Are Traditional Journalism Principles Still Alive and Well in Today’s Local TV Newsrooms?

Abstract

This study surveyed 348 local TV journalists to learn whether—given the demands of the contemporary, conglomerated television news industry—they still adhere to traditional journalistic principles. The findings suggest that, by and large, reporters believe they make a determined effort to uphold good journalism practices despite management pressures to produce increasingly higher volumes of news content more quickly and with fewer resources. Findings suggest further scholarly attention to two journalism principles in particular may be needed: the principle of verifying facts before publication as it pertains to social media adoption in newsrooms and, secondly, changes in newsroom organization related to the principle of watchdog journalism.