The imaginaries of the future journalists in France

This article analyses how differently future journalists perceive the professional and social realities of journalism according to their gender and socio- economic background. The study is based on two methods. The first method is the empirical analysis of the social features of the students of the schools of journalism of the public universities of Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Tours and Marseille, at the start of their studies. The second method is a series of in-depth interviews that investigate the family history, values and perceptions about journalism of the students of the Institute of Journalism of Bordeaux. The results show that journalism students are not a homogeneous group. Their social backgrounds are remarkably different and greatly influence their perception of the profession of journalism.