Partnerships and Public Service: Normative Issues for Journalists in Converged Newsrooms

Abstract

This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link Partnerships and Public Service: Normative Issues for Journalists in Converged NewsroomsJane B. SingerThe author gratefully thanks Kappa Tau Alpha, the national journalism honor society, for support of this research through a Chapter Adviser Research Grant. ABSTRACT:As media companies test and implement newsroom "convergence," growing numbers of journalists are producing content not only for their own employer but also for other media outlets with which that employer has a business relationship. This article, based on case studies in four converged news markets, explores journalists' perceptions of normative pressures in this new media environment, particularly in relation to the overarching concept of public service. The findings suggest that although journalists do not see convergence itself as posing significant ethical problems, they do raise concerns related to specific components of public service, including a devotion to accuracy, an avoidance of sensationalism, and independence from economic pressures.

Who Is a Development Journalist? Perspectives on Media Ethics and Professionalism in Post-Colonial Societies

“…This view is consistent with the academic perspectives of those who advocate for a departure from the Western liberal philosophy of journalism (Rao & Lee, 2005). The neo-liberal approach to journalism is beginning to give way, even in developed countries, to a renewed partisanship as characterized by the U.S. media's response to 9/11, increasing popularity of public journalism, and the breaking down of the wall that separated the editorial from the business department of news operations (Ryan, 2006;Singer, 2006).…”

Implications of Technological Change For Journalists’ Tasks and Skills

“…U.S. journalists in newsrooms that experimented early with convergence, as well as British journalists interviewed more recently, are concerned that they are spending too much time in the office and on their computers and are not devoting enough time to meeting people, following up tips, and verifying information (Singer, 2006;Dupagne & Garrison, 2006;Phillips, 2009;Witschge & Nygren, this volume). The pressures for faster story turnaround vary from one publication to another.…”

The shaping of an online feature journalist

“…Online journalists have been criticized for lowering the ethical norms and standards of conventional journalism through -amongst other things -lack of accuracy due to the immediacy of reporting (Deuze, 1999;Hall, 2001;Singer, 2003Singer, , 2006Rasmussen, 2006;Domingo, 2006). This factor played a dual role in the shaping of the online feature journalist in dagbladet.no: The online feature journalists were influenced by it as they felt accuracy could be acquired post-publishing in collaboration with readers as readers would e-mail them corrections or post corrections as comments to the stories published.…”

“…Furthermore, it has provided the role with normative demands also held by authors and artists. However, assets of new technology and changing economic conditions entailing increased demands of productivity have brought a copy-paste mentality to online journalism (Deuze, 1999;Hall, 2001;Singer, 2003Singer, , 2006Rasmussen, 2006) …”