Pressure Cooker Journalists (The Pressure on Online Journalists)

I read this phrase in an article recently by Paul Gillin, who writes about the decline of print and rebirth of journalism, and I felt it accurately summed up what I want to write about today: the pressure facing online journalists. My interpretation of the phrase 'pressure cooker journalists' is that modern journalists who work in an online environment essentially work in a pressure cooker - they have to write stories quickly but perfectly in a short period of time. They are always under pressure.

Online journalists are also called 24/7 journalists. There is an expectation that they are always at work - news does not sleep, and for online websites which rely on having up-to-date coverage of news events, neither do their journalists. A study conducted in 2012 by the Work Research Institute (AFI), found that online journalists feel they are expected to be available to write stories at all hours of the day. This survey also found that journalists find it difficult to separate work and spare time.*

Jemima Kiss of The Guardian also wrote a story in 2010 about a survey conducted by Oriella PR of journalists in 15 countries. This survey found that:
• 44% of respondents said "print media will shrink dramatically".
• Approximately "46% of journalists said they were expected to produce more work, 30% said they are working longer hours and 28% have less time to research stories".

It is easy to pinpoint why online journalists feel they are under so much pressure. The waning print industry has meant large companies with online profiles have had to drastically cut the number of journalists working for them. Lack of print advertising revenue and the inability (so far) to successfully get readers to pay for online news means pay cuts and more job lay-offs. This means the remaining journalists have to pick up the slack; they are doing twice the amount of work as before, as well as working across a variety of media that did not exist before. Online news is 24 hour news, which means news websites have to be constantly updated (overseas audiences who check news throughout the night also contribute to the need for websites to be updated). There is also a pressure on online journalists to be the first to post a story, which means there is less time to verify information, check facts and find decent sources. However, 'the internet never forgets', which means any mistakes are permanent and no amount of editing will make readers forget a crucial error made due to time constraints.

What is most concerning however is that the Work Research Institute's work environment survey found that 3 in 5 journalists take part in producing online content. Does this mean that it will be commonplace for journalists to be stressed or tired or burnt out? Are journalists are expected to somehow survive in this pressure cooker?

I don't have an answer to this. But I am disappointed by the fact that the online environment has created pressures for journalists and there does not appear to be an answer as to how to take some of the pressure off. I understand that without print advertising revenue it is difficult to hire large numbers of people to work online, but forcing journalists to work extreme hours and under a lot of pressure, is not the way to produce quality news. All I can do is hope that by the time I enter a newsroom as an online or new media journalists (which, admittedly, is only a few months away), there will be some solutions in play to keep the mounting pressure off journalists.

* = For more detail on the survey and its results, see this article by Berit Kvam.