Revisiting Corporate Newspaper Structure and Profit Making

Abstract

A national probability survey of newspapers conducted in 1993 found that the more a newspaper exhibits the characteristics of the corporate form of organization, the less emphasis it places on profits as an organizational goal and the more emphasis it places on product quality and other nonprofit goals. However, another survey conducted in the fall of 1996 failed to support the profit findings. The study detailed in this article was conducted in 1997 in an attempt to resolve the discrepancy. Corporate newspapers, I argue, are structurally organized to maximize profits, but they place less emphasis on profits because they (a) have a greater division of labor and role specialization, (b) are more financially stable and secure, and (c) are more likely to be controlled by professional managers. The findings from the most recent survey support the original 1993 data: Corporate newspapers place less emphasis on profits and much more emphasis on product quality and other nonprofit goals.

Corporate News Structure and the Managerial Revolution

“…Breaking with previous theorists, Demers (1996aDemers ( , 1998b has argued that a positive correlation between managerial control and high profit rates is compatible with the managerial revolution thesis. The corporate form of organization-which he defines as a complex bureaucracy with a high degree of managerial control 2 -is structurally organized to maximize profits, but it is expected to place less emphasis on profits as an organizational goal.…”

“…The corporate form of organization-which he defines as a complex bureaucracy with a high degree of managerial control 2 -is structurally organized to maximize profits, but it is expected to place less emphasis on profits as an organizational goal. As noted earlier, several national probability samples of daily newspapers in the United States support this argument (Demers, 1996a(Demers, , 1996c(Demers, , 1998b. Corporate newspapers are more profitable, Demers argued, because they benefit from economies of scale and superior management and human resources.…”

“…Studies by some economists and mass communication researchers (Demers, 1996a(Demers, , 1996c(Demers, , 1998bDemers & Merskin, 1997;Larner, 1970;Monsen, Chiu, & Cooley, 1968) suggest that large-scale organizations, including corporate newspapers, place less emphasis on profits and serve the interests of managers and professionals before the owners. However, many sociologists remain skeptical (Abercrombie, Hill & Turner, 1988, p. 191;Fligstein & Brantley, 1992;James & Soref, 1981;Zeitlin, 1974Zeitlin, , 1976.…”

The Impact of Local Loop Unbundling on DSL Service Diversity

“…So, they will effectively foreclose market entry and new entrants will barely make a profit on product differentiation; therefore, the strategy of increasing product diversity through new entrants does not apply for high concentration markets. Moreover, some studies found that incumbents in high concentration markets, while serving the majority of customers, take into account the development of product diversity [12,16]. Chipty [17] found that consumers in a monopolistic competitive market are not better off, and no worse off, than those in a market with low concentration in terms of consumer welfare, such as product diversity.…”

“…Chipty [17] found that consumers in a monopolistic competitive market are not better off, and no worse off, than those in a market with low concentration in terms of consumer welfare, such as product diversity. Demers [16] also suggested that in the newspaper industry, incumbents will place emphasis on differentiating themselves through being more innovative and allowing reporters more autonomy.…”