INNOVATIONS IN CENTRAL EUROPEAN NEWSROOMS

This paper is an overview of modern newsroom models in Central European countries, especially Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Editorial job divisions, as well as routines and work practices, in newspaper and news agency newsrooms, have experienced revolutionary changes in these countries-not only through the global trend towards convergence, but also by bridging traditional barriers between departments and by introducing more flexible structures. Large and open newsrooms, for example, are now becoming increasingly popular. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative data drawn from a case study of the innovations process of the news agency Austria Presse Agentur in Vienna, it is suggested that modernized newsrooms can increase speed and journalistic quality. At the same time building structure and space play an important role in the innovations process of a newsroom. There are significant correlations between satisfaction with the work site and the assessment of rising quality.