Ethos, discourse, and professional identity

This study analyzes the discursive ethos of journalists working in press relations. Ethos is understood as the image of oneself conveyed through discourse. The investigation starts from a reflection on the transformations in the world of journalists, where a set of changes in the professional market can be observed. This phenomenon has triggered significant changes in the professional identity of journalists. On the other hand, there has been an expansion of the professional field, in which journalists have gradually begun to work outside newsrooms, exercising the role of press or communications officers. However, the press and journalists have consolidated themselves over the centuries as an institution linked to democratic principles, children of the Enlightenment. Journalism and journalists have always had an ethos and ideology linked to the public and social interest. In view of the changing habits of professional journalists, this study aims to be part of a set of non-normative investigations into the professional identity of journalists.