Serena Carpenter

A Study of Content Diversity in Online Citizen Journalism and Online Newspaper Articles

The presence of a diversity of information offers citizens access to a range of ideas, expertise and topics. In this study, a measure of content diversity was created to determine whether online citizen journalism and online newspaper publications were serving this function in the USA. Based on the findings from a quantitative content analysis (n = 962), online citizen journalism articles were more likely to feature a greater diversity of topics, information from outside sources and multimedia and interactive features. The findings suggest online citizen journalism content adds to the diversity of information available in the marketplace.

How Online Citizen Journalism Publications and Online Newspapers Utilize the Objectivity Standard and Rely on External Sources

This research utilizes Shoemaker and Reeses Hierarchy of Influences to understand how routines influence online citizen journalism and online newspaper content. Reliance on routines affects the diversity of content publicly available. Overall, online daily newspaper journalists were more likely to rely on routines than online citizen journalists. Newspaper journalists relied more heavily on external sources, while citizen journalists used more unofficial sources and opinion. Thus, publication type is related to the presence of content that reflects media routines.

U.S. Elite and Non-Elite Newspapers' Portrayal of the Iraq War: A Comparison of Frames and Source Use

Stories from two elite and four non-elite newspapers were content analyzed for the use of sources and frames over a three-year period during and after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. The study used frames previously applied in studies conducted on elite publications. Results indicate that the use of frames and the inclusion of international, national, and local sources differed significantly; however, the inclusion of military sources was nearly balanced in elite and non-elite newspapers.

Health and Medical Blog Content and Its Relationships With Blogger Credentials and Blog Host

People may utilize various sources when searching for health information, including blogs. This study sought to describe the nature of non–personal journal health and medical blog posts and the frequency of interactive blog feature use within these blogs, as well as to understand the quality of content found within health and medical blogs as determined by blogger expertise and blog host. A quantitative content analysis was performed on 398 blog posts from a constructed 1-week sample of posts in WebMD, Yahoo!Health Expert Blogs, and independently hosted blogs. Results show most health and medical blog posts highlighted and provided commentary pertaining to medical issues found in external media such as books, television, Web sites, magazines, and newspapers, whereas only 16% contained actual health or medical information. In addition, distinct differences in patterns of content were evident between credentialed and noncredentialed bloggers, as well as different blog hosts.

Frequent Contributors Within U.S. Newspaper Comment Forums An Examination of Their Civility and Information Value

News organizations’ online commenting tools have been touted as a boon for the deliberative process, yet only to the extent that they are used by a diverse group of participants who are civil and who provide information that enriches dialogue. The researchers in this study analyzed the degree to which posts in newspaper forums originated from frequent contributors and the civil and informational characteristics of those contributions. A content analysis of comments (N = 2,237) within forums adjacent to opinion articles on websites of 15 U.S. newspaper dailies was conducted to assess their civility (uncivil character attacks and uncivil language) and informational attributes. Frequent contributors—people who post often on a forum in a short period—were less likely to be civil and informational.

An Application of the Theory of Expertise: Teaching Broad and Skill Knowledge Areas to Prepare Journalists for Change

How to educate journalism students for the online world is controversial. For journalism students to become well-rounded journalists, lifelong learners, and experts, journalism education should weave skills with theoretical training, based on Hatanos theory of expertise. To determine to what extent employers are seeking such applicants, this study examined online media job ads. Results show employers want people with a broad and specific background.

Broadcast and Cable Network News Coverage of the 2004 Presidential Election: An Assessment of Partisan and Structural Imbalance

Broadcast and cable network evening news shows gave more prominence, time, and attention to Democrat John Kerry than to President George Bush in their 2004 presidential election coverage. Broadcast networks were more balanced in their aggregate attention to the candidates than were the cable networks. Individual broadcast network stories and segments were also more balanced than were individual cable network stories and segments, regardless of the candidate more favored in stories and segments. The daily election segments of CBS News and Fox News were the most balanced, contrary to expectations that these two news organizations were most likely to show imbalance. However, different broadcast and cable network news attention to the National Guard and Swift Boat stories impugning the characters of both candidates suggests that the broadcast networks biased some of their coverage against the president.

The Measurement of Journalistic Role Enactments A Study of Organizational Constraints and Support in For-Profit and Nonprofit Journalism

Media scholars have primarily assessed journalistic role perceptions through the survey method. We propose conceptual and operational definitions for four role enactments observable through content analysis: dissemination, interpretative, adversarial, and mobilization. We also examined how journalistic role enactments in stories related to organization type (nonprofit and for-profit) and reporter workload. Results show that nonprofit journalists were more likely to include interpretation in stories, whereas for-profit journalists were more likely to enact the dissemination and mobilization roles. In addition, as reporter story number increases, it significantly predicted enacting the dissemination role, while suppressing the interpretative role, and especially the adversarial role enactment.

Partisan Balance and Bias in TV Network Coverage of the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Presidential Elections

This study examines partisan bias in the broadcast news coverage of the 2008 presidential election by replicating measures used in the previous 2 elections. The study data, overall, indicate a Republican tilt in the 2008 election, contrary to more balanced coverage in the 2000 and 2004 elections. The findings are, however, consistent with other studies, which indicated that McCain caught up with his opponent in the final stages of the campaign. The data also indicated that the segments were more balanced than the individual stories, and structural bias was overall a better explanation for observed imbalance than was partisan bias.

Network News Coverage of High-Profile Crimes during 2004: A Study of Source use and Reporter Context

A study of network news in 2004 found reporting about high-profile crimes (Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Scott Peterson, and Martha Stewart) differed from reporting in other significant stories. Morning network news carried the bulk (84%) of high-profile crime stories that were broadcast on network news. The morning high-profile crime stories had more transparent sources compared to other significant stories and were more likely to have only one viewpoint and contain anonymous sources. These results suggest that TV sensationalism should be defined and studied for reporting standards, and not just for topic and treatment.