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Motivating a More Diverse Newsroom
Motivating a More Diverse Newsroom:
Exploring Different Needs of Women,
Older and Married Reporters
Submitted by
Li-jing Arthur Chang
Li-jing Arthur Chang
Assistant Professor
School of Communication Studies
Nanyang Technological University
31 Nanyang Link
Singapore 637718
Republic of Singapore
Tel: (65)790-5773
Email: [log in to unmask]
Submitted to
Media Management and Economics Division
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
Hugh Fullerton
Department of Public Communication
Box 2299
Sam Houston State University
Huntsville, TX 77341-2299
April 1, 2001
Motivating a More Diverse Newsroom
Abstract:
This study explores the roles of demographic influences (age, gender, and marital status) in the way intrinsic needs (such as autonomy and sense of achievement), extrinsic needs (such as pay and promotion opportunities), and a neutral factor (i.e., both an intrinsic and extrinsic need) affect newspaper reporters' job feelings. A total of 365 Texas newspaper reporters are surveyed for the study. Findings showed that special attention is needed to motivate women, older, and married employees.
Introduction
Motivating newspaper journalists in America has gradually become an urgent issue because the journalists have been less satisfied about their job (Weaver & Wilhoit, 1994a) and job dissatisfaction is a main reason why all of types of journalists leave their profession (Weaver & Wilhoit, 1996). Since employee turnover may drain revenues (White, 1995) and the loss of talented reporters may dampen newspaper competitiveness, there is a need to explore how to motivate newspaper journalists more effectively.
To motivate the journalists, newsroom managers have to recognize the fact the American work force has become increasingly diversified, with more women and older employees joining the force (Lombard, 1999; Seck, Finch, Mor-Barak & Poverny, 1993). As a result of this development, more women and older employees have joined the newsroom (Weaver & Wilhoit, 1994b; Saul, 1997). Another developing trend is that more married women have entered the job market (Lombard, 1999), and as older workers tend to be married, more married men have joined the work force as well. Because of these trends, newsroom managers need to pay attention to the changing and increasingly diversified needs from their employees (Giles, 1993). For examples, newsroom managers now find many of their employees are more committed to their families than to their work (Giles, 1993). In other words, the demographic changes in the work force showed that there is a need to explore the different needs behind women, older, and
married newsroom employees to help newspaper managers better cope with their increasingly diversified news staff.
Literature Review
According to Herzberg (1959, 1968, 1987), there are two types of needs that motivate employees: (1) intrinsic needs, or needs relating to achievement through which humans experience psychological growth; and (2) extrinsic needs, or drives developed from humans' biological needs (e.g., hunger, a basic biological drive, makes it necessary to earn money, and then money becomes a specific drive). Intrinsic needs are related to job content, or daily work (such as sense of achievement), while extrinsic needs are related to job environment (such as pay). Over the past three decades, research has found empirical support in Herzberg's theory (Caston & Braito, 1985; Cohen, 1974; Iiacqua, 1995; Knoop, 1994; Rosenfeld & Zdep, 1971; Shaver, 1978; Phillipchuk, 1996). In addition to the intrinsic needs and extrinsic needs, a third group of variables, neutral factors (which are both intrinsic and extrinsic, and related to both job content and job environment), was also identified by research tes
ting Herzberg's theory (Iiacqua, 1995; Rosenfeld & Zdep, 1971).
According to previous research, newspaper reporters' intrinsic needs (i.e., needs that related to their daily work) include autonomy (Joseph, 1981, 1982a, 1982b, 1982c; Pollard, 1995; Weaver & Wilhoit, 1994b, 1996), sense of achievement (Chusmir, 1984; Tharp, 1991), personal growth (Tharp, 1991; Weaver & Wilhoit, 1994b), interesting nature of work (Tharp, 1991), and impact on community (Bergen & Weaver, 1988; Chusmir, 1984; Weaver & Wilhoit, 1996). All these intrinsic needs are directly related to the daily assignments of newspaper reporters. For example, autonomy concerns the extent of freedom a reporter could enjoy from daily work; sense of achievement describes how a reporter feels about completing a news story; personal growth is about how much a reporter can learn from work; interesting nature of work is the fun derived from reporting assignments; and impact on community is the amount of influence a reporter have on the readers after his or her stories appear in the newspaper.
Past research also suggests that newspaper reporters' extrinsic needs include pay (Tharp, 1991; Weaver & Wilhoit, 1994b, 1996), job security (Weaver & Wilhoit, 1994b, 1996), work conditions (Tharp, 1991; Weaver & Wilhoit, 1996), and promotion opportunities (Weaver & Wilhoit, 1996). All these extrinsic needs are directly related to newspaper reporters' job environment. For instance, pay represents the monetary compensation from the newspaper; work conditions reflects the physical comfort a reporter senses from his or her work environment (such as work schedule, job stress and workplace facilities); promotion opportunities stands for job status a newspaper is willing to give its staff; and job security is closely linked to human beings' biological needs for supply of food.
