Satisfaction and journalism: a study of newsroom happiness and its implications in print design

Abstract

The implementation of news design studios has sparked questions among news professionals. Little research has been done about the removal of the designers from the newsroom, and this could be some of the first academic work. This study used 10 semi-structured interviews with print designers to investigate what facets of job satisfaction designers in newsrooms and news design studios derive. Two sets of attitudes were found, but the difference was driven by whether the designer self-identified as a journalist, not necessarily from the organizational structure the designer worked in. Seven of the ten designers self-identified as journalists, and they valued the quality of the whole newspaper, content creation and how their work impacted readers. They also felt collaboration produced the highest quality. Three of the ten designers did not self-identify as journalists. They focused on creative freedom and using artistic elements to tell the story. These findings provided further evidence that designers who self-identified as journalists shared similar facets of satisfaction as other journalists. By identifying what the designers value, the designers and newspaper editors can determine if they share expectations on job responsibilities and quality.