Survey: Managing Change in Journalism. © Andreas K. Bittner, April 2011.

Survey: Managing Change in Journalism.

© Andreas K. Bittner, April 2011



Managing Change – Overview

What change? – A short case study Changing environment The Survey – step by step Ready for Change? Discussion



Too much change?

The case of Frankfurter Rundschau 1946 - 2013(?)

Federal State Financial Guarantee (2003) – Saved from Insolvency through Political

Party Media Holding (2004) – Consultants reduce staff from 1.650 to less than 1.000

people – Traditional Headquarters sold – Stylish new Headquarter / Newsroom –

Relaunch – Changing Chief Editor – E-Paper – New Majority Stakeholder: Traditional

Publishing House – Changing to Tabloid format – Re-Design – Re-Re-Design - Re-

structuring local newsdesks – Higher subscription price – Closer cooperation with sister

publications (Berlin, Cologne, Halle)– Ad Revenue -20,3 % (2009) – regional online ad

website – Syndication with three dailies from same publisher – Pool of journalist – Staff

agreement / no holiday or christmas bonus – More lay-offs – Reduction of local editions

(5 to 3, changed again 2010) – Social Media - iPad – Reporter pool with sister

publications – more losses 24,5 Mio. € (2009), approx. 19 Mio. € (2010) – „structural

losses“ 10 Mio. € (2011 – 13) – Readers -30 % in 10 years – another 18 months lefts?



Tabloid Format



Facebook



Twitter



App Economy

(probably) the best App from a German newspaper 79 cent / day marketing still difficult



Staff

2000 1.650 employees (Publishing / Printing)2004 1.110 employees (new owner)2006 730 employees (new majority stakeholder)2009 540 employees (ad revenue – 20%)2010 190 employees* mid2011 150 employees**

* 30 outsourced journalist in „Press Service“ (no collective agreement) 40 outsourced employees „Publishing Service“ (production, no collective agreement)

** 90 journalist in three different companies (Berlin, Frankfurt, Online - no collective agreement)



2001 - 11

Sales (End of quarter) 2001 - 2011

190.813

122.000

0

40.000

80.000

120.000

160.000

200.000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Copies soldSales

Subscriptions (End of quarter) 2001 - 2011

120.958

72.016

0

20.000

40.000

60.000

80.000

100.000

120.000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Subscriptions

Total copies sold –36%Subscriptions –24%Newsstand –55%

Source: IVW



German Unions



"Dollars always follow eyeballs"

Online ad revenues 2010Double-digit growthLeaving traditional media behind

Online 26,0 Billion Dollar Newspapers 22,8 Billion Dollar Cable TV newtorks 22,5 Billion Dollar Broadcast TV netw. 17,6 Billion Dollar Radio 15,3 Billion Dollar Mobile (iPhone, iPad ...) 550 - 650 Mio. Dollar

Online ads+ 24% display ads (banners, digital video; market share 38%+ 12 % search (text ads); market share 46%

(Figures for USA; Source Interactive Advertising Bureau, IAB, 2011)



ProPublica Pulitzer

Pulitzer Price (2010, 2011) Investigative Journalism Founded 2007 (Herb+ Marion Sandler) Funding 10 Mio. Dollar/ year 32 journalists (paid above average)



What‘s Changing? Who‘s Changing?

The Market ? The Journalist / Skills? Workplace ? Quality? The (traditional) Publisher (turning controller)? The Reader (User, Audience) ? The Technology (Plattform, Channel) ? The Unions? Ad revenues? Profits? Margins? Journalism? Communication Process (Social Media)

SPEED?



What‘s Changing? Who‘s Changing?

Everything with an incredible SPEED.



Change or Media Revolution?

Everything with an incredible SPEED.

„Media revolution? ... I believe this is a historically unfavourable phase for unflexible journalists?“

Sascha Lobo, German Blogger, Social Media Consultant



Survey (6 Questions, March April 2011)

Response

22 EFJ members from 18 countries participatingRepresenting approx. 85 % of EFJ membership – but very few SEE countries

Membership

all organising employed journalist

almost all organising freelance journalist

most organise photographers

about half accept members from public relations and communications

many organise students, retired or jobless journalists ...

and a wide spectrum of other media workers ...



Wide spectrum – something with media?

Some examples (professional) bloggers Archivars, documentarist All technical jobs (layouter, cutter, info graphics) Presenters, promoters, speakers, ... All PR jobs Cartoonists Camera men (and women) Book editors Professors (of journalism) collaborati (= paid part time local journalists) Fashion potographers TV producers Computer game desigers

... and a really wide spectrumall studentsall employees in media houses



Wide spectrum – something with media?

