When Creative Potentials are Being Undermined By Commercial Imperatives

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explore and discuss how newsroom restructuring in favour of cross-media news production is changing news production practices and to what extent media-specific norms, values and practices impede the strategy for change. In doing so, we use the structuration theory of Anthony Giddens as theoretical framework. With his concept of the dynamic relationship between structures and agency, and the analytical division of structures into recursively organised rules and resources, we look at planned newsroom reorganisation in order to analyse aspects leading to its implementation as well as factors resistant to change. Overall, our findings show that conflicts between journalistic norms (accurately researching content) and values (reliably informing citizens on socially relevant topics), and the requirement to produce more content within an ever shorter time, influence the implementation of the intended cross-media news production. Moreover, interviewees suggest that in addition to allocative resources (notably financial and human resources), authoritative resources, such as competencies and expert knowledge, have been relevant for adaptation or maintenance of newsroom structures.

KEYWORDS:

• agency
• commercialisation
• cross-media production
• journalism
• newsroom convergence
• norms
• structuration theory
• values

Notes

1. In other areas of empirical newsroom research, some authors have already successfully applied restructuring theory: noteworthy in this context are the contributions to the understanding of journalistic practices in online newsrooms by Quandt (2005), of newsroom quality management by Wyss (2002) and of co-ordination of activities in journalistic organisations by Altmeppen (1999). Furthermore, since the start of this project, a paper about journalistic autonomy in newsrooms (Sjøvaag 2013) and a study about journalistic routines in an American radio station (Usher 2013) applying Giddens’ theory of structuration have been published. Keel and Wyss (2012) also highlight corresponding interactions in their study about editorial use of the internet (with reference to Wyss 2002).