The journalist's personality: An exploratory study

Journalism and Mass Communication Quaterly

Volumn 74, Issue 3, 1997, Pages 615-624

  Henningham, John ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND   (Australia)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0039471548     PISSN: 10776990     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/107769909707400314     Document Type: Article

References (50)

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2. John W.C. Johnstone, E.J. Slawski, and W.W. Bowman, The News People (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1976); David Weaver and G.C. Wilhoit, The American Journalist: A Portrait of US News People and Their Work, 2d ed (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1991); David Weaver and G. Cleveland Wilhoit, The American Journalist in the 1990s: U.S. News People at the End of an Era (Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 1996).
3. John W.C. Johnstone, E.J. Slawski, and W.W. Bowman, The News People (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1976); David Weaver and G.C. Wilhoit, The American Journalist: A Portrait of US News People and Their Work, 2d ed (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1991); David Weaver and G. Cleveland Wilhoit, The American Journalist in the 1990s: U.S. News People at the End of an Era (Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 1996).
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9. Paul T. Costa, R.R. McCrae, and J.L. Holland, "Personality and Vocational Interests in an Adult Sample," Journal of Applied Psychology 69 (3, 1984): 390-400; Eysenck and Eysenck, Personality and Individual Differences; Adrian Furnham, Personality at Work: The Role of Individual Differences in the Workplace (London and NY: Routledge, 1992); Murray R. Barrick and M.K. Mount, "The Big Five Personality Dimensions and Job Performance: a Meta-Analysis," Personnel Psychology 44 (1991): 1-26. Robert P. Tett, D.N. Jackson, and M. Rothstein, "Personality Measures as Predictors of Job Performance: a Meta-Anaiytic Review," Personnel Psychology 44 (1991): 703-742.
10. Paul T. Costa, R.R. McCrae, and J.L. Holland, "Personality and Vocational Interests in an Adult Sample," Journal of Applied Psychology 69 (3, 1984): 390-400; Eysenck and Eysenck, Personality and Individual Differences; Adrian Furnham, Personality at Work: The Role of Individual Differences in the Workplace (London and NY: Routledge, 1992); Murray R. Barrick and M.K. Mount, "The Big Five Personality Dimensions and Job Performance: a Meta-Analysis," Personnel Psychology 44 (1991): 1-26. Robert P. Tett, D.N. Jackson, and M. Rothstein, "Personality Measures as Predictors of Job Performance: a Meta-Anaiytic Review," Personnel Psychology 44 (1991): 703-742.
11. Paul T. Costa, R.R. McCrae, and J.L. Holland, "Personality and Vocational Interests in an Adult Sample," Journal of Applied Psychology 69 (3, 1984): 390-400; Eysenck and Eysenck, Personality and Individual Differences; Adrian Furnham, Personality at Work: The Role of Individual Differences in the Workplace (London and NY: Routledge, 1992); Murray R. Barrick and M.K. Mount, "The Big Five Personality Dimensions and Job Performance: a Meta-Analysis," Personnel Psychology 44 (1991): 1-26. Robert P. Tett, D.N. Jackson, and M. Rothstein, "Personality Measures as Predictors of Job Performance: a Meta-Anaiytic Review," Personnel Psychology 44 (1991): 703-742.
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26. Ruffner and Burgoon, "The Relationship Between Writing Style and Personality."
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28. H.J. Eysenck, "A Short Questionnaire for the Measurement of Two Dimensions of Personality," Journal of Applied Psychology 42 (1958): 14-17; J.P. Henningham, "Australian Norms on Eysenck's Short Personality Test," Psychological Reports 79 (1996): 671-74.
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32. Barrick and Mount, "Big Five Personality Dimensions and Job Performance," 4; Eysenck and Eysenck, Personality and Individual Differences, 15.
33. Barrick and Mount, "Big Five Personality Dimensions and Job Performance," 4; P.T. Costa and R.R. McCrae, The NEO Personality Inventory Manual (Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, 1985).
34. Peterson, Personality, 317.
35. Mencher, News Reporting and Writing, x; Harriss, Leiter, and Johnson, Complete Reporter, 9.
36. Bruce Westley, News Editing, 3d ed (Dallas: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1980); Floyd K. Baskette and Jack K. Sissors, The Art of Editing, 2d ed (NY: Macmillan, 1977).
37. Bruce Westley, News Editing, 3d ed (Dallas: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1980); Floyd K. Baskette and Jack K. Sissors, The Art of Editing, 2d ed (NY: Macmillan, 1977).
38. Baskette and Sissors, 5.
39. John Henningham, "Australian Journalists' Professional and Ethical Values," Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 73 (spring 1996): 206-218.
40. Henningham, "Australian Norms."
41. Henningham, "Australian Norms."
42. However, it is of interest to consider the ranking of the sample's personality scores in terms of job description. The sample of journalists involved a range of different job titles, most with cell sizes too small for statistically significant differences to be expected. But as the basis of further research with larger samples it is noted that arranging of jobs in order in terms of personality scores revealed the following rankings: From most to least neurotic were: chief of staff; section editor; sub-editor (copy editor); producer (broadcast); reporter; feature writer; editor; chief sub-editor. From most to least extroverted were: editor; chief sub-editor; producer; chief-of-staff; reporter; sub-editor; feature writer; section editor. Means and s.d.'s may be obtained from the author.
43. Henningham, "Australian Journalists"; John Henningham, "Political Journalists' Political and Professional Values," Australian Journal of Political Science 30 (2, 1995): 321-34; John Henningham, "Ideological Differences Between Australian Journalists and Their Public," Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics (in press).
44. Henningham, "Australian Journalists"; John Henningham, "Political Journalists' Political and Professional Values," Australian Journal of Political Science 30 (2, 1995): 321-34; John Henningham, "Ideological Differences Between Australian Journalists and Their Public," Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics (in press).
45. Weaver and Wilhoit, The American Journalist; Henningham, "Australian Journalists."
46. Weaver and Wilhoit, The American Journalist.
47. As pointed out by Eysenck and Eysenck (Personality and Individual Differences, 327), evidence is slim that occupational experiences change scores on personality tests. One intriguing study which does suggest such a link found that the extroversion levels of student salespeople increased as a result of meeting people and trying to make sales: A.A. Turnbull, "Selling and the Salesman: Prediction of Success and Personality Change," Psychological Reports 38 (1985): 1175-1180.
48. Costa and McCrae, The NEO Manual.
49. Costa, McCrae, and Holland, "Personality and Vocational Interests."
50. Lichter, Rothman, and Lichter, The Media Elite, 131.