CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Technological advancement has facilitated adjustments in organisational behaviour and professional practices. In media organisations, the digitisation of news production processes has engendered changes in journalistic practices. Due to this dynamism, media practitioners are compelled to adapt digital media tools to the traditional ways of gathering and disseminating news. The 21st century has been marked by a rapid proliferation of communication technologies that use the Internet to allow people to be constantly connected. The contemporary media landscape is constantly changing and evolving as new technologies, new platforms give birth to new formats, new genres and new forms of participation. Content that was available only on radio, on television, or at newsstands is now just a click away. These fundamental changes have taken place not only on the journalistic field but also in newsrooms, whether broadcast or print.
Digital media tools like blogs, mobile devices, QR Codes, podcasts, social networking sites, RSS feeds, Social Bookmarking, Webcasts, Widgets, which are aided by the Internet, have taken away the hitherto exclusivity of the print and broadcast media to decide what to publish or broadcast. “These technologies represent media convergence or the consolidation of media into fewer devices” (Waxman, 2012:1). Journalists, likewise, make use of these tools to gather background information as well as story leads, thereby foregoing traditional ways of library research.
In order to meet up with the trend of being the first to break the news, many mainstream media houses now have online news websites. Editors/Producers task their reporters to provide news stories and updates as they break. It has, therefore, become a necessity for news organisations to have representation on multiple platforms. Many journalists rely heavily on social media to both check breaking news, and to monitor what other news organisations publish; as well as, to verify information and to interview sources. The new media has seemingly eased efforts which journalists put into gathering information. The new media has kept journalists more engaged with their audiences, facilitated faster reporting, reduced workload and improved productivity. As a result of the highly competitive news business environment, media convergence is inevitable. Straubhaar and LaRose cited in Anim (2013) argue that the conversion of all media to computer readable forms is what drives the convergence of the mass media. Due to digital technology, all media have converged on the Internet, resulting in disruption of status quo patterns of news gathering, processing and dissemination.
Media researchers often describe convergence as a melting together of information systems, telecommunications and media technologies, on the one hand, and social and cultural convergence, on the other hand (Erdal, 2007). Media convergence can simply be described as a technological phenomenon whereby the digitisation of content and its distribution have given audiences the ability to access content on multiple platforms of devices. According to Dupagne and Garrison (2006:238-239), “media convergence represents more than a common technical platform, a business strategy, or a regulatory action.”
With the advent of the Internet, boundaries have collapsed into one another such that different mediums tap and share content. Finberg cited in Powers (2006:11) argues that convergence involves a melding of newsroom cultures and that cultural conflicts that result might be resolved by identifying those individuals who adapt most easily to new strategies and organisational structure and involving them in new projects.” Media convergence is epitomised in the transformation of how people gather, disseminate and retain news content. Media previously made distinct by their technology of distribution have converged. Lawson-Borders cited in Palacios and Noci (2016:112) defines convergence as an “assemble of concurrent possibilities of cooperation between printed and electronic media in the distribution of multimedia contents through use of computer and Internet.” This connotes that Internet and computers are the aggregating source of contents generated by different media as well as the channels through which contents are distributed through different platforms. Convergence has implications for company strategies, technological change and distribution of contents to a mass audience on different
Owing to media convergence, journalists tend to have a greater workload in terms of satisfying a more sophisticated audience even as the availability of technological tools has been found to lessen this workload and influence the job satisfaction of journalists. Vroom cited in Aziri (2011) defined job satisfaction as affective orientations on the part of individuals towards work roles which they presently occupy. Some researchers note that job satisfaction refers to psychological responses to one’s job. Man, Modrak, Dima and Pachura (2011) posit that job satisfaction is a general expression of workers’ positive attitudes built up towards their jobs. Saari and Judge (2003:394) note that job satisfaction includes multidimensional psychological responses to one’s job, and that such responses have cognitive (evaluative), affective (or emotional) and behavioural components.” Aziri (2011) argues that the concept of job satisfaction is complex and that there still is no general agreement regarding what job satisfaction is. Different authors have adopted different approaches towards defining job satisfaction.
