Toward a New Conceptualization of Journalistic Competency: An Analysis of U.S. Broadcasting Job Announcements

Abstract

Journalistic competency is a constitutive element of professional values and practices in journalism. But what constitutes journalistic competency in today’s ever-changing media landscape? Existing literature lacks theoretical and empirical understandings of journalistic competency, especially in broadcasting. Drawing on Cheetham and Chivers’s competence model, we examine professional competencies as defined by broadcast media through a content analysis of 359 job announcements. Four dimensions of journalistic competency were explicated and empirically assessed: cognitive/knowledge, functional, personal/behavioral, and ethical competence.

Keywords

competence journalistic competency job announcement analysis broadcast journalism

Introduction

The technology-driven changes in the media ecosystem have forced news organizations across the globe to restructure operations and workflow, redefine job tasks and responsibilities, and reshape journalistic culture and values (Donsbach, 2014; Rintala & Suolanen, 2005; Schena et al., 2018). Journalistic competency, as a key feature to define the profession, also has been reconfigured into the changing media environment (Godkin, 2008). Researchers, educators, and practitioners have made strenuous efforts in recent years to rethink journalistic competency and implement the new conception into curriculum design, professional development, and program accreditation (Christ & Henderson, 2014; Donsbach, 2014; Hodgson & Wong, 2011).

Such technological and the corresponding professional changes hit broadcast newsrooms severely. As reported by Pew Research Center, American audiences, especially younger adults, are relying less on three TV platforms—local, network, and cable—for their news (Matsa, 2018). For example, the number of viewers for morning news from ABC, CBS, and NBC has suffered a constant decline in recent years (Pew Research Center, 2019). Meanwhile, the gap between their online news and television news consumption is narrowing (Gottfried & Shearer, 2017). Broadcasters thus have to adopt a range of new strategies, from multimedia content production to on-air content promotion, from retaining audience to catering different viewing habits, and from promoting the media company’s brand to maintaining advertising revenue (Chadwick, 2014; Chan-Olmsted & Ha, 2003; Schaefer & Martinez, 2009). Few studies, however, have empirically examined how the digital transformation has affected the conception of professional competency in the specific field of broadcast journalism. Moreover, previous studies have pointed to a gap between journalism educators and professional journalists over what the journalistic competency framework should be like and what types of specific competencies should be included in the curriculum to better prepare students (Dickson & Brandon, 2000). Drawing on Cheetham and Chivers’s (2005) professional competence model, this study aims to develop a conceptual framework for journalistic competency, especially as it is applied to broadcast journalism. By analyzing 359 broadcast job announcements, it also tries to empirically examine the specific kinds of competencies preferred by U.S. broadcasters for different levels of journalism positions. Finally, the theoretical and empirical implications of this study are discussed.

Literature Review

Competence Theory: Definitions, Typologies, and Categories

The concept of competence, first introduced by psychologist Robert White (1959), was considered as a better predictor of an employee’s future job performance than the traditional IQ and personality tests (McClelland, 1973). Scholars have since identified three main approaches to understanding competence (Mulder et al., 2007). The behavioralist approach treats competence as a set of desired behaviors that are observable, measurable, and assessable (Guerrero & De los Ríos, 2012). The cognitive approach defines competence as a deep cognitive structure of knowledge, attitudes, and other mental resources that have the potential to develop into desired behavior and performance at work (Messick, 1984). The generic approach defines competence as “broad clusters” of skills, abilities, and characteristics that are associated with expert performers in a particular profession (Norris, 1991).

Working under these three approaches, various typologies of competency have been developed. Much of the existing literature comes from areas of business management and leadership, focusing on identifying core behavioral competencies desired in a certain profession. We drew on some of the literature to inform our examination on journalistic competencies. For example, Boyatzis (1982) emphasized personal competence, such as personal qualities, motives, and behavioral characteristics, to be an important contributing factor to effective job performance, which can be applied to the journalism profession. In addition, under the cognitive competency approach, emotional intelligence has been added to the competency model. Emotional intelligence elements of self-awareness, empathy, emotional management, and interpersonal communication are considered crucial to an individual’s competencies such as sensitivity, adaptability, and leadership (e.g., Dulewicz & Higgs, 1999).

