Negotiating Identities in an Appalachian Newsroom
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Community, Culture, and Change: Negotiating Identities in an Appalachian Newsroom A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Christina M. Zempter December 2018 © 2018 Christina M. Zempter. All Rights Reserved. i This dissertation titled Community, Culture, and Change: Negotiating Identities in an Appalachian Newsroom by CHRISTINA M. ZEMPTER has been approved for the School of Communication Studies and the Scripps College of Communication by Devika Chawla Professor of Communication Studies Scott Titsworth Dean, Scripps College of Communication ii Abstract ZEMPTER, CHRISTINA M., Ph.D., December 2018, Communication Studies Community, Culture, and Change: Negotiating Identities in an Appalachian Newsroom Director of Dissertation: Devika Chawla Newsrooms have long been communicative spaces in which journalists negotiate various roles and identities, define professional values, debate coverage practices, and interpret events. Such spaces are increasingly significant as journalists adapt to a changing media landscape and respond to public perceptions reflected in such narratives as the characterization of responsible journalism as “fake news.” But publishers are increasingly downsizing newsrooms and outsourcing critical functions to free-lancers or editing and design hubs. In an effort to explore the costs associated with shrinking newsrooms, I spent nearly three months observing journalists in the Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette-Mail newsroom and interviewing them about their experiences. I found that newsroom interactions were central to journalists’ socialization into their shared professional, organizational, and geographic communities and to their negotiation of shifting demands related to digital technologies and audience expectations. iii Dedication To Laura, who made it all possible iv Acknowledgments At the end of my fieldwork, Greg Moore, then the managing editor of the Charleston Gazette-Mail and now its executive editor, noted: “It’s an axiom, largely true, that reporters don’t like to be the story.” I am incredibly grateful for the willingness of the editorial staff of the Gazette-Mail to welcome me into the newsroom despite this general aversion to the level of attention represented by a project like this. Their graciousness is particularly notable in light of the fact that I was not alone in my interest. During my fieldwork, Gazette-Mail journalists were also interacting regularly with a documentary film crew and national news organizations curious about many of the same qualities that drew me to the newspaper. Yet every journalist with whom I interacted was thoughtful and forthcoming in their responses to my questions. As a scholar, I am indebted to them for their participation in this study. As an Appalachian, I have an enormous appreciation for the important work they continue to produce in increasingly trying circumstances. For the last four years, I have had the great fortune to call Dr. Devika Chawla my mentor. Her influence on my writing and my approach to ethnographic research cannot be overestimated. Her brilliant editing made this document far more coherent and meaningful than it was the first time it left my desk. And her conviction that everything one reads contributes to the scholarly process was a beautiful revelation to someone desperate to escape the constraints of the academic text. The benefits I have experienced as a result of Dr. Laura Black’s commitment to the idea of community in both her research and her life have been twofold. First, her knowledge of the scholarship in this area provided me with a bounty of resources to v frame the “Negotiating Communities” chapter. Second, her pedagogical philosophy and personal example have informed my own pursuit of an academic community. Throughout every stage of this project, Dr. Benjamin Bates has provided thoughtful feedback that has enlarged my understanding of communication theory and its application to my research. The value to me of his broad knowledge of the field is matched only by that of his close reading of each manuscript I submit to him. From our first encounter, Dr. Hans Meyer has gone out of his way to help me understand the developments in journalism scholarship that have occurred since I left the field. Many of the texts he shared with me as part of an independent study in online journalism have informed this dissertation. His invitation to me to work with him on his own research helped me understand connections between the theoretical conceits of those readings and practice. My wife, Laura Harrison, was a consistent source of emotional support and intellectual engagement. Much of what you read here was first articulated and later clarified at our kitchen table. The rest of my family, particularly my parents (Gaylene and Cliff Zempter) and my sister (Teresa Corcoran) and brother (Dan Zempter), are largely responsible for whatever I brought to the table. Their particular brand of love gave me the confidence to try almost anything and the wisdom not to take myself too seriously. Finally, Jeff Henson did not live to see the product of this research, but he played a significant role in its development. From our first conversations as colleagues in the early 1990s to our meetings at his South Charleston home while I was completing my fieldwork in 2017, Henson’s insights influenced my understanding of my own identity as vi a journalist as well as my conception of this project. His name also stands in for those of numerous fellow journalists who contributed to my socialization into the field and my appreciation of its significance. I am grateful to have known and worked with you. vii Table of Contents Page Abstract ......................................................................................................................... iii Dedication ...................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................... v Preface ............................................................................................................................ 1 I. Introduction: The Incredible Shrinking Newsroom ....................................................... 5 II. Culture and Identity in the Newsroom ....................................................................... 13 Changing Perceptions of the Professionalism of Journalism ..................................... 13 Socialization and Identity Formation in the Newsroom ............................................ 17 Technology’s Role in Changing Journalism Values ................................................. 20 Community Journalism ............................................................................................ 24 Theoretical Frameworks .......................................................................................... 35 Defining Culture ................................................................................................ 36 Journalists as Homo Narrans ............................................................................. 38 Organizational Communication Constructs ........................................................ 42 Community Newspapers and the Public Sphere ................................................. 46 III. Research Practices: A Homecoming, of Sorts .......................................................... 50 A Day in the Newsroom .......................................................................................... 53 Beyond Routine Newsroom Observation ................................................................. 64 Social Media ...................................................................................................... 65 Other Meetings .................................................................................................. 68 Interviews .......................................................................................................... 71 (Beyond the Primary) Field Trips ....................................................................... 76 Navigating the Spaces Between ............................................................................... 80 Making Sense of It All ............................................................................................. 84 IV. Negotiating Communities ........................................................................................ 90 Defining Boundaries ................................................................................................ 93 The Professional Community ................................................................................. 101 The Organizational Community ............................................................................. 106 The Geographic Community .................................................................................. 116 The Role of the Newspaper in the Community ................................................. 122 viii Community Connectors ......................................................................................... 127 V. The Newsroom as a Multicultural Space ................................................................. 135 Long-Timers and New Arrivals ............................................................................. 139 Newsroom “City-States”