CJR
MORALE SURVEY
LOW — AND GETTING LOWER
BY
NEIL HICKEY
Low
morale -- is it common in newsrooms across America?
An overwhelming percentage of journalists who participated in
a nationwide cjr survey answered yes to that question. Fully 84
percent believe that poor morale is a widespread problem among
newspeople. Only 15 percent think it is not.
We also asked:
» Is your newsroom environment
more positive or less positive now than it was a year ago? Three
years ago?
Response: 54 percent declare it less positive than a year ago;
only 36 percent say the atmosphere is better now than a year ago.
For three years, the numbers were similar: 57 percent less positive
and 41 percent better.
The journalists who took part clearly see ominous warning signals
about newsroom morale, and many have strong opinions about possible
solutions.
In addition to six multiple-choice questions, the respondents
were invited to write brief essay answers to two open questions:
» Is good morale connected
to good journalism? How?
» If you could change one
thing in your newsroom to improve morale, what would it be?
We also asked:
» On a scale of one to five,
how positive an environment is your newsroom to work in? (1=not
positive; 5=very positive)
The average: three.
» Have you ever changed
jobs due to your low morale?
Response: 41 percent have; 59 percent have not.
The poll participants were given a list of seventeen factors (see
bar graph) and asked to rank each on a scale of one to five as
regards its power to affect morale. Three of those factors ended
in a dead heat -- with a 4.4 average -- for the number one position:
* Quality of leadership
* Chance to be creative
* Editors who listen to you
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THE
MAIN FACTOR?
LEADERSHIP
Thus, one of the clearest messages of the survey is that journalists
are avid for managers who are strong and effective leaders, but
who also have an open, receptive ear for suggestions that would
allow staff members to do better, more satisfying work.
In response to the question about what single factor would most
improve morale, Carol Stevens, deputy managing editor, editorial
page, at USA Today, said she'd like to see "increased direct
interaction between superiors and reporters." Lanny Larson,
assistant feature editor at The Fresno Bee, wants "more meaningful
communication at all levels, and an atmosphere that encourages
robust discussion of all issues, even difficult ones . . . [and]
more praise from the top." Ed Kilgore, sports director at
WGRZ-TV in Buffalo, New York, who has been in his job for almost
twenty-nine years (and who says his newsroom morale is better
than it was a year ago, and three years ago), nevertheless sees
the need for "more positive feedback; the ratio of negative
to positive is five to one." "Let the reporter decide
which stories should be done and which approach we should take,"
suggests Lynn Jodi Okamoto, legislative reporter for The Des Moines
Register. "More freedom to be creative," she adds. "Better
communication."
Carl Weiser, a reporter at Gannett News Service, wishes that management
would "explain decisions more fully." Both Blair Meeks,
a reporter at KPNX-TV in Phoenix, Arizona, and Jared Wadley, a
reporter at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California, want
"more positive feedback." Says Wadley: "If there
are ways to improve a story, I want to know about them."
Dan Freedman, national correspondent in the Hearst newspapers'
Washington bureau, has a suggestion that's eloquent in its simplicity:
"Move out uncreative time servers from critical supervisory
positions."
A score of other respondents concurred -- not for attribution
-- that leadership is the main ingredient in the newsroom they'd
change to improve morale.
Examples:
* "Managers should
make the mission clear, and make it a mission we can succeed with."
*"Morale would improve
if management would become receptive to new ideas for news coverage.
They ask for feedback, but never act on it. So why ask?"
*"Definitive, creative,
and attentive leadership (read management) that demands the best,
yet is accountable and idea/ideal driven -- that's what we need
badly!"
*"I would like to see
effective managerial leadership that can inspire employees to
challenge themselves to be better. It's not the money, the hours,
the pressure. It's the attitude."
*"Listen, listen, listen
to the troops in the streets! Trust our judgment and don't second-guess
us. Reporters shouldn't be swayed by managers who haven't covered
a story in decades!"