However, one-dimensional frameworks of competence “are inadequate” for a more nuanced understanding and practical application (Le Deist & Winterton, 2005). Cheetham and Chivers (2005) took a holistic approach and conceptualized professional competence into four dimensions: cognitive competence is the “know-why,” including formal and informal tacit knowledge; functional competence refers to the skills “a person who works in a given occupational area should be able to do…[and] able to demonstrate”; personal/behavioral competence describes the individual’s enduring characteristics in relation to effective job performance; and values/ethical competence relates to the appropriate personal and professional values. Drawing on this conceptual model, our study examines what constitute professional competencies in the specific field of broadcast journalism.

Journalistic Competency and Broadcast Journalism

In the journalistic field, competency is generally understood as a breadth of knowledge, practical journalistic skills, personal traits, and values that a competent journalist needs to possess to perform the job (Bjørnsen et al., 2007; Dickson & Brandon, 2000). Journalism educators have long been debating over how to best prepare students for the industry and how to develop a meaningful accreditation system to ensure the quality and relevance of journalism education. For example, the U.S. Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication developed a list of 12 journalistic competencies, including “freedom of speech,” “history,” “gender,” “cultural diversity,” “theories,” “ethics,” “thinking,” “research,” “writing,” “evaluation,” “numerical and statistical,” and “technology” competencies (Henderson & Christ, 2014).

In recent years, concerted scholarly efforts have been made to rethink the core journalistic competencies as a response to the fast-changing media workforce. Donsbach (2014) redefined journalism as the “new knowledge profession” and proposed a normative framework consisting of five journalistic competencies: general competence, subject competence, process competence, journalistic skills, and professional values. Studies have also found that the news industry has increasingly emphasized flexibility, collaboration, communication, and analytical skills as part of competency (Appelgren & Gunnar, 2014; Deuze, 2004). The trend is global as well. In a survey study of 29,000 journalists in 31 countries or territories, Willnat et al. (2013) found “multimedia,” “interpretation,” and “quick reporting” to be the most important competencies in response to the evolving media industry.

Broadcast journalism has historically unfolded in a trajectory that grew out of but diverged from print journalism. Researchers consistently found that when making hiring decisions, television news directors, compared with print executives, placed more emphasis on work habits, good communication skills, and personality traits such as “self-motivation,” “dedication,” and “enthusiasm” (Dickson & Brandon, 2000; Hilt & Lipschultz, 1994). Other desired qualifications for a broadcast journalist included candidates’ ability to reflect the organizational values, voice quality, physical appearance, on-air performance, and broadcast news experience (Hilt & Lipschultz, 1994; Hollifield et al., 2001).

In recent years, the growing impact of emerging technologies on broadcast journalism has called for reevaluation of the definition, composition, and criteria of competency as it is applied to professional training for journalists. As newspapers, radio, and television stations have been forced to further consolidate into multimedia conglomerates, broadcast journalists are increasingly expected to generate convergent content (Carpenter et al., 2018; Smith et al., 2007; Weaver & Willnat, 2016). Meanwhile, as the competition is further intensified, journalists’ abilities to engage and interact with audiences become increasingly valuable (Cremedas & Lysak, 2011). Such digital transformation has also heightened the importance of the so-called “one-man bands” and web-posting skills in broadcasting (Massey, 2010; Stevens, 2002).

