The changing job of journalism: the impact of new and social media use on job satisfaction in a television newsroom

Abstract

Television newsrooms and the individuals or corporations who own them, find themselves under pressure to find creative ways to use new and social media to stay relevant to today's media consumer. That pressure trickles down to the newsroom employees who must shoulder the added workload that comes with a multi-platform approach to newsgathering and production. This research explores how an increased reliance on new and social media has changed the job of journalism and whether that impacts the job satisfaction of newsroom employees and their perceptions of the quality of their work. The research was done through a series of one-on-one, in-depth, semi-structured interviews with newsroom employees at a television station in a mid-size market in the Southeast. Interviews were done with employees at every stage of the newsgathering and production process including managers, producers, on-air talent, photographers, editors and new media managers. The research shows that newsroom employees do have mixed feelings about the increased reliance on new and social media as it relates to their ability to produce quality journalism, but also shows that those seeking to stay relevant in today's job market understand the need to adapt to the changing job of journalism.