(Research Vol. 56) Posting, Tweeting, Instagraming

Examining the Social Media Linking College Media to ‘Home’

Carol Terracina-Hartman
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania

Robert G. Nulph
Missouri Western State University

ABSTRACT: Successful college media programs, when judged against their peers, are located in academic departments with faculty-level advisors (Terracina-Hartman and Nulph 2013; Kopenhaver 2015). This study aims to examine communication practices and messages of universities and academic departments that promote these top college media outlets using social media tools. Which is preferred: Facebook or Instagram for celebrating an award? Does a university tag a student newspaper? Or does the department take the lead in announcing? Or does a college newspaper post its good news, tag its home institution, and then academic departments and colleges like, share, retweet, repost and tag? Perhaps the institution, department, and/or student media outlet chooses none of these, making them virtually invisible? The posts – whether celebratory, recruiting, spotlighting an alum, or introducing editors – enhance not only visibility for the college media program, but also produce a level of association between student media and their home institutions.

Scholars increasingly have documented dialogic principles of university systems with potential students in recent years, finding that first impressions persist, influencing the opinions of those applicants who later become first-year students throughout their years on campus (Aquilani and Lovari 2009; Gordon and Berhow 2009).  Additional research finds that much web communication targets donors, alums, and research-granting agencies before addressing student or potential student audiences (Hewitt and Forte 2009; Will and Callison 2006). Yet highlighting student achievement through the web can be a key mark of visibility for any student program and critical to department recruitment (Kent and Taylor 1998). Continue reading “(Research Vol. 56) Posting, Tweeting, Instagraming”

Videolicious: It does one thing…

videolicious class
My classic selfie in Louisville with the 9 a.m. Videolicious class.

… but Videolicious does it really well

By Bradley Wilson
CMR Managing Editor

My session on Videolicious was at 9 a.m. on Friday, on a cold and drizzly day in Louisville. I expected about five people to show up. After all, Videolicious has been around for a while. Either you’ve heard of it and are using it. Or you haven’t heard of it and don’t care.

When I got to the room, there were already five people. Perfect.

Then five more. And five more. And, before you know it, there are about 25 people there. So much for a hands-on demonstration. But we tried. And we played.

I believe it when the folks at Videolicious say, “Video is the most popular content in the world.” And it’s growing. Continue reading “Videolicious: It does one thing…”

Research (Vol. 54) — Active Choice, Passive Consumption

Photo Ryan Lash/TED via Creative Commons
Photo Ryan Lash/TED via Creative Commons

Exploring New Media Consumption Habits Among College Students and their Influence on Traditional Student Media

By Hans K. Meyer, Burton Speakman and Nisha Garud
Ohio University

Abstract: This study examines news consumption habits of college students focusing on the factors, purpose and sources of new media consumption. Through a survey of 812 students at a medium-sized Midwestern university, four types of news habits emerged: active, passive, civic engagement, and digital. Students actively seek digital media but consumption of these sources turns passive.  New media, including mobile technology, have not completely taken over the news consumption habit of traditional sources. Continue reading “Research (Vol. 54) — Active Choice, Passive Consumption”

Research (Vol. 53): Measuring the Visibility of College Media at ‘Home’

Can You See Me Now?

By Carol Terracina-Hartman
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
and Robert G. Nulph
Missouri Western State University 


Hartman-Nulph_Fig2Abstract: With prior research indicating successful college media programs, as judged against their peers, tend to be housed in academic departments with faculty-level advisors, this study examines how college media outlets are presented, promoted, and used for recruiting within departments and home institutions. How visible are they? Primarily housed in political science, visibility has expanded as a research interest with the advent of social media. For this study, visibility is “organizational behavior to present content communally” (Brunner and Boyer 2008). After examining the top 35 award-winning programs, results indicate low levels not only of presence and visibility, but also self-promotion: college media references are two clicks from department homepage (46%) and 3-4 clicks from university homepage (57%). Media outlets most often post recruitment information (33%). These results suggest a need for growth in promotion, public relations, and associations.

Continue reading “Research (Vol. 53): Measuring the Visibility of College Media at ‘Home’”

To friend or not to friend: Buddying up with students on social media is up to you

By PAT WINTERS LAURO

To friend or not to friend your students?

The answer, says Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, is that it’s your call.

In high school, where students are under the age of 18, it’s generally accepted that teachers should not “friend” students on Facebook or any other social media site.  However, in college, where most are of legal age, it comes down to preference. Continue reading “To friend or not to friend: Buddying up with students on social media is up to you”