Understanding the change to integration: an organizational analysis of a small newspaper

Abstract

This multimethod study examined change efforts to integration at a mid-sized family-owned newspaper as a new content-management system was implemented. Using the open systems model, the organization was analyzed through the lens of organizational and strategic theory as well as the uses-and-gratifications tradition from the field of mass communication. An ethnography was conducted over a five-month period using in-depth interviews and observation to analyze the organizational structure, routines, and culture. A secondary analysis of a national media-usage survey was conducted to understand the needs of news audiences in the new-media environment. The study found that a commitment to core journalistic values, not resistance to technology, inhibited organizational learning and the ability to change.