Influence of structural and managarial changes in media management on working relationships of media professionals: A case of study on news websites

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of structural and managerial changes in media management on media professionals within the framework of news websites. In line with this purpose, semi-structured in-depth interviews were held with the study group of 12 media professionals, and to support the interview method, observation-based field research was conducted. The research data collected in the study based on the qualitative research design of phenomenology were analyzed with descriptive and content analysis methods. The results revealed that the concept of news, which constitutes the study case of media professionals, changed and that the change started transforming the identity of a media professional and made the publication process flexible. In the study, it was pointed out that this media climate, which diversified income models, also influenced the organizational structure and the working conditions. Lastly, it was concluded that the law of "Regulation of Relationships between Employers and Employees in Press" (Number 5953) was not efficient enough to regulate the reflections of the structural and managerial changes in media management upon working relations of media professionals. Key Words: New media, media management, media professionals, working relationship, working life in media.