A Contract for Success? Attitudes About Professional Development Among News Directors and Producers

Abstract

Professional development training is often cited by journalists as a way to improve skills and increase job satisfaction and employee retention, yet it's significantly underused in the field of broadcast journalism. This study contrasts the attitudes of news directors and producers - classic “knowledge workers” - toward professional development in commercial broadcast newsrooms. Results indicate there are significant differences in how news directors and local broadcast producers perceive the availability and value of professional development, how they view its importance to promotion, and whether they consider it a factor in job satisfaction. The results build on the theory of psychological contracts to examine how the availability of training can affect organizational commitment for highly-valued local broadcast producers.