Signing or Not Signing Articles? Transformation of a Professional Practice in Japanese Journalism
Résumé
This presentation aims at reflecting on the more and more frequent use of the journalists’ signature in the articles of the Japanese press . Until the 1990’s, unlike American or French tradition for instance, signed articles in Japanese newspapers were the exception . Yet, since the 2000’s, this practice has been gradually spread- ing in some newsrooms.
The gradual use of the signature pertains to a context of progressive transfor- mation of the profession . The Japanese journalism experiences a transition from an organizational pattern symbolised by affiliation of journalists to a newspaper company (with long career and authoritarian intern mobility, for instance), to a professional pattern symbolised with careers that are not limited to one company .
By giving the journalists visibility beyond their organization, the practice of signing articles symbolizes the latter of these patterns . The main hypothesis of our research is that a sociological approach focusing on the signature can high- light tensions between the dominant organizational pattern and a professional pattern that tends to expand. This case differs from what is usually seen in most Western countries where organizational professionalism aims to compete with oc- cupational professionalism (Evetts, 2003) .
Through the use of interactionist methodologies and concepts, this paper fo- cuses on two issues . First, from the actor’s point of view, we will examine the consequences of the signature as a professional practice in the journalists’ daily work . We will seek to understand the changes induced by the use of the signature within the division of labour . Second, we will assess this practice and its role with- in careers individualization process and its repercussion on the external labour market of journalist .
This work is a part of a PhD research. The key findings that will be presented were obtained through a qualitative inquiry and a participant observation in one of the biggest Japanese newspaper .