Community Journalism 2019 Abstracts
It’s Who You Know: Twitter, Media Trust, and Local News • Ivy Ashe, University of Texas at Austin; Ryan Wallace, University of Texas, Austin; Tom Johnson, University of Texas at Austin • Using results from a national survey, this study employs the theoretical lens of reciprocal journalism to examine correspondence between Twitter engagement with journalists and levels of general media trust. We find that Twitter users who engage in reciprocal actions with journalists, such as follows and interactions (likes, retweets, replies) have higher trust levels than other online users. We also find a significant relationship between trust levels and the journalist’s geographic base (local or national).
African-American Online Newspapers’ Coverage of Policy Debate on the Affordable Care Act in 2017 • Masudul Biswas, Loyola University Maryland; Nam Young Kim, Sam Houston State University • Using content analysis, this study examined the coverage on the repeal and replace efforts of Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2017 in three African-American online newspapers – Afro.Com, AtlantaBlackStar.Com and PhillyTrib.com. Top three news frames across the news coverage by these online newspapers reflected political contention and political maneuverings around the ACA and potential policy implications of the Republicans’ proposed bills to replace the ACA. Except in the use of politically-focused conflict frame, there was no significant difference in the use of four other news frames among these African-American news outlets that dwelt on policy implications (i.e., consequence frame), positive aspects of the ACA and policy recommendations to improve it (i.e., solutions frame), political maneuverings around repealing and protecting the ACA (i.e., strategy frame), and attribution of responsibility for potential consequences of a new health care law (i.e., responsibility frame).
A sense of community at NPR member stations and its influence on giving • Joseph Kasko, Winthrop University • This research is composed of 20 in-depth, qualitative interviews with managers at public radio stations across the U.S. to examine if listeners perceive that they are part of a community and how that feeling might influence giving. The findings suggest public radio managers believe their listeners view themselves as part of a media community of supporters. Most of the managers also expressed that a sense of community contributed to the decision to support the station financially.
‘Life Is Harder:” The Perceived Impact of a Newspaper Closure on a Community • Nick Mathews • This study presents findings from 18 in-depth interviews with residents of a recent news desert and offers a systematic qualitative investigation of the perceived impact of a newspaper’s closure on community members’ everyday lives and, just as important, their sense of community. This case study, using the psychological theory of sense of community as its theoretical framework, shows a noticeable negative effect on community members’ sense of community, with participants missing celebrated gatherings, suffering from an increased sensation of isolation and diminished pride in the community. In addition, without newspaper reporters stationed in the county, residents function as reporters themselves, laboring to obtain information. Overall, these findings present a picture of life in Caroline County, Virginia, following the Caroline Progress’ closure after 99 years of service to the county.
VR as Community News Solution – Connecting communities, helping audiences trust community journalists more with immersive technology • Aaron Atkins, Graduate Student Interest Group; Hans Meyer, Ohio University; Samantha Peko, Ohio University • One of the compelling aspects of 360-degree virtual reality news content, research suggests, is that it engages many of the hallmarks of community journalism, namely geographic community, online community, cultural identity, and community-oriented information needs. Yet community news organizations remain reluctant to use it. This experiment compared a non-linear, interactive VR news experience about a small town in West Virginia facing environmental challenges with a traditional print news story and examined the effects the story type had on learning, enjoyment, credibility, and sense of community. It found that VR can enhance the overall credibility a participant assigned to the media and the sense of community they feel, especially for women over men. While it did not find VR had a significant impact on story credibility, perceptions of media bias, and learning, it provide suggestions for further study of these concepts. Overall, it suggests that VR could be an alternative for community news organizations looking to foster greater connections with communities outside of main readership areas.
Signal Interruption in Baldwin City: Filling a Communication Vacuum in a Small-Town ‘News Desert’ • Steve Smethers, Kansas State University; Samuel Mwangi, Kansas State University; Bonnie Bressers • This study examines newspaper loss in a small Kansas college town and its impact on social and economic information flow. Focus-group research with community leaders recounts the realities of newspaper loss and how resultant alternative social media and other digital platforms were used to communicate with specific audiences, creating peer communication networks that failed to get general information to the community at large. Confusion over new media adaptation supports predictions of the channel expansion theory that familiarity with platforms is a predictor of its adoption and use, a hindering factor in reaching older populations.
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