As burnout continues to challenge morale and staff retention in newsrooms nationwide, the Reynolds Journalism Institute’s research indicates that journalists widely support greater flexibility in their scheduling as a potential remedy.

At a recent workshop hosted by the Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI), broadcast newsroom managers from across the country gathered to discuss how transitioning to four-day, ten-hour shifts could benefit both journalists and their news organizations. The event, held March 6-7 at the Missouri School of Journalism, convened a cross-section of people at various stages of engagement with the concept of a shortened work week, including those who were curious, those who had already implemented four-day weeks and those who were preparing to broach the subject in their newsrooms.

For some, the idea of a shorter workweek seemed out of reach—until they heard from those who have already made the shift.

“I was skeptical — very skeptical,” said Kelly Hicks, director of newsroom training and development at Nexstar Media Group, the largest owner of local television stations in the country. “But the conference gave me language to help persuade a leader to consider this. I feel very prepared to have this conversation.”

That shift in mindset was a key goal of the workshop, which featured a presentation from workshop lead Mikel Lauber, director of news for three of Gray Television’s stations in Nebraska. Lauber has implemented four-day work weeks for certain employees in three different newsrooms over the past 15 years, including WSAW in Wausau, Wisconsin, KWTX in central Texas, and KOLN in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Lauber has used the four-day work week as a tool to increase job satisfaction (especially for multimedia journalists, who are at particular risk for burnout) while boosting productivity and decreasing overtime use. At Lauber’s newsrooms, the four-day work week has not been a simple gift to employees but a mutually beneficial exchange between staff and newsroom leadership.

“It’s important to use the change to a four-day work week as an incentive to accomplish something else,” Lauber said during his presentation, noting as an example that those who switch from the typical five-day schedule are often more willing to work on weekends. “You might be surprised to see how much more people are willing to take on in exchange for that extra day off. As long as people understand the expectations are different, they are willing to accept the change.”

At all three stations where Lauber implemented a four-day work week, he saw a significant increase in employee retention, and he noted that the policy also made recruitment easier — offering a clear incentive to prospective hires in an industry struggling to attract and retain talent.

The potential impacts of this change go beyond just filling vacancies, allowing reporters to forge deeper connections with their community and gain the experience required to provide better support to their colleagues.

“If you can hold onto your reporters longer, your anchors are happier,” said Andrew Finlayson, executive vice president of digital media and AI strategies at research firm SmithGeiger, during the workshop.

For attendees, the workshop turned what might have seemed like an aspirational idea into an actionable strategy.

“I think the biggest takeaway that I learned was that while something may be good for the employee or good for the company, it’s very difficult to achieve a balance between the two,” said Luke Thoburn, executive producer at KHQ-TV in Spokane, Washington. “And that’s exactly what must happen to make a four-day work week work. There must be a little give and a little get.”

Armed with a deeper understanding of what that ‘give and get’ could look like in practice, Thoburn said he planned to discuss the concept with station leadership.

Jennifer Mizgata, a former RJI Fellow who helped organize the conference and led a session on building better work culture, was struck by the readiness of attendees to make moves toward implementation.

“I went from hoping news organizations who came to RJI would be interested in learning more to realizing that many of these organizations are going to take action right away to make this work,” Mizgata said. “One newsroom said they were ready to roll this out in April and that we had helped them work through the things they weren’t sure about! I’m really looking forward to hearing more in a couple months when we check back in with everyone.”

Watch this video to hear from Lauber about the recruitment and retention benefits of using a four-day workweek and how to get started at your station.

For more on RJI’s continuing work to address burnout and support community journalism, subscribe to the RJI Weekend newsletter and to RJI Insight, a free, semi-annual magazine covering industry issues.

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Cite this article

Fitzgerald, Austin (2025, March 18). Not just a dream: How a four-day workweek could ease burnout in broadcast newsrooms. Reynolds Journalism Institute. Retrieved from: https://rjionline.org/news/the-four-day-newsroom-how-a-bold-schedule-shift-could-ease-burnout-and-boost-retention/