The News Organization in Uncertain Times: Business or Institution?

Abstract

This study compares rational-choice economics approaches with institutional theory in assessing the ways news organizations respond to uncertainty. Rational-choice approaches suggest newsroom managers facing uncertainty will pursue “tight coupling” by monitoring audiences and collaborating with the newspaper's business side, while institutionalism suggests uncertainty will lead organizations to buffer themselves from their market environments and to mimic other news organizations. Findings from a national survey of editors and a content analysis of interactive features from newspaper Web sites reveal both institutional-ist and rational-choice tendencies. News managers are monitoring audiences, but monitoring is not strongly affecting decisions about content and online features.

How structural multi-platform newsroom features and innovative values alter journalistic cross-channel and cross-sectional working procedures

“…Deuze (2008b) argues that journalism insufficiently takes the demands of the audience into account. Although audience orientation became more important and the audience is scrutinized, output changes are rarely made (Deuze, Neuberger, & Paulussen, 2004;Himelboim & McCreery, 2012;Lowrey & Woo, 2010). The present results reveal that when journalists rate it important to find new ways to address the audience, news elements (e.g., cross promotion) and channels used changes as well.…”

“…When taking up Lowrey and Woo's (2010) question, whether news organizations behave like adapting businesses or inertial institutions, the present results demonstrate that the former applies when structural and individual requirements are given. Although Domingo (2008) argues that newsrooms are prevented from innovation through inertia, this study comes to the conclusion that a multi-platform strategy leading to the implementation of a central news desk is connected to innovative values of journalists, which in turn changes working procedures.…”

“…Individual and structural aspects in an organization can lead to overcoming inertia and How structural multi-platform newsroom features and innovative values alter journalistic cross-channel and cross-sectional working procedures FINAL PROOF Page 8 of 32 reinforce innovation (Slappendel, 1996;Steensen, 2009). On the other hand, institutionalism expects that organizations apply loose coupling with their environment, tend to continue with established resource investments and routines, and mimic the changes of other organizations (Gilbert, 2005;Lowrey & Woo, 2010). These theoretical perspectives are summarized in Figure 1.…”

“…Although audience behavior is discussed in news meetings, news decisions are not altered in response to audience behavior. Lowrey and Woo (2010) argue that news organizations pursue conventional practices "in order to demonstrate legitimacy and to avoid claims of negligence" (Lowrey & Woo, 2010, p. 44). At most, news organizations mimic and reproduce dominant practices of other organizations in their field (Deuze, 2008;Lowrey, 2005).…”

Qualitative Research: A Case for a Multi-Angle View to Enhance ‘Validity’

“…These influences include, but are not limited to, a country's regulatory structures, and rules and laws of concerned government agencies (Oliver, 1997). Although theory indicates that smaller organizations mimic larger organizations in their field, actual outcome of change for an organization may vary among industries (see, for instance, Lowrey & Woo, 2010). In order to achieve long term sustainability, an organization must also earn a general perception of a 'legitimate' existence from the society in addition to showing a sound financial footing in terms of monetary achievements.…”