Hoppock cited in Aziri (2011) defined job satisfaction as any combination of psychological, physiological and environmental circumstances that can cause a person truthfully to say I am satisfied with my job. This connotes that the way an employee feels is influenced by both internal and external factors. These factors could be drawn from organisational policies which influence employee behaviour. Spector cited in Aziri (2011) simply describes job satisfaction as how people feel about their job and its various aspects. So, job satisfaction or dissatisfaction can appear in any work environment. Job satisfaction can be described as having that enabling environment to enjoy doing one’s work, attain a sense of fulfilment and be rewarded for one’s efforts.
In simple terms, job satisfaction has to do with the extent to which people are contented or discontented about their job and its prospects. While positive and favourable attitudes towards the job indicate job satisfaction, negative and unfavourable attitude towards the job indicate job dissatisfaction (Armstrong, 2006). It is, therefore, relevant to examine the extent of satisfaction or dissatisfaction of reporters, broadcasters, editors, producers towards their job in view of the prospects of media convergence.
Job satisfaction can be measured using any of the Herzberg Two-Factor Model, Job Description Index (JDI) and Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Herzberg Two-Factor Model developed in 1976 identified a series of factors that determine job satisfaction like salary, advancement opportunities, nature of work, management, work groups and work conditions. Herzberg divided the factors into those that cause job satisfaction (motivators) and those that cause job dissatisfaction (hygiene factors). The hygiene factors are: company policies, supervision, interpersonal relations, work conditions, salary, status, job security, while the motivators are: achievement, recognition, work itself, responsibility, advancement, growth. Job satisfaction and dissatisfaction not only depend on the nature of the job but also on the expectation of what the job will supply to the employee (Hussami cited in Parvin and Kabir, 2011).
Job Descriptive Index was developed by Smith, Kendall and Hulin in 1969 as a measure of job satisfaction. JDI measures job satisfaction or dissatisfaction considering: Promotion, Co-workers, Pay, Supervision and Work itself (Kaliski, 2007). The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, a 5-point Likert-type response scale with 20 items, was developed in 1967 by Weiss, Dawis, English and Lofquist. The MSQ measures job satisfaction or dissatisfaction using the following facets: Advancement, Co-workers, Compensation, Supervision, Human Relations, Achievement, Recognition, Responsibility, Company Policies, Security, Status, Ability Utilization, Activity, Authority, Creativity, Independence, Moral Values, Social Service Variety, Working Conditions and Technical Supervision (Newby, 1999).
Researchers contend that greater job satisfaction is associated with greater productivity. This means that employees are likely to be more productive if satisfied with their work. Lower convenience costs, higher organizational and social and intrinsic reward will increase job satisfaction (Mulinge and Mullier cited in Parvin and Kabir, 2011). There is an inverse relationship between job satisfaction and employee turnover. According to Kaliski (2007), job satisfaction is the key ingredient that leads to recognition, income, promotion and the achievement of other goals that lead to a feeling of fulfilment. These researchers agree that adequate remuneration can enhance worker’s productivity, and in turn, job satisfaction.
Job satisfaction is a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences (Lock cited in Dugguh and Dennis, 2014). According to Lund cited in Medina (2012), an employee’s job satisfaction is a reflection of how well an employee’s expectations of a job are aligned with the reality of their work. Similarly, Egan, Yang and Bartlett cited in Medina (2012) define job satisfaction as an employee’s affective reactions to a job based on comparing desired outcomes with actual outcomes. The concern of management of organisations, therefore, is to create a work environment that attracts, motivates and retains hard working individuals which will be better positioned to succeed in a competitive national and global environment that demands quality and cost efficiency (Duggah and Dennis, 2014). In measuring job satisfaction, researchers are able to examine past and present situations in any work environment.
For today’s managers, job satisfaction remains an issue of concern with regards to effective management of their employees. Leadership has often been associated with job satisfaction and productivity (Powers, 2006). Leadership can be defined as communication which positively influences the group to move towards group goals (Catt & Miller cited in Powers, 2006). Leadership behaviour has been found to account for more variance in performance measures than many other environmental or organisational factors. Often, the idea of convergence has been found to clash with newsroom values. Therefore, the orientation and stance of the leadership of media organisations tend to influence the levels of convergence in media houses and journalists’ job satisfaction.
Editors/Producers are now compelled to adopt convergence strategies that are focused on the production of multimedia content in new, planned newsroom environments. This is because convergence results in changing news landscape, especially newsroom practices, which requires new information-processing strategies. In some organisations, print journalists also function as online journalists while in other organisations, online journalists squarely report for the online publication and print focus on the print edition. The approach of management to convergence could be top-down or bottom-up. The implementation of the convergence strategy within the media organisation could also be a long or short term process. With the trend of media convergence, the challenge for media owners is to ensure that journalists’ job satisfaction does not wane while trying to adapt to the dynamic media environment. It is against this background that this study aims to examine the extent to which media convergence affects journalists’ job satisfaction.
