Personal and Professional Dimensions of News Work: Exploring the Link between Journalists' Values and Roles

Scholars studying news work have long focused on either journalistic roles or journalistic values, rather than trying to integrate the two as a way to better understand internal forces that drive reporters and editors. This study questions assumptions regarding values by applying social psychology research on values to better understand how journalists operate. The resulting “profile” of journalistic values produced by a nationwide probability-sample survey of 600 newspaper journalists—and an analysis of the links between ranked values and role conceptions—challenges assumptions about the influence of newsroom socialization on journalistic values. Analysis also shows more linkages between the adversarial role of the press and values, suggesting that the adversarial function may be more significant than indicated by previous research.