The News Factory

Abstract

Based on team observational analysis of a television newsroom, we argue that an analogue for the local television news organization is a factory To illustrate a routinized news organization, we propose a factory model with five steps story ideation, task assignment, gathering and structuring materials, assembly, and newscast presentation The model reflects an assembly line approach to news that limits newsworkers' involvement in the organ ization and its product The specialization, routinization and mechanization of television newswork has four observable consequences inflexibility, lack of personal investment in the product, and evaluation of newswork in productivity terms, and a mismatch between newsworkers' expectations and the reality of the news factory