In addition, past research also suggests the importance of a neutral factor, or a need that could be both intrinsic (i.e., concerning daily work) and extrinsic (i.e., concerning work environment): newsroom policy orientation on whether news quality or ad income should be the priority (Bergen & Weaver, 1988; Stamm & Underwood, 1993; Weaver & Wilhoit, 1994, 1996). Specifically, when newsroom policy emphasizes more on news quality, it concerns more about job content (daily work) and should be an intrinsic need. In contrast, when newsroom policy focuses on ad incomes, it is related more to the business environment surrounding the newspaper and should be an extrinsic need.
To sum up, a synthesis of past research showed that newspaper reporters' intrinsic needs include (1) autonomy, (2) sense of achievement, (3) personal growth, (4) interesting nature of work, and (5) impact on community. On the other hand, newspaper reporters' extrinsic needs include (1) pay, (2) job security, (3) work conditions, and (4) promotion opportunities. In addition, newsroom policy orientation (on whether news quality or ad incomes should take priority) could be both an intrinsic and extrinsic need.
Knowing these intrinsic and extrinsic needs of all newspaper reporters is only the first step to manage an increasingly diverse work force in the newsroom. As more women, older staff, and married employees join the newsroom, there is a need to explore the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic needs for different types of reporters to more effectively motivate them. For example, since older people generally expect more respect for their job expertise from their supervisors, how would older newspaper reporters value job autonomy differently from younger reporter? Since women journalists are more likely to be people-oriented than their male coworkers (Weaver & Wilhoit, 1996),[1] would female newspaper reporters like to have more impact on their readers than their male counterparts? And, since married men often play the role of breadwinner in the family (Casamassima, 1995), how would married male newspaper reporters view the importance of their salaries, as compared to single male re
porters? To answer these questions, it is necessary to probe the roles of demographics (such as age, gender, and marriage) in determining how intrinsic and extrinsic needs affect reporters' feelings about their jobs.
Past research showed journalists less than 40 years old are motivated by different needs compared with those aged 40 and older (Weaver & Wilhoit, 1994a; Weaver & Wilhoit, 1996). For example, compared with journalists aged below 40, older journalists are more likely to be motivated by intrinsic needs such as audiences' comments, and influencing public affairs (Weaver & Wilhoit, 1996). Since only positive audience comments are likely to motivate journalists, it is very possible that journalists are actually being motivated by the sense of achievements they experience from the positive feedback. Since older journalists need more positive audience feedback, it is likely that they need greater sense of achievement than younger journalists. Similarly, since older journalists are more likely to be motivated by chances to influence public affairs, it is very possible that they are more likely to be motivated by their impact in the community. In addition, although past research did not specifically test diffe
rent age groups in their feelings about the intrinsic need of autonomy, older workers also tend to expect more supervisors' respect for their job expertise, so it is likely that older workers will need greater job autonomy than younger workers. Judging from the above argument, it is likely that newspaper reporters aged 40 and above differ from their younger counterparts in the way intrinsic needs affect their feelings about job. Based on the rationale, the first research question is generated:
RQ1: How do newspaper reporters aged 40 and older differ from their younger counterparts in the way intrinsic needs (such as autonomy, sense of achievement, interesting nature of work, impact on community, and personal growth) affect their feelings about job?
On the other hand, research also showed that compared with journalists below 40 years old, older journalists are motivated by extrinsic needs such as salary and promotions (Weaver & Wilhoit, 1996). Although past research has not tested the age difference in terms of journalists' job security and work conditions, it is understood that because of possibly greater family obligations, older people are more likely to need more job security and reasonable work conditions. Judging from the above argument, it is likely that newspaper reporters aged 40 and above differ their younger counterparts in the way extrinsic needs affect their feelings about job. Based on the rationale, the second research question is generated:
RQ2: How do newspaper reporters aged 40 and older differ from their younger counterparts in the way extrinsic needs (such as pay, job security, promotion opportunities, and work conditions) affect their feelings about job?
Although past research has not tested how age difference affects journalists' preferences for the neutral factor (i.e., both an intrinsic and extrinsic need) of newsroom policy orientation (on whether news quality or ad income should take the priority). Even so, it is possible that due to their needs to spend more time and energy for family obligations, newspaper reporters aged 40 and older tend to care less about such public concerns as newsroom policy orientation, when compared with their younger counterparts. Judging from this argument, it is likely that reporters aged 40 and older differ from younger reporters in how newsroom policy orientation affect their feelings about job. Based on the rationale, the third research question is generated:
RQ3: How do newspaper reporters aged 40 and older differ from their younger counterparts in how the neutral factor of newsroom policy orientation (on whether news quality or ad income should take the priority) affect their feelings about job?
