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Supervisor Leadership Behavior's Effect on TV Newsworker
Professionalism
SUPERVISOR LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR'S EFFECT ON
TELEVISION NEWSWORKER PROFESSIONALISM
Submitted for:
AEJMC 2003 Convention Call for Papers
Media Management & Economics Division
Submitted by:
Natalie Corey
Graduate Student
Southern Methodist University
820 Riverchase Pkwy West
Hoover, AL 35244
(205) 985-7871
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Advisor - Prof. Ray Carroll
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Supervisor Leadership Behavior's Effect on TV Newsworker
Professionalism
Corey, Natalie
B.A. University of Alabama, 1992
Supervisor Leadership Behavior's Effect on
Television Newsworker Professionalism
Advisor: Professor Ray Carroll, Ph.D.
Master of Arts, Southern Methodist University to be conferred August 2003
ABSTRACT
The effect of supervisors' leadership behaviors on television newsworker
professionalism is examined. McLeod & Hawley's (1964) professionalism
index and the Path-Goal leadership theory are used as a framework for this
study.
Professionally oriented newsworkers were found to be positively related to
relationship-oriented leadership behaviors. A positive correlation between
the professionals and the task-oriented leadership behaviors was also found.
Findings suggest that effective supervisors exhibit both relationship- and
task-oriented leadership behaviors in retaining professionally oriented
employees.
SUPERVISOR LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR'S EFFECT ON
TELEVISION NEWSWORKER PROFESSIONALISM
This study investigates the influence of supervisor leadership behavior on
employee professionalism in television news organizations. A high level of
professionalism is important to a television news organization, as it will
aid in the effective execution of the organization's goals. The perception
of a "professional" news organization is important in gaining the public's
trust and acceptance (McLeod & Hawley, 1964). Moreover, a professionally
oriented newsroom can better serve the mass media audience (Hodges,
1986). Leaders within news organizations must develop their management
style to promote professionalism. Thus, an understanding of effective
leadership behaviors and their effect on professionalism will benefit the
overall success of television news organizations.
Professionalism
A profession refers to an occupation with special characteristics that set
it apart from a trade or business. Professional occupations are afforded a
higher social status (Hodges, 1986). Pound (1953) claimed that for an
occupation to be classified as professional it requires specialized
learning, it must be an occupation in which things are practiced (i.e.
things are done as an art), and it must operate in the spirit of public
service.
There is an ongoing controversy over whether journalism is a true
profession or merely a craft. McLeod and Hawley (1964) believe that
journalism is partly professionalized but lacks some important ingredients
of a true profession. They developed a measure of professional orientation
for journalists a professional orientation index. Using an anonymous
questionnaire, McLeod & Hawley (1964) surveyed newspaper editorial
employees. Summing across the 12 professional questions on the survey and
then subtracting the total of the 12 non-professional questions calculated
each employee's professional orientation score. McLeod and Hawley
concluded some newsworkers are more or less professionalized than others.
McLeod and Hawley's measure of professionalism has been used by other
researchers to explore relationships between professionalism levels and a
range of demographic and attitudinal variables within television news
journalists. Examples of such studies include Weinthal & O'Keefe's (1974)
analysis of professionalism among broadcast journalists in Denver, Idsvoog
& Hoyt's (1977) research of professionalism and job satisfaction at
Wisconsin network affiliated television stations, Wright's (1976) study of
Canadian broadcast journalists, and Henningham's (1984) research comparing
Australian and U.S. broadcast journalists.
Professionalism within a television news organization is generally seen as
an asset. Within their study, McLeod and Hawley (1964) suggested that in
defining a job, a professional person should place heavy emphasis on
service, intellectual activity, autonomy, and influence. They defined
professional journalists as those who are generally more concerned with
ethical standards, more educated, more critical of their own employer, more
independent on the job, less likely to take a non-journalism job, and less
concerned about money and prestige.
A staff of professionally oriented journalists inherently benefits the
news organization and the goals of the station. Hohenberg (1973) claimed
that professional journalists perform a unique and essential service to
society, because they believe strongly in ethical practices such as
protecting sources, and they subscribe to occupational norms such as
objectivity. Isdvoog and Hoyt (1977) concluded that television journalists
with a high level of professionalism performed more skillfully than those
with low professionalism. Similarly, Coldwell (1974) found that the
presence of more professionally oriented newspaper photographers led to
higher photojournalistic quality. Moreover, Guensburg (1999) concluded
that industry experts see professionalism as the most important
decision-making factor in ensuring that television news coverage remains
responsible even as it continues to hold the interests of the viewers.
Professionalism is a system in which employees are socialized into the
values and practices of the occupation and the organization. The
difference in their levels of professionalism can be tied to the varying
practices and values of the organization. The newsworker, unlike members
of legal and medical professions, is under considerable organizational
control (Becker, 1979). Newsworkers are almost totally dependent on news
organizations for dissemination of their products.
