What is a Journalist?

Toward a New Conceptualization of Journalistic Competency: An Analysis of U.S. Broadcasting Job Announcements

“…On average, each announcement mentions 14 out of 32 competencies listed in our coding scheme and in some cases, as many as 24 competencies are listed in one singular job ad. Consistent with previous research (Wenger & Owens, 2013;Young & Carson, 2018), our analysis shows that the top qualification sought by broadcasters is professional experience. Of all 359 job announcements analyzed, 83.29% required some previous work experience, and 16.71% did not specify such requirement.…”

“…Our analysis yielded several notable findings. Previous studies found that the news industry placed a high value on employee's prior journalistic experience (Young & Carson, 2018). Our study, however, indicates that a bachelor's degree is just as important as prior work experience for entering the broadcast field.…”

“…Our analysis also suggests that broadcasters are increasingly looking for candidates with multimedia skills as it ranks at the top of the list of the requirements. Furthermore, while 10 years ago, digital skills were not yet central to the role of journalists (Young & Carson, 2018), we find that skills, such as big data knowledge, website development, social media publishing, and audience analytics, frequently appear in today's broadcasters' job postings. As the digital evolution of broadcast journalism continues, calls for such skills can be expected to grow.…”

“…Without a clear understanding of the fundamental competency requirements, those working in the journalism industry could feel insecure and lack directions to acquire new skills (Baines & Kennedy, 2010). In a way, media companies play an important role in defining the direction of the profession by setting job qualifications for their new hires, skills they ought to possess, and ethics and cultural values they should embrace (Young & Carson, 2018). Therefore, this study, by examining 359 job ads posted by U.S. broadcast media, provides a conceptual understanding and an empirical analysis of the required competence in broadcast journalism.…”

“…Job announcement analysis is considered as an effective way to identify core competencies of a specific profession and provide a picture of employers' requirements for new hires (Ritzhaupt et al, 2010). Over the past two decades, such analysis has significantly grown in scope and complexity and has been applied to journalism studies (e.g., Massey, 2010;Young & Carson, 2018). Journalism job analysis, as researchers have rightly pointed out, not only helps detect emerging changes in the news industry but can also inform journalism educators and students of desired qualifications for front-line journalists.…”