Summary

In this groundbreaking book, which serves to introduce the GoodWork Project as a
whole, the focus is on findings obtained from lengthy in-depth interviews with over
100 journalists and 100 geneticists. Genetics emerges as a profession that is
well aligned; nearly all interest groups want the same things from it. In contrast,
journalism emerges as a profession that is massively misaligned; journalists
attempting to carry out the mission of their profession are constantly thwarted
because of the diverse and often contradictory pressures on them. Such times
of stress can motivate the creation of new roles and institutions that allow
professionals to carry out good work, even during times when things are
changing very quickly, market forces are very powerful, and our sense of time
and space is being altered by technology. The authors indicate how lessons
from these two professions can be applied in all of our work lives, to bring
about work that is both excellent in quality and also carried out in an ethically
responsible manner.