AEJMC Newspaper & Online News Division The academic-professional "chasm"
SkyeDent at aol.com
SkyeDent at aol.com
Mon Jun 25 21:46:41 CDT 2012
Did anyone watch The Newsroom. I don't know why so many in journalism are
complaining about it. I just watched it. It could have the same effect
that All The President's Men had in terms of restoring idealism and the
belief that journalism is necessary to change this world for the better. That's
what students want to hear and do.
Yes, there's too much exposition, but it was all said quickly and at least
now we know. So, Mr. Sorkin doesn't have to repeat it. This show could
be the best thing for journalism since Mary Tyler Moore.
"You got spunk. I hate spunk."
In a message dated 6/25/2012 10:29:17 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
BentleyCl at missouri.edu writes:
Looks like I better get Research for the Newsroom back online this fall.
However, I have to admit that very little of the research that I passed
along to the professionals came from academics. Most was from the research
firms and marketers who vastly outnumber — and out produce — journalism
academics. I get at least a dozen research reports each day via various email
lists. Most are off target, but many have nuggets that can impact the
news business. I just interpret the hype.
Academic research is much harder to work with. It is usually very, very
late in the game. It focuses on affirming or disproving theories that have
scholastic value but have little effect on the daily news cycle. Also, the
kernel of interest to newsroom professors is hidden somewhere between the
cold results section and the CYA conclusions section. How often do you see
a paper that suggests how news professionals might use the new knowledge?
Right now the best research journal for the newspaper sector is not NRJ,
but Ideas from the International Newspaper Marketing Association. That's
not bad, just a reflection of our differing perspectives. We seek truths and
concepts, however esoteric they may seem. They seek readers, advertisers
and operational success, however callous that seems.
Keep in mind that each of us closes that academic-professional challenge
when we deliver to the world a young journalist with the skills, theoretical
grounding and ethical base to succeed against any odds. Even the most
jaded editor appreciates that.
Clyde
--
Clyde H. Bentley, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Print & Digital News
Missouri School of Journalism
3 Neff Hall
Columbia, MO 65211-1200
(o) 573 884 9688 (m) 573 999 1580
BentleyCl at missouri.edu
http://web.missouri.edu/~bentleycl
From: <Warhover>, Tom Warhover
<warhovert at missouri.edu<mailto:warhovert at missouri.edu>>
Date: Monday, June 25, 2012 12:57 PM
To: Jasmine McNealy <jemcneal at syr.edu<mailto:jemcneal at syr.edu>>,
"news-list at aejmc.net<mailto:news-list at aejmc.net>"
<news-list at aejmc.net<mailto:news-list at aejmc.net>>
Cc: Clyde Bentley <bentleycl at missouri.edu<mailto:bentleycl at missouri.edu>>
Subject: Re: AEJMC Newspaper & Online News Division The
academic-professional "chasm"
By way of best practices examples: My colleague Clyde Bentley produced a
push email (reprinted on the Reynolds Journalism Institute site) something
called "research for the newsroom." It was an aggregation of interesting
research, written in a chatty, accessible way, with links for those who wanted
to dive deep. It ran monthly (roughly) with three or four items usually
for a five-minute read total.
I don't recall, but I think it had a small but loyal following. Clyde
discontinued it only because he had to move on to other projects.
An example is below.
Hope this is helpful.
Tom
---
Tom Warhover
Executive editor for innovation
Columbia Missourian
Associate professor and print and digital news faculty chair
Missouri School of Journalism
573-882-5734
warhovert at missouri.edu<mailto:warhovert at missouri.edu>
Published Jan. 29, 2009
January has been a month of mixed messages for the newspaper industry.
Much of it has been depressing: the Tribune Co. filed bankruptcy, the
Baltimore Examiner announced it will close, both Seattle papers are on the skids
and media watchers said the mighty New York Times could crumble by March. On
the other hand, a number of indicators have surfaced showing that the
newspaper format itself may not be the problem. So get your blues elsewhere
while we dig up some good news.
You Betcha – Scandinavian newspapers seem to have come up with a 21st
century strategy for success. Papers in Sweden and Norway often boast 80%
reader penetration and great profits. To find out why, 14 U.S. suburban
newspaper publishers made the trek to the source. They
found<http://www.suburban-news.org/News/ArticleDetail.aspx?ID=100278>:
- Scandinavian papers have moved beyond convergence to a “media house”
concept that seamlessly interweaves delivery media. The credo is “one
strategy but many different projects.” The goal is to “publish independent of
the user’s choice of media.”
- They put journalists into frequently-changing project groups to both
spur creativity and assure productivity.
*
They developed “layout-driven editing” that uses templates and technology
to almost eliminate the copy desk. But rather than cutting staff, they
put the editors in the field as additional reporters. The system allows
reporters to file stories directly to the page and write their own headlines.
And those templates are stunning – the papers focus heavily on attractive
design.
* The Scandinavian newspapers vastly increased the number of
on-the-scene video reports on their Web sites by arming print reporters with super
cell phones. The Nokia N-95 phones can capture good video and transmit it
instantly to the newsroom via the cell system. Video is monetized with
9-second pre-roll ads.
- They form unlikely partnerships among competitors to exchange content.
- They dived headlong into the mobile journalism world, developing new
ways to deliver news via cell phone. And they are obsessed with experimenting
with online journalism.
- Perhaps most important, they have eliminated complacency. The
Scandinavian media houses simply do not wait for change. One daily had no need for
a free edition, but started a free monthly as a placeholder. If free
competition appears, the paper has everything in place to immediately convert
the monthly into a free daily or weekly to match the threat.
