A multivariable analysis on news production in Spain: digital newsroom profile, polyvalent journalists and gender perspective

Abstract

This article explores how the main Spanish newsrooms structure news production in the digital convergence from a quantitative approach. The data come from a nationwide survey applied to 30 editors-in-chief of Spain’s leading newspapers, radios, televisions, and digital natives. We study the newsroom size, news sections weight, freelancers, news agencies, and gender with multivariable analysis. We found that the gender gap has been overcome, and women are mostly in newsrooms (61%). Despite progress, women continue to have higher levels of unemployment and keep facing a glass ceiling in accessing the top positions. They just account for only 6.6% of the editors-in-chief in the sample. Likewise, we found a correlation between female journalists and the Society news section size. Findings suggest a specific news production organization by analyzing newsroom journalistic practice. Politics (23%) is the main news section and in decreasing order of importance: Society (18.5%), Business (16.5%), Sport (16.5%), International (14%) and Culture (11.5%). The average newsroom has between 101 and 300 journalists, with less than 20% freelancers. The media industry demands a polyvalent journalist. Skills, abilities, and competencies that different professionals previously developed now converge in a single professional with a polyvalent and multitasking profile. We found that it is a widespread journalistic practice in most TV outlets for reporters to work for several daily editions of newscasts (midday and night) and even provide news content for other organization shows. Journalists no longer work for a specific section, not even for a news show, but they now work for the entire organization.