Mediating the individual: journalistic cultures and the mechanisms of innovation at two daily newspapers

Abstract

This paper examines two daily newspapers, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Hartford (CT) Courant, and the organizational and occupational strategies the staff of each has used to maintain identity and cope with change. An underlying theme of this investigation is the significant role that the actions and choices of individuals –rather than groups or institutions – have in generating the social forces and behavioral patterns within a newsroom. Consequently, this research will explore the role of the “entrepreneur,” defined here as the goal-pursuing innovative social actor, whose choices may have shaped how process unfolds in the target newsrooms. Thus, the study will assess the interaction of the newsroom's occupational cultures, its organizational goals and its individual, entrepreneurial voices.