1.2 EMERGENCE OF MEDIA CONVERGENCE
For over 20 years, researchers had identified the imperativeness of convergence in media operations. Due to digitalization, the traditional divisions between media industries, such as the press, broadcasting and online media platforms, are slowly collapsing. Journalists working for print and broadcast media tend to rely on online media content. Radio and television reporters who used to exist in separate worlds now cooperate across media boundaries. Journalists must be tech savvy to remain relevant in a profession aided by technology, particularly, internet-enabled mobile devices. Media scholars refer to this kind of media convergence as technological convergence. Journalists spend more of their time in the newsroom and gather less news on the scene as the Internet has become one of the major sources of information (Deprez and Raeymaeckers, 2012).
These changing professional practices questions how journalists relate across the different boundaries. This blurring of the limits between different media, professional skills and role strategies known as convergence is the future of mass communications (Jenkins, 2004; Dupagne and Garrison, 2006; Silcock and Keith, 2006; Zhang, 2008; Aviles, Alberto, Meier, Kaltenbrunner, Carvajal and Kraus, 2014). Digitization and convergence make it increasingly difficult to distinguish between what is broadcasting and what is not (Scannel cited in Erdal, 2007). De Sola Pool cited in Erdal (2007) describes convergence as a force of change in the media industry resulting in the convergence of modes. According to Ketterrer, Smethers & Bressers cited in Powers (2006), if media companies are to achieve a broader audience and provide better, more in-depth coverage of local news through convergence, their existing newsroom cultures and internal communication practices must change. Media convergence is an economic strategy whereby media organisations utilise different platforms to boost their financial returns.
Gordon cited in Powers (2006:11) states that “media convergence results in structural changes related to costs and revenues, job descriptions, organisational charts, and the process of information gathering.” As the society gets more complex, media organisations, in meeting the communication needs of the society, have to adjust. We now live in an information society which is premised upon digital technology and the computer is the dominant medium of this digital age. In today’s digital world, aided by the Internet, “everything” has gone online. Consequently, news organisations are expected to move towards full convergence, and managers must determine how best to motivate and implement change, as well as understand the factors involved in reaching convergence-related goals. Straubhaar and LaRose cited in Anim (2013) conclude that the conversion of all media to computer readable forms is what drives the convergence of the mass media. Anim (2013:5) asserts that:
The multimedia capability of the computer also fostered interactivity, thus making it possible to customize the converged media to highly refined audience segments or even to individual tastes. So now, we are able to access TV shows, movies, music, games, newspapers, magazines, books on our computer screens. The flourishing of the Internet, one of the most astounding inventions of the 20th century, has forged the ultimate in the concept of media convergence. Aided by digital technology, all media have now converged on the Internet, causing even more profound disruption of status quo patterns in the communication of mass information.
Newspaper organisations can no longer be content with just printing large sheets of thin paper. They must also have website where they serve up to the minute information, including videos of news events. These news sites have interactive features which enable the media organisation to analyse audiences’ preferences. Broadcast stations cannot just settle for dishing out programmes on air. They must have websites where they publish their news bulletins. Families do not have to converge in the sitting room for prime time news on television. People possess mobile devices where they follow news events as they occur. Asides from content creation and dissemination, news websites are platforms to get advertising revenue.
Owing to technological advancement, the Nigerian journalist is expected to be multi skilled. The reporter does not only report the news, but also takes photographs, audio and videos of the event using different mobile devices. Interestingly, the journalist does not have to carry so many devices, as one mobile phone can be used to record audio and/or video, take photographs and send the typed stories to the newsroom. Consequently, the journalist is able to produce news stories for either the print, broadcast or online medium. The print journalist can cover an event and make his report adaptable to the broadcast and online journalist. So, there is so much sharing of content among the different forms of journalists.
