“I love learning new things”: An institutional logics perspective on learning in professional journalism

Abstract

In contemporary working life, journalists are often faced with the pressures of an increasingly precarious field where employment is less stable and more contractual than in previous years. Consequently, learning as a skill has grown in importance as journalists enter and leave the job market. Previous research has often portrayed professional journalists as unwilling to learn due to the persistence of the institution of journalism. Consequently, this study examines learning in professional journalism through interviews with 30 Finnish journalists. We adopt the institutional logics perspective to examine which institutional logics manifest in journalists' descriptions of learning and how. We identify a labor market logic that highlights how the need to learn continuously to satisfy employer needs is felt as pervasive. Additionally, our analysis suggests that journalists negotiate the technology logic’s push for learning digital skills with journalism’s professional logic. The analysis also highlights a negotiation of market and professional logics in the journalists' experiences of intensification in relation to learning. Intensification, specifically, may have consequences for journalists' skill levels and occupational well-being.