Political blogs rely on mainstream media, not sources, for information

Since political blogs burst into prominence in the 2004 presidential election, many have argued that these blogs are a new and important form of political journalism that is increasingly supplanting mainstream media.

But a new study by an Emerson College researcher, published in the current (Autumn 2009) issue of Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, shows that bloggers do little original reporting and that political blogs rely heavily on the mainstream media for their information.

“Nearly half of the hypertext links – which serve the roughly the same purpose as attribution in a newspaper story – in political blogs direct the reader to mainstream media stories. Only 15 percent take readers to ‘primary source’ material such as government documents or candidates’ public statements,” said Mark Leccese, the author of the study and assistant professor in the Journalism Department of Emerson College in Boston.

The study examined more than 2,000 hypertext links in six top independent political blogs – three liberal and three conservative – over seven consecutive days in January 2008 and placed each link into one of four categories: links to mainstream media, links to other blogs, links to other pages on the same Web site, and links to primary source material.

“I worked as a political reporter for newspapers for more than 20 years, so when political blogs became a phenomenon, I wanted to try to understand the similarities and differences in how bloggers and mainstream media reporters go about their work,” Leccese said. “Reporters build their stories from primary source material, so I designed a study to determine whether political bloggers do the same. They don’t.”

Readership of blogs has exploded in less than a decade. A Pew Internet & American Life survey in 2008 found that a quarter of American adults read blogs and that the second most popular topic for blogs – after “personal” – is politics. In a 2007 poll, 55 percent of Americans agreed blogs are “important to the future of American journalism.”

Almost half of the hypertext links in the six blogs studied – Daily Kos, Crooks and Liars, Talking Points Memo, Michelle Malkin, InstaPundit and Power Line – took readers to Web sites run by media organizations that employ salaried staff reporters.

“The standard format of a blog post is a link to a mainstream media story with comment and opinion added by the blogger,” Leccese said. “In that way, political blogs are like a newspaper comprised of only op-ed pages featuring opinion columnists who gather most of their information from secondary sources.”

About a quarter of the hypertext links took readers to other blogs. “This is the famous and now well-documented ‘echo chamber’ effect,” Leccese said. “This suggests that for political bloggers, opinion reinforcement is more important than gathering and disseminating information.”

One survey found that a third of bloggers consider themselves journalists. But this study argues that while bloggers may be considered journalists in the narrowest definition of the word—those who keep a journal or whose writing is featured regularly in a mass medium—they do not fit more common and widely accepted definition of journalists: workers in the mass media who seek out facts largely from primary sources and present those facts to media consumers.

CONTACT: Mark Leccese, assistant professor, Journalism Department, Emerson College, 617-824-3857, Mark_Leccese@emerson.edu.

• Download Online Information Sources of Political Blogs by Mark Leccese, Emerson College.
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Research You Can Use is produced by a volunteer group of faculty and staff within the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). The group selects new research from AEJMC refereed journals that may interest journalists. Journalists may use the releases for stories or for continuing education.

A PDF version of all participating articles are available for download. For a reprint, contact the person cited or Jennifer McGill, Executive Director, AEJMC, 234 Outlet Pointe Blvd., Ste. A, Columbia, SC 29210-5667, e-mail: AEJMCHQ@aol.com, telephone: (803) 798-0271. For more information about the Research You Can Use project, please contact Mich Sineath, e-mail: AEJMCpr@aol.com.

Nontraditional Online News Media Seek Employees with Adaptive Expertise

Nontraditional online news sources are more likely to hire people with broad bodies of knowledge (“adaptive expertise”) while traditional news organizations more commonly seek out those with solid technical skills, according to a recent study published in Journalism & Mass Communication Educator.

Dr. Serena Carpenter, an assistant professor in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, examined over a six-month period 664 online media job postings on JournalismJobs.com to gauge whether online news media employers prefer employees with specific skill sets or with knowledge spanning several topics.

Traditional news media were still most interested in hiring new employees with “nontechnical routine expertise,” such as solid writing skills, working under deadline, editing, teamwork and communication skills, and Associated Press Style. About equally, however, they also were seeking employees with “technical routine expertise,” such as content posting and management, image editing, blogging, video editing, and social media knowledge.

Nontraditional online news media were as interested in nontechnical routine expertise as traditional news media, but less interested in routine technical expertise (perhaps because they assumed new employees already had such skills or that they could be easily taught). Instead, nontraditional online news media were significantly more interested in hiring employees with adaptive expertise, such as knowledge outside journalism/mass communication, creativity, independent and critical thinking, leadership, and problem-solving abilities.