Different approaches

Full-time, part-time (but professional), anything with media

Presscard or membership card

Registered professional journalists in news media

„Berufsregister“ (special professional register)

No active / passive voting rights

Restriction for certain services

Change? Open membership to all media, differentiate „core journalist members“ and other members – different rights, different services Questions: Solidarity, complexity, union character. adequate „just“ fees?



Fee systems – quite uniform

Question 1.1

Fees ranging from 0 € to 670 € p.a.

Smaller unions often make no difference

Many unions take a percentage from salary / income ( 1% - 1,6%)

Many unions have reductions for students, retired journalists ...

Some with two-layered fee system (uniform national / different regional fee)

One union gives 25 % discount if annual fee is paid by Januar 31st

Change? As membership is getting more and more diverse and expected services are more specialised - should there be a more differentiating fee system? Questions: Solidarity, complexity



Service – quite the same for everybody

Question 1.2

Most unions do not make a difference

Exceptions: for students, retired journalists ...

Exception: Press card / legal assistance

One union asked: Why service?

Change: Balance between union, assocation, lobby organisation? Shift towards more targeted services? Future Profile?

Change: Membership is getting more diverse, jobs and qualifications are very different, service needs (and expectations) are different – more diversification, member orientation, more community and online services



Less time, less pay, more work, multi media

Question 2.1

General pessimistic, impression of lower respect for journalistic work, lower estimation for journalists / quality journalism, notion of de-valuation of journalist; potential conflicts

established journalists vs. newcomers / starters

employed vs. freelances (fees: race to the bottom)

speed vs. quality

many specific answers for different media / countries



Less time, less pay, more work, multi media

Question 2.1

Reduction of staff, higher „density“ of work, unpaid extra-hours

Erosion of payment and social standards

Stop of bargaining ord collective agreements (for years)

Journalists and other media employees with same contract

New forms of cooperation, outsourcing and fragmentation

New forms of cooperation in newsrooms

„Voluntary“ work in Social Media (comment, blog, tweet ....)

Use and misuse of temporary work

Online: difficult border between journalistic and technical tasks

„Journalists lost their old VIP-Status“



Not much for new members

Question 2.2

Most unions do not have any special offers for new members

Some give them some reading material

Some rely on their website

Few have special workshops, meetings or activities

Nobody mentions social media / communities

Change? targeted offers and activities for new members, mentoring programmes, networking



No clear picture employed & freelances

Question 2.3

Growing number of freelancers (about 50% of membership?)

Majority sees (some) problems

Few see huge problems – even „clashes“

Some expect ongoing good relations

Many mention financial aspects

Change? Mapping needed (know your membership statistics, know your members better), create opportunities (seminars) for exchange between employed & freelance journalistsChange internal structures to serve growing number of freelances



Membership criteria mainly unchanged

Question 3.1

Hardly any changes (in theory)

Comparison with the „wide spectrum“ mentioned under

Some minor changes (to attract more members)

Change: Mapping needed: identify new forms of journalism; What profile? Danger of losing members to „specialised assocations“ ... photographers, freelances, etc.



Recruitment– room for improvement

Question 3.2

Large differences across Europe

One or more unions in a country? Restricted membership?

High degree of organisation – like in Nordic countries

Sucees mainly with face-to-face contact (universities, seminars)

Many unions with no special programmes, budgets, activities

Some rely on a popular website (NUJ) oder community (NJV)

Some with trial membership / membership discount

Change? more action and best practice needed, but remains largely a national issue



On training and seminars

Question 3.3

Many, but not all unions offer training

Many have „traditional“ manuals

Some have their own „Academy“; some cooperate with training instititutions

Very wide spectrum of activities- professional seminar- personal skills- entrepreneurial skills / start up- training for union work (work coincil ...)- mentoring

Question of paid oder unpaid training was not asked

Change? New forms of online training and webinars, „Universalcode“ collaborative manual, chapters discussed online



Other benefits: large variety

Question 3.3

Legal assistance

Special insurabce packages (sometimes included in membership fee)

Pre-financing

Discounts and special offers (Software, Travel, Mobile Phones, Insurance)

(some unions with own „Service Company“)

Holiday ressorts and appartments



Collective Bargaining & Strike

Question 4.1

Traditional approaches and issues change fast (multimedia, crossmedia)

Collective bargaining gets harder and takes longer (sometimes for years)

In some countries no more bargaining or agreements

In some countries there is no counterpart

Fewer journalists fall under agreements (outsourcing, temporary work)

