Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

8-1997

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Communication

Major Professor

Sam Swan

Committee Members

Barbara Moore, Benjamin Bates, John Ray

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore structural components relevant to full-time news photographers serving local television news departments in the United States. The theoretical foundation for this study, structuration, proposes that systems, such as electronic newsgathering, are created and reproduced through the enactment of rules, resources, traditions and interactions among individuals. Structures within the news system include technological resources, codes of ethics, newsroom roles and responsibilities, etc. The enactment of a structure is the result of individuals' interpretations of the structure's spirit and properties. Photographers, as newsworkers, interact with these structures, and may contribute to a recreation of the news production system, creating new structures.

The focus of the study, photographers' experiences with one-man-band newsgathering, emanated from anecdotal evidence that innovations in camera-recorder technology may be expanding solo news coverage. A national survey of full-time television news photographers from a random sample of commercial stations was conducted. The survey included items on equipment usage, work assignments, newsroom input, and professional values. Subjects were also asked to discuss the effects of newer newsgathering technologies in their work. Three hundred ninety-eight usable surveys were analyzed.

Findings suggested that there was little evidence to support structurational interaction between camera equipment and the proportion of story assignments that constituted "one-man-band" newsgathering. The strongest relationship was found, not with technology, but with communication. Meeting with assignment editors to discuss ideas for stories was positively associated with several variables involving the selection of news material. These included influencing which aspects of a story should be emphasized, defining how a story will be used in a newscast, and participating in daily planning meetings with producers, reporters and news managers. These findings suggest interpersonal and group communication is an important variable in the shaping and processing of local television news content.

The photographers did express enthusiasm for newer newsgathering technologies. Many photographers felt wireless microphones, lightweight camcorders, and computer editing systems generated more creativity, originality and flexibility. The results supported some findings of qualitative studies, but suggest more study of these technological structures may be needed to better understand how they interact with photographers and other newsworkers in altering and/or maintaining the system of electronic newsgathering.

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