Loyalty in the Newsroom. Employment Relationships in Public Service Broadcasting

ABSTRACT

Very little research has decried the chronic deterioration of the working conditions of journalists. Public service broadcasters, which are often seen as paradigms of stable employment relationships, have been influenced by a highly competitive industry characterised by the outsourcing of content generation and the erosion of working conditions. The Spanish Public Radio and Television Corporation (RTVE) is no exception, in a context also influenced by the political clientelism distinguishing Mediterranean media systems. Accordingly, this study resorts to the classical exit, voice, and loyalty model to stress the importance of employment relationships for journalists. From this perspective, the analysis of TVE newsroom discourses invites the exploration of the role of the supervisor in access to employment and career opportunities, as well as its possible polarising effects that make it difficult for journalists to offer their full loyalty to the citizenry.

KEYWORDS:

• Public service broadcasting
• newsroom
• media
• organisation-employee relationship
• TVE
• loyalty

Acknowledgements

We thank Thomas MacFarlane for his useful help in the English language editing of this paper. We also thank all the interviewees and all journalists who defend public broadcasting and its public service values.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Note blinded for peer review.

2 The face-to-face interviews, lasting from 30 to 90 min, were conducted between November 2016 and May 2017 at different venues, although chiefly in the workplace. In order to protect the anonymity of the respondents, only their professional profiles (at the time of the interviews) are provided below:

I1 Seasoned executive with experience in different news-related posts of responsibility. I2 Producer with a long track record. I3 Reporter with experience in different posts of responsibility and a member of the executive committee. I4 Camera operator with a long track record and experience in the News Council. I5 Veteran editor at RTVE’s territorial headquarters. I6 Young reporter specialising in interactive media. I7 News editor with a long track record. I8 Director of a current affairs programme with many years of experience in the post. I9 International news editor with many years of experience as a correspondent in different countries. I10 Cultural news editor and member of the News Council. I11 Editor and director of one of TVE’s news programmes. I12 Former director of RTVE’s news services. I13 Former editor and presenter at TVE, now working for a commercial channel. I14 Editor of a news programme. I15 Manager of RTVE.es’ Laboratory for Audio-visual Innovation. I16 Manager of RTVE’s website. I17 Sports editor based in territorial headquarters. I18 Editor in a production centre in an autonomous region. I19 Former camera operator in a production centre affected by a workforce adjustment plan. I20 Veteran reporter in a production centre of an autonomous region. I21 Veteran political reporter in a production centre of an autonomous region. I22 Veteran sports reporter in a production centre of an autonomous region.

3 The first author of this paper who is both an academic and a union representative, joined the research project once it had been designed. He brought the focus on labour relations.

4 https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/article/1999/public-broadcasting-strike-results-in-collective-agreement

5 https://www.tspr.org/post/loyalty-newsroom

6 https://www.publico.es/politica/ere-rtve-tribunal-cuentas-concluye-ere-rtve-no-logro-objetivos-reducir-costes-plantilla.html

7 https://www.vozpopuli.com/medios/plantilla-RTVE-profesores-administrativos-periodistas_0_1254475598.html

8 RTVE’s II and III collective agreement: article 1 http://extra.rtve.es/ccoo/II_Convenio/II_Convenio_CRTVE_con_anexos_e_indice.pdf

https://www.boe.es/eli/es/res/2020/12/15/(4)

9 http://usortve.es/index.php/noticias/463%E2%80%90analisis%E2%80%90de%E2%80%90plantilla%E2%80%90iv

10 https://www.elindependiente.com/tendencias/comunicacion/2020/01/24/los-sindicatos-proponen-nuevas-convocatorias-de-oposiciones-en-rtve-para-evitar-dedazos/

11 https://www.abc.es/espana/abci-mas-300-interinos-victimas-guerra-laboral-politica-y-sindical-rtve-202101140229_noticia.html

https://elpais.com/economia/2019/04/02/actualidad/1554199255_401201.html

12 RTVE’s III collective agreement: article 28

13 Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, the current name of the Spanish public broadcaster.

14 RTVE’s II and III collective agreement: articles 6 and 7.

Additional information

Funding

This paper forms part of the “Dinámicas de relación ante el cambio social: contextos, contenidos, productores, público y produsuarios en las noticias de TVE e YLE” (CSO2013-45470-R) research project, financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness 2013 National Programme for Research Aimed at the Challenges of Society, and led by María Lamuedra and Manuel Ángel Vázquez Medel. This programme also received supporting funds from the European Regional Development Fund.