• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.55
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• pp.164-183
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• 2011

Technology innovation of digital convergence in recent years of the media sector has produced a series of significant changes in journalist labor. This study analyzes how recent introduction of convergent newsroom changed the nature of journalist labor and what strategy the management used to control journalists within the technologically innovated working condition with case of CBS. As the labor process theory tells us, the analysis found that technological innovation in the newsroom has encouraged a couple of aspects regarding labor process. First, losing control over their own labor journalists have undergone the process of significant deskilling. Second, the management have made a constant effort to introduce ideological and political apparatuses with twofold purposes, effective control over workers on one hand and concealing oppressive labor conditions on the other. The effort generated journalists' acceptance of new news-making routine and their consent on labor-management culture founded upon naive familism, which at last resulted in reinforcement of corporate power and isolation of labor society by separating internal labor market.

• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.57
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• pp.49-68
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• 2012

Much research has been documented on the topic of journalist labour, including process of news production, organizational culture and journalist ethics. Relatively little interest is given to the recent changes in journalist labor caused by the digital convergence in contemporary news industry, however. This study explore the changes from the perspective of the transformation of professional works, practices and identities. For the purpose, in-depth interviews with 17 Korean journalists were conducted and the results can be summarized as follows. First, interviewed journalists expressed both expectations and worries concerning the changes of news production environments. Second, it was found that the new environments could conflict with the old professional culture and confuse the professional identities. Third, the confusion of professional identities was concerned with adaptability, emotional consent or resistance to the changes.

• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.57
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• pp.84-108
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• 2012

This article is concerned with exploring labour market transformation in newspaper industry and thereby looking into skill formation and professionalization of journalists. In Korea, according to previous research, newspaper journalist labour market had been characterized by a low inter-firm mobility of workers and patterns of long-term employment and firm-based skill training. However, over the past few years, as new product strategies of newspaper firms has changed due to management crisis employers pull back from the responsibilities of investment on skill training and securing job stability for journalists. However, in spite of overall weakened firm-based skill formation systems within the market, there still seems to be long way to build alternative systems of skill developments for them. As a result, it will be argued that, in the absence of manifest labor market institutions such as apprenticeships or skill certification system, which are assumed to traditionally certify workers' professionalization, occupational identity and professionality of newspaper journalist labour market will be weakened. Labor market data from interviews with journalists in the newspaper industry are used in order to test this hypothesis.