A regular series of articles that highlights research in the academy and in the profession on the emerging threat of news deserts or changes in media ownership.
One of a regular series of articles that highlights research in the academy and the profession on the emerging threat of news deserts or changes in media ownership. Who is more inclined to read local versus national or international news? How do these attitudes vary across generations? Lee Shaker, an associate professor of communication at Portland State University, examines these Continue Reading
One of a regular series of articles that highlights research in the academy and the profession on the emerging threat of news deserts or changes in media ownership. How are social media platforms and technology companies changing the future of journalism? Companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter, which started out as distribution channels, are now edging out news organizations in Continue Reading
One of a regular series of articles that highlights research in the academy and the profession on the emerging threat of news deserts or changes in media ownership. What drives readers to contribute to breaking stories? How do media companies balance unpaid user content with professional reporting? Michael Zeng, a German doctoral candidate, explores how newspapers can harness a growing Continue Reading
One of a regular series of articles that highlights research in the academy and the profession on the emerging threat of news deserts or changes in media ownership. Can reporters adequately inform citizens about important policy issues or major news events if they cannot get access to public documents? A new report released this week examines the state of the Continue Reading
Can journalism move residents to become engaged in solving problems in their communities? Do readers have an appetite for “good news” and solutions-oriented stories? Andrea Wenzel’s research on “solutions journalism” dives into this issue to understand how news outlets can promote civic involvement and problem solving in disenfranchised areas. Her research builds on the work of the Metamorphosis Project at Continue Reading
Is the current generation of high school students more supportive of the First Amendment than their predecessors, the Millennials? For the past decade, the Knight Foundation has commissioned Ken Dautrich, Associate Professor in Public Policy at the University of Connecticut, to survey the attitudes of the country’s high school students and teachers. The First Amendment prohibits laws that suppress freedom Continue Reading
Who fills the void when economic pressures hit local newspapers? Why are online startups in some communities more numerous and successful than those in other areas? Matthew Powers, a professor at the University of Washington, has been studying the formation of startups in Seattle and Toulouse, France, with his colleague, Sandra Vera Zambrano of Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. These Continue Reading
What is the future of newspaper advertising departments in small, low-growth communities? Can the print sales reps at these newspapers become digital advertising experts? JoAnn Sciarrino, Knight Chair in Digital Advertising and Marketing at the University of North Carolina, explores these questions in a case study on The Whiteville News Reporter, a Pulitzer-Prize-Winning, twice-weekly paper with a print circulation of Continue Reading
What exactly is local news and, more broadly, local media? How should we regulate it and how much do we value it? Is it important enough, for instance, for us as taxpayers to subsidize local news gathering organizations – or even more radically, should our governments provide local news free of charge, just as public education is offered free to Continue Reading
Since 2011, Merja Myllylahti, a former financial journalist, has been tracking media ownership patterns in New Zealand. During that time, ownership has become increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few barons. What are the implications of this for her country? Are there cautionary lessons for U.S. media companies, which are going through a period of contraction and consolidation? What Continue Reading