In addition to age, gender also plays a role in the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic needs for journalists. Past research showed the women journalists are motivated by different needs when compared with their male counterparts (Weaver & Wilhoit, 1996). For example, compared with male journalists, women journalists are more likely to be motivated by intrinsic needs such as autonomy and personal career growth (Weaver & Wilhoit, 1996). Since women journalists are also found to be more people-oriented than their male counterparts (Weaver & Wilhoit 1996)[2], it is very likely that they like to prefer more impact in the community. It is also possible that female and male journalists different in how intrinsic needs, such as sense of achievement, and interesting nature of work affect their feelings about job. Judging from the above argument, it is likely that female and male newspaper reporters differ in how intrinsic needs affect their feelings about job. Based on the rationale, the fourth research question is generated:
RQ4: How do female newspaper reporters differ from their male counterparts in the way intrinsic needs (such as autonomy, sense of achievement, interesting nature of work, impact on community, and personal growth) affect their feelings about job?
On the other hand, research also showed that compared with their male counterparts, female workers journalists are motivated more by extrinsic needs such as salary and benefits,[3] and promotion opportunities (Weaver & Wilhoit, 1996). In contrast, research also found that male journalists are more likely to be motivated by a third extrinsic need job security than their female counterparts (Weaver & Wilhoit, 1996). Although past research did not show how female and male journalists differ in how another extrinsic need of work conditions affect their feelings about job, it is likely such a difference exists. Judging from the above argument, it is likely that female and male newspaper reporters differ in how extrinsic needs affect their feelings about job. Based on the above rationale, the fifth research question is generated:
RQ5: How do female newspaper reporters differ from their male counterparts in the way extrinsic needs (such as pay, job security, promotion opportunities, and work conditions) affect their feelings about job?
In addition, past research showed that female journalists are motivated more by organizational editorial policy, when compared with their male counterparts. It is very likely, therefore, that female newspaper reporters are motivated more by the neutral factor of newsroom policy orientation (on whether news quality or ad income should take priority), when compared with their male counterparts. Based on the above rationale, it is likely that female and male reporters differ in how the neutral factor of newsroom policy orientation affects their feelings about job. Therefore, the sixth research question is generated:
RQ6: How do female newspaper reporters differ from their male counterparts in how the neutral factor of newsroom policy orientation (on whether news quality or ad income should take the priority) affects their feelings about job?
Although past research does not specifically test the effect of marriage on job motivations of journalists, evidence showed that such effect does exist on employees in general (Becker & Moen, 1999; Boden, 1999; Casamassima, 1995). For example, compared unmarried employees, married employees tend to be less committed to their work so that they will have more time to take care of family responsibilities (Becker & Moen, 1999). With less job commitment, it is possible that married employees will be less motivated by intrinsic needs, which are needs related to the daily work. Research also showed that there is a tendency, at least among self-employed workers, that married men tend to put more energy and time in work compared with married women because the latter often are more concerned with housework (Hundley, 2000). Because of this, it is likely that married men would see intrinsic needs as more important, when compared with married women. In addition, since female journalists are m
ore people-oriented than their male counterparts,[4] it is likely there is also gender difference between unmarried newspaper reporters: female reporters may like to have more impact in their community, when compared with their male counterparts. Based on the above argument, it is likely that married male reporters, married female reporters, single male reporters and single female reporters have certain differences in the way intrinsic needs affect their feelings about job. Therefore, the seventh research question is generated:
RQ7: How do married male, married female, single male, and single female newspaper reporters differ in the way intrinsic needs (such as autonomy, sense of achievement, interesting nature of work, impact on community, and personal growth) affect their feelings about job?
On the other hand, research has shown married men tend to view as very important their breadwinner role in the family, and would under a lot of stress if they are earning less than their wives (Casamassima, 1995). Due to this reason, it is very likely that married male newspaper reporters are more motivated by extrinsic needs salary and job security, when compared to married female reporters and single reporters. Also, married employees tend to limit their own long-term promotion opportunities and prefer more reasonable work hours so as to take care of family needs (Becker & Moen, 1999). Therefore, it is very likely that married newspaper reporters are less motivated by the extrinsic need of promotion opportunities. Conversely, married reporters are more likely to be motivated by the extrinsic need of reasonable work conditions. Judging from the above argument, it is likely that married male, married female, single male, single female newspaper reporters have some differences in
the way extrinsic needs affect their feelings about job. Based on the above rationale, the eighth research question is generated:
RQ8: How do married male, married female, single male, single female reporters differ in the way extrinsic needs (such as pay, job security, promotion opportunities, and work conditions) affect their feelings about job?
