Follow the Leader?: Optimism and Efficacy on Solo Journalism of Local Television Journalists and News Directors

ABSTRACT

This research article examined the perception of reporters and news managers at local television stations in the United States regarding “solo journalism.” Solo journalism is the work practice in which a single reporter is expected to gather information, write, shoot video, and edit their news stories on their own. This is contrasted with a traditional news crew in which those tasks distributed among at least two workers, sometimes more. Based on theories of transformational leadership and self-concordance, it was hypothesized that news directors perceptions of solo journalism would impact their reporters. The study utilized data gathered from two separate, but linked surveys, one of news managers (N = 159) and one of front-line journalists (N = 222). The data indicated that journalists and news directors recognized that solo journalism will be integral to the future of television news. However, journalists are generally more pessimistic about the causes and benefits of solo journalism than news directors. Additionally, news directors admitted that they must utilize solo journalists differently than news crews. By matching the two samples by station, analysis suggested that the “optimism” of news managers toward solo journalism may impact the efficacy of the reporters that work for them.

KEYWORDS:

• Solo journalism
• video journalism
• multimedia journalism
• television news
• local news
• news production
• news management

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the participation of news directors and journalists throughout the United States in this research project. Without their input, this article would not be possible. We would also like to thank the colleagues, family, and friends who helped stuff envelopes, lick stamps, and make calls to ensure a strong response rate for these surveys.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Each contact also included explicit instructions not to complete the survey online and via mail. Unique ID codes for each respondent helped identify any repeat surveys. In total, five surveys were discarded because of repeated responses. Additionally, an independent samples t-test was utilized to ensure there was no mode effect among news directors’ responses. The only statistically significant difference between email and postal responses was regarding the news director’s “experience in news management” (t(157) = 157, p < .007). News managers that responded via email had an average of 3.61 years more experience than those that responded via postal mail.

2 The cover letter and questionnaire from both the news director and reporter surveys are included in the appendices at the end of this manuscript. They have been edited to remove any reference to the authors or their institutional affiliation pending the review process.