Regardless of their preferences, the job postings for traditional and nontraditional online news sources expressed interest in employees with some expertise in both areas, suggesting that teaching specific and broad knowledge areas should each have a place in the journalism and mass communication curriculum.

The study appears in the Autumn 2009 issue of Journalism & Mass Communication Educator.

CONTACT: Serena Carpenter, Assistant Professor, Arizona State University, Serena.Carpenter [at] asu.edu.

• Download An Application of the Theory of Expertise: Teaching Broad and Skill Knowledge Areas to Prepare Journalists for Change, by Serena Carpenter, Arizona State University.
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Research You Can Use is produced by a volunteer group of faculty and staff within the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). The group selects new research from AEJMC refereed journals that may interest journalists. Journalists may use the releases for stories or for continuing education.

A PDF version of all participating articles are available for download. For a reprint, contact the person cited or Jennifer McGill, Executive Director, AEJMC, 234 Outlet Pointe Blvd., Ste. A, Columbia, SC 29210-5667, e-mail: AEJMCHQ@aol.com, telephone: (803) 798-0271. For more information about the Research You Can Use project, please contact Mich Sineath, e-mail: AEJMCpr@aol.com.

Using Anonymous Sources Harms Credibility of News Industry

Researchers have shown once again that the use of anonymous sources harms the credibility of news stories, according to a recent study published in Newspaper Research Journal.

Readers sometimes believe sources have a vested interest in being anonymous, and they may also interpret the use of un-named sources as reporter incompetence, according to the study. Either way, the result is lower credibility.

The researchers, Miglena Sternadori and Esther Thorson, examined how readers reacted to investigative news stories using anonymous sources, as well as how the designation of a story as an “award winner” affected believability.

Stories in which the source had a vested interest and stories in which the author did not explain the use of anonymous sources ranked lowest in terms of credibility. Stories in the “award winners” category had more credibility with readers.

The authors called on future researchers to examine the effects of different types of anonymous sources on credibility.

Sternadori is an assistant professor in the Department of Contemporary Media and Journalism at the University of South Dakota. Thorson is a professor and acting dean of the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri.

The study appears in the fall 2009 issue of Newspaper Research Journal.

Contacts: Sandra H. Utt e-mail: nrj@newspaperresearchjournal.org or Elinor Kelley Grusin e-mail: egrusin@memphis.edu.

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Print Editions of Papers Reach More Readers than Online Sites

Newspaper Web sites reach only 15 percent of local Internet users, while print editions still gather far more readers, according to a recent study published in Newspaper Research Journal.

H. Iris Chyi and Seth C. Lewis examined readership in 68 local news markets across the nation and found that newspapers reached more people in print form than through online editions. In most local markets, more users logged on to national news Web sites, such as MSNBC or Yahoo! News for information more so than their local newspaper’s Web site.

The study also found that circulation size was not an indication of a Web site’s reach. Some smaller newspapers were more successful than larger papers in reaching more readers through the Web.

Chyi and Lewis said the results of their study suggest the answer for newspapers struggling in today’s economy is not to drop the print edition all together, calling such a solution “too simplistic.”

Chyi is an assistant professor and Lewis is a doctoral student in the department of journalism at the University of Texas at Austin.

The study appears in the fall 2009 issue of Newspaper Research Journal.

Contacts: Sandra H. Utt e-mail: nrj@newspaperresearchjournal.org or Elinor Kelley Grusin e-mail: egrusin@memphis.edu.

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Patriot Act Coverage Focuses on Concerns for Individual Liberty

Newspapers focused on concerns for individual liberty over national security during the debate surrounding the controversial Patriot Act, according to a recent study published in Newspaper Research Journal.

Examination of four major newspapers showed a strong emphasis on the legal issues surrounding the law, which was passed in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Researchers Weimin Chang and Ralph Izard concluded that media kept a watchful eye on the government as the debate over the Patriot Act raged across the country.

The study also shows articles often cited sources that were critical or skeptical of the law, as opposed to federal government officials.

Chang is an associate professor in the Cheung Kong School of Journalism and Communication at Shantou University, and Izard is the Sig Mickelson/CBS Professor in the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University.

The study appears in the fall 2009 issue of Newspaper Research Journal.

Contacts: Sandra H. Utt e-mail: nrj@newspaperresearchjournal.org or Elinor Kelley Grusin e-mail: egrusin@memphis.edu.

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Multimedia Growth at Newspapers a Slow Process

Newspapers are not moving as quickly into the multimedia world as some observers profess, according to a recent study published in Newspaper Research Journal.

