“Let’s Not Tank the Reputation of This Organization.” How Newsroom Social Media Policies Exacerbate Journalism’s Labor Crisis

Abstract

This study explores the tension between journalists’ personal social media accounts and newsroom social media policies to understand how newsroom managers exacerbate journalism’s labor crisis by de-professionalizing the field through restrictive policies. To analyze this tension, we conduct a critical discourse analysis of (1) managerial discourses collected from newsroom social media policies and scholarly literature and (2) journalistic discourses collected from in-depth interviews with 37 U.S. journalists. We find that newsroom social media policies require journalists to make four sacrifices in service of their organization’s reputation: individuality, opinion, voice, and privacy. This leaves journalists feeling frustrated by their lack of agency when it comes to engaging with the public and pursuing social media success. We conclude that this conflict contributes to journalism’s human resources crisis by limiting journalistic professionalism and autonomy, both of which are crucial for job satisfaction and journalism’s democratic mission.