An industry survey is predicting the number of journalists in the UK will have swelled by 20,000 by 2010.

Current figures show there are some 70,000 journalists in the UK with 60,000 of those in the print and publishing industry.

The survey, carried out for the Journalism Forum, also looked at working patterns, entering the profession, student debt, training and learning development.

And the 66-page report, Journalists at Work, also revealed the profession was likely to be tougher to get into for people from non-middle class families.

In his foreword, former Guardian editor Prof Ian Hargreaves said: “Journalism is no longer, if ever it was, an occupation that draws upon the strengths and talents of the whole of our society.

“The research confirmed what has long been suspected – that not only has journalism become a graduate-only occupation (a good thing) it has also become an occupation to which entry is very nearly impossible for young people from non-middle class homes.

“The picture is made even more challenging as the numbers of black and Asian journalists in Britain are pitifully small.”

He called for a widening of entrants into journalism, adding: “If journalists are to understand, reflect and service the UK in all its social and ethnic complexity, the community of journalists also needs to be diverse.”

Prof Hargreaves is also the chair of Cardiff University’s Department of Journalism and is former head of the department.

The Journalism Forum consists of academics, broadcasters, editors, trainers and media trades unions and was set up to seek views on training, recruitment and conditions.

The survey found that 55 per cent of journalists were located in London and the south east.

It found that a third of the profession were under the age of 30 with a further third under 40.

A high proportion – 41 per cent – were single, widowed or divorced, and 77 per cent have no children.

The survey also showed a widespread criticism of low pay in the industry, and some 17 per cent of respondents believed they had been discriminated against at work.

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