Many things hamper the success of news work as a collective
enterprise. Temperamentally, journalists tend to be individualistic,
continually struggling to gain creative and professional autonomy. Their
editors may be technically skillful in news processing, but seldom are
formally educated in management skills—believing, anyway, that the managing
of journalists is somehow "unique." In turn, they work for
publishers who are primarily business-oriented, but who must balance the
public interest against the need to make a profit. Tensions abound in news
organizations.
Not surprisingly, problems of morale, turnover and attrition plague
journalism and, as Jobnstone, Slawaski and Bowman have pointed out in their
recent sociological study of American journalists, many young journalists
se-
riously doubt they wilt remain in the field. The "reporter power"
movement is one symptom of tbis dissatisfaction, and one the sociologists
suggest may grow in scope.
Now comes Theodore Caplow, Commonwealth professor of sociology at the
University of Virginia, witb a small handbook on how to run any
organization—including the newspaper. Not surprisingly, Caplow fails to deal
with goal conflict, which is probably the crux of the problem in journalism.
And yet Caplow's book is an admirable one tbat could be profitably read by
anyone who must manage any part of what Chris Argyris called "the living
system" of a newspaper.
The value of Caplow's book is that it takes a great deal of what
sociologists and other organizational scientists have learned through careful
study, and digests it into a compact, readable set of how-to-do-it
instructions for
neophyte managers. To a reader who might be mystified by the scbolarly
esoterica of
academicians, on the one hand, or disappointed on the other by thin gruel
from veteran managers who ignore research and theory, this should prove a
rewarding little book.
Caplow is nothing if not practical; his forthrightness sometimes has the
flavor of Machiavellian pragmatism. "Opinions differ about whether it is
better for a manager to be loved or feared by his subordinates," writes
Caplow, "but to be loved AND feared is best of all." He then goes
on to explain how a manager can best establish his authority – from assuming
office to dealing with subordinate managers. In each case Caplow specifies
techniques for success, often citing research foundations for his advice and
sometimes relating personal experiences or historic examples. Other subjects
dealt with by the author include communication, productivity, morale and
change. Newspaper managers should pay special attention to Caplow's advice on
communication—often, a sadly lacking commodity in news organizations, as any
journalist who has ever been shocked by a unilateral management decision can
testify.
Caplow's book could help reduce much of the managerial ineptitude troubling
newspapers. It should not be expected to resolve the core problem of goal
conflict.
JAMES H. BISSLAND
Bowling Green State University
