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Conclusions
This study explored the rate of burnout among newspaper journalists, including reporters, copy editors, page designers, news editors, photographers and executive/managing editors. It examined differences between burnout and job title, circulation size of newspapers where journalists work, age, and intentions to leave newspaper journalism.
The results indicate that the 770 journalists in this study have a moderate rate of exhaustion, a high rate of cynicism and a moderate rate of professional efficacy. Copy editors/page designers report higher rates of cynicism than executive/managing editors, and news editors and executive/managing editors report higher levels of efficacy than reporters. Journalists at small newspapers reported higher levels of exhaustion than those in the largest group, and younger journalists reported higher levels of exhaustion than older journalists. Additionally, journalists expressing intentions to leave the profession had significantly higher rates of burnout than those not intending to leave.
In previous burnout studies, journalists have demonstrated moderate rates of exhaustion and cynicism but high levels of professional efficacy (Reinardy, 2006a; Reinardy, 2006b; Richardsen and Martinussen, 2005). It has been argued that efficacy in a job acts as a counterbalance to exhaustion and cynicism. That does not seem to be the case in this study.
One of the most compelling aspects of this study is that it diverts from previous results. While reporting moderate rates of exhaustion, the journalists in this study demonstrated high levels of cynicism and moderate rates of efficacy. And although the journalists reported “moderate” rates of exhaustion, the rate in this study (2.93) was higher than previous work conducted by Reinardy (2.45) (2006b), and Richardsen and Martinussen (2.62) (2005). The same can be said for efficacy. Previous studies have reported high levels of efficacy or personal accomplishment (Reinardy, 2006a; Reinardy, 2006b), although Richardsen and Martinussen’s (2005) efficacy results are closely aligned with the results in this study.
In essence, with high levels of cynicism and climbing rates of exhaustion, journalists are moving closer to reaching burnout as defined by the MBI-GS. And the protective buffer efficacy – a feeling of accomplishment – continues to dwindle. Maslach et al. (2001) have theorized that burnout is sequential from exhaustion to cynicism, and inefficacy develops in concert with the other two aspects of burnout. That appears to be the case here.
In this study, journalists reported high rates of cynicism but only moderate rates of exhaustion. Cynicism “reflects indifference or a distant attitude towards work” (Maslach and Jackson, 1996, p. 21). So it does not appear that journalists are exhausted in doing their jobs – although they might be heading that way -- but perhaps are exasperated with the work. Meanwhile, accomplishment or efficacy continues to decline. Has the mounting journalism crisis – declining circulation and revenues, new technology, convergence, conglomerate ownership, and layoffs – diminished the commitment that has defined previous generations of journalists? That certainly could be a topic for additional research.
The most “at-risk” to burn out appear to be young copy editors or page designers at small newspapers, which replicates previous results (Cook and Banks, 1993; Cook, Banks and Turner, 1993). However, of the groups, reporters rated the lowest in professional efficacy. So while the results of H1 and H2 were only partially supported, the findings provided some interesting insights, particularly in terms of younger journalists.
It isn’t surprising to discover that journalists who expressed interest in leaving the profession registered higher rates of burnout. Previous studies have demonstrated that burnout leads to job turnover (Netemeyer et al., 1996; Kossek & Ozeki, 1998; Simon, Kummerling and Hasselhorn, 2004; Netemeyer, Brashear-Alejandro and Boles, 2004; Huang, Hammer and Perrin, 2004; Eby, Casper, Lockwood, Bordeaux and Brinley, 2005). However, this is the first study to document the link between burnout and turnover intentions among journalists.
Interestingly, younger journalists not only reported higher rates of burnout than their colleagues, but those journalists are most likely to express intentions to leave the profession. Among journalists 34 and younger, 74.5 percent either answered “yes” or “don’t know” when asked about leaving newspaper journalism. For young journalists, there clearly appears to be a distinct connection between burnout and career change. The open-ended responses indicate that dissatisfaction with pay, job demands and high levels of stress is whittling away at the commitment of young journalists. And because there is no clear resolution in reversing burnout (Maslach, et al., 2001), leaving journalism might be the only alternative.
This study has several limitations, including the sample. Because managing editors were asked to provide staff e-mail lists, the sample was by no means random. Also, only 5 percent of U.S. daily newspapers were represented. Another limitation is the job title groups. Because job titles were divided into five general categories, individual jobs might not be well represented.
Despite the limitations, the results of this study offer unique insight into burnout among newspaper journalists. While external issues are oftentimes presented as the cause for the crisis in journalism, this study demonstrates that the crisis might be internal as well. Previous studies have demonstrated burnout affects job performance, job satisfaction and work and family relationships, which can affect productivity and exacerbate employee turnover.
So in an effort for newspapers to raise revenues, maintain circulation and provide readers with more information in more ways, another crisis might be upon us. Perhaps lost in this evolutionary period of newspaper journalism is the news worker. When he or she is no longer able, or no longer willing, to provide quality journalism, the journalism of crisis won’t be found on Wall Street or in the circulation data. It’ll be found in the newsroom.