Mind the gap: Consequences of inter-role conflicts of freelance journalists with secondary employment in the field of public relations

Freelance journalists who are also occupied in public relations have to deal with contrary expectations. Working as a journalist means contributing to the ‘public duty’ of journalism. When doing public relations work, journalists have to represent the particular interests of their clients. If journalists cannot fulfill these contradictory expectations, they experience inter-role conflicts. What are the consequences of these role conflicts? We conducted a quantitative online survey with German freelance journalists who also do public relations work. We observed that participants are often troubled by inter-role conflicts. They feel tense and uncertain whether they see themselves as journalists or as public relations practitioners. Having internalized a normative perception that journalists must not do public relations work, they experience even more intense inter-role conflicts and consequently feel more stressed at work. Moreover, even if their job satisfaction on average remains moderate, when facing inter-role conflicts freelance public relations journalists feel less satisfied with their job situation in general

What's the harm in moonlighting? A qualitative survey on the role conflicts of freelance journalists with secondary employment in the field of PR

There seems to be an internationally shared consensus on the ethical norm that journalists may not moonlight' for PR since this might conflict with their commitment to autonomy, truth, neutrality and objectivity. However, there is a gap between the normative demands on freelance journalists and the reality of their occupation: The changing world of professional working conditions is challenging journalists and has led to growing numbers of freelance journalists who also work for PR. Whether or not, and if so how freelance journalists with secondary employment in the field of PR perceive and come to terms with conflicts has not yet been thoroughly examined. This contribution is dedicated to this gap in research and asks how freelance journalists who simultaneously work in the field of PR deal with their fundamentally conflicting roles (journalists' perception of inter-role conflicts; how they cope with inter-role conflicts). We conducted semi-structured guided interviews with 18 freelance journalists simultaneously working for PR clients. Our results show that they are aware of the potential for conflict involved in fulfilling the two roles. All participants are inclined to preserve their professional self-concept as journalists, with regard to which the coping strategies of marginalization and merging roles are particularly indicative