Broader and deeper

A study of newsroom culture in a time of change

Bibliographic Data

ID7477724
AuthorsDavid Ryfe (0000-0003-2493-6519, University of Nevada, Reno, corresponding author), David M Ryfe (University of Nevada, Reno)
Year2009
Volume10
Issue2
Pages197-216
Publication date2009-03-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1464-8849 • E-ISSN: 1741-3001
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1464884908100601
OpenAlexW2034982581
LanguageEN
Citations received73
References cited17

This essay offers an ethnographic analysis of The Daily Times, 1 a mid-sized American corporately owned newsroom. During the period under study, a new editor changed the way that reporters produced the news. In particular, he asked his reporters to attend less closely to the public agencies that composed their beats. Over time, his reporters alternately expressed confusion and indignation about the new rules. I explain their reaction in terms of conclusions drawn from the original ethnographic studies of newsrooms conducted in the 1970s. These studies showed that journalistic practices like routine visits to public agencies serve important functional and symbolic needs for journalists. The changes introduced by this editor threatened several of these needs, and this ultimately led the reporters to reject the new rules. This case study shows that journalists rely on a deeply embedded culture of professionalism to respond to the experiments taking place in their newsrooms

Confusion · Ethnography · Indignation · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Psychoanalysis · Public relations · Sociology · Anthropology · Media Studies and Communication · Psychology · Rhetoric and Communication Studies · Social Media and Politics · History · Law

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