In a national survey, researcher John Russial found little staff time devoted to producing cross-platform materials, such as video or audio for the Internet. Most of the work done for the Web was the production of “breaking news” bulletins, a writing-based activity.

Despite calls for training of reporters in various multimedia fields from industry experts, most cross-platform work is being produced by photographers or staff members in specific online departments and not by print reporters, Russial found.

With the high price of producing cross-platform material, multimedia content will not grow significantly until newspapers find ways to convert extensive multimedia coverage into profit, Russial writes.

Russial is an associate professor in the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon. His study is published in the summer 2009 issue of Newspaper Research Journal.

Contacts: Sandra H. Utt e-mail: nrj@newspaperresearchjournal.org or Elinor Kelley Grusin e-mail: egrusin@memphis.edu

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Women More Likely to Leave Newspaper Careers

More female journalists are leaving their jobs at newspapers, citing their own feelings of cynicism and exhaustion, according to a recent survey published in Newspaper Research Journal.

Scott Reinardy examined the attitudes of journalists working at newspapers across the country, asking about job demands, family life and whether they intended to leave the field.

More than 60 percent of the female journalists surveyed said they either intend to leave the field or “don’t know” if they will. Those who said they were intending to leave the newspaper business expressed feelings of burnout

Reinardy also found that levels of exhaustion were higher among women than among men and that women had a lesser sense of professional accomplishment than did their male colleagues.

Reinardy is an assistant professor in the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Kansas. His study is published in the summer 2009 issue of Newspaper Research Journal.

Contacts: Sandra H. Utt e-mail: nrj@newspaperresearchjournal.org or Elinor Kelley Grusin e-mail: egrusin@memphis.edu

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High School Publication Experience, Academic Performance Linked

Experience at a newspaper or yearbook in high school leads to higher levels of academic achievement in college, according to a recent study published in Newspaper Research Journal.

The research team of Jack Dvorak and Changhee Choi found students with high school publications experience achieved higher grade point averages during their freshman year of college than did students with no publication experience.

Students with high school journalism experience also achieved better high school grade point averages, higher scores on the ACT exam and higher grades in their first college English course than did students with no publication experience.

While Choi and Dvorak say the study does not prove causality, the pair concluded that high school journalism activities provide an outlet for talented and active students to express themselves and hone their skills.

Dvorak is a professor and Choi is a doctoral student in the School of Journalism at Indiana University. Their study is published in the summer 2009 issue of Newspaper Research Journal.

Contacts: Sandra H. Utt e-mail: nrj@newspaperresearchjournal.org or Elinor Kelley Grusin e-mail: egrusin@memphis.edu

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New study shows how journalism ethics developed

Three commissions that investigated violence in the 1960s had a significant impact on the development of widely accepted views about journalism ethics, according to a study published in the summer 2009 issue of Journalism & Communication Monographs.

In a monograph titled “Two Visions of Responsibility: How National Commissions Contributed to Journalism Ethics, 1963-1975,” Glen Feighery says it was not just the work of the Hutchins Commission or the Watergate investigation that prompted media organizations to focus more on social responsibility, but that the work of three commissions, The President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, and the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence, offered significant advice on how journalists should ethically approach their work. The media responded with revisions of codes of ethics, the creation of news councils and journalism reviews, and increased employment of minorities.

Feighery argues that through this challenge and response, a heightened sense of media responsibility arose. Part of the evolution within journalism ethics at the time forced journalists to consider the relationship between their independence and their responsibility, Journalists valued their freedom from entities of authority, such as government, special interest groups, etc., but they also recognized a duty to adequately inform the public about existing problems. This strong sense of responsibility required journalists to go a step beyond minimizing harm and provide people with information that would allow them to make an informed decision.

Feighery argues that journalists struck the balance between freedom and responsibility by developing the approach of “autonomy,” which meant that journalists would follow self-imposed restraints. As a result, journalists could maintain their independence and work for the greater good of the public, creating an ethical approach that continued to influence the media in the decades following the 1970s .

Feighery is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah.

CONTACT: Glen Feighery, University of Utah, Office Phone: (801) 585-7521, Email: glen.feighery@utah.edu.

• Two Visions of Responsibility: How National Commissions Contributed to Journalism Ethics, 1963-1975, By Glen Feighery
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Research You Can Use is produced by a volunteer group of faculty and staff within the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). The group selects new research from AEJMC refereed journals that may interest journalists. Journalists may use the releases for stories or for continuing education.