Very few studies, however, have attempted to develop a more comprehensive, systematic, and theoretical model of journalistic competency in broadcasting. Borrowing Cheetham and Chivers’s (2005) model, this study proposes to break down journalistic competency into four dimensions: (a) knowledge/cognitive competence, (b) functional competence, (c) personal/behavioral competence, and (d) values/ethical competence (see Figure 1). Knowledge/cognitive competence refers to theoretical and practical understanding of a subject, which can be further disentangled into four categories: technical knowledge, specialist knowledge, tacit knowledge, and knowledge application. Functional competence, as it is applied to broadcast journalism, can be defined as a set of practical skills, such as video shooting and editing, which enables a journalist to perform a wide range of required work-related tasks. Personal/behavioral competence refers to a broadcast journalist’s ability to adapt personal attributes into appropriate behaviors in work environment. Values/ethical competence is the understanding of organizational values and professional ethics that allow a broadcast journalist to make sound judgments in work performance. This new classification will be further contextualized and explicated in the method section.

Figure 1.

Theoretical framework of professional competencies in broadcast journalism.

Identifying Journalistic Competencies Through Job Announcements

Job announcements are a constellation of performance appraisal, work design, and reward system, thus providing a unique entry point to collect and evaluate work or worker-related information (Wilson, 1974). Job announcement analysis is considered as an effective way to identify core competencies of a specific profession and provide a picture of employers’ requirements for new hires (Ritzhaupt et al., 2010). Over the past two decades, such analysis has significantly grown in scope and complexity and has been applied to journalism studies (e.g., Massey, 2010; Young & Carson, 2018). Journalism job analysis, as researchers have rightly pointed out, not only helps detect emerging changes in the news industry but can also inform journalism educators and students of desired qualifications for front-line journalists.

Carpenter’s (2009) study is perhaps the first substantial job analysis in journalism. She found that the most wanted expertise was nontechnical routine expertise, such as writing, editing, and interviewing skills, followed by adaptive expertise, including creativity, independent thinking, and leadership skills. Other studies tried to identify specific requirements for journalists working in different types of media. For example, a study of broadcast job ads identified previous work experience, writing skills, and personal qualities as the top three qualifications desired by broadcasters (Wenger & Owens, 2013). The increasing requirements of multimedia, big data, and social media publishing skills have also been found by the latest studies (Wenger et al., 2018).

Existing job announcement studies have provided rich empirical data and descriptive analysis of skill requirements in the general field of journalism. What is lacking is a more specific analysis of professional competency as required for broadcast journalists. Theoretically, we propose a conceptual model and typology of journalistic competency as it is applied to broadcasting. Practically, by identifying the most common competencies sought by U.S. broadcasters, this study aims at gauging the industry pulse and helping journalism educators bridge their curriculum design with the industry need. The following research questions are proposed:

RQ1: How do broadcast media define journalistic competency through their job announcements?

RQ2: What types of journalistic competencies do the broadcast media highlight in their job announcements?

While previous research suggests that required journalistic skills might differ across different positions, little has been documented about the specific differences (Carpenter, 2009; Huang et al., 2006). Therefore, to determine how job positions are associated with certain journalistic competences in broadcast, the next research question is proposed:

RQ3: How might the journalistic competency preferences differ between front-line journalists and managerial-level professionals in broadcast journalism?

Method and Data

Job announcements posted by U.S. media companies from July 1 to December 31, 2017, were collected from https://Indeed.com, one of the most comprehensive job search engines. Keywords, including “journalist,” “reporter,” “correspondent,” “writer,” “editor,” “producer,” and “photographer,” were used for the search. After removing repeated postings, temporary jobs, and internships, a total of 359 job announcements posted specifically by traditional radio or television stations, such as NPR, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and also multichannel video news service providers, such as Bloomberg, Cheddar, and Spectrum, constituted the final data set for this study.