Breed (1955) described the process in which a newsworker assimilated to
the values of a newsroom. A developing newsworker goes through a
socialization process, wherein early education may establish occupational
competency, but professional values develop when on-the-job experiences
begin. The learning of "policy" is a process in which the newsworker
discovers and internalizes the rights and obligations of his or her status
and the organization's norms and values.1 He or she conforms to the norms
of organizational policy through influential experiences including the
organization's culture, structure, hierarchy, work groups, and supervisory
leadership.
Path Goal Theory of Leadership
As suggested above, supervisors play an important role in influencing the
values assimilated by employees. A supervisor's job is to work with and
through other people to facilitate the objectives of the organization and
its members. Supervisors are responsible for planning, organizing,
staffing, coordinating, controlling, motivating, and leading their
employees (Montana & Charnov, 2000, p. 2). In carrying out these
responsibilities, the value systems of employees can be influenced. Based
on their research on leaders, Kouzes and Posner (1987) proposed that
leaders show others by their own example that they live by the values that
they profess. What one stands for provides a "prism through which all
behavior is ultimately viewed" (p. 192).
The situational approach to leadership considers leadership styles,
abilities, and skills as well as the needs of the situation (Stogdill,
1959). It explains leadership as the interaction between the leader and
the variables within the work environment (Price, 1991). Thus, a situation
must be understood from four different dimensions: personal
characteristics of the supervisors, the nature of the job itself, the
nature of the organization, and employees' personal characteristics
(Montana & Charnov, p. 266). Each dimension influences leadership
effectiveness.
Taking those dimensions into account, Evans' (1970) and House's (1971)
path-goal theory of leadership proposes that the psychological state of
subordinates can be affected through leadership behaviors. These
behavioral styles can have an effect on subordinates' motivational
variables, such as greater job satisfaction, greater acceptance of the
leader, and increased effort in job performance (Filley, House, & Kerr,
1976). Path-Goal theory identifies four leader orientations: supportive,
participative, instrumental, and achievement-oriented. These orientations
are distinguished by their degrees of relationship-oriented and
task-oriented leadership styles. A relationship-oriented style reflects
the extent to which a manager conveys friendship, mutual trust, and
respect. A task-oriented leadership style is based on the extent of a
manager's predilection towards organizing and establishing systems (Filley,
House, & Kerr, 1976).
House's (1971) seminal study demonstrated the usefulness of the Path-Goal
theory in examining leader behavior related to subordinate job satisfaction
and role ambiguity at an equipment manufacturing company. By applying the
leadership scales from the Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire
(LBDQ-XII) developed by Halpin (1957) and measures of satisfaction and role
ambiguity derived by factor analysis, House found a significant
relationship between task-oriented leadership behaviors, job satisfaction,
and role ambiguity.
Schriesheim and Schriesheim (1980) tested several hypotheses using the
path-goal theory. They studied the effect of task structure (the degree to
which the task, execution rules and procedures were simple, repetitive, and
unambiguous) on the relationship between leadership behaviors and
subordinate satisfaction and role clarity among employees in a large public
utility. Although task structure was not found to conclusively affect the
relationship, the results support the usefulness of the path-goal
theory. As the theory suggests, task- and relationship-oriented leadership
behaviors appear to be important variables in studying supervisor
relationships within organizations.
Powers (1991) studied the effects of local television news managers'
leadership styles on worker job satisfaction and whether organizational
goals were achieved, or even agreed upon by news managers and
reporters. In applying the path-goal situational theory, Powers (1991)
found that most news staff members perceived their news directors to have
high levels of both task- and relationship-oriented behaviors. As
relationship-oriented behavior increased, news staff members reported being
more successful at attaining department goals. Moreover, the
relationship-oriented news directors were positively related to the job
satisfaction of news staff members. Thus, Powers' concluded that the
success of television news departments depends on effective leadership in
facilitating employee development, open communication, and integration of
individual goals with those of the organization.
Overall, the path-goal leadership model suggests the benefit of the leader
to influence the follower's perception of work goals, self-development
goals, and paths to goal attainment (Gibson, Invancevich, & Donnelly, 1979,
p. 223). Even so, task- and relationship-oriented leadership behaviors can
be modified by environmental characteristics including work roles,
organizational structure, and work groups.
Organizational Characteristics
Leadership behaviors influence employees in different ways depending on
the external situational elements of employee's personal characteristics
such as age, work experience, and environmental characteristics within the
organization (Price, 1991).2 The path-goal theory proposes the necessity
of supervisors understanding all the characteristics of the work situation
in order to become more effective leaders (House, 1971).
