Amy Schmitz Weiss

Exploring News Apps and Location-Based Services on the Smartphone:

This study investigates how young adults use news and location-based services on their smartphones, in addition to examining how many news organizations offer mobile news apps with geo-location features. Based on the survey findings, young adults are consuming news on their smartphones. Furthermore, there is a high use of location-based services by smartphone consumers, but news organizations are only using geo-location features in their mobile apps for traffic and weather. This study highlights that a gap exists between what news consumers, particularly young adults, are doing and using on their smartphones and what news organizations are able to provide.This study investigates how young adults use news and location-based services on their smartphones, in addition to examining how many news organizations offer mobile news apps with geo-location fea...

Compressed dimensions in digital media occupations Journalists in transformation

This study explores how much the concept of globalization via the internet is transforming the occupation of journalists. This research relied on the expertise of online journalists from Latin America, North America and Europe through their participation in three sets of online focus groups. Our findings pointed to a perception by these specific online journalists of a compressed social distance between themselves and the audience, as well as a more compact time dimension impacting the news cycle. This study supports similar findings of the roles, responsibilities and resources of media workers in other digital occupations, where requirements of multitasking and adaptability are necessary. This exploratory study aims to serve as a foundation to explain how this online medium is evolving and how online journalists perform and operate within it.This study explores how much the concept of globalization via the internet is transforming the occupation of journalists. This research relied on the expertise of online journalists from Latin America, North America and Europe through their participation in three sets of online focus groups. Our findings pointed to a perception by these specific online journalists of a compressed social distance between themselves and the audience, as well as a more compact time dimension impacting the news cycle. This study supports similar findings of the roles, responsibilities and resources of media workers in other digital occupations, where requirements of multitasking and adaptability are necessary. This exploratory study aims to serve as a foundation to explain how this online medium is evolving and how online journalists perform and operate within it.

Understanding MOOCs as an Emerging Online Learning Tool: Perspectives from the Students.

This study examined participants’ learning experiences in the context of a six-week massive open online course (MOOC) in journalism with five thousand students from 137 countries. Three research questions were asked: (1) Who are the students and why are they enrolled in this MOOC?, (2) How much time have the students spent in taking this MOOC and have they completed all the assignments?, and, (3) What have they learned and what aspects of this MOOC do the students find most helpful? Four hundred and nine students responded to a survey and forty-four responded to interview questions. The main findings showed 84% of the participants were working professionals and only 28.9% were from a journalism background. Of those who did not complete the course, lack of time was the top reason. Most participants reported a positive learning experience, but lack of feedback and/or poor quality were reported as negative experiences. The discussion forum was the least liked aspect of the course.

Putting the Management into Innovation & Media Management Studies: A Meta-Analysis

The study of management of innovation is crucial to media management research, helping explain how technology diffusion affects the communication industry and providing a glimpse into its future. This meta-analysis looks at the recent history of mass communication scholarship (1983–2008), addressing newsroom changes to determine whether a mainstream managerial theory—sociotechnical literature—garners adequate use. The researchers discovered numerous references—mostly indirect—to sociotechnical systems (STS) theory, yet found sporadic use of a true managerial emphasis as expressed through the analysis of STS theorys principles- and frames-specific theoretical framework. Implications of the findings and future, alternative directions for research are proposed.

Place-Based Knowledge in the Twenty-First Century

This study investigates how information and geographic space can be connected to a concept called place-based knowledge that can be applied within a journalistic framework of how we see journalism practice, news producers, consumers, and the news experience within this light. This connection of geographic space with place-based knowledge can form a unique concept called spatial journalism that is the main premise of this article. Future research directions are explored using this concept and implications of this approach are discussed for the future of the academy and profession.This study investigates how information and geographic space can be connected to a concept called place-based knowledge that can be applied within a journalistic framework of how we see journalism practice, news producers, consumers, and the news experience within this light. This connection of geographic space with place-based knowledge can form a unique concept called spatial journalism that is the main premise of this article. Future research directions are explored using this concept and implications of this approach are discussed for the future of the academy and profession.

The digital and social media journalist: A comparative analysis of journalists in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru

This study examines how journalists in Latin America, specifically in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, view their professional roles in today’s digital media landscape. This study is part of a larger research project of an online survey administered to journalists in Latin America. In particular, this study examines through a comparative analysis how journalists in Latin America perceive their journalistic role and what forms of digital and social media are becoming parts of the journalists’ daily work in this region. Survey findings show that the interpretive and populist mobilizer roles resonated the most among the countries sampled. Furthermore, these journalists are engaging in specific digital and social media tasks for daily newsgathering and reporting routines in their respective newsrooms.

Location-based news in mobile news apps: Broadcast leads in geolocated news content, newspapers lag behind

This study investigates which news organizations are using location-based services, particularly with geolocating content in their mobile apps, and how they are doing so. Based on findings from a c...This study investigates which news organizations are using location-based services, particularly with geolocating content in their mobile apps, and how they are doing so. Based on findings from a content analysis of 173 mobile news apps by top U.S. media outlets (i.e., radio, television, newspaper, digital-only), broadcast mobile apps had location-based services enabled more than other media outlets. Two news radio stations had geolocated their news content.

Sharing the Stage: Analysis of social media adoption by Latin American journalists

Despite the proliferation of research on social media and journalism, only a few studies have analyzed how journalists in Latin America embrace the affordances of social platforms for journalism practice. Based on a survey of 877 Latin American reporters, this article examines the platforms journalists use and how they use them. The broad finding is that, despite the great popularity of Facebook in the region, Twitter is the most important platform for daily newsgathering and journalistic work. Journalists turn to Twitter to find sources and stories, showing an important openness to participatory journalism. Yet, they mistrust information provided from political sources. Our findings show that different regions in Latin America work with social media in different ways, and local journalistic cultures have an impact on these adoptions, especially in the case of Brazil. Further research and implications for the field are discussed.