TY - JOUR
T1 - The Networked Newsroom
T2 - Navigating New Boundaries of Work
AU - Hayes, Kathryn
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - As newsrooms build new audiences and revenue streams, there are considerations around the impact of digitalization on journalistic labour. This paper explores journalists’ perceptions of how digital technologies influence their work, and the role of technology in furthering managerial control and extracting labour power. Building on an earlier study of freelance workers in the Republic of Ireland this exploratory paper examines if the concept of digital labour, can be expanded to include the work of salaried journalists. Specifically, the article considers how digital technologies are shifting the boundaries and the nature of work in journalism. The research is informed by a theoretical framework, drawn from labour process theory. Using this theory, the linkages between digital labour and work processes are considered to explore the perceived effects of digitalization on how journalists work. The main findings suggest organizations are increasingly extracting more labour power, requiring journalists to produce more over longer hours. Salaried journalists also report an implicit rather than a contractual obligation to participate in additional and unpaid digital labour to meet employer expectations. These developments, it is argued, have not only shifted the boundaries of news work but also further tilted the balance of power in favour of news organizations.
AB - As newsrooms build new audiences and revenue streams, there are considerations around the impact of digitalization on journalistic labour. This paper explores journalists’ perceptions of how digital technologies influence their work, and the role of technology in furthering managerial control and extracting labour power. Building on an earlier study of freelance workers in the Republic of Ireland this exploratory paper examines if the concept of digital labour, can be expanded to include the work of salaried journalists. Specifically, the article considers how digital technologies are shifting the boundaries and the nature of work in journalism. The research is informed by a theoretical framework, drawn from labour process theory. Using this theory, the linkages between digital labour and work processes are considered to explore the perceived effects of digitalization on how journalists work. The main findings suggest organizations are increasingly extracting more labour power, requiring journalists to produce more over longer hours. Salaried journalists also report an implicit rather than a contractual obligation to participate in additional and unpaid digital labour to meet employer expectations. These developments, it is argued, have not only shifted the boundaries of news work but also further tilted the balance of power in favour of news organizations.
KW - digital labour
KW - Digitalization
KW - journalism
KW - labour process theory
KW - social media
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85110288094&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/17512786.2021.1949627
DO - 10.1080/17512786.2021.1949627
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85110288094
SN - 1751-2786
VL - 18
SP - 803
EP - 817
JO - Journalism Practice
JF - Journalism Practice
IS - 4
ER -