Loyalty in the Newsroom. Employment Relationships in Public Service Broadcasting

Abstract

Very little researchhasdecried thechronicdeteriorationof 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 industrycharacterisedby theoutsourcingof content generation andtheerosionofworkingconditions. TheSpanishPublicRadio andTelevisionCorporation (RTVE) isnoexception, ina context also influenced by the political clientelism distinguishing Mediterraneanmedia systems. Accordingly, this study resorts to theclassicalexit,voice,andloyaltymodel tostresstheimportance ofemployment relationshipsfor journalists.Fromthisperspective, theanalysisofTVEnewsroomdiscoursesinvitestheexplorationof the roleof the supervisor inaccess toemployment andcareer opportunities,aswellasitspossiblepolarisingeffectsthatmakeit difficultforjournaliststooffertheirfull loyaltytothecitizenry.