The initial coding sheet was adapted from previous studies (Carpenter, 2009; Massey, 2010; Wenger et al., 2018). To examine the validity of the coding sheet and confirm a consistent understanding among the coders, we conducted three rounds of pilot test and revised and finalized the coding scheme based on the results. The final coding sheet included six variables: location of the job, job position, required/preferred educational level, required/preferred major, required/preferred work experience, and required professional competencies. “Location of the job” is coded into four regions: the South, Northeast, West, and Midwest. “Job position” was coded into two categories: “front-line reporter” includes reporter, correspondent, videographer, and anchor, while “managerial-level position” includes producer, social media manager, and executive producers. “Required/preferred educational level” was coded into high school or equivalent, bachelor’s, master’s, and others. “Required/preferred major” has four categories: journalism and communication, other liberal arts, science and technology, and other majors. “Required/preferred working experience” is coded into five categories: less than 1 year, minimum 1 year, minimum 3 years, minimum 5 years, and minimum 10 years. Finally, adapting from Cheetham and Chivers’s (2005) model and adding categories that emerged from the pilot study, we identified 32 descriptive items that fit into the four dimensions of journalistic competency. Specifically, the measure of knowledge/cognitive competence contains technical/specialist, tacit knowledge, and knowledge application categories. The descriptive items include the requirements of technical knowledge (hardware and software use), subject knowledge, news judgment, multilingual proficiencies, big data, and marketing knowledge. Functional competence variable is computed by occupation-specific competence, process/organizational/management competence, and physical competence. Items from the job ads include writing, editing, shooting, reporting, on-air, interview, ad-lib, design, social media publishing, web development, multimedia, researching, content strategy, organizational skills, audience analytics, meeting deadlines, physical abilities, and working long hours. Social/vocational competence and personality trait are coded and computed as personal/behavioral competence. Interpersonal skills, networking ability, sociable, enterprising, and conformity personality are computed into this type of competence. Finally, values/ethical competence is measured by the following items: embracing diversity, adhering to ethical standards, and coaching ability (see Figure 1).

To ensure intercoder reliability, two tests were employed. According to Potter and Levine-Donnerstein’s (1999) definition, “location of the job,” “job position,” “required/required educational level,” “required/preferred major,” and “required/preferred working experience” are “manifest content” that is readily easily identifiable. For this type of content, three coders were involved in the coding process. The Krippendorff alpha test showed that the intercoder reliability was .92, .88, .77, .77, and .85, respectively. Descriptions of required professional competency in general and journalistic skills and personality traits in particular are considered as “latent projective content,” which is not directly observable but relies on coders’ individual mental schema to interpret the meaning (Potter & Levine-Donnerstein, 1999). Validity and quality of coding this type of content could be enhanced with coder’s subject knowledge and experience to ensure applying the “right” schema to the interpretation. One of the coders specializes in vocational psychology and another coder has years of work experience as a human resource specialist responsible for assessing and recruiting talents. They coded the vocational personality traits and skills variables, respectively, for the rest of the job announcements after the pilot tests.

Data Analysis and Results

Among 359 broadcast job announcements, 95.54% are posted by commercial television stations, 3.90% from public radio networks, and 0.56% from commercial radio stations. Geographically, 44.29% of the advertised broadcast jobs are located in the South, 22.28% in the West, 19.22% in the Midwest, and 13.64% in the Northeast. Moreover, the majority of the positions are located in metropolitan areas such as Washington, D.C., New York City, San Francisco, and Houston. Among them, 74.37% are for front-line journalist positions, including reporter (70.41%), anchor (19.85%), videographer (8.61%), and writer or researcher (1.12%). The rest of the announcements are for managerial positions (22.56%, N = 86), most of which are for producer/executive producer (67.44%), followed by assignment editor (22.09%), assistant managing editor (6.98%), editor-in-chief (2.33%), and desk head (1.16%).

On average, each announcement mentions 14 out of 32 competencies listed in our coding scheme and in some cases, as many as 24 competencies are listed in one singular job ad. Consistent with previous research (Wenger & Owens, 2013; Young & Carson, 2018), our analysis shows that the top qualification sought by broadcasters is professional experience. Of all 359 job announcements analyzed, 83.29% required some previous work experience, and 16.71% did not specify such requirement. Specifically, 46.24% of the job announcements specify minimum 1 year of relevant journalistic experience, 22.01% stated minimum 3 years, 12.81% stated minimum 5 years, and 2.23% even required minimum 10 years. Our analysis also shows that 72.98% of job ads mention specific degree requirement for an ideal candidate. Among those, 81.30% requires a bachelor’s degree. In addition, over half of the job listings (53.48%) require a bachelor’s degree in journalism, communication, or relevant fields.