Influential environmental characteristics of television newsrooms include
work roles, organizational structure, and work groups. Berkowitz (1993)
identified two such work roles: news managers and information gathers
(reporters/anchors). Before he undertook his study, Berkowitz (1993)
observed that news managers and information gatherers face different
pressures in their jobs because of their roles and their relationship to
journalism and business. The common belief was that these pressures shaped
the values that journalists expressed. Berkowitz found that although work
roles may lead to distinctions in views about news selection, much greater
distinctions likely stem from influences more complex than work roles
alone. Social forces such as childhood and family background, friends,
personal beliefs, and passions have been linked to motivations that lead
journalists toward a career in local television news and to the actual
conditions under which they work (Berkowitz, 1993).
Epstein's (1973) seminal analysis established the importance of
organizational structure in the news selection process and on employee
values at NBC News. In the news production process, a producer's primary
role is to enforce the standards of the organization for which they
work. Producers are directly accountable to executives for every minute of
news shown on the air, as well as for overseeing the resources for
producing it, i.e. correspondents and technicians. The effect of this
process is that the news is partly shaped by organizational needs, and in
part by the values of the producers and correspondents intimately involved
in the process. Epstein (1973) concluded that the personal values of
newsworkers are generally not decisive when they are in conflict with
organizational values and norms.
Other studies found a connection between news selection and the
newsworker's hierarchical place in the selection process. For example, a
television news journalist waits for an assignment from a news director
and, in turn, directs photojournalists to shoot the story, which directs an
editor to finish out the news story (Bantz, McCorkle & Baade, 1980). Such
hierarchical work roles delineate the television production
process. Weinthal & O'Keefe (1974) concluded that the hierarchical
organizational structure could also shape newsworkers' professional
behaviors and values, as can such variables as degree of interpersonal
communication, consensus among members, and accuracy of interpersonal
perceptions.
Another environmental attribute of television news organizations is in
work group relationships. Policies within newsrooms are generally vague
and unstructured, allowing reporters some autonomy in their reporting
style. Breed (1955) noted an "ethical taboo'" in newspaper organizations
that prevented superiors from commanding employees to follow policy. This
type of unstructured environment and open working relationship promoted
favorable attitudes from the employees toward the news organization and
their managers. Similarly, Epstein (1973) found that the working
relationship between executives and producers was usually informal, partly
because most executives in the news divisions were recruited from the ranks
of producers and maintain personal friendships. Yet, even in informal
environments, news personnel are not independent of the producers because
they are all ultimately responsible to the executives in fulfilling the
needs and expectations of the organization (Epstein, 1973).
Johnstone (1976) found that increasing centralization in the news industry
heightened job dissatisfaction. The lack of job satisfaction was related
to a decrease in journalistic autonomy. As organizations grow, there is
generally less two-way vertical communication and communication flow
becomes predominately downward. Thus, staffers become less frequently
involved in editorial decision-making. News people who found themselves in
these downward communication settings perceived their professional autonomy
as more circumscribed (Johnstone, 1976).
Gans (1979), however, observed that news organizations sometimes defy
textbook generalizations on organizational practices. Although news
organizations tend to look like assembly lines and bureaucracies,
professionals nonetheless staff them. As professionals, these newsworkers
are not given direct orders but "suggestions" so as to respect their
professional autonomy and morale, which in turn affects their
productivity. Consequently, Gans (1979) concluded that morale is primarily
determined by the amount of control newsworkers have and the way superiors
treat their work. Since most journalists have a strong commitment to and
identification with their product, they can become discouraged when their
fervor is restrained by what they consider unnecessary bureaucratic
obstacles, unwillingness of superiors to listen to them, and undue
interference with their autonomy.
Chapter I provided an explication of the concepts of the professional
orientation index and the path-goal theory of leadership behavior. This
chapter also reviewed pertinent studies related to the organizational
characteristics of television news organizations. This background provides
the basis for this study's examination of the effect of supervisor
leadership behavior on newsworker professionalism.
Hypotheses
Three hypotheses were proposed based on the findings on professional
orientation by McLeod & Hawley (1964) and Powers' (1991) use of the
path-goal theory of leadership to explore leadership behaviors,
environmental characteristics, and professionalism in television newsrooms.
H1: Professionally oriented newsworkers prefer employment in an environment
with a participatory (relationship-oriented) approach to management.
H2: Task-oriented managers are inversely related to higher professionalism
among the organization's employees.
H3: Newsworker professionalism is positively related to longevity within
the industry.
These hypotheses focused the study on understanding how employees view
working within television news organizations. They also enable conclusions
on how the leadership behaviors of supervisors affect employees'
journalistic professionalism and whether a newsworker's professionalism is
affected by their length of time employed within the industry.