Trend from national agreements to staff agreements

Trend from staff agreemenst to individual contracts

Development? Established journalists stick to their status 8and keep calm)

Development? Younger journalists are difficult to mobilise

Getting more difficult to have common goals (fragmentation, expectations)



Collective Bargaining & Strike

Question 4.1

Some stress the right to strike

Some countries: Strike is still an option, the last option

Technological development makes strike difficult

„production stop“ sometimes unnoticed by the reader / user / audience

Trend: Internet and mediahouse –production stop is rarely an option

Most unions demand / practice new forms of activities (protest meeting)

Media hardly cover the activities (Italy: media have to publish)

Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Flash Mob – Campaigns on YouTube)

Actions and Events – to „make news, produce pictures“ to get coverage

Appeals to the public – Journalism as a public good / VIP testimonials



Beyond Collective Bargaining & Strike

Change? The challenge is to transform the journalists‘ rage and fears into

new activities – beyond strike.

Increasingly difficult because the number of members gets smaller, their

engagement and potential for mobilisation diminishes.

Best practices exchange of small, „guerilla“-like activities.

New ways of informing freelances and younger journalists about union work,

solidarity ...



Onliner, freelances

Question 4.2

Online journalists (often) covered by agreements in large media companies

Online journalists often in outsourced companies; treated as technical staff

Online journalists as entrepreuneurs - > individual contracts

Long working hours (hardly any rules)

„voluntary work“ in Social Media expected

Change? no standards, online journalists manly have the same problems as freelances and are even more difficult to mobilise



Training & collective agreements

Question 5.1

Of course: deesirable, many unions with no real (positive) answers

Existent in only a few countries (Italy, Norway)

Depends very much on single media houses

Mainly on the job training

No long term stragegies (personal development, staff development)



Training demands (for the future)

Question 5.2

„Every member should have the necessary training for his/her job, as well as recurrent further training.“

Many unions did not answer this question

Not surprising

No clear definition of multi-media, cross-media, social media, even „online“

Some fear „de-skilling“

Change: Define terms first, than trainings needs, find ways of incentives and co-financing.s



Question 6.1 Half of questionnaires with no answerQuestion 6.2 Many questionnaries with no answer

Question 6.1: How can unions provide equivalent protection to their freelances as to their employed members?

Question 6.2: Is your union considering or changing its traditional tasks in order to better service its increasing freelance members? Please link to specific projects on your website. (Linklist available)



Better service for freelances?

Question 6.1

Many with no answer

Main problem: legal status - enterpreneurs / self-employed

Exemption: Loi Cressard (France)

Minimum fees or salaries against legislation (cartel, competition)

Some unions are against „minimum fees“

Lobbying (national and EU) for a labor law for freelances

via authors‘ rights (e.g. Germany)

Empowerment through services / networking / online seminars

Better legal assistance



Changing traditional tasks for freelances?

Question 6.2

Majority without answer

Could be crucial – many unions have up to 50 % freelance members

In journalism freelances are not „atypical workers“ anymore

Some hints to changing structures in some unions

Handbooks (and manuals)

More: Social Media, communities, targeted activities – digital services

Consultants for freelances (free of charge?)

Webinars



Changing traditional tasks for freelances?

Things happening - support / facilitation through unions?

Different forms of local journalism (place bloggers)

Co-working spaces

Innovative ways of funding – foundations, crowdfunding,crowdsourcing

Workshops for new business models

Communities, networking, innovative marketing plattforms

Ongoing initiatives: late payment, authors‘rights ...



Points for Discussion - Ready for Change?

Focus from journalists to journalism (Public good)

More targeted service and benefits esp. for freelances

More digital outreach (mailinglist, community, social media)

New forms of representation „freelance work council“

More networking events, new formats (barcamp, blogger meetings)

Better understanding for the needs and limitations of employed and freelance

journalists

Solidarity? Collective actions instead of collaboration?

The new knowledge workers have no tradition to fight for own interest



Points for Discussion - Ready for Change?

Mapping needed! Multi-skilled and mobile journalists „an „increasing precarious workforce“ (professional journalists?9 Entrepreneurial journalists „Fake freelances“ Data journalism, WikiLeaks Hard blogging journalists

How can unions represent these new workers and where are they? Do they want them?

Biggest challenge: inclusion of freelances (competing organisations) Do they need us? Do the want to be represented by a union?



Andreas K. Bittner

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Thank you for ex-changing!

Survey: Managing Change in Journalism. © Andreas K. Bittner, April 2011.

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Transcript of Survey: Managing Change in Journalism. © Andreas K. Bittner, April 2011.