Journalistic Competencies Specified in Broadcast Jobs

RQ1 asks what specific journalistic competencies are sought by broadcasters. In line with previous studies (e.g., Wenger & Owens, 2012), we find (see Figure 2) that multimedia skills (93.77%), which refers to the ability to use a combination of different content forms to create reports for different media platforms, is the most frequently mentioned competence requirement. Meanwhile, competencies that are related to new technologies and audience engagement, such as big data (9.19%), content strategy (8.91%), social media publishing (7.80%), audience analytics (2.51%), and web development (1.39%), are also mentioned in these job ads. Nonetheless, requirement for traditional journalistic skills remains the most frequently mentioned in these broadcast job announcements. The top five traditional skills mentioned are writing (88.02%), news judgment (85.52%), editing (84.12%), shooting (70.47%), and reporting (57.94%).

Figure 2.

Percentage of journalistic competence mentioned in broadcast job announcement (N = 359).

Not surprisingly, technical skills are considered important for broadcast journalists (Bakker, 2014; Wenger & Owens, 2012); 46.24% of the job ads require technical skills, such as operating broadcast newsroom equipment, using DSLR cameras, and being familiar with software such as Adobe Creative suite, Final Cut editing package, and live techniques. Interestingly, unlike the job requirements in other types of media, over half of analyzed broadcast job announcements request that, in addition to technical competence, candidates need to have some kind of physical competence (59.33%). Such requirements specifically include broadcast journalists’ driving and lifting abilities, their ability to work under extreme weather, and even visual acuity. Beyond these physical competencies, some job announcements explicitly required applicants to have a neat and professional appearance (7%), although this attribute was less mentioned in existing literature.

In addition, the job announcements seem to also attach great importance to broadcast journalists’ ability to interact with colleagues and interviewees. A study by Wenger and Owens (2012) found communication skills to be mentioned in 29.8% of broadcast job announcements; our study, however, shows that interpersonal communication appears in as many as 70.47% and networking ability in 46.24% of the job announcements. Moreover, candidates’ personal traits appear often, especially with the sociability trait being mentioned in 51.53% of job announcements. Ideal candidates are frequently described as “outgoing,” “easy-going,” “reliable,” and “dependable.”

Four General Types of Preferred Journalistic Competencies in Broadcast Jobs

RQ2 asks what types of journalistic competencies are most preferred by broadcast media. Figure 3 provides a visual illustration of the distribution of the four main competence categories as well as the subcategories within each. The majority of the skills and attributes that appear in the job postings are what is generally referred to as functional competence, or employees’ skills and abilities to fulfill required daily job duties. Specifically for broadcast journalists (Table 1), such competencies include (a) occupation-specific competencies, such as multimedia, writing, editing, shooting, reporting, and on-air live reporting skills; (b) job process and management competencies, such as organizational skills, meeting deadlines, researching, and audience analytics; and (c) physical competence, such as abilities to work long hours and under extreme weather.

Figure 3.

Percentage distribution of 32 journalistic competencies mentioned in broadcast job announcement (N = 359).

Table 1.

Type of Journalistic Competencies Mentioned in Broadcast Job Announcements.