METHOD
This study analyzed employees and supervisors who were employed at the
television news and production departments of network television affiliates
in the major and mid-size markets of Dallas - Ft. Worth, Texas, and
Birmingham - Anniston - Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Procedure
The names of employees and supervisors assigned to the news and production
departments at each station were obtained through personal visits and
telephone calls. A self-administered mail questionnaire and cover letter
was sent to the subjects in the Summer of 2002 (See Appendix A). Self
addressed, stamped reply envelopes were enclosed to encourage
responses. Questionnaires were to be returned anonymously encouraging
honest responses. Two follow up telephone calls at two weeks and four
weeks following the initial mailing and one follow up post card mailing was
sent three weeks following, to generate a greater response.
Questionnaire Structure
Questionnaires included three sections (See Appendix B). The first
consisted of the Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ-XII)
as developed by Haplin (1957) where respondents described the behavior of
designated leaders in formal organizations (Halpin, 1957).
Forty questions solicited responses on a 5-point scale to describe how
managers might behave. Fifteen items were related to task-oriented
leadership behaviors and 15 items were related to relationship-oriented
leadership behaviors and the remaining 10 items were inert. Respondents
reported the frequency their leader/manager exhibited each type of behavior
(Stogdill, pg. 144). Thus, Section 1 of the questionnaire operationally
defined relationship-oriented and task-oriented leadership behaviors.
Section 2 of the questionnaire was based on McLeod's professional
orientation index. The first set of questions rated desired job
characteristics and present job satisfaction. The second set used a
7-point scale to rate the importance of situations that pertained to
professionally oriented journalism. Responses to these items were used to
create an employee professionalism index.
Section 3 solicited demographic characteristics of the respondents,
including gender, job function, age, number of years in the industry, and
number of years at their current job.
Participants
The population of this study included television news and production
departments of network affiliates in the Dallas Ft. Worth, Texas, and
Birmingham Anniston - Tuscaloosa, Alabama, markets. The observation
between the two designated market areas (DMAs) reflects a nationwide
sampling of major and mid-sized markets. The Dallas Ft. Worth stations
represent a larger DMA (Rank 7 with 2,195,540 television households
representing 2.059% of US television households) and the Birmingham
Anniston - Tuscaloosa stations a mid-sized market (Rank 40 with 690,030
television households representing 0.647% of US television households).
Established, 'non-entry level' market stations were chosen because they are
more representative of the majority of competitive markets nationwide. The
environmental characteristics, including corporate culture, organizational
structure, work roles, and work groups, should be comparable to television
news organizations nationwide.
A total of 11 network affiliates in these markets were analyzed.3 Ten of
the eleven stations (with the exception of WCFT which is owned by
Allbritton Communications Inc. 4 ) are owned by the nations "Top 25"
television group owners based on percentage of US household coverage as
calculated by the FCC in January 2002 (Cahners Business Information,
2002). These "Top 25" group owners should share common corporate cultures,
organizational structures, work roles and work groups. For instance, as
organizations increase in size, control structures become more centralized
and more formal (Johnstone, 1976).
Data Analysis
A Pearson product-moment correlation analysis and an analysis of variance
(ANOVA) were used to test the hypotheses. A one-way ANOVA was used to
investigate sources of variation among groups including
relationship-oriented and task-oriented leadership behavior scores and an
employee's longevity. The purpose of this test was to determine
significant relationships among the groups and a newsworker's
professionalism. ANOVA is a versatile statistic that is widely used in
mass media research (Wimmer & Dominick, 2000).
A Pearson product-moment correlation analysis was used to determine the
relationship between professionalism and relationship-oriented leadership
behaviors. Another correlation tested the relationship between newsworker
professionalism and task-oriented leadership behavior. A final correlation
explored the association between an employee's length of time in the
industry (longevity) and professionalism.
The Pearson correlation analysis is the most commonly used analysis in
measuring the degree of relationship between two variables. The
correlation varies between 1.00 and +1.00. A correlation coefficient of
+1.00 indicates a perfect positive correlation and a correlation of
-1.00 indicates a perfect relationship in the negative direction (Cohen &
Cohen, 1975).
Independent variables include the relationship-oriented score, the
task-oriented score and the employee's longevity. The dependent variable
throughout the study is the professionalism index, which delineates the
grouping of professionals and semi-professionals.
Missing data was handled by extrapolating the mean response from other
participant responses. Five percent of the respondents (5 respondents out
of 98) did not respond to the survey question regarding the number of years
at their current job.
RESULTS
Survey research yielded a 39% response rate. Respondents were fairly
evenly split in gender and by market. Sixty-four percent of the
newsworkers who responded in this survey had graduated from college and
49.5 percent had worked at their current position between one and five
years (Table 1).
Respondents were identified as professionals or semi-professionals, based
on McLeod & Hawley's (1964) professionalism index. A professional
orientation score was assigned to each respondent. The groups were formed
by dividing the ranking of respondents as close to the median (46) of the
professional orientation score as possible. Respondents in the
professionally oriented group reported desiring a job that uses their
professional skills and knowledge, that permits free expression, has
competent supervisors and co-workers, that allows them to have an effect on
the client and organization, and that contributes an essential
service. The semi-professionals group was characterized by their emphasis
on prestige, monetary benefits, security and the human relation aspects of
the job (McLeod & Hawley, 1964).
