No abstract

This longitudinal case study of change at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch measured newsroom employee perceptions of organizational development, newsroom restructuring (from beats to teams), and public journalism during Cole C. Campbell's tenure as editor, 1996–2000. Results indicate initial optimism about change faded within a year. Over the course of the study, respondents failed to see a connection between change initiatives and producing a better newspaper. Journalists did not experience empowerment associated with team-based systems.

A national survey of top newspaper editors explored industry uncertainty and organizational change and how organizational integration, team-based newsrooms, newspaper size, and profit emphasis impact editors' perceived organizational influence. Findings indicate that newspaper size and extent of integration predict perceived organizational influence, while profit emphasis is a negative predictor. Editors generally welcome working with non-news departments, and see their influence in their advocacy of journalism values throughout the organization. Editors do not see benefits resultingfiom newsroom reporting teams.The traditional mass media model-characterized by relatively few media creating and controlling content disseminated to large, mass audiences-has been replaced in the past decade by a new model that features many media disseminating content to smaller, niche audiences who are active, purposive, and more in control of their media ch0ices.l This evolution has had a profound impact on traditional mass media, which have been forced to change the way they do business and strategically reposition themselves in the rapidly changing media marketplace?For the newspaper industry, the mandate for change has been apparent for more than a decade? Concerned by a dwindling base of readers and the impact of the Internet and emergent technologies, the industry has repositioned itself by developing new information and service products in electronic markets and focusing on the interests of potential readers in its print products? These changes have shifted priorities and resources at the organizational level, as newspapers become more reader-oriented, market-driven, and technologically savvy. Ongoing change efforts since the mid-1990s have seen newspaper organizations become more integrated, as news and business managers and staff collaborate on inter-departmental teams charged with the strategic development of information product^.^ Newsrooms are also being restructured, and team-based newsrooms, with flatter organizational hierarchies and dif- ferent roles for newsroom managers, have replaced or supplemented the beat system, especially at larger newspapem6 As newspapers become more market-driven, traditional definitions of news values have been called into que~tion.~ However, despite the uncertainty associated with markets, technology, readership, and news values, profit expectations remain high.* These changes create a different environment for editors as managers, who are required to accept new organizational roles and expectations. Journalism skills and judgment must be supplemented with a greater marketing consciousness and collaboration with non-news departments? The union of journalism and marketing has not been a harmonious marriage for many editors (and journalists), who see a stronger marketing orientation as a loss of editorial control and an affront to journalistic "professionalism."1o The "duality" of purpose for news organizations, as journalistic and commercial enterprises, has been shown in numerous studie...