Competency categories	Journalistic competence	Number of mentioning in job posts (N = 359)	Percentage of job posts
Knowledge/cognitive competence
Technical/specialist
KC-T/S-1	Technical skills	166	46.24
KC-T/S-2	Subject knowledge	28	7.80
Tacit knowledge
KC-TK-1	News judgment	307	85.52
KC-TK-2	Multilingual proficiency	51	14.21
Knowledge application
KC-KA-1	Marketing knowledge	133	37.05
KC-KA-2	Big data knowledge	33	9.19
Functional competence
Occupation-specific
FC-OS-1	Multimedia	344	95.82
FC-OS-2	Writing	316	88.02
FC-OS-3	Editing	302	84.12
FC-OS-4	Shooting	253	70.47
FC-OS-5	Reporting	208	57.94
FC-OS-6	On-air	185	51.53
FC-OS-7	Ad-lib	158	44.01
FC-OS-8	Interview	115	32.03
FC-OS-9	Design	68	18.94
FC-OS-10	Social media publishing	28	7.80
FC-OS-11	Web development	5	1.39
Process/organizational/management
FC-P/O/M-1	Organizational skills	269	74.93
FC-P/O/M-2	Meeting deadline	200	55.71
FC-P/O/M-3	Research	190	52.92
FC-P/O/M-4	Content strategy	32	8.91
FC-P/O/M-5	Audience analytics	9	2.51
Physical competence
FC-PC-1	Physical ability	213	59.33
FC-PC-2	Working long hours	104	28.97
Personal/behavioral competence
Social/vocational
PC-S/V-1	Interpersonal communication	253	70.47
PC-S/V-2	Networking	166	46.24
Personality trait
PC-PT-1	Sociability	185	51.53
PC-PT-2	Enterprising	168	46.80
PC-PT-3	Conformity	125	34.82
Values/ethical competence
VC-1	Diversity	122	33.98
VC-2	Ethics	119	33.15
VC-3	Coaching	81	22.56

Broadcast journalists are also expected to possess certain prior knowledge and cognitive abilities that can help them adapt to the ever-changing work environment and further facilitate daily tasks. Within the knowledge/cognitive competence category, news judgment, as an internalized cognitive ability, is ranked the highest, appearing in 85.52% of the job ads. Applied knowledge of marketing and big data is also mentioned in 37.05% and 9.19% of the job ads, respectively. Such knowledge, on one hand, includes journalists’ skills of collecting data and understanding companies’ annual financial statements; on the other hand, it also encompasses new applicants’ broader knowledge of audience engagement, public relations, promotion, branding, and market development.

Our findings also suggest that broadcast journalists are expected to exhibit personal/behavioral competence through such personality traits as being social, conforming, and enterprising. For instance, the enterprising personality is described through a wide spectrum of adjectives: “energetic,” “vigorous,” “self-motivated,” “enthusiastic,” “hungry,” “enterprising,” “aggressive,” “self-starter,” and “ambitious.” WQOW, the ABC affiliate in Eau Claire, for example, advertised such personality requirements: “this is the perfect job for an ambitious, aggressive, curious and motivated journalist.”

Broadcasters also look for new hires who are grounded in high professional values and ethics to make competent judgments at work. “Ethics,” “diversity,” and “coaching” appear in 33.98%, 33.15%, and 22.56% of job ads, respectively. In an ad posted by Waterman Broadcasting in Fort Myers, Florida, the ideal candidate for an executive news producer position is described as to “have knowledge of editorial judgment, journalistic ethics, and libel laws,…and can manage, coach, and motivate a team.” Similarly, KQED News, San Francisco, California, seeks a video reporter who has the “ability to mentor the team and thorough knowledge of journalistic principles, ethics and standards.”

Journalistic Competencies Across Different Job Positions in Broadcast

RQ3 asks how journalistic competency preferences might differ across different levels of positions. Our independent samples t-test analysis shows that requirements for knowledge/cognitive, t(130.01) = –3.21, p = .002; functional, t(188.06) = 6.03, p .001; personal/behavioral, t(175.90) = –4.30, p .001; and values/ethical competence, t(119.14) = –7.34, p .001, are all significantly different between the front-line reporters and managerial-level positions in broadcasting.

As Table 2 demonstrates, multimedia, writing, editing, news judgment, enterprising personality, ethical judgment, marketing knowledge, and ability to work long hours are the common requirements for both front-line and managerial positions. Furthermore, chi-square analyses reveal that the required competencies for front-line positions are centered on functional competence, especially shooting, χ²(1) = 137.65, p .001; reporting, χ²(1) = 97.14, p .001; on-air, χ²(1) = 107.78, p .001; ad-lib, χ²(1) = 46.22, p .001; interview, χ²(1) = 28.04, p .001; and physical abilities, χ²(1) = 12.79, p .001.

Table 2.