Organisations, likewise, want multi skilled/resourceful journalists that will help reduce operational costs. Media convergence serves as a strategy to reduce labour, administrative and material cost as print and broadcast houses, also deliver content through their online platforms, even phone applications. They use the same content across different media outlets to poll more advertisements and increase their popularity among the audience. Examples are The Punch (www.punchng.com), Nigerian Tribune (www.tribuneonlineng.com), Vanguard (www.vanguardngr.com), Channels television (www.channelstv.com), Radio Nigeria (ww2.radionigeria.gov.ng/), Nigerian Television Authority (www.nta.ng/). Media convergence and its attendant changes in journalistic practices thereby question the extent to which journalists are satisfied or dissatisfied with the changing media environment and operation.
1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Since the 1980s, media scholars have identified the inevitability of convergence in the media industry. Communications research has since then concerned itself with the characteristics and possible consequences of the convergence trend (Pool, 1983; Latzer, 1998; McQuail and Siune, 1998; Marsden and Verhulst, 1999; Storsul and Stuedahl, 2007; Ducker and Gumpert, 2010). These studies examined the technological, economic and socio-cultural aspects of convergence.
The advent of the Internet has expanded the convergence discourse. In the 21st century, especially, studies on media convergence have increased due to the proliferation of Internet-based services. While some researchers like Dennis (2003) and Dupagne and Garrison (2006) investigated whether media convergence yields direct effects on media use, content diversity, newsroom practices, other researchers like Jenkins (2006), Erdal (2007) and Latzer (2013) acknowledge that digitization of production in media organisations has resulted in media convergence and changed the way news is made. Much of the literature on digitization process and media convergence has addressed the relationship between newspapers and online newspapers (Boczkowski, 2004) and argued that convergence is reshaping the fundamental relationships between journalists, their sources and their audiences (Boczkowski and Ferris, 2005 and Lawson-Borders, 2006). Consequently, journalists make use of websites, weblogs, social media for researching and reporting (Pavlik cited in Deprez and Raeymaeckers (2012).
Researches on job satisfaction in mass communication industries have examined level of professional satisfaction among journalists in view of changing working environments. Dupagne and Garrison (2006) pointed out that journalists had voiced concerns about the increasing workload brought about by media convergence. Aviles, Meier, Kaltenbrunner, Carvajal and Kraus (2014) argue that though newsroom convergence has foisted a heavier workload on journalists, the job satisfaction of journalists has increased. Garcia Aviles et al. found out that journalists were well prepared for the change process which helps with job satisfaction and in seeing rather new possibilities than risks and threats of extra work. With the ability of journalists to assess media content and source for information on technological devices aided by the Internet, some researchers argue that media convergence has resulted in reduced workload or legwork. This questions the degree to which journalists’ job satisfaction has been altered as a result of technological advancements resulting from media convergence. This study, therefore, aims to find out the impact of media convergence on the job satisfaction of journalists in South West, Nigeria. This neglect is a gap in our knowledge which this study aims to fill.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
- To what extent are journalists in South West, Nigeria skilled in utilizing digital media platforms to access contents?
- What is the relationship between perception of media convergence and job satisfaction of journalists in South West, Nigeria?
- Is there any relationship between demographic variables (sex, years of experience, ownership structure) and journalists’ perception of media convergence?
- What are the challenges of media convergence that journalists in South West, Nigeria experience?
- To what extent do management staffs of media organisations engender media convergence in their journalistic operations?
1.5 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
Media convergence has to do with digitisation and the attendant availability of digitized content on digital media platforms. Consequently, contents can be accessed on various digital media platforms. Journalists as content generators now have the opportunity to access varied contents across multiple media platforms. However, journalists have to be skilled to be able to optimally use the digital media to access content. This study, therefore, seeks to know the extent to which journalists are skilled in utilizing digital media platforms to access contents.
Media personnel, ranging from reporters to editors and directors, are key implementers of convergence in their day-to-day journalistic practices. Their emotional contentment or discontentment about media convergence is a factor that could impact upon their level of job satisfaction. Moreover, people tend to adjust and adapt to changes if they are enthusiastic and do not adapt easily if they are not enthusiastic about the prospects of the emerging trend. The interplay between the journalist and the changing situation among other various internal and external factors may affect the journalist’s job satisfaction. The perception of journalists towards the trend of media convergence vis-a-vis their job satisfaction will therefore be assessed.
Furthermore, journalists’ perception of media convergence may or may not differ based on sex, age, years of experience, kind and mode of ownership of the media organisation that they work with. This study, therefore, seeks to find out if there is any relationship between these demographic variables and how journalists perceive media convergence.
