Quality control of radio reporters’ work: empirical analysis

Abstract

The problems of managing the work of journalists in the context of digitalization are becoming increasingly important. Because of the growing competition in the media market, it becomes obvious that the old management tools used in the media are rapidly losing effectiveness. At the same time, many features of journalistic work remain a phenomenon that has not been studied so far: in academic practice there are few works devoted to newsroom activities in the conditions of digitalization. This article presents the results of the analysis of the correspondents’ routines at metropolitan FM radio stations. The main focus of the research was on the quality aspect of editorial work and its control. The authors developed and applied original research tools based on the process approach and allowing the use of quantitative research methods. Thus the results, taking into account some methodological limitations, can be extended to the entire segment of the News/Talk format radio. The authors concluded that in the information broadcasting industry the understanding of the quality of the work of correspondents is quite far from the normative. This is illustrated, first of all, by a large flow of “secondary” media texts based on materials borrowed from other media in one way or another. Thus, the basic factor in the choice of information broadcasting is the convenience of consumption, but not the prompt receipt of exclusive information. However, deviations from the normative quality model practically do not affect the share of media texts produced and broadcasted - the level of rejected ideas and texts is small. The authors believe that at the radio newsrooms the concept of work quality is close to the concept of efficiency - the management of radio stations deliberately chooses a model of labor organization based on simpler work operations.