*"I'd like to see a
more consistent message from meddling managing editors about what
constitutes the improved writing they ostensibly are trying to
inspire."
*"I'd give more reporters
the chance to work on enterprise and investigative stories instead
of demanding too much daily copy of a beat nature. We need more
positive feedback and encouragement!"
*"Managers who understand,
and are capable of performing the jobs they are supervising."
*"I would like upper
management to sincerely listen to and respect the opinions of
others, and carry out some of their suggestions."
*"I am an investigative
reporter who works on long-term projects. I want to feel that
the editors know what I am doing, have questioned it, believe
in it, and will get behind it."
At the bottom of our list of seventeen factors that most contribute
to the state of morale were: #15, "Chance to contribute to
society," (3.5); #16, "Reasonable hours," (3.5);
and #17, "Status of journalism generally," (3.0). Those
responses appear to indicate that newspeople are undeterred by
public opinion surveys that place journalists far down the totem
pole of professions that the public finds admirable; that contributing
to society, or making a difference in the community are probably
too amorphous as ideas to make much difference in affecting morale;
and that working inconvenient hours and shifts does not loom large
in journalists' minds if most of the other, more crucial elements
on the list are in place.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROFITS
VERSUS
SOUND JOURNALISM
The poll shows another consistent theme in response to the question
of what single factor would most improve morale. Many respondents
perceive a serious problem in their owners' demand for greater
profits, sometimes at the expense of investing in resources to
produce outstanding journalism.
John Voskuhl, assistant managing editor at the Lexington (Kentucky)
Herald-Leader, puts it this way: "I would decrease the newspaper's
profit requirement -- and sprinkle a 'quality dividend' throughout
three areas: staffing, training, and travel."
David E. Michaels, assistant editor on The Arizona Republic's
entertainment tabloid, says: "I wish our ownership were more
honest about the need to make money. A lot of changes are clothed
in the 'journalism' garb, but are designed to save money. It's
dishonest, discouraging, and distracting."
John Cherwa, associate managing editor, sports, at the Chicago
Tribune, wishes that "staffing levels increased with company
profits so as to make it seem we all have the same goals."
Other remarks, at random: "Insulate further the news gatherers
from corporate budget pressures." "Greater focus on
good journalism with less emphasis on greater profit and the stock
price." "Reduce focus on profit and Wall Street."
"Clearly, sales is first, and news a distant second."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
''QUIT
CUTTING THE BUDGET!'
A major, recurring response to the "single most important"
query relates to money matters; budgets, resources, hiring, and
salary levels. Matthew J. Nelko, a writer-editor at CBS News Radio,
declares: "So many morale problems are caused by the anorexic
budget the company imposes on us."
David Hertz, metro editor at The Akron Beacon Journal: "Reduce
budget stresses [and] initiate a strong mandate for innovative
journalism -- something we are already trying to do."
Susan Bischoff, deputy managing editor, Houston Chronicle: "Restoration
of budget cuts."
Sharyl Attkisson, CBS News correspondent: "Quit cutting the
budget. And tell the bitter complainers to find other work."
Charles Zobell, managing editor, Las Vegas Review-Journal: "Hire
more staff."
Jane Snow, food editor, Akron Beacon Journal: "More money
from our miserly, short-sighted corporate parent, Knight Ridder."
A fifty-one-year-old reporter who has worked at five news organizations
and served in his current job for seven years is one of numerous
respondents who insist that pay is far and away the biggest factor
in determining morale. "I think about quitting all the time,"
he says. "I never would have gone into journalism had I realized
I'd still be doing it thirty years later, with all the accompanying
stress, for teachers' wages. It's too hard to raise a family this
way."
Firing, rather than hiring, is sometimes the best way to improve
morale, according to some respondents. At The Buffalo News, managing
editor Ed Cuddihy thinks that a necessary tactic is to "get
rid of folks who see journalism as a 'job' instead of a career;
those who won't give what it takes, but remain envious of those
who do the heavy lifting." Shaun Schafer, reporter, Tulsa
World: "I'd fire the deadweights. Next, I'd shuffle the beats.
