Annual Surveys of Journalism and Mass Communication

Media Prerequisites and Personnel: Television and Newspaper Differences in Hiring Strategies

Lee B. Becker, C. Ann Hollifield and Gerald M. Kosicki

Abstract

This study examines whether, as competition for readers and viewers increases among news producers, media organizations are focusing on hiring individuals whose talents most reflect the specific communication strengths and style of a particular medium, or whether news executives still seek more traditional journalistic skills in applicants. The study also examined differences in the types of application materials news executives require applicants to submit, and compared those responses to what recently hired employees reported being asked to submit by their employers.

The study used data from three national surveys conducted in the Spring of 1996. The first was the Jane Pauley Task Force national survey of television news directors. The second was a national survey of daily newspaper editors, and the third was a national survey of recent graduates of four-year journalism and mass communication programs.

The study found that news executives appear more likely to use traditional journalistic skills when describing an ideal applicant. However, even more important than such skills for both media types were the personality characteristics of new employees. Thus, news executives appear to place more importance on hiring good employees than on hiring good journalists.

Becker, L. B., Hollifield, C. A., and Kosick, G. M. (1997, November). Media prerequisites and personnel: television and newspaper differences in hiring strategies This paper was presented at the Midwest Association of Public Opinion and Research (MAPOR) conference, Chicago, IL.