Job Satisfaction in the Digital Age: A Qualitative Study of Social Responsibility and Burnout in Local Television News Reporters

This is an exploratory study of job satisfaction, burnout, and social responsibility among local television news reporters with three years of experience or less. Through in-depth qualitative interviews, this study applied existing theory while exploring the factors that influence job satisfaction and burnout in local television news reporters. This study explored whether local television journalists feel they are able to meet the normative professional standards outlined in the social responsibility theory as their work demands increase with rise of digital media and one-man band expectations. The job satisfaction levels of the participants in this study varied. Those with higher job satisfaction levels reported having better relationships with management and colleagues. Because the participants in this study have worked in the news industry for three years or less, they have not experienced the prolonged stress that defines burnout. However, all participants showed early signs of burnout, particularly in the exhaustion component