기자에서 회사원으로: 정체성 의미 변화에 따른 탈(脫)기자 현상에 대한 고찰

This study aims to examine the process through which the phenomenon of de-journalism, in which journalists collectively leave their jobs and move to other industries, occurs. The phenomenon of de-journalists can be understood on the surface as inter-industry labor mobility, but in depth it is a process of losing or denying the professional identity of a journalist, which is different from the process of changing jobs in general. This study conducted in-depth interviews with 32 former and current journalists to track their journalistic experience and cognitive structures, and found that journalists who experienced burnout experienced identity confusion due to cognitive dissonance between their beliefs and the reality of the job, and went through an identity search and redefinition process through self-meaning to either maintain their job or decide to become a de-journalist. The process of sensemaking, which is the process of assigning meaning to one’s identity as a journalist, appeared to be different for each individual, but it was found that a dichotomous collective career path of de-journalist and current journalist emerged as a result of going through a common cognitive process within the profession of journalism. The process of changing perceptions of identity, which is embodied in the “identity complexity-identity search-identity reconstruction,” extends the theoretical discussion of professional job turnover from the perspective of labor mobility across industries and occupations, rather than job turnover between organizations.