EFFECT OF ORGANIZATIONAL SIZE ON JOB-SATISFACTION OF TOP EDITORS AT UNITED-STATES DAILIES

Drawing on social system and reference group theory, this study hypothesized that top editors at large newspapers would be more satisfied with their jobs than top editors at small newspapers. Editors on larger newspapers were expected to be more satisfied because increased role specialization gives them greater autonomy, their salaries are higher, and their jobs are more prestigious. A national probability sample of top editors at daily newspapers in the United States supports the hypotheses that editors at larger newspapers are more satisfied and that autonomy is a mediating factor, but income is not related to job satisfaction.