Relentlessly interesting: The effect of the Detroit joint operating agreement on the Detroit Free Press newsroom culture.

This study develops a model for analyzing the effect of major change on an organization by focusing on elements of its organizational culture: (a) Socialization (including anticipatory) to the organization; (b) Complexity of individual roles in the organization; (c) Boundary spanning abilities of individuals and the organization regarding internal and external environments; (d) Strength and economic efficiency of the organizational culture; and (e) Professional cultures within the organization. Using this model, this is the first study to analyze the effect of newspaper joint operating agreement (JOAs) on newsroom culture. The specific case chosen is the largest JOA authorized under The Newspaper Preservation Act (NPA), which provides a special antitrust exemption for economically failing newspapers. A legal/historical analysis of the NPA provides background for the present study, which analyzes the specific effect on the Detroit Free Press. At the Free Press, potentially negative JOA effects were blunted because the newspaper's organizational culture was so strong. The common conclusion of three separate methodologies is that, while there was structural change in the newsroom organization and the newspaper product, the underlying values of the newsroom culture and the news values of the journalists remained the same. This was documented by data gathered through about 400 hours of participant observation over an eighteen-month period, including in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of employees across management levels, both at the beginning and end of the study. Additionally, survey research was used to explore the attitudes and opinions of the purposive sample, and a content analysis was conducted on a sample of Free Press weekday newspapers. The model developed in this study can be applied to other types of changes and to other kinds of organizations. It is valuable not only for analyzing existing problems in an organization, but also for helping organizations avoid harm in future crises.Ph.D.Communication and the ArtsJournalismLabor relationsManagementMass communicationSocial SciencesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/128706/2/9124079.pd