College Media Review’s Research Annual is now available for download from this site.
Volume 53 for CMR contains peer-reviewed research relating to college media and its practitioners that was published by the College Media Review (CMReview.org) during the 2015-2016 Academic Year.
To download a copy of this volume, CLICK HERE.
For previous editions of the Research Annual, see the “Archive” link at the top of the home page.
By Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver
CMR Associate Editor
Perhaps nowhere is change more evident than in journalism. The world of communications is rapidly evolving, and as this evolution takes place, those of us who work with college and university student media sometimes need roller skates to keep up with what is happening with professional media in order to better prepare our students to go to work in that world.
Two of our authors in this volume of College Media Review deal with change and look at the issue of convergence, a word we hear all around us. Media organizations across the country are rushing to gure out how to converge their news operations, and readers and viewers are demanding more and faster options to get information. Campus media, however, are struggling with this issue and searching for the best model.
Mark Smith and Don Krause from Truman State University look at the topic in both print and broadcast operations in Missouri colleges and universities. Their article explores the status of convergence as well as its challenges and the reasons for the lack of convergence in numerous institutions. Continue reading “CMR’s Research Annual reflects embrace of change”
Editor’s note: Journalists typically learn early on how to write a city council story, cover a sports game, do an investigative piece into questionable spending by public officials, write a profile or in-depth article.
They may never have to cover breaking news and follow-up stories related to horrific mass shootings in Orlando and Dallas, and on school and college campuses and elsewhere.
College and professional media should have in place at least some guidelines on how to cover such tragedies and how publications and stations want to present the coverage, including coverage through social media. They’ll want to look at many different angles and how to best do so.
Editor’s Note — Horrific news stories—such as what occurred in the Orlando nightclub shooting—include breaking news, profiles, and myriad follow-ups.
They prompt campus and professional news organizations to reflect on the coverage to date as well as analysis from outside observers.
Here are links to some of the analysis of the Orlando coverage.
Media Coverage of Orlando Tragedy Follows Familiar Scripts …
Variety — Jun 12, 2016 · An outpouring of emotion and familiar narratives marked TV news coverage of the Orlando shooting. As soon as word emerged, on Sunday morning, … Continue reading “CMR Extra — Quick links”
Reviewed by Carolyn Schurr Levin, Stony Brook University School of Journalism
Think of grit, and you may immediately think of John Wayne in the film, “True Grit,” or Jeff Bridges in the 2010 remake.
But grit, says Angela Duckworth, applies to college students and professionals of diverse interests and vocations—including journalism.
Duckworth, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and a 2013 MacArthur Fellow, offers sage advice that can be applied to college media.
The advice: Create a culture of grit, Duckworth passionately argues in her recently released book, “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance,” and in her 2013 TED Talk, which has been viewed more than 8.5 million times. TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a global set of conferences run by the private nonprofit organization Sapling Foundation, under the slogan “Ideas Worth Spreading”.
Duckworth defines grit as a combination of passion and perseverance exhibited by high achievers, even when they are faced by challenges and hurdles. People act more gritty, she writes, when they’re around gritty people—hence the call to create cultures of grit. Continue reading “Review — ‘Passion and Perseverance’ for student journalists and their advisers:”
Mark Smith, Ph.D.
Truman State University
Don Krause, M.A.
Truman State University
Abstract: With changes in how audiences receive information, much attention has been placed on the implementation of multi-media storytelling tools and convergence of media outlets to enhance the news consumption experience. Through a survey administered to both print and broadcast association members advising student media in Missouri, as well as a focus group comprised of broadcast journalism advisers, this study closely examined the status of convergence at institutions of higher education in Missouri and the challenges of converging. A significant finding reveals that advisers introduce convergent storytelling techniques in coursework and have engaged colleagues in discussions of convergence, yet in practice convergence in student media in Missouri higher education remains a challenge for faculty advisers and students. Some of the reasons for the lack of convergence include the different ownership structures of student media within the same university, lack of time among advisers to oversee implementation of convergence as well as learning software to aid in the effort, and difficulties in working through university IT departments to implement combined websites. Continue reading “Research (Vol. 53) — Convergence, Higher Education”
Exploring the use of corrections on college newspapers’ websites
Kirstie E. Hettinga
California Lutheran University
Rosemary Clark
The Annenberg School for Communication at University of Pennsylvania
Alyssa Appelman
Northern Kentucky University
Abstract: A previous study found that college newspapers have perceived levels of credibility on par with their professional counterparts, but suggested that quality could be assessed in other ways. Previous research has documented the potential for error corrections to increase perceptions of quality. In a content analysis of College Media Association members’ websites (N = 419), the researchers found that some college publications are publicizing corrections, but some are not. Additionally, these practices seem to depend on publication and university differences. Similarities between college and professional publications are noted, and recommendations for improvement are discussed. Continue reading “Research (Vol. 53) — Corrections and the College Web”
From the CMR editor’s desk…
Who knows the number of total news stories and columns written—and those that will come–about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton since the 2016 presidential campaign began?