Most newsworkers perceived their supervisors to have high levels of both
task- and relationship-oriented behavior. Possible task-oriented scores
ranged from 31 to 74, where 31 indicated low levels and 74 indicated high
levels of task-oriented behavior. Possible relationship-oriented scores
ranged from 35 to 63, where 35 indicated low levels and 63 indicated high
levels of relationship-oriented behavior. The mean score for task behavior
among the professional respondents was 55.8, while the mean score for
relationship-oriented behavior was 49.5 (Table 2). Table 2 also shows that
the mean relationship-oriented score for professionals was significantly
higher at 49.5, than the mean relationship-oriented score for
semi-professionals at 45.8.
Hypothesis 1, professionally oriented newsworkers prefer employment in an
environment with a participatory (relationship-oriented) approach to
management was supported. A correlation analysis (Table 3) indicated that
this hypothesis was supported. The analysis variables included the measure
of the relationship-oriented score and the measure of the professionalism
index. Results indicated a positive correlation of .574 between the
professionalism index and the relationship-oriented score at the p < .01
level. Suggesting a strong likelihood that professionally oriented
newsworkers also prefer relationship-oriented leadership behaviors.
When this hypothesis was tested using an analysis of variance (ANOVA), it
was also supported: A significant relationship between the professionals
and the relationship-oriented score with F = 10.01, df = 1, p = .002 (Table
4). The mean of squares between and within groups was divided to obtain
the F ratio. Assuming a significance level of .01, the F ratio must be
3.92 or greater to show statistical significance (Wimmer & Dominick,
2000). Since the calculated F ration of 10.01 is greater than 3.92, there
is a significant difference between the groupings hence the first
hypothesis is supported.
Hypothesis 2, task-oriented managers are inversely related to higher
professionalism among the organization's employees, was not supported. In
fact, the exact opposite was found. The analysis variables included the
measure of the task-oriented score and the measure of the professionalism
index. A positive correlation between the professionalism index and the
task-oriented score at the r = .388, p <. 01 level was found (Table 3).
This finding indicates that professionally oriented newsworkers also prefer
task-oriented leadership behaviors.
Although Hypothesis 2 was rejected, these results can be compared to the
relationship-oriented correlation analysis. A stronger positive
relationship was found between the professionalism index and the
relationship-orientation score at .574 than between the professionalism
index and the task-oriented score at .388 (Table 3).
The same findings are supported when performing the ANOVA test. No
significant difference was observed between professionalism and the
task-oriented score with F = 1.61, df = 1, p = .208 (Table 4). Assuming a
significance level of .01, the F ratio must be 3.92 or greater to show
statistical significance (Wimmer & Dominick, 2000). Since the calculated F
ratio of 1.61 is not greater than 3.92, there is not a significant
difference between the groupings hence the second hypothesis is rejected.
Hypothesis 3 stated that newsworker professionalism is positively related
to an employee's longevity in the industry. As shown in Table 3, this
hypothesis was supported. There is a significant positive correlation of
.434 between employee longevity in the industry and the professionalism
index (p < .01) (Table 3). Thus as the number of years working in the
industry increases, professionalism also increases.
When Hypothesis 3 was tested using analysis of variance, it was also
supported. A significant relationship between professionalism and employee
longevity was observed with F = 5.68, df = 1, p = .019 (Table 4). Since
the calculated F value of 5.68 was greater than the statistically required
3.92 (Wimmer & Dominick, 2000), there was a significant difference between
the groupings.
Limitations
The implications of this study should be approached with some caution due
to the limitations of the research. First, this study was limited by a low
response rate of 39 percent. Babbie (1992) states that a response rate of
at least 50 percent is adequate for analysis and reporting. Justification
for the continuation of this study was based on the demographic balance in
the respondents, which were fairly evenly split by market and by
gender. 54.1% of the respondents represented the Birmingham Anniston
Tuscaloosa market and 45.9% were from the Dallas Ft. Worth market. As
for gender, 52% of the respondents were male and 48% female (Table 1).
A second limitation of the study was the scope of the population. A more
extensive survey of additional market areas and television stations would
provide a broader population. Future research should incorporate a survey
of all stations owned by the nation's "Top 25" television group owners
regardless of market size or location. This sample of the population would
provide a more generalized representation.
Finally, the survey method itself was a limitation in this study. The
questionnaire was six pages long and took 30 minutes to complete. News
organizations work on a strict schedule and finding an uninterrupted 30
minutes could have prove difficult for many potential respondents. Future
research should incorporate personal interviews with television news and
production department employees and supervisors. These personal visits
would increase the response rate as well as generate further data for analysis.