Past research has not tested how married and single newspaper reporters are motivated differently by newsroom policy orientation (on whether news quality or ad income should take priority). However, it is likely that due to their greater family responsibilities, married newspaper reporters have less time to care about such policy orientation, compared with their unmarried counterparts. In addition, since female journalists are more likely to be people-oriented than their male counterparts, they are more likely to be concerned with more "public" issue like newsroom policy than their male colleagues. Therefore, for either married or single reporters, gender differences also exist in how they feel newsroom policy may affect their job feelings. Based on the above rationale, it is possible that married male, married female, single male and single female reporters differ in the way intrinsic needs affect their feelings about job. Therefore, the ninth research question is generated:
RQ9: How do married male, married female, single male and single female newspaper reporters differ in how the neutral factor of newsroom policy orientation (on whether news quality or ad income should take the priority) affects their feelings about job?
Method
Population
The population of the study is daily newspaper reporters in Texas. The Texas newspaper reporters is an interesting topic of study because the circulation distribution pattern of Texas newspapers is similar to that of the entire United States.[5]
Sampling
The original list of subjects contains 702 reporters acquired by two methods. First of all, reporter lists were obtained from seventeen daily newspapers in public libraries. Secondly, since Texas has a total of eighty-seven daily newspapers, the list of sixty-nine other newspapers was obtained from the Editor & Publisher International Year Book (1997). After mail corresponding, eleven of the sixty-nine newspapers agreed to provide lists of their reporters, totaling eighty-eight journalists. Adding the lists of subjects obtained through the methods produces a subject pool of 702 reporters.
A survey was used for this study because the method is aimed at exploring a general patterns of a population from which the sample was drawn (Babbie, 1990). After two mail-outs, 365 valid responses were obtained.[6] Because four of the original 702 subjects either had incorrect addresses or had quit their jobs, the actual sample pool was 698 subjects. Based on the adjusted sample pool, the response rate exceeds 52%, better than the 47% average rate for mail surveys (Wimmer & Domnick, 1994).
Operational definitions
Past research showed intrinsic needs motivating newspaper reporters include autonomy, sense of achievement, impact on community, personal growth, and interesting nature of work. Research also showed that extrinsic needs motivating the reporters include pay, job security, promotion opportunities, and work conditions. Empirical findings also indicated that the reporters are motivated by a neutral factor (i.e., both an intrinsic and extrinsic factor): newsroom policy orientation (on whether news quality or ad income should take priority).
In addition, past research showed more women, older and married employees have joined the newsroom. And since past research also suggested that gender, age and marriage play roles in how much journalists are motivated by the intrinsic and extrinsic needs, as well as by the neutral factor of newsroom policy orientation, it would be interesting to study how the demographics of reporters changed the way the intrinsic and extrinsic needs affect reporters' feelings about job and the results of the study would be useful for managing an increasingly diverse newsroom.
This study attempts to explore how the demographic influences (gender, age and marriage) affect the way intrinsic and extrinsic needs affect the reporters' feelings about job. The ten intrinsic and extrinsic needs served as the source of questionnaire items. To measure the reporters' feelings about how much their intrinsic and extrinsic needs are fulfilled in their work pace, twelve questionnaire items were used.[7] For instance, the item "autonomy at work" was used to measure the intrinsic need "autonomy," while "salary and benefits" was used to gauge the extrinsic need "pay." For each item, respondents were asked to respond to a 7-point Likert scale that describes the concept. For instance, for "autonomy at work," the respondents were asked to use a 7-point scale ranging from "not at all" to "a great deal." For the item "facilities and equipment in newsroom," respondents were asked to respond on a 7-point scale ranging from "not adequate at all" to "very adequate."
The questionnaire also measured the respondents' overall job satisfaction by using seventy items revised from the widely applied seventy-two item job descriptive index (JDI) (Smith, Kendall & Hulin, 1969), which has five dimensions: work, supervision, pay, promotions and coworkers. Each of the dimensions has eight to eighteen items. The respondents were asked to indicate whether each item corresponds to the nature of their jobs. Examples of the items include "fascinating" (from the work dimension), "asks my advice" (from the supervision dimension), "less than I deserve" (from the pay dimension), "promotion on ability" (from the promotions dimension), and "talk too much" (from the coworkers dimension). Among the five dimensions, satisfaction with work, satisfaction with supervision, and satisfaction with coworkers are more related to job content (i.e., daily assignments), and therefore more likely to reflect the reporters' intrinsic satisfaction about their job content (or daily w
ork). In contrast, satisfaction with pay and satisfaction with promotions are more related to the job environment, so they are likely to reveal how reporters' extrinsic satisfaction with their job environment.