Finally, I'd upgrade our equipment." Another journalist suggests:
"Encourage the departure of chronic underachievers who lack
the ability to perform on the same level as their colleagues,
and thus become disgruntled and a burden to morale."
A diplomatic correspondent at the Los Angeles Times, Norman Kempster,
says, diplomatically: "I'd fire a specific individual, but
I would not care to say who." A respondent who describes
himself as a Fox News Channel correspondent says that if he could
change one thing it would be "my stupid copy editor."
Neil Best, a sports reporter at Newsday, Long Island, New York,
has not one, but three top choices to improve morale: "More
space, later deadlines, more cheerful copy editors."
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GREAT JOURNALISM/
LOW MORALE
"Is a bluebird blue?" was one respondent's answer to
the question: Is there a connection between good morale and good
journalism? "Did anyone answer this question in the negative?"
he wondered. Well, yes, some did.
"No!" said CBS News Radio's Matthew Nelko. "A journalist,
like a doctor, is dedicated to professionalism whether he's being
screwed by the company or not." Mara Lee, a regional reporter
at the Dayton Daily News, recalls that The Charlotte Observer
was one of the most "gripe-filled" places she'd worked
at, but it was also the "highest quality" in its journalism.
"Good journalism can come out of bad papers with low morale
when reporters encourage each other," according to a reporter
at The Columbus Dispatch. The Chicago Tribune's John Cherwa generally
agrees with that. Good journalism can improve morale, he believes,
but "good morale does not necessarily lead to good journalism."
Ed Cuddihy at The Buffalo News thinks the importance of the connection
is exaggerated, and that bad morale is often an excuse for bad
journalism. "Good journalists make their way," he feels
sure.
A former staff member at The Miami Herald said that the paper
had "great journalism and very low morale. Editors and reporters
worked hard to outdo each other, and the competitive attitude
fueled story output. However, it was at quite a personal cost
to the staff. Loyalty did not exist, and job turnover was high."
A thirty-nine-year-old woman journalist with nineteen years in
her present job agrees that good work doesn't need high morale.
"Many of us take personal, not just professional pride in
our work," she says, "and couldn't sleep at night any
other way."
But an impressive 83 percent of those surveyed see a clear connection
between good morale and good journalism. Some comments:
* Jose Fuentes-Salinas,
staff writer, La Opinion: "Good morale makes a more creative
researcher. The 'extras' in a good article come from extra motivation."
* Richard Roth, CNN correspondent:
Good morale "allows reporters to focus on the job and not
struggle with outside problems. Television is a team game. Just
one person, fairly or unfairly, upsets/affects the final product."
* Eric Harrison, critic-at-large,
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: "Dispirited reporters and editors
are not motivated to do what it takes to produce the best quality
product. Folks become more concerned with looking for other jobs
and less with the job they have."
* Sarah Fritschner, food
editor, at The (Louisville) Courier-Journal: "Bad morale
leads to apathy, leads to less zeal to pursue quality, the extra
source, the better page design."
A fifty-year-old who has changed jobs seven times in thirty-one
years thinks that journalists who are "abused, burned out,
and otherwise disillusioned too easily succumb to indifference.
Beat a dog often enough and he'll learn not to get on the couch."
A forty-six-year-old woman with nine and a half years in her current
job and five other employers on her résumé says
that "if your brain is beaten down worrying about layoffs,
sexual harassment, or management idiocy, you are not going to
be brilliant or creative in covering your beat."
And finally, a fifty-year-old male reporter who has changed jobs
six times responds: "Duh! Good kick-ass journalism, good
writing, good photos, good layout, good pay, good editors = happy,
productive employees." *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Neil Hickey is cjr's editor at
large.
Ryan Smee, a cjr intern, assisted
in the computer analysis.