DISCUSSION
The purpose of this research was to determine if television news
supervisor leadership behaviors affect newsworker professionalism. The
Path-Goal leadership theory was used as a framework to explore
relationship-oriented and task-oriented leadership behaviors. McLeod &
Hawley's (1964) professionalism index was used to identify professional and
semi-professional newsworkers.
A better understanding of effective leadership behaviors can benefit
television news organizations. As Breed (1955) described, employees are
socialized into news organizations. He or she conforms to the norms of
organizational policy through influential experiences including the
organization's culture, structure, hierarchy, work groups, and supervisory
leadership. Leaders who can learn to tailor their behaviors to the
preferences of the professional employees would be able to better attain
the organizational goals.
Professional employees place heavy emphasis on service, intellectual
activity, autonomy, and influence. They are generally more concerned with
ethical standards, more independent on the job and less concerned about
money and prestige (McLeod & Hawley, 1964). Idsvoog & Hoyt (1977)
concluded that employees with high levels of these professional values
performed more skillfully than those with low professionalism. Thus such
employees are more beneficial to a news organizations success.
Television news and production departments of network affiliates in a
major (Dallas - Ft. Worth, Texas) and a mid-size market (Birmingham -
Anniston - Tuscaloosa, Alabama) were surveyed via mailed
questionnaires. The questionnaires included three sections, the Leadership
Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ-XII) as developed by Halpin
(1957), a section of questions used to determine McLeod & Hawley's (1964)
professionalism index, and a demographic characteristics section.
The supervisors responding in this research had both high levels of
task-oriented and relationship-oriented leadership behaviors. Situational
leadership models make an underlying assumption that appropriate leadership
behavior varies from one situation to another based on environmental
characteristics within the organization. So the fact that the research
showed high levels of task-oriented and relationship-oriented leadership
behaviors is not uncommon.
Supervisors must use both leadership behaviors within a news
organization. Tannenbaum and Schmidt (1973) maintain that time
restrictions in management situations alter the effectiveness of certain
management behaviors. Television news situations, such as crisis and other
timely news events, call for a supervisor to be more task-oriented; i.e.
assigning tasks, organizing, and specifying procedures. When the crisis is
over other daily news situations call for a more relationship-oriented
leadership behavior; i.e. where the supervisor conveys friendship, mutual
trust, and respect. Relationship-oriented behavior may be necessary to
develop newsworkers to their fullest potential.
Both task-oriented and relationship-oriented leadership behaviors relate
to newsworker professionalism. However there is a stronger relationship
between the relationship-oriented behavior and a higher level of newsworker
professionalism. As the Path-Goal theory suggests, leadership behaviors
can affect employee fervor; such as greater job satisfaction, greater
acceptance of the leader, and increased job performance (Filley, House, &
Kerr, 1976).
This research concludes that leadership behaviors can affect newsworker
professionalism. However, because the results indicate that professionally
oriented newsworkers also relate positively to a task-oriented approach to
management, it cannot be concluded that one leadership behavior is more
effective than another. In fact it is important for a supervisor in a news
organization to display both task-oriented and relationship-oriented
leadership behaviors in order for the organization to retain professionally
oriented newsworkers.
Future Research
This study points to at least two issues that warrant further
attention. First, future research is needed to understand how to retain
professionally oriented newsworkers based on supervisor leadership
behavior. Does a supervisor's leadership behavior affect a newsworker's
job satisfaction? This information would be beneficial in reducing
turnover and ultimately attaining the organizational goals.
A second avenue of further study is that of supervisor leadership
behaviors amongst the nations highest-ranking television stations. If
leadership behaviors can affect newsworker professionalism, then can a
supervisor's leadership behavior affect a television station's audience
ranking? If so, can news organizations improve their audience ranking by
changing their supervisors' leadership behaviors?
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FOOTNOTES
1 Policy may be defined as the consistent orientation shown by a news
organization.
2 Environmental characteristics include variables beyond the employee's
control such as corporate culture, work roles, organizational structure,
resources available, performance expectations, and work groups.
3 Stations Surveyed
Station
Market
Network Affiliation
Owner
KDFW
Dallas - Ft. Worth
Fox
Fox a subsidiary of News Corp., Ltd.
KXAS
Dallas - Ft. Worth
NBC
NBC a subsidiary of General Electric Co.
WFAA
Dallas - Ft. Worth
ABC
A.H. Belo Corp.
KUVN
Dallas - Ft. Worth
Univision
Univision
KTXA
Dallas - Ft. Worth
UPN
Viacom
KTVT
Dallas - Ft. Worth
CBS
Viacom
WBRC
Birmingham - Anniston Tuscaloosa
FOX
Fox a subsidiary of News Corp., Ltd.