Research question testing
The first, second and third research questions asked how newspaper reporters aged 40 and older, and their younger counterparts differ in the way intrinsic needs, extrinsic needs, and the neutral factor of newsroom orientation affect their feelings about job. In other words, the research questions test three things: (1) the link between reporters' fulfillment of intrinsic needs and their satisfaction with the intrinsic facets of job, (2) the link between reporters fulfillment of extrinsic needs and their satisfaction with the extrinsic facets of job, (3) the link between reporters' feelings about newsroom policy orientation and their intrinsic satisfaction, and that between reporters' feeling about such policy orientation and their extrinsic satisfaction, as the policy orientation is likely to be a neutral factor (i.e., both a intrinsic and extrinsic need). To test the links, two correlation analyses were planned test (1) the relationship between intrinsic needs and newsroom policy orientation, and intrinsic satisfaction,[8] and (2) the relationship between extrinsic needs and newsroom policy orientation, and extrinsic satisfaction.[9] To see how younger and older reporters differ in these relationships, the 365 subjects with valid responses were first split into two groups: one gr
oup of subjects aged 39 and younger (n = 230), and anther group of subjects aged 40 and older (n = 135). Lastly, the two correlation analyses on performed on each of the groups to see how the relationships differ across groups.
The fourth, fifth and sixth research questions asked how female newspaper reporters and their male counterparts differ in the way intrinsic needs, extrinsic needs, and the neutral factor of newsroom orientation affect their feelings about job. Similar to the testing procedure for the first three research questions, two correlation analyses were performed on each of the two gender groups within the 365 subjects with valid responses (n = 144 for females, and n = 221 for males). The analyses were aimed at testing two relationships: (1) the relationship between newspaper reporters' feelings about intrinsic needs and newsroom policy orientation, and their intrinsic satisfaction,[10] and (2) the relationship between the reporters' feelings about extrinsic needs and newsroom policy orientation, and their extrinsic satisfaction.[11]
The seventh, eighth and ninth research questions asked how married male, married female, single male, and single female newspaper reporters differ in the way intrinsic needs, extrinsic needs, and the neutral factor of newsroom orientation affect their feelings about job. Similar to the testing procedure for the first three research questions, two correlation analyses were performed on each of the four demographic groups within the 365 subjects with valid responses (n = 120 for married males, n = 63 for married females, n = 101 for single males, and n = 81 for single females). The analyses were aimed at testing two relationships: (1) the relationship between newspaper reporters' feelings about intrinsic needs and newsroom policy orientation, and their intrinsic satisfaction,[12] and (2) the relationship between the reporters' feelings about extrinsic needs and newsroom policy orientation, and their extrinsic satisfaction.[13]
Results
The sample of 365 newspaper reporters was 60.5% male, 81.6% White, 50.1% married, and 97.5% with at least a college education (82.2% were college graduates and 15.3% had graduate degrees). The median age was 34 years old, the average tenure was 7 years, and the median salary was in the range of $30,000 to $34,999. When compared with national samples of American newspaper journalists (Jennings, 1995; Weaver & Wilhoit, 1994), the demographics for the Texas daily newspaper reporters are very comparable.[14]
Research questions 1, 2 and 3
The first, second and third research questions asked how newspaper reporters aged 40 and older, and their younger counterparts differ in the way intrinsic needs, extrinsic needs, and the neutral factor of newsroom orientation affect their feelings about job. To test the research questions, two correlation analyses were conducted to see (1) the link between intrinsic needs and newsroom policy orientation, and intrinsic satisfaction, and (2) the relationship between extrinsic needs and newsroom policy orientation, and extrinsic satisfaction.
Results from testing the link between intrinsic needs and intrinsic satisfaction showed that compared with their younger counterparts, older (40 years old and above) newspaper reporters' intrinsic needs (autonomy, sense of achievement, interesting nature of work, impact on community, and personal growth) affect their job feelings more, judging from the higher correlation coefficients for these needs for the older reporters (see table 1). On the contrary, newsroom policy orientation, a neutral factor (both an intrinsic and extrinsic factor), affects younger reporters more in terms of their feelings about job, judging from the higher correlation coefficient for the younger reporters.
