The effects of technology on newspaper copy editors' job satisfaction

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Copy editors have gained a reputation as the most dissatisfied workers in the newsroom. Identifying the causes of workplace stress and addressing those issues is an important first step to improving the workplace morale - and from there, the job satisfaction - of copy editors. New technology can be a cause of workplace stress. Copy editors, perhaps more than anyone else in the newsroom, have to adjust to these new ways of producing the news, adding to the pressure of a daily or weekly deadline. This study predicts that newspaper copy editors' attitudes toward new technology will be positively correlated with job satisfaction. The study was conducted on a sample of 212 newspaper copy editors whose workplaces are affiliated with either the American Society of Newspaper Editors or the American Copy Editors Society. Analysis of the questionnaires found that the hypothesis was supported. The results of this study indicate that copy editors who have negative attitudes toward technology will have lower job satisfaction than those who don't. Newspapers could address this issue by offering more frequent or better training solutions that could help ease the problem, and thus increase workplace satisfaction.