Research (Vol. 60): Starting a conversation

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Starting a conversation: An exploration of the state of student media websites at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Abstract

Student media at HBCUs have declined precipitously since 2000 yet provide a significant look at issues meaningful to the Black communities they represent and cover. This study uses content analysis of existing student media websites to assess the state of student media at HBCUs. It finds several notable trends. Frequency of content updates varies, yet student-run news websites are not typically updated daily and are likely updated only when breaking news occurs or when students have new content to post. Stories covering student government or administration were uncommon, and nearly half of the websites did not offer any form of advertising.  Medium-sized HBCUs were more likely to have active social media compared to smaller-sized HBCUs, and public HBCUs were more likely to have some form of a media independence statement on their website. These descriptive data provide a starting point for conversations about an important media source and training ground for future Black journalists.

Keywords: HBCU, student media, news websites, content analysis

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Research (Vol. 60): Reaching new audiences

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Reaching New Audiences: Student News Organizations’ Spanish-language Coverage

Abstract

U.S. universities are increasingly adding programs related to Spanish-language media. Such programs may result in more student-produced Spanish-language content. Through a content analysis (N=300) of articles, this research explores what student publications are covering in Spanish. Student-produced Spanish-language newspapers prioritized news and campus coverage; nearly half of the articles directly referenced Hispanic or Latinx communities. Differences with regard to funding, public vs. private, and Hispanic-serving Institution status are discussed.

Keywords: College Newspapers, Spanish, Hispanic-serving Institutions, News Deserts

Methods: Content Analysis

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Letter from the Editor: Vol. 60

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It is both my honor and privilege to re-introduce College Media Review, as well as myself as the publication’s new Editor-in-Chief.

First, about myself. I am a third-year adviser at Samford University, a private institution in Birmingham, Ala. I accepted a role as editor for CMR in late 2023, and since that time have been eagerly anticipating the day when the leading journal for college media research returned to publication.

Today, it is a reality.

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Research (Vol. 60): Full Court Press

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Full Court Press: Fighting Restrictions on Student Journalists At  Private Universities

Abstract

Research and advocacy on student press freedom at the collegiate level often occurs in the context of laws on free expression and open government. However, student journalists at more than half of U.S. colleges and universities—those that are private rather than public—are not protected by the First Amendment and sunshine laws. Due to their lack of legal protections, scholars have suggested that student journalists at private institutions may choose to self-censor rather than report on campus controversies. This case study focuses on three instances when collegiate journalists at a private institution did not self-censor, but rather took the opposite approach, reporting aggressively on student press freedom conflicts. Our content analysis finds the depth and breadth of coverage—a “full court press” approach—suggests strategic attempts by student journalists to use media effects models such as agenda setting, priming, and framing to mobilize support for press freedom and ward off potential retaliation by administrators.

Keywords: college newspapers, press freedom, private institutions, media effects, agenda setting, framing

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Research (Vol. 60): Their Voices are Green

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Their Voices Are Green: An Analysis of Environmental Themes
in College Magazines 2018–2022

Abstract

Campus magazines are tasked with producing content to serve and reflect the lifestyle of their campus and community. But, student magazine editors redefined “campus culture” in content choices, as life outside campus changed amid culture wars in 2018, a mass shooting in a Florida high school, historic floods and wildfire, a global pandemic, the Sunshine Movement and COP26. Through these historic events, editors – particularly in Editor’s Note – chose to use their voices to redefine “campus culture” and call for their generation to live with intention and accountability.

Editions from three nationwide contests were sampled 2018-2022 to examine environmental content focusing on three variables: Cover, Table of Contents, and Editor’s Note. Prominent themes that appeared through semiotic analysis are climate change; policy; food; distribution / system; fashion: art / beauty; solutions; activism; pollution; hazard / crisis weather; conservation; sustainability. A review of 55 publication and 135 elements shows climate change, solutions, and activism dominate discussion, with editors introducing content in more than half their columns not found in edition content. Cover art results show 59% contained some environmental element while Table of Contents amplified environmental content with 61% . Framing was measured by how creators located their content: how is their commonsense of environment defined: as a global, local, or campus intent? Results show writers based their environmental concern on campus than in urban environments, while analysis of institutions shows private colleges produced the majority of environmental content.

Key Words: Environment, Campus Media, Magazine, Semiotic Analysis, Framing

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Weathering the storm

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Strategies for sustaining student media in times of crisis

By Patti Piburn and Kim Lisagor Bisheff 

Abstract

Student reporters in KCPR, using remote technologies, continued producing and broadcasting live news on-air throughout the pandemic and during subsequent disruptions. This qualitative case study examines the remote strategies adopted by the station in the lockdown to determine what should remain, with two goals in mind: keeping broadcast student media going in a future crisis and better equipping journalism graduates. Semi-structured interviews with graduates who were part of the radio news team before, during and after the pandemic reveal that they acquired and refined crucial soft skills during their remote student media experience. The graduates report that their experience equipped them for a “new normal” in the workplace. They described gaining such soft skills as confidence, resilience and adaptability as well as improved organization, communication and collaboration. While in-person reporting is preferred, blending remote work, and the technologies that support it, into student media makes the organization more resilient and better prepares students for transformed newsrooms. Continue reading “Weathering the storm”

Photographers document city fizzing with excitement

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23 photojournalists document the personality of Atlanta, host city of fall convention

Whether the photographers knew Atlanta as the “Chicago of the South” or “ATL” or just “The A,” their assignment was simple: “[C]reate an image — worthy of a postcard — showing that Atlanta is a city that’s always fizzing with excitement.”

In Atlanta, even the buildings have personality. Show the personality of people interacting with those buildings. Or parks. Or vendors. Or visitors.

The photographers on-site at the College Media Association and Associated Collegiate Press national convention in Atlanta definitely set out to cover those visitors, vendors, parks and buildings to document the cultural diversity of the city.

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An FAQ on how to write an FAQ

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Frequently Asked Questions alternative story format popular with reporters, readers

By Andy Bechtel

Readers of student media often have questions about things in the news. College journalists can provide answers using the “frequently asked questions” format.

Korie Dean, a reporter at The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina, specializes in FAQ stories. She’s reported and written them about topics such as COVID restrictions, health insurance and bans on outdoor burning.

“You might find yourself asking questions about a new law that’s gone into effect, a confusing term that’s related to the news of the day, a viral post on social media or just about anything else,” says Dean, a 2021 graduate of the journalism school at UNC-Chapel Hill. “Those topics make for fantastic FAQs, because they’re things people undoubtedly have questions about and will be searching (literally searching on Google — SEO is key!) for answers on.”

So when should you try a FAQ, and how do you put one together? Here’s what you need to know.

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Training students how to report on mental health

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College media is in a prime position to be at the forefront of reporting responsibly on mental health

By Ben McNeely

NC State was reeling. Students were stunned, parents were worried, and administrators were trying to respond.

My alma mater, NC State University, went through hell last academic year.

Fourteen students died, seven of which were deaths by suicide. In April, two students took their own lives within a 24-hour period.

September is National Suicide Prevention Month

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‘The Journalism Salute’

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Podcast highlights people who believe in journalism

A Q&A with Mark Simon

What is your podcast about? Why?

My podcast, The Journalism Salute, is a journalism appreciation podcast. It’s meant to show

    1. That working in journalism is a great career path.
    2. There are so many different options someone could pursue.
    3. That journalists are NOT the enemy of the people.

I do 30-35 minute interviews with journalists about who they are and what they do. It’s their platform to talk about the backstory- the how and why behind what they do.

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