Comparing Journalistic Competence Preferences Across Different Position Levels (N = 353).

Journalistic competence	Front-line reporter (N = 267)	Managerial-level position (N = 86)	Chi-square
Knowledge/cognitive competence
Technical/specialist
Technical skills	122 (45.69%)	41 (47.67%)	0.10
Subject knowledge	17 (6.37%)	10 (11.63%)	2.55
Tacit knowledge
News judgment	227 (85.02%)	77 (89.53%)	1.11
Multilingual Proficiency	36 (13.48%)	14 (16.28%)	0.42
Knowledge application
Marketing knowledge	92 (34.46%)	38 (44.19%)	2.65
Big data knowledge	11 (4.12%)	21 (24.42%)	32.51***
t (130.01) = –3.21**
Functional competence
Occupation-specific
Multimedia	248 (93.26%)	83 (96.51%)	1.47
Writing	238 (89.14%)	74 (86.05%)	0.61
Editing	222 (83.15%)	77 (89.53%)	2.05
Shooting	234 (87.64%)	19 (22.09%)	137.65***
Reporting	195 (73.03%)	11 (12.79%)	97.14***
On-air	181 (67.79%)	3 (3.49%)	107.78***
Ad-lib	146 (54.68%)	11 (12.79%)	46.22***
Interview	107 (40.07%)	8 (9.30%)	28.04***
Design	42 (15.73%)	25 (29.07%)	7.53**
Social media publishing	19 (7.12%)	9 (10.47%)	1.00
Web development	1 (0.37%)	3 (3.49%)	5.63*
Process/organizational/management
Organizational skills	187 (70.04%)	77 (89.53%)	13.11***
Meeting deadline	139 (52.06%)	57 (66.28%)	5.33*
Research	133 (49.81%)	55 (63.95%)	5.23*
Content strategy	3 (1.12%)	26 (30.23%)	73.10***
Audience analytics	3 (1.12%)	6 (6.80%)	8.97**
Physical competence
Physical ability	173 (64.79%)	37 (43.02%)	12.79***
Working long hours	76 (28.46%)	27 (31.40%)	0.27
t (188.06) = 6.03***
Personal/behavioral competence
Social/vocational
Interpersonal communication	165 (61.80%)	82 (95.35%)	34.85***
Networking	139 (52.06%)	23 (26.74%)	16.79***
Personality trait
Sociability	122 (45.69%)	59 (68.60%)	13.67***
Enterprising	126 (47.19%)	40 (46.51%)	0.01
Conformity	72 (26.97%)	49 (59.04%)	26.01***
t (175.90) = –4.30***
Values/ethical competence
Diversity	81 (30.34%)	39 (45.35%)	6.53*
Ethics	83 (31.09%)	34 (39.53%)	2.10
Coaching	25 (9.36%)	53 (61.63%)	103.22***
t (119.14) = –7.34***

*p .05. **p .01. ***p .001.

However, for managerial positions, abilities to process, organize, and manage jobs are highly desirable with organizational skills, χ²(1) = 13.11, p .001; meeting deadlines, χ²(1) = 5.33, p = .02; research, χ²(1) = 5.23, p = .02; content strategy, χ²(1) = 73.10, p .001; and audience analytics, χ²(1) = 8.97, p = .003. In addition, managerial-level professionals are expected to have such occupation-specific competence as design, χ²(1) = 7.53, p = .006; web development, χ²(1) = 5.63, p = .02; and big data knowledge, χ²(1) = 32.51, p .001. This indicates that the most desirable qualities for broadcast managerial professionals are audience-oriented. They are expected not only to guide the team to produce content but also to have data analysis skill to develop relationships with audience (Baines & Kennedy, 2010). In addition, broadcasters are more likely to call on managerial-level hires to have personal/behavioral competence, most notably sociability, χ²(1) = 13.67, p .001, and conformity, χ²(1) = 26.01, p .001. Finally, compared with first-line reporters, managerial positions are more likely to be required to embrace diversity, χ²(1) = 6.53, p = .011, and pass on professionalism or the company’s cultural values, χ²(2) = 103.22, p .001, to the newcomers.