Table 1. Age differences in the link between reporters' feelings
about intrinsic needs and their intrinsic satisfaction
Intrinsic satisfaction
Intrinsic needs
Reporters under 40 years old (n = 230)
Reporters aged 40 and above (n = 135)
Autonomy
.225**
.343**
Sense of achievement
.493**
.523**
Interesting nature of work
.366**
.525**
Impact in community
.358**
.372**
Personal growth
.468**
.506**
Newsroom policy orientation
.321**
.285**
Note: ** indicates the correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Table 2. Age differences in the link between reporters' feelings
about extrinsic needs and their extrinsic satisfaction
Extrinsic satisfaction
Extrinsic needs
Reporters under 40 years old (n = 230)
Reporters aged 40 and above (n = 135)
Pay
.544**
.588**
Job security
.302**
.365**
Promotion opportunities
.593**
.663**
Hours, schedule of work
.233**
.271**
Job stress
-.120
-.155
Newsroom facilities
.173**
.223**
Newsroom policy orientation
.273**
.161
Note: ** indicates the correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed); hours and schedule of work, job stress and newsroom facilities reflect the extrinsic need of work conditions (see endnote no. 7)
Results from testing the link between extrinsic needs and extrinsic satisfaction showed that compared with their younger counterparts, older (i.e., 40 years old and older) newspaper reporters' job feelings are more affected by most of their extrinsic needs (pay, job security, promotion opportunities, hours and schedule of work, and newsroom facilities), judging from the higher correlation coefficients for these needs for the older reporters (see table 2). On the contrary, newsroom policy orientation, a neutral factor (both an intrinsic and extrinsic factor), only affects younger reporters' extrinsic satisfaction about job, with no effect on older reporters (judging from the statistically insignificant correlation coefficient). In addition, the extrinsic need of job stress is not to found to affect both younger and older reporters' feelings about job, judging from the statistically insignificant correlations.
Research questions 4, 5 and 6
The fourth, fifth and sixth research questions asked how female newspaper reporters and their male counterparts differ in the way intrinsic needs, extrinsic needs, and the neutral factor of newsroom orientation affect their feelings about job. To test the research questions, two correlation analyses were conducted to see (1) the link between intrinsic needs and newsroom policy orientation, and intrinsic satisfaction, and (2) the relationship between extrinsic needs and newsroom policy orientation, and extrinsic satisfaction.
Results from testing the link between intrinsic needs and intrinsic satisfaction showed that compared with their male counterparts, female newspaper reporters' intrinsic needs of interesting nature of work, impact in community, and personal growth affect their job feelings more, judging from the greater correlation coefficients between the needs and intrinsic satisfaction for female reporters (see table 3). In contrast, when compared with their female counterparts, male reporters' intrinsic need of autonomy affects their job feeling more. Interestingly, male and female reporters
Table 3. Gender differences in the link between reporters' feelings
about intrinsic needs and their intrinsic satisfaction
Intrinsic satisfaction
Intrinsic needs
Male reporters
(n = 221)
Female reporters
(n = 144)
Autonomy
.293**
.253**
Sense of achievement
.504**
.498**
Interesting nature of work
.408**
.435**
Impact in community
.328**
.407**
Personal growth
.450**
.503**
Newsroom policy orientation
.275**
.354**
Note: ** indicates the correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Table 4. Gender differences in the link between reporters' feelings
about extrinsic needs and their extrinsic satisfaction
Extrinsic satisfaction
Extrinsic needs
Male reporters
(n = 221)
Female reporters
(n = 144)
Pay
.520**
.558**
Job security
.352**
.279**
Promotion opportunities
.599**
.652**
Hours, schedule of work
.294**
.161*
Job stress
-.105
-.176*
Newsroom facilities
.216**
.123
Newsroom policy orientation
.255**
.212**
Note: ** indicates the correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed); * indicates the correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed); hours and schedule of work, job stress and newsroom facilities reflect the extrinsic need of work conditions (see endnote no. 7)
have no difference in the way the intrinsic need of sense of achievement affects their feelings about job. Finally, when compared with their male counterparts, female reporters' feelings about the neutral factor of newsroom policy orientation affect their intrinsic satisfaction more.
Results from testing the link between extrinsic needs and extrinsic satisfaction showed that when male and female reporters are compared in terms of extrinsic needs, female reporters' job feelings are affected more by pay, promotion opportunities and job stress, while male reporters' job feelings are affected more by job security, hours and schedule of work, and newsroom facilities (see table 4). In addition, males' extrinsic satisfaction is more affected by the neutral factor of newsroom policy orientation, when compared with females.
Research questions 7, 8 and 9
The seventh, eighth and ninth research questions asked how married male, married female, single male, and single female newspaper reporters differ in the way intrinsic needs, extrinsic needs, and the neutral factor of newsroom orientation affect their feelings about job. To test the research questions, two correlation analyses were conducted to see (1) the link between intrinsic needs and newsroom policy orientation, and intrinsic satisfaction, and (2) the relationship between extrinsic needs and newsroom policy orientation, and extrinsic satisfaction.
