Developing New Organizational Identity: Merger of St. Louis Public Radio and the St. Louis Beacon

Journalists’ Social Identity: The Case of Two Calgary Newspapers

“…Journalists' social identities die hard in a newsroom merger, but it remains to be seen how the identities of the Herald and the Sun will be reflected in their journalists in the coming years as Postmedia pursues a business strategy of maintaining two supposedly distinct newspapers. Regarding social identity theory, it has been suggested (Hinsley, 2017;Russo, 1998), that self-identification may be more as a professional journalist with a public service role rather than with the corporation that employs them. This public service role was voiced at times by participants, but their social identity was contested every day they represented two newspapers, a situation that will continue while the Sun and the Herald publish, suggesting social identity is fluid for journalists working for two mastheads and one owner.…”

“…There is also the Norwegian case of Nordsjø Media, bought by the foundation-owned Amedia in 2019: editors of the targeted nine local newspapers welcomed being purchased by the larger Amedia because it had the resources to embrace the digital marketplace (Sjøvaag, Owren, & Borgen, 2021). Hinsley (2017) analyzed organizational identity after the 2013 merger of St. Louis Public Radio (STLPR) with the online-only, non-profit St. Louis Beacon. Each news outlet "saw itself as distinctive, both in practice and form" (Hinsley, 2017, p. 151).…”

“…The merger was a bit rocky as journalists learned new roles and procedures. Beacon staff viewed the transition as more of an acquisition of its brand than a merger of two brands (Hinsley, 2017). Regarding organizational identity post-merger, "common ground" was found in their public service newsgathering missions and eventually employees took pride in being part of a larger newsroom, which in turn, they believed enhanced "their reputation" (Hinsley, 2017, p. 152).…”

“…Regarding organizational identity post-merger, "common ground" was found in their public service newsgathering missions and eventually employees took pride in being part of a larger newsroom, which in turn, they believed enhanced "their reputation" (Hinsley, 2017, p. 152). Interestingly, but sadly for the people of Ferguson, Missouri, the combined newsroom gelled following the killing of African American Michael Brown in 2014 by a white police officer (Hinsley, 2017). Covering Brown's death and the protests became "the story that brought together the pre-and post-merger employees and renewed their sense of purpose" (Hinsley, 2017, p. 152).…”

Organizational identity: components and construction

“…Thus, despite the existence of a series of studies on oi construction (e.g., Brown & Lewis, 2011;Coupland & Brown, 2004;Denissen, 2010;Fiol, 2002;Gonzales-Miranda & Uribe-Correa, 2018;Hinsley, 2017;Humphreys & Brown, 2002b;Madsen, 2016;Pendse & Ojha, 2017, among others) and the fact that some researchers deal with some of the dimensions of identity formation in organizations (Clegg et al, 2007;Corley & Gioia, 2004;Czarniawska & Wolff, 1998), there are not thorough studies about the way ois are formed in their beginning (Gioia, Price, Hamilton, & Thomas, 2010). For these authors, only three works have studied oi formation per se: Czarniawska and Wolff (1998), Clegg et al (2007), and Corley and Gioia (2004).…”