A PDF version of all participating articles are available for download. For a reprint, contact the person cited or Jennifer McGill, Executive Director, AEJMC, 234 Outlet Pointe Blvd., Ste. A, Columbia, SC 29210-5667, e-mail: AEJMCHQ@aol.com, telephone: (803) 798-0271. For more information about the Research You Can Use project, please contact Mich Sineath, e-mail: AEJMCpr@aol.com.

Science and media disconnect? Maybe not, says a new study

The prevailing wisdom among many scientists and scientific organizations is that, as a rule, scientists are press shy, and those who aren’t are mavericks.

However, a new study by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers, published in the current issue (summer 2009) of Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, suggests otherwise. The study, conducted by journalism professor Sharon Dunwoody, life sciences communication professor Dominique Brossard and graduate student Anthony Dudo, provides evidence that many mainstream scientists occasionally work with journalists and some do so routinely. And the interplay between scientists and journalists, say Brossard and Dunwoody, has been remarkably stable since the 1980s.

“By and large, scientists speak to journalists, they know it is important and they’re willing to do it again,” Dunwoody says. “The frequency with which scientists and journalists interact has been pretty stable over time.”

The findings, extracted from a survey of 1,200 researchers in the areas of epidemiology and stem cell research, two fields that experience extensive news media attention, contradict the widespread view in science that scientists are out of touch.

“We found relatively frequent interactions,” says Brossard, explaining that about one-third of the respondents claimed to have had up to five contacts with journalists during a three-year period, while another third of the sample said they experienced more than six contacts with reporters over three years. Only one-third of respondents reported having no contacts with journalists.

“The frequencies are definitely encouraging,” adds Brossard.

The proportion of scientists in the sample who interact with journalists, according to the Wisconsin researchers, is intriguingly similar to studies from the 1980s, as well as patterns identified in the 1990s. The new data imply that journalistic engagement of scientists over time is greater and more stable than “persistent, anecdotal cautionary tales would suggest,” Dunwoody, Brossard and Dudo write.

Another key insight from the data is that it is generally not the case that journalists focus their attention on scientific outliers. Instead, scientists who interact most frequently with reporters tend to be senior, highly productive researchers or administrators. “The notion that journalists concentrate on mavericks is not true,” says Dunwoody. “That’s an important pattern. What it says is that journalists are working mostly with successful mainstream scientists.”

The results of the new study are important because they chip away at the common perception among scientists that media coverage of science is flawed. “We don’t know if the interactions are, in fact, better,” says Dunwoody. “But scientists are eager participants. It reflects a more active role by one of the major players in the process.”

The new study, according to Dunwoody, indicates that although scientists may have a general perception that news media coverage of science is faulty, that perception does not extend to coverage of their own work. “They often view their own work as being covered well, but that doesn’t influence the larger perception.”

The involvement of scientists in active public communication is widely viewed as critical, especially when controversial issues are at play or important policy is being forged. Coverage of such things as stem cell research, infectious disease, nuclear power, nanotechnology and biotechnology frequently entails important information about human health and has economic and social implications that reach far beyond the scientific community.

“We need to keep in mind that most people learn about scientific topics through mass media and not informal channels like science museums,” says Brossard. “Hence, the necessity for scientists to engage journalists.”

Another key insight from the study is that the scientists who work with journalists perceive that they do so not for personal gain but because their participation can influence public understanding of science and the role of science in society. In short, appealing to scientists’ moral or ethical values may be a way to increase participation in the process of making news.

Finally, the study provides evidence that scientists who have been trained or otherwise briefed about how to work with journalists are more likely to engage reporters.

CONTACT: Sharon Dunwoody, 608-263-3389, dunwoody@wisc.edu; Dominique Brossard, 608-262-0482, dbrossard@wisc.edu

• Socialization or Rewards? Predicting U.S. Scientist-Media Interactions by Sharon Dunwoody, Dominique Brossard, and Anthony Dudo
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Research You Can Use is produced by a volunteer group of faculty and staff within the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). The group selects new research from AEJMC refereed journals that may interest journalists. Journalists may use the releases for stories or for continuing education.

A PDF version of all participating articles are available for download. For a reprint, contact the person cited or Jennifer McGill, Executive Director, AEJMC, 234 Outlet Pointe Blvd., Ste. A, Columbia, SC 29210-5667, e-mail: AEJMCHQ@aol.com, telephone: (803) 798-0271. For more information about the Research You Can Use project, please contact Mich Sineath, e-mail: AEJMCpr@aol.com.

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