Conclusion and Discussion

The accelerated changes in the journalism industry have led to robust discussions on what constitute competencies for preparing future journalists to meet the need of the industry (e.g., Donsbach, 2014). Without a clear understanding of the fundamental competency requirements, those working in the journalism industry could feel insecure and lack directions to acquire new skills (Baines & Kennedy, 2010). In a way, media companies play an important role in defining the direction of the profession by setting job qualifications for their new hires, skills they ought to possess, and ethics and cultural values they should embrace (Young & Carson, 2018). Therefore, this study, by examining 359 job ads posted by U.S. broadcast media, provides a conceptual understanding and an empirical analysis of the required competence in broadcast journalism.

Our analysis yielded several notable findings. Previous studies found that the news industry placed a high value on employee’s prior journalistic experience (Young & Carson, 2018). Our study, however, indicates that a bachelor’s degree is just as important as prior work experience for entering the broadcast field. Our analysis also suggests that broadcasters are increasingly looking for candidates with multimedia skills as it ranks at the top of the list of the requirements. Furthermore, while 10 years ago, digital skills were not yet central to the role of journalists (Young & Carson, 2018), we find that skills, such as big data knowledge, website development, social media publishing, and audience analytics, frequently appear in today’s broadcasters’ job postings. As the digital evolution of broadcast journalism continues, calls for such skills can be expected to grow. For journalism educators, this points to a need for more advanced courses in audience analytics and audience engagement strategies, in addition to basic multimedia skills.

Consistent with previous studies (e.g., Örnebring & Mellado, 2018), interpersonal communication and certain occupational personalities are also prominently featured in broadcast job postings. Although interpersonal skills are often considered as inherent in oneself, journalism schools can incorporate those “soft skills” into the curriculum goals and formalize the training in the area. For example, journalism instructors can further incorporate group projects to help students develop teamwork skills. Students should also be encouraged to participate in a wide range of student organizations and study abroad programs to enhance cross-cultural competencies.

Meanwhile, our study also finds that the core of what journalists are required to do has not changed even in the midst of the accelerated digital transformation. Such core competencies include technical skills, news judgment, writing, editing, shooting, and reporting, among others.

A further examination of the journalistic competence requirements for front-line reporters versus managerial job positions points to some important trends in broadcast journalism. For front-line journalists, the required competencies are mostly task-based and emphasize functional skills such as shooting, reporting, and interview. By comparison, managerial positions are typically required to have more than 5 years of work experience and are expected to be able to analyze audience data, supervise website development, promote news products, mentor and manage others in the workplace, and possess a higher level of emotional intelligence. This finding suggests that functional competence is not enough for advancing a career in broadcast journalism. Learning objectives of enhancing organizational, management, and leadership skills should be added to the journalism curriculum. It is equally important for journalism schools to include career development courses or have professional consultants to help students map out a clear direction toward journalism employment.

Theoretically, this study extends the European-based holistic professional competence model (Cheetham & Chivers, 2005) to the broadcast journalism field in the United States. Tested with the broadcast job announcements data, we applied the theoretical categories—knowledge/cognitive competence, functional competence, personal/behavioral competence, and values/ethical competence—and measurement scales to conceptualize journalistic competence. However, due to the nature of the data, there are only a small number of managerial positions included in the sample which might miss some important competence requirements for such positions. For future studies, we will also consider including additional intercoder reliability test for the latent projective content. Meanwhile, to further improve the validity of these measurements, surveys or in-depth interviews with journalists, especially those in managerial or leadership positions, would allow for a further understanding of journalistic competencies as a daily practice. Another direction to extend the current study is to consider the impact of the size and type of broadcast media on the core journalistic competency requirements. Meanwhile, a longitudinal study to track the changes in job announcements can also provide a more nuanced understanding of the historical context and contingencies that affect required journalistic competencies.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

We thank Joseph Jones and Alice Yu for assisting with data entry and coding for this project.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Lei Guo

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