But here are a few links to print and broadcast commentary and coverage CMR thought you might find interesting.
The links are not “new” as in today, but the articles offer viewpoints from multiple voices from recent months.
More such links will be shared once the Republican and Democratic conventions unfold this summer, and as the country heads into the 2016 presidential election.
Trump hits CNN as ‘the Clinton network’ | TheHill
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/278346-trump-calls-cnn-the-clinton-network
May 2, 2016 … “They do call it ‘the Clinton network,’” he told Chris Cuomo on the network’s …. from a media wh*re who can’t get enough free media coverage.
Forget Trump and Clinton, Cable News Networks Are…
Mar 18, 2016 … A strategist for one Republican presidential campaign, who asked not to be named, tells U.S. News that cable networks are covering this … Continue reading “CMR Extra — Quick Links”
Royal Purple staffers cover campaign visits to Wisconsin by presidential hopefuls
CMR Staff Reports
Ideas for news stories can often come from personal experiences.
That goes for political coverage, too, as illustrated by coverage of a Donald Trump rally by staff of the student newspaper, The Royal Purple at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
“Students in a class after mine were talking about how the security and press were taking over their neighborhood because they live near the Holiday Inn in Janesville which hosted the Trump Rally.
“Many in the community said they opposed this choice, not only because of its close location to residential areas, but because it sends a political affiliation,” recalls Carol Terracina Hartman, adviser to The Royal Purple student newspaper.
Continue reading “Making the most of campaign opportunities”
By Shawn W. Murphy
SUNY Plattsburgh
I took one look at the paper and my heart sank. I sighed. I knew this would understandably hurt feelings and upset readers. I did not predict, though, that it would yield a Daily Beast article titled “College Paper Prints The Most Racist Front Page in America.” Once this article was published online, the clickbait medium, along with social media, immediately drew attention to what had happened on our campus. Oct. 23, 2015, would have been like any other Friday morning during the academic year, in which I, as faculty adviser to the student-run newspaper Cardinal Points, read and mark up the hot-of-the-presses issue in preparation for my Monday night post-publication critique delivered to the entire staff, except on that morning there were a slew of emails in my inbox and messages on my phone.
I did not know about the firestorm that was to come. I did not know that there would be many more email and phone messages from regional and national reporters who wanted to interview me and the student-editors. I did not know about the hate emails that the students on staff and I would receive from people on and off campus. I did not know that administrators and faculty – including journalism professors in my own department – would come down so hard on the newspaper, its student staff, and me. I did not know that I would witness student-editors in utter anguish and tears about the backlash for what the felt was a one-time mistake in the production process, not a malicious act of racism. And I did not know how lonely and difficult it would be to defend students’ First Amendment rights and explain what my professional organization, College Media Association, considers to be a legally and ethically sound best practice for a newspaper adviser – the post-publication critique without mandatory prior review.
This article for College Media Review marks the first time I have spoken publicly about what happened. I did not speak with any of the local, regional and national reporters who asked to interview me for a quick sound-bite quote to drop into a story they had already written. And it was suggested to me that I channel interview requests to the college’s director of marketing and communications. Instead, I wanted to tell the whole story under my own terms and in my own words; after all, there was no one closer to it than me and the student-editors. I wanted to let enough time pass so that emotions could subside, then explain how it all went down. In doing so, I would explain how this situation came to be; examine what have been the ramifications for the college, the department, the newspaper, its student-editors, and me as the adviser; outline what structural measures Cardinal Points have taken in the aftermath to regain trust and credibility; and offer advice to my advising colleagues across North America.
This is a cautionary tale to other advisers at public colleges. Continue reading “A cautionary tale of a coverage firestorm”
