The News Organization in Uncertain Times: Business or Institution?

This study compares rational-choice economics approaches with institutional theory in assessing the ways news organizations respond to uncertainty. Rational-choice approaches suggest newsroom managers facing uncertainty will pursue “tight coupling” by monitoring audiences and collaborating with the...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly Vol. 87; no. 1; pp. 41 - 62
Main Authors: Lowrey, Wilson, Woo, Chang Wan
Format: Article
Published: Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication Spring2010
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=509991652&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: ssf
    uiTerm: 509991652
    longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson)
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        10776990
        JMY
      jtl: Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly
      issn: 10776990
      maglogo: N
    pubinfo:
      dt: Spring2010
      vid: 87
      iid: 1
      pid: 569
      pub: Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication
    artinfo:
      ui: 509991652
      ppf: 41
      ppct: 21
      formats:
        fmt:
          – @attributes:
              type: T
          – @attributes:
              type: C
          – @attributes:
              type: P
              size: 1.2MB
      tig:
        atl: The News Organization in Uncertain Times: Business or Institution?
      aug:
        au:
          Lowrey, Wilson
          Woo, Chang Wan
      su:
        Institutional economics
        Newspapers
        Economics
        Newspaper publishing
        Finance
        Uncertainty
        United States
      sug:
        subj:
          United States
          Institutional economics
          Newspapers
          Economics
          Newspaper publishing
          Finance
          Uncertainty
      ab: This study compares rational-choice economics approaches with institutional theory in assessing the ways news organizations respond to uncertainty. Rational-choice approaches suggest newsroom managers facing uncertainty will pursue “tight coupling” by monitoring audiences and collaborating with the newspaper's business side, while institutionalism suggests uncertainty will lead organizations to buffer themselves from their market environments and to mimic other news organizations. Findings from a national survey of editors and a content analysis of interactive features from newspaper Web sites reveal both institutional-ist and rational-choice tendencies. News managers are monitoring audiences, but monitoring is not strongly affecting decisions about content and online features.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
    refInfo:
    copyright:
      @attributes:
        flag: N
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N