From One Division of Labor to the Other: The Relation between Beat Reporting, Freelancing, and Journalistic Autonomy
| Autor: | Karin Raeymaeckers, Bart Vanhaelewyn, Sarah Van Leuven |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Communication
media_common.quotation_subject 05 social sciences 050801 communication & media studies Perceived autonomy 0506 political science Politics 0508 media and communications Payroll Homogeneous Political science 050602 political science & public administration Journalism Demographic economics Beat (music) Division of labour Autonomy media_common |
| Zdroj: | Journalism Practice. 15:1203-1221 |
| ISSN: | 1751-2794 1751-2786 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/17512786.2021.1910982 |
| Popis: | In this paper, we focus on the consequences of cost-cutting strategies for the division of labor in newsrooms both in terms of differences between generalist profiles and beat reporters, and in terms of differences between permanent staff and freelancers. A large-scale representative survey of Belgian journalists in 2013 and 2018 shows that the number of beat reporters has remained stable although these journalists are expected to cover a higher number of beats. We also noticed a sharp increase of selfemployed journalists. The prestigious political beat seems to benefit from a protected position in the newsroom and is mostly staffed by payroll journalists. Other beats are under pressure, most importantly the regional beat (that has decreased over the course of 5 years) and the lifestyle beat. The latter group of journalists are predominantly freelancers and report low levels of perceived autonomy from commercial and non-commercial pressure. The findings raise concerns about negative side-effects of cost-cutting strategies including a tendency towards more homogeneous news production and increasing influence of PR on journalism. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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