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This article examines the formation of a belief in journalism as a worthwhile career in France and the United States. Using journalists' memoirs, early textbooks and novels depicting journalism, we show that a life in news became appealing in the late nineteenth century due to the novel mixture of material and symbolic rewards on offer. Promising pay for work that seemed adventurous and exciting, with opportunities for expression, the potential for influence and a connection to broader social values (e.g., fighting injustice, informing citizens), the possibility of these rewards formed the basis of a highly similar illusio – i.e. the belief that journalism constituted a social game worthy of one's energies (Bourdieu, 2000). Highlighting this emergent sense of worth fills a lacuna in historical scholarship, while also inviting questions about how these attractions are given life under contemporary conditions that often frustrate journalists' efforts to secure these rewards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on literatures that emphasize (1) the standardizing effects of markets and technology, and (2) the historical patterns and social functions of the press, this article theorizes the simultaneous co-presence of cross-national similarities and differences in journalistic judgment. Drawing from Max Weber's early twentieth century writings on journalism, we argue that similar cross-national judgments reveal journalism's shared structural basis as a commercial enterprise, whereas differences highlight the distinctive social functions that journalists assume in particular national settings. We illustrate this framework via semi-structured interviews conducted between 2015 and 2020 with a strategic sample of French and American journalists evaluating their best work. In both country samples, journalists that express pride in attracting audiences by translating complex issues and dignifying story subjects highlight journalism's structural basis. Cross-national differences reflect nationally distinct understandings of journalism's social functions, with French journalists emphasizing their ability to shed light on large issues and their American counterparts highlighting efforts to pry information from power holders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article examines journalists' use of social media in France and the United States. Through in-depth interviews, we show that shared practical sensibilities lead journalists in both countries to use social media to accomplish routine tasks (e.g. gather information, monitor sources, and develop story ideas). At the same time, we argue that the incorporation of social media into daily practice also creates opportunities for journalists to garner peer recognition and that these opportunities vary according to the distinctive national fields in which journalists are embedded. Where American journalism incentivizes individual journalists to orient social media use toward audiences, French journalism motivates news organizations to use social media for these purposes, while leaving individual journalists to focus primarily on engaging with their peers. We position these findings in relation to debates on the uses of technologies across national settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]