WVTM
Birmingham - Anniston - Tuscaloosa
NBC
NBC a subsidiary of General Electric Co.
WCFT
Birmingham - Anniston - Tuscaloosa ABC
ABC
Allbritton Communications Inc.
WABM
Birmingham - Anniston - Tuscaloosa
UPN
Sinclair Broadcast Group
WIAT
Birmingham - Anniston - Tuscaloosa
CBS
Media General Inc.
4 Albritton Communications Inc. owns and operates nine television stations
in seven markets. All stations are affiliates of ABC (which is owned by
Walt Disney). Allbritton also owns a 24-hour cable news channel (News
Channel 8) that serves the Washington, DC area.
Table 1
Demographic Frequencies
Dallas - Ft. Worth
Birmingham - Anniston - Tuscaloosa
n
%
Gender
Male
25
22
47
52%
Female
Total per market
% of total
20
45 (45.9%)
31
53
(54.1%)
51
48%
Education
Graduated from College
25
38
63
64.3%
Number of years in current position
Between 1 and 5 years
25
17
42
49.5%
Table 2
Mean and Standard Deviation Scores
Professionals
(n = 55)
Semi Professionals
(n = 43)
M
SD
M
SD
Relationship Oriented
49.5
6.2
45.8
5.1
Task Oriented
55.8
12.2
53.1
7.6
Employee Longevity
2.60
.71
2.21
.91
Table 3
Intercorrelations between Professionalism Index and Relationship Oriented
Score, Task Oriented Score, and Employee Longevity
Employee Longevity
Task oriented Score
Relationship Oriented Score
Professionalism Index
Employee Longevity
--
.047
.069
.434*
Task oriented Score
--
--
.743*
.388*
Relationship Oriented Score
--
--
--
.574*
Note. *Significant at the p < .01 level (2-tailed).
Table 4
One-Way Analysis of Variance between Professionalism Index and Relationship
Oriented Score, Task Oriented Score, and Employee Longevity
Sources of variation
df
Sum of squares
Mean square
F
Sig.
p value
Employee Longevity Professionalism Index
Between
1
3.68
3.68
5.68
p =.019*
Within Groups
96
62.32
.65
--
--
Total
97
66.00
--
--
--
Relationship Oriented Professionalism Index
Between
1
328.01
328.01
10.01
p = .002*
Within Groups
96
3147.31
32.78
--
--
Total
97
3475.39
--
--
--
Task Oriented
Professionalism Index
Between
1
175.13
175.13
1.61
p = .208
Within Groups
96
10470.7
109.07
--
--
Total
97
10645.9
--
--
--
Note. *Significant at the p < .01 level.
APPENDIX A
Cover letter
Tuesday, August 27, 2002
Natalie Corey
Southern Methodist University
(205) 985-7871
[log in to unmask]
Dear Professional Journalist,
I am a graduate student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas,
Texas. I am conducting a study for my final thesis regarding leadership
behaviors and professionalism within television news organizations.
I'd like to ask you to take a few minutes to complete this anonymous
questionnaire and return it to me. The questionnaire is designed to be
folded, stapled, and mailed without the need of an envelope.
The study investigates the influence a supervisor's leadership behavior has
upon an employee's professionalism within television news
organizations. An understanding of effective leadership behaviors will
benefit the overall success of television news organizations.
If you are interested in learning the results of this study, please email
me your anonymous request.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Natalie Corey
APPENDIX B
News Professionals Survey
Leadership Behaviors
Following is a list of items that may be used to describe the behavior of
your supervisor. Each item describes a specific kind of behavior, but does
not ask you to judge whether the behavior is desirable or undesirable. This
is not a test of ability. It simply asks you to describe as accurately as
you can the behavior of your supervisor.
Note: the term "group," as employed in the following items, refers to a
department, division or other unit of organization that is supervised by
the person being described.
Note: the term "members" refers to all the people in the unit of the
organization that are supervised by the person being described.
Directions: Think about how frequently the leader engages in the behavior
described by the item.
Place an X in the box that applies.
Always
Often
Occasionally
Seldom
Never
He or She does personal favors for group members.
He or She makes his/her attitudes clear to the group.
He or She does little things to make it pleasant to be a member of the group.
He or She tries out his/her new ideas with the group.
He or She acts as the real leader of the group.
He or She is easy to understand.
He or She rules with an iron hand.
He or She finds time to listen to group members.
He or She criticizes poor work.
He or She gives advance notice of changes.
He or She speaks in a manner not to be questioned.
He or She keeps to him/herself.
He or She looks out for the personal welfare of individual group members.
He or She assigns group members to particular tasks.
He or She is the spokesperson of the group.
He or She schedules the work to be done.
He or She maintains definite standards of performance.
He or She refuses to explain his/her actions.
Directions: Think about how frequently the leader engages in the behavior
described by the item.
Place an X in the box that applies.