Table 5. Marriage and gender influences in the link between reporters'
feelings about intrinsic needs and their intrinsic satisfaction
Reporters' intrinsic satisfaction
Intrinsic
needs
Married males
(n = 120)
Married females
(n = 63)
Single
males
(n = 101)
Single females
(n = 81)
Autonomy
.342**
.082
.225*
.364**
Sense of achievement
.482**
.367**
.535**
.594**
Interesting nature of work
.363**
.351**
.467**
.502**
Impact in community
.274**
.351**
.398**
.457**
Personal growth
.447**
.284*
.457**
.649**
Newsroom policy orientation
.255**
.296**
.307**
.401**
Note: ** indicates the correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed); * indicates the correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
Results from testing the link between intrinsic needs and intrinsic satisfaction showed that among the four groups compared, single female newspaper reporters' job feelings are most affected by all types of intrinsic needs and the neutral factor of newsroom policy orientation (see table 5). The findings also showed that compared with their single counterparts, married reporters' job feelings in general are less affected by intrinsic needs and newsroom policy orientation (with the only exception of autonomy). Another interesting findings lies in the intrinsic need personal growth: among the four groups, single women's job feelings was most affected by the need, while married women's job feelings was least affected. In addition, among the married reporters, male reporters' job feelings are affected more by more intrinsic needs such as autonomy, sense of achievement, interesting nature of work, personal growth, while female reporters' job feelings are affected more by another intrinsic need impact on community and the neutral factor newsroom policy orientation.
Table 6. Marriage and gender influences in the link between reporters'
feelings about extrinsic needs and their extrinsic satisfaction
Reporters' extrinsic satisfaction
Intrinsic
needs
Married males
(n = 120)
Married females
(n = 63)
Single
males
(n = 101)
Single females
(n = 81)
Pay
.554**
.497**
.503**
.604**
Job security
.371**
.266*
.324**
.294**
Promotion opportunities
.569**
.651**
.638**
.655**
Hour, schedule of work
.360**
.137
.233*
.196
Job stress
-.142
-.098
-.055
-.245*
Newsroom facilities
.233*
.198
.198*
.062
Newsroom policy orientation
.117
.285*
.455**
.163
Note: ** indicates the correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed); * indicates the correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed); hours and schedule of work, job stress and newsroom facilities reflect the extrinsic need of work conditions (see endnote no. 7).
Results from testing the link between extrinsic needs and intrinsic satisfaction showed that among the four demographic groups compared, single women's job feelings are most affected by extrinsic needs of pay, promotion opportunities, and job stress (see table 6). In addition, among the four groups, married male reporters' job feelings are most affected extrinsic needs of job security, hours and schedules of work, and newsroom facilities. Married males' job feelings are also more affected by pay, compared with married females and single males. Another interesting finding is when compared with single reporters, married reporters' job feelings are less affected by promotion opportunities. Lastly, among the four groups, single males' extrinsic satisfaction is most affected by the natural factor newsroom policy orientation.
Discussion
This study explores the roles of demographics (such as age, gender, and marriage) in influencing the way intrinsic needs (such as autonomy, sense of achievement, and impact on community), extrinsic needs (such as pay, job security, and promotion opportunities), and the neutral factor of newsroom policy orientation affect newspaper reporters' job feelings. The findings of the study is very interesting and should be useful in helping to motivate staff in the newsroom of American newspapers, which have seen an increasing number of older, women and married employees.
First, the study confirmed implications from past research that compared with their younger counterparts, newspaper reporters aged 40 and older tend to need more sense of achievement and impact on community. The research also found that older reporters are affected more by other intrinsic needs such as autonomy, fun in work, and personal career growth, findings not discovered before. In terms of the extrinsic needs, older reporters are more affected by their feelings about pay, confirming past research findings. Older reporters also value more their promotion opportunities and work conditions (such as work schedule, and newsroom facilities). Also, consistent with the expectation that younger people have less family objections and are freer to pursue personal ideals, younger (under 40 years old) reporters' tend to be affected more by the neutral factor of newsroom policy orientation (on whether news quality or ad income should take priority). Many of the newfound differences in how older and younger reporters' job feelings are affected by intrinsic and extrinsic needs would be useful in motivating newsroom staff.
Second, results of this study confirmed implications from past findings that for female reporters, impact on community and personal career growth affect their job feelings more than for their male counterparts. The study also found that male reporters are motivated more by autonomy. The result, though not consistent with past findings on all types of journalists, may shed an interesting light on the special need for autonomy by male newspaper reporters. Another interesting finding is that male and female reporters' job feelings are about equally affected by the intrinsic need of sense of achievement, a finding that may indicate that the desire for achievement has become a professional trait of journalists, regardless of gender difference. In terms of the extrinsic needs, the study confirmed implications from past findings that between both genders, pay and promotion opportunities are more important for female reporters, while job security is more important for males. The finding
that job security is important for males is consistent with past research evidence and may reflect societal expectations that men need a stable job. The finding also showed that men and women seemed to also differ in how they view work conditions: male reporters see reasonable work hours and better newsroom facilities are important for their job feelings, while female reporters see less job stress as important. The study did not, however, see any salient difference in how male and female reporters view the neutral factor of newsroom policy orientation.
