Journalism layoffs shift power to public relations professionals

Noam Chomsky has proposed a “propaganda model” to describe the function of the mass media. Chomsky (1988) described five filters that drive this propaganda model: concentrated ownership, advertising as the primary revenue source, reliance on public relations bureaucracies, “flak” as a means of disciplining media, and “anticommunism” as a control mechanism. This essay focuses on the influence of public relations bureaucracies and argues that large-scale layoffs in journalism since 2001 have dramatically increased the power of these information bureaucracies to shape news coverage.

According to Forbes (2009), more than 10,000 newspaper journalists have lost work since 2001, which equates to the loss of one in six newspaper journalists nationwide. These losses were far greater than in other job sectors. Editor & Publisher (2009) reported that journalism jobs disappeared at a rate three times higher than the overall loss of jobs during the past year.

Job concerns have also distracted reporters from focusing on quality coverage. A survey by The Pew Research Center for People & the Press (2008) found that journalists were more than twice as concerned about their own industry’s financial problems (55%) as they were about the quality of their coverage (22%). Quality of coverage had been the top concern in both 2004 and 1999. Newsrooms not focused on quality and reduced in size by almost 20% lack the motivation and resources to combat the influence of public relations bureaucracies.

Resource-strapped newsrooms are also more likely to need these bureaucracies because these public relations experts lower the cost of news gathering. According to Chomsky, “the large bureaucracies of the powerful subsidize the mass media, and gain special access by their contributions to reducing the media’s cost of acquiring the raw materials of, and producing, news.” (1988, p. 22).

Groups like law enforcement, government agencies and large business organizations are well-funded and have large staffs; they understand the deadline requirements of the media and are willing to be accessible; and, they are seen as “objective experts” which protects the media from bias charges.

Chomsky argues these information bureaucracies shape the news. To test that claim, I performed an ethnographic analysis of a typical local TV newsroom “daybook” from a network-affiliate in the northwest. The daybook is the list of potential stories that news managers and reporters review in order to make daily story assignments. On the day in question, there were 47 possible stories listed. Of that total, 66% were press releases from organizations; another 13% were simply stories taken from other local media outlets; only 13% of the stories came from reporter ideas and just 9% came from average citizens not affiliated with any organization.

Since most assigned stories come from this initial pool of potential stories, the fact that two-thirds of the pool came from public relations staffs demonstrates the significant dependence of the media on these sources, and the role that public relations professionals play in shaping the news of the day.

Adding to this power shift is the trend for ex-journalists to become PR professionals. Schneiderman (2009), in an article entitled “change your career from media”, recommends public relations as the most natural replacement job for unemployed journalists. The article quotes career coach Jeff Aulenbach as saying: “Your skills as an effective writer and communicator are well suited for internal or external PR.”

In the new world of reduced staff in mainstream newsrooms across America, fewer reporters are working with less time to independently track down stories. In that model, skilled public relations professionals who understand the needs and limitations of the mainstream media have greater influence and are relied on to an even greater degree.

Not surprisingly, a study recently completed by the Pew Center (2009) found public perceptions of media accuracy to be at a two-decade low. Only 29% of Americans thought that news organizations generally got the facts straight, a 50% drop since 1985. Only 20% of respondents thought that news organizations were independent of powerful people and organizations, an all-time low score on that survey question.

Perhaps the hidden glimmer of hope in the Pew study is that those surveyed are more skeptical than ever of what they see and read in the news. In this era of sharply reduced newsroom staffs, consumers of news should heed the advice of Romano (1986, p. 78), who wrote: “what the press covers matters less in the end than how the public reads.”


References:

Fitzgerald, M. (2009). Journos losing jobs at three times rate of average workers. Editor & Publisher. Retrieved on September 25, 2009 from http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004014096.

Herman, S. and Chomsky, N. (1988). Manufacturing consent: The political economy of the mass media. New York: Pantheon Books.

Romano, C. (1986). The grisly truth about bare facts. In R. K. Manhoff & M. Schudson (Eds.), Reading the News. New York: Pantheon Books.

Streib, L. (2009) Journalism Bust, J-School Boom. Forbes. Retrieved on September 25, 2009 from http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/06/journalism-media-jobs-business-media-jobs.html .

Schneiderman, M. (2009). Change your career from Media. New York Time Out. Retrieved on September 25, 2009 from http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/jobs/77242/change-your-career-from-media#ixzz0SNBxp3dD.

The Pew Research Center for People & the Press, (2008). Financial Woes Now Overshadow All Other Concerns for Journalists. (2008) Retrieved on September 25, 2009 from http://people-press.org/report/403/financial-woes-now-overshadow-all-other-concerns-for-journalists.

The Pew Research Center for People & the Press, (2009). Press Accuracy Rating Hits Two Decade Low. Retrieved on September 25, 2009 from http://people-press.org/report/543/.