challenges shaping the journalistic ecosystem, she said.
The current media business model was no longer sustainable, she said, calling for the rapid implementation of measures to support economic stability and improve working conditions.
The plan focused largely on regional outlets and would need to be broadened to include national media organisations, she highlighted.
The survey, conducted between December 2025 and March 2026, interviewed 100 journalists across various national media platforms and from diverse backgrounds, who were asked about “the greatest constraints on press freedom that Portuguese journalists face today”, a question posed by Professor Lopes a decade ago for her book "Jornalista, Profissão Ameaçada" (Journalist, a Threatened Profession).
In response to the question, and accounting for the top two constraints mentioned in each reply, the media financial crisis, job insecurity, and the identity crisis in journalism emerged as the most frequently cited challenges, with 48, 33, and 27 mentions, respectively.
These were followed by technological constraints, specifically artificial intelligence (14 mentions), disinformation (13 mentions), pressure from sources (12 mentions), and social media (11 mentions). Other factors included time pressure (9 mentions), political influences (seven mentions), audience pressure (five mentions), self-censorship (four mentions), legal proceedings (three mentions), and both physical coercion and a lack of literacy (one mention each).
The author highlighted the media crisis as the sector’s most significant problem, noting that it was difficult to ensure quality journalism and that many media organisations were struggling to maintain economic sustainability, operating without the necessary financial resources.
Lopes said that editorial projects were becoming more vulnerable and that their independence could be compromised, adding that several journalists had warned that the financial crisis was affecting the media and threatening the vitality of democracy.
This was because, in her view, less journalism meant less scrutiny of those in power, while less investigation reduced transparency and diminished pluralism.
Job insecurity was highlighted as the second most significant constraint, manifesting primarily through low wages, unstable contracts, freelance work, and a lack of professional stability, she said.
The third major concern among journalists was the profession’s "identity crisis", described by the survey as marked by a loss of credibility, professional values, and social recognition.
Lopes said that many believed the profession was losing its essential role as a mediator between facts and the public, explaining that at the root of this situation was disinformation on social media and the notion that anyone could produce news content, which originated confusion between journalists, commentators, influencers, and other content producers, ultimately undermining the professional status of journalists.
“When their role is devalued, the truth of the facts gives way to opinions, perceptions and manipulated narratives, jeopardising the quality of news reporting and the functioning of democracy", she highlights.
To combat this, Lopes advocated for the creation of a body with legally defined public powers to guarantee a precise and robust definition of ethical and professional rules, establishing who was qualified to practise the profession.
“I don’t know if the creation of a professional body is the way forward. What I do know is that we need to give the profession a stronger identity,” she concluded.
PD/MYAL // ADB.
Lusa
