November 2015 – College Media Review

Austin Shoot-out: Texas Our Texas

Photographers had to contend with a soggy shoot in Austin

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By Bradley Wilson
CMR Managing Editor

The assignment was rather straightforward. “Texas, Our Texas.” Give the judges a feel of a piece of the story of Texas, Our Texas. Routine life. Daily life. Work. Play. Offer an analysis of the state that goes far beyond the superficial.

Then came the rain. Lots of it. More rain that Austin had ever seen in a single day — 16 inches.

Then came the tornadoes. Damaged a school south of Austin. Closed the airport.

But the 60 or so students who indicated they wanted to participate in the Shoot-out and the 47 who finally participated persevered and documented a little slice of life in Texas during the College Media Association / Associated College Press convention in Austin over Halloween weekend. Continue reading “Austin Shoot-out: Texas Our Texas”

CMR Extra — Quick Links

CMR_arrow26_Rotate A multitude of educative, thought-provoking posts, blogs and stories have emerged in the wake of the incidents this week at the University of Missouri that resulted in the resignation of top administrators and a vigorous debate on the First Amendment The insights can aid college and professional media looking to hire more diverse staffs and considering ways to improve news coverage. The New York Times collected varying view points in this discussion.

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/11/11/why-has-trust-in-the-news-media-declined

From the Washington Post:

“Mass media professor under fire for confronting video journalist at Mizzou” at http://wpo.st/wqSm0

“There’s a good reason protesters at the University of Missouri didn’t want the media around” at http://wpo.st/wqSm0

From the Columbia Journalism Review:

“Why journalists have the right to cover the University of Missouri protests,” http://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/university_of_missouri_protests_first_amendment.php

From the New York Times:

A Lesson in Journalism at the University of Missouri

From the Los Angeles Times:

University of Missouri names black administrator with civil rights background as interim president

Research (Vol. 53): Convergent media on campus

A study of campus media organizations’ convergence practices

By Lindsey Wotanis, Ph.D.,
Janice Richardson, B.A.,
and Bowei Zhong, B.A.
Marywood University

Convergence polychrome (cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine) — Convergence polychrome (cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine) by Jean-Pierre Dalbéra via Flickr Creative Commons

Abstract: Scholars disagree on how to define “media convergence,” but in the past 15 years, literature suggests many newsrooms have shifted toward convergence, and they’re looking to hire journalists who understand it. Many university journalism programs have updated their curricula to emphasize convergence. However, students often learn journalism best by practicing it at campus newspapers, television and radio stations, or on web platforms. This paper asks: Are college media organizations practicing convergence? Researchers surveyed 142 campus media advisers to learn about convergence practices in campus newsrooms. Findings show that while half of advisers report their campus media organizations are practicing convergence, most are only practicing cross-platform publishing. Findings also suggest a correlation between campuses reporting converged media organizations and those reporting convergence-focused curricula.

Continue reading “Research (Vol. 53): Convergent media on campus”