Always
Often
Occasionally
Seldom
Never
He or She keeps the group informed.
He or She acts without consulting the group.
He or She backs up the members in their actions.
He or She emphasizes the meeting of deadlines.
He or She treats all group members as his/her equals.
He or She encourages the use of uniform procedures.
He or She gets what He or She asks for from his/her superiors.
He or She is willing to make changes.
He or She makes sure that group members understand his/her part in the
organization.
He or She is friendly and approachable.
He or She asks that group members follow standard rules and regulations.
He or She fails to take necessary action.
He or She makes group members feel at ease when talking with them.
He or She lets group members know what is expected of them.
He or She speaks as the representative of the group.
He or She puts suggestions made by the group into action.
He or She sees to it that group members are working up to capacity.
He or She lets other people take away his/her leadership in the group.
He or She gets his/her superiors to act for the welfare of the group.
He or She gets group approval in important matters before going ahead.
He or She sees to it that the work of the group members is coordinated.
He or She keeps the group working together as a team.
Desired Job Characteristics
People look for different things in their occupations that make their work
satisfying to them. Below are some job characteristics that can be applied
to most occupations.
How important are they to you?
Directions: Place an X in the box that applies
Extremely Important
Quite Important
Somewhat Important
Not Important
Full use of your abilities and training.
Opportunity for originality and initiative.
Opportunity to learn new skills and knowledge.
Getting ahead in your professional career.
Having a job with a TV news organization that is known and respected by
other journalists.
Having a job this valuable and essential to the community.
Respect for the ability and competence of co-workers.
Opportunity to have an influence on the publics' thinking.
A supervisor who appreciates the time you spend in improving your capabilities.
Freedom from continual close supervision over your work.
Having influence on important decisions.
A job that makes the organization different in some ways because I work for it.
An enjoyment of what's involved in doing the job.
Availability of support; working with people who will stand behind a person
help out in a tough spot.
Getting ahead in the organization you work for.
Salary; earning enough money for a good living.
Working with people rather than things.
Security of the job in its being fairly permanent.
Excitement and variety the job provides.
Being with people who are congenial and easy to work with.
Having a job with prestige in the community.
Having a prestigious job in the organization.
A job that brings me in contact with important people, e.g. community and
state leaders.
A job that does not disrupt my family life.
Professional Items
People look for different things in their occupations that make their work
satisfying to them. Below are some job characteristics that can be applied
to most occupations.
How do you feel about each statement?
Directions: Place an X in the box that applies.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Somewhat Agree
Neither Agree nor Disagree
Somewhat Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Journalists should be willing to go to jail, if necessary, to protect the
identity of their news sources.
The emphasis on the five "W's" is overdone.
A journalist should not continue to work for an organization if he or she
disagrees with its editorial policy.
Journalists as a group have a legitimate claim to help determine news
content and policies.
It is all right to take promotional or informational junkets sponsored by
business organizations or governmental agencies if there are not strings
attached.
A college education should be mandatory for beginning journalists.
For the working journalists, there should be required and periodic
institutes or refresher courses at a nearby university, e.g. courses in
economics or political science.
In early journalism training, it is more important to learn how to write
than to get the story.
There should be greater specialization in journalism, e.g. science, local
government, business economics.
It is the duty of the station to its stockholders to do more than break
even, even at the expense of cutting back the news function.
Professions such as law and medicine have developed organizations to uphold
professional standards. Broadcast Journalists themselves should form an
organization to deal with problems that come up, and to police the profession.
If a member of a professional journalism organization commits an
unprofessional action (e.g. takes a bribe), he or she should be disciplined
by the professional organization.
A broadcast journalist should be certified by his/her professional
organization as to qualifications, training, and competence.
Supervisor Leadership Behavior's Effect on TV Newsworker
Professionalism
Demographics
What is your job title and/or responsibility?
Place an X in the box that applies.
Anchor
Assignment Editor
Executive Producer
News Director
Producer
Assistant Producer
Reporter
Sports
Tape Editor
Videographer
Weather
Other newsroom position (specify)0
Gender
Place an X in the box that applies.
Male
Female
Experience
Write in the number of years.
How many years have you been employed in your current newsroom?
How many years have you been employed in the industry?
Supervisor Leadership Behavior's Effect on TV Newsworker
Professionalism
Supervisor Leadership Behavior's Effect on TV Newsworker
Professionalism
Education Place an X in the box that applies.
Some
High School
Graduated
from
High School
Some
College or
Tech School
Graduated
from College
Some
Graduate School
Master's
Degree
Advanced Graduate Degree (Doctorate, Law, other)
If you are interested in learning the results of this study, please e-mail
me your request.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Natalie Corey
Southern Methodist University
(205) 985-7871
[log in to unmask]
Supervisor Leadership Behavior's Effect on TV Newsworker
Professionalism
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