THE TENTATIVE HELL-RAISERS - IDENTITY AND MYTHOLOGY IN CONTEMPORARY UK PRESS JOURNALISM

Why do sacred monsters figure so large in the occupational ideology of UK press journalism? This article argues that colleagues who display extravagant behaviour symbolize the personal autonomy and sense of adv enture which are at the core of professional aspirations. However, as the article shows, contemporary daily life in the UK press is diametri cally opposite to this ideal, being characterized by employment insecu rity and domineering, finance-driven management. A geographically disp ersed, feminized and credentialized workforce is now, typically, requi red to produce soft news and features rather than the more professiona lly valued hard news and investigative journalism. This assault on sel f-identity, in a context where collegial contact is reduced, has made shared mythology even more rather than less tenacious.