Job satisfaction in African newsrooms is an understudied area and the topic of this study by Kevin C. Mudavadi from Georgia State University, Bingbing Zhang from University of Iowa, and Admire Mare from University of Johannesburg.
The importance of job satisfaction is clear especially in dynamic fields such as journalism, which was confirmed in studies as early as 1976 by Locke. In journalism, it has an effect on not just the individual’s satisfaction, but also aspects such as the profession’s normative soul, ethical decision-making, editorial independence, and news quality. Research on Western newsrooms is ample, but there is little about African newsrooms.
Four East African countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Ethiopia were chosen for the study. 338 journalists answered questions concerning their job satisfaction, monthly income, job autonomy, job security, job safety, and job burnout, with a Likert-type questionnaire involving several questions on these broader topics.
When it comes to job satisfaction, 8 in 10 journalists were either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their employment circumstances. There was a gender difference – male journalists reported lower job satisfaction than female. However, despite job satisfaction and its typical link with income, incomes remained low, with only 3% earning between 2501 dollars to 3500 dollars, and 48,7% earning less than 301 USD.
In income, there were significant differences between the countries. Tanzanian, Kenyan, and Ethiopian journalists earned significantly more than the Ugandan ones. The income distribution curves between males and females were markedly different.
Satisfaction with the income was divided: journalists reported either “dissatisfied” (42.0%) or “satisfied” (42.3%) to the question about income satisfaction, but most were moderate in their assessment. Job income satisfaction and job security satisfaction were significant predictors of overall job satisfaction. However, perceived job autonomy and job burnout did not predict job satisfaction.
In discussion, the authors note the disparity between reported job satisfaction and actual income data. This suggests that the journalists were habituated to financial precarity while at the same time recognizing the importance of improved compensation to job satisfaction. Job security being predictive of job satisfaction was in line with previous research.
The most notable observation was that despite women journalists having lower pay, they reported significantly higher job satisfaction – countering Western views and observations. It was speculated that this was due to “resilience dividend” where women derive a stronger sense of purpose from navigating and establishing themselves in a field dominated by men.
For future studies, the authors recommend country-specific case studies or a longitudinal approach. They also pondered whether in-depth interviews would uncover more, and noted the small sample size, which makes the results less generalizable.
The article “Job Satisfaction in Low-Pay/Wage Contexts: Evidence from East African Newsrooms” by Kevin C. Mudavadi, Bingbing Zhang, and Admire Mare is in Journalism Practice. (Free abstract).
Picture: View of Kilimanjaro from Amboseli National Park, Kenya. By Sergey Pesterev.
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