Third, perhaps most interesting findings of this study lie in the differences in reporters' job motivations when both the influences of gender and marriage are considered. Consistent with implications from past study testing other types of employees, the study found that married reporters are less committed to their daily work. Also, consistent with evidence from past research on other types of employees, the present study found that pay and job security are also very important for married male newspaper reporters. Another interesting finding is that that female reporters' enthusiasm for personal growth (i.e., chances to learn reporting skills) may drop drastically after marriage as a result of increased need to handle housework. In addition, supporting research findings on other types of employees, the current research found that married reporters tend not to view promotion opportunities as important as single reporters do. Lastly, single reporters are also found to concern more
about newsroom policy orientation, a finding consistent with the common belief that since single workers have more time and energy to pay more attention to a public issue like this. Since past research have not tested the combined influences of marriage and gender on newspaper reporters' motivation needs, the findings of these study should be very useful for newsroom managers in motivating different types of employees.
Recognizing the newfound complexity in the combined influences of marriage and gender on reporter motivation is important. For instance, since pay is important to married male reporters, a newsroom manager overlooking such an importance by forgetting to give due raise for such employees may risk losing talented reporters. As another example, as married and single female reporters may differ diametrically in how they view the importance of personal growth, or chances to learn new skills, a newsroom manager ignoring such difference may risk alienating his or her employees by giving married women too much training or providing too little training for single females.
Limitations of the study include the use of a single item to measure newsroom policy orientation (on whether news quality or ad income should be the priority), while using two items would be more appropriate. Another limitation is the sample size. Although the size of the sample was adequate, a even larger sample could be better when groups within a sample are compared.
Still, the study is very interesting and useful. It explores and discovers how the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic needs could vary among different demographic groups of reporters. At a time when more women, older workers, and married employees join the newsroom, results of the study would help newspaper managers to better motivate reporters by recognizing and meeting their diverse needs.
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[1] Notes:
Weaver and Wilhoit (1996) found out that women journalists are more likely to be help people than their male coworkers are. Judging from the finding, female reporters are more likely to be more people-oriented than their male counterparts.
[2] See endnote no. 1.
[3] According to Weaver and Wilhoit's survey on journalists (1996), men and women are about equal in how view pay as an important job dimension. However, considerably more women than men view fringe benefits as an important job dimension. About 37.7 percent of female survey subjects said fringe benefits is important, compared with the 33.2 percent for male subjects.
[4] See endnote no. 1.
[5] The circulation makeup of Texas newspapers is akin to that of the United States (see Editor & Publisher International Year Book (New York: Editor & Publisher, 1997)). For example, about 0.5% of U.S. daily newspapers belong to the circulation category of more than 500,000, similar to the 2.3% ratio in Texas. For the 250,001-500,000 circulation category, the similarity is striking -- 2.1% of U.S. dailies fall under the category, compared with 2.3% of dailies in Texas.
[6] The survey was conducted in spring 1998.
[7] Basically, each of the intrinsic needs and extrinsic needs and the neutral factor of newsroom policy orientation is measured with one questionnaire item, except for the extrinsic need of work conditions, which is measured with three items: hours and schedule of work, stress from working in newsroom, and facilities and equipment in newsroom.
[8] The intrinsic satisfaction was obtained by summing up the JDI intrinsic dimensions: satisfaction with work, satisfaction with supervision, and satisfaction with coworkers.
[9] The extrinsic satisfaction was obtained by summing up the JDI extrinsic dimensions: satisfaction with pay, and satisfaction with promotions.
[10] See endnote no. 8.
[11] See endnote no. 9.
[12] See endnote no. 8.
[13] See endnote no. 9.
[14] The demographics of the Texas reporters sampled in this study are very comparable to national samples of American newspaper journalists in terms of gender, ethnicity, education, age, and salary, as the following table shows:
* Except for the figures for ethnicity, statistics in all other demographic categories for the national sample come from Weaver and Wilhoit's (1992) national survey (source: Weaver, D. H., & Wilhoit, G. C. (1994). Daily newspaper journalists in the 1990s. Newspaper Research Journal, Vol. 15, No. 3, p. 3-21). The figures for ethnicity for the national sample comes from a 1994 survey conducted by the American Society of Newspaper Editors (source: Jennings, V. (1995). Minorities are now 10.9 percent of the newsroom work force in the U.S. ASNE Bulletin, No. 767, p. 22-23).
** College graduates refer to those with at least a Bachelor's degree.