The poetics of goodbye

Change and nostalgia in goodbye narratives penned by ex- Baltimore Sun employees

Bibliographic Data

ID7477994
AuthorsStacy Spaulding (0000-0003-2053-0052, Towson University, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume17
Issue2
Pages208-226
Publication date2014-10-06
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1464-8849 • E-ISSN: 1741-3001
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1464884914552267
OpenAlexW2034780729
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited41

This study examines a website produced by a group of workers laid off by The Baltimore Sun in April 2009. This study describes the poetics of ‘goodbye narratives’, reflective stories written by ex-employees regarding their organizational experiences. This article uses plot and thematic analysis rooted in narrative and organizational studies to understand community sense making of organizational change. Individually, these writers told stories that expressed attachment to their work and profession, while collectively these narratives dramatically illustrated the impact of organizational decline. Furthermore, these stories provided an opportunity to examine the role of nostalgia within interpretative community discourse. This article theorizes that nostalgia performs both individual and collective sense making, building a bridge between local and durational interpretative modes

Aesthetics · Art · Literature · Media studies · Narrative · Organizational change · Plot (graphics · Poetics · Poetry · Political science · Public relations · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Thematic analysis · Employment and Welfare Studies · Management and Organizational Studies · Nostalgia and Consumer Behavior · Gender Studies · History

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