Media work, identity, and the motivations that shape branding practices among journalists: An explanatory framework

Abstract

This study offers a new way of understanding the motivations that influence media workers’ impression management (or branding) in the social media era. Amid the growing insecurity of media work generally and the particular pressures of branding oneself and promoting one’s employer online, our research introduces a framework through which to interpret the forces and factors—internal (social–psychological) and external (environmental)—that shape how and why media professionals engage in branding. Through a first-of-its-kind survey of a broad cross-section of journalists (N = 642), this study proposes, tests, and confirms a branding alignment hypothesis. This typology sheds light on how branding activity aligns with individual, organizational, and institutional motivations as well as professional identities. Importantly, the study shows how branding is manifested over and above social media dynamics alone and reveals how “self-made” and “company” journalists differ in how they promote themselves, their employers, and the journalism occupation.