No Franchise – While newspapers may or may not have a future, it is
increasingly clear they no longer have a stranglehold on information. The third
annual U.S. Media Myths & Realities
Survey<http://www.ketchum.com/media_myths_and_realities_2008_survey_news_release> shows that the lines between
media channels are getting more blurred by the moment.
“The media” is an amorphous construct of Web, print, social network and
other channels that many people and publishers meld into one tool. That
means that content once “owned” by a specific medium is now found on nearly
all platforms.
The key medium, in fact, may be a redefined word of mouth – the advice of
family and friends in person, on the Internet or by phone. Almost half of
the U.S. respondents said they rely on this advice and that for critical
decisions about products and services, consumers turn to family and friends
first.
Be My Friend – That cyber-interpersonal trend is growing rapidly. The Pew
Internet and American
Life<http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/272/report_display.asp> project reported that the number of adult U.S. Internet users who
have a profile on a social network grew from 8% in 2005 to 35% in late
2008.
The proportion of teens on social networks is very high, but the sheer
volume of adult Internet users means the bulk of MySpace/Facebook/LinkedIn
users are well past puberty. Although the 18-24 year-old set has a startling
75% participation in social networking, 57% of 25-34-year-olds and 30% of
35-44-year-olds have profiles.
MySpace still rules with 50% of America’s adult social network users to
Facebook’s 22%. Business-oriented LinkedIn is a distant third with 6%. By
far the biggest use of social networks by adults is to simply keep up with
people users already know.
The social networking trend poses an interesting challenge to media
organizations. While they are both easy to access and inexpensive for news
outlets to use, our initial research here at the University of Missouri
indicates users don’t really take to “legitimate” news posted on Facebook. We
found that even journalism students gave notes from their friends more
credence than news posts.
From: Jasmine McNealy <jemcneal at syr.edu<mailto:jemcneal at syr.edu>>
Date: Monday, June 25, 2012 11:15 AM
To: "news-list at aejmc.net<mailto:news-list at aejmc.net>"
<news-list at aejmc.net<mailto:news-list at aejmc.net>>
Subject: Re: AEJMC Newspaper & Online News Division The
academic-professional "chasm"
With all these great ideas, would it not be worth it for either AEJ or the
division to create a “Best Practices” for promoting and publishing your
relevant research wiki or page?
On 6/25/12 11:46 AM, "Deborah Gump" <gumpdl at gmail.com> wrote:
Carrie, Robert and Betsy are all absolutely correct and offer excellent
suggestions for individual researchers. Their suggestions also could be
helpful for AEJMC as an organization, which is another reason I asked my
original question:
How is AEJMC tracking its research outreach efforts?
On Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 9:38 AM, Carrie Brown <carrielisabrown at gmail.com>
wrote:
Personally, I think this is a relatively simple one. I think we have an
unprecedented array of tools at our disposal to connect with professionals,
such as blogs and social media. I think it's simply about being willing to
take some time to do it, and also, to not just spout off but also be willing
to meaningfully engage with people from the profession, and listen as well
as lecture, especially given that the industry has changed a lot since we
worked in it, even for those of us that are relatively not long removed.
I also, ahem, think it would be helpful if more senior folks recognized
these efforts as at least one valuable aspect of the tenure and promotion
process.
First, you can blog your results in a more accessible way like I did here:
http://changingnewsroom.wordpress.com/2012/06/05/twitter-offers-news-orgs-opportunity-to-reach-diverse-underserved-communities/
For more exposure, offer to share your results on a post for Nieman Lab or
Poynter like this:
http://www.niemanlab.org/2011/04/chasing-pageviews-with-values-how-the-christian-science-monitor-has-adjusted-to-a-web-first-seod-w
orld/
If you aren't already using Twitter, it is a great way to connect with and
share research with professionals. If you still are under the impression
that Twitter where you talk about what you had for lunch, you would be wrong
- I've had great conversations with members of major national and local
news organizations as well as other academics there.
My brilliant friend Doreen Marchionni at Pacific Lutheran also blogs and
presents her research to a more diverse group at places like SXSW with
lovely Powerpoints like this http://sasquatchmedia.com/files/SXSWConverse.html
On Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 8:41 AM, Everbach, Tracy <everbach at unt.edu> wrote:
I agree with what most of you are saying about our research being
inaccessible to professionals. In fact, sometimes when I tell professionals about
the work I have done (on race and gender) they will say, "That sounds
interesting. Where can I read that?" It is somewhat embarrassing to have to tell
them, "It's in a research journal that you can only access if you can get
into an academic library database or if you subscribe to the academic
journal." So, what's the solution? I know Newspaper Research Journal was supposed
to be for professionals and for academics, but no professionals I know
have ever heard of it, much less read articles in it. So, how do we make our
research accessible? I am sure this has been asked many times, but it seems
like a group of intelligent journalism profs could come up with an answer.
Tracy
Tracy Everbach, Ph.D.
Associate professor
214-995-8464 <tel:214-995-8464> -cell
Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism
University of North Texas
1155 Union Circle #311460
Denton, TX 76203-5017
________________________________________
From: news-list-bounces at aejmc.net [news-list-bounces at aejmc.net] on behalf
of JOHN B ZIBLUK [JZIBLUK at astate.edu]
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2012 7:53 AM
To: SkyeDent at aol.com; john.hartman at dacor.net; dsclaussen at hotmail.com;
ted.pease at usu.edu; news-list at aejmc.net
Subject: Re: AEJMC Newspaper & Online News Division The
academic-professional "chasm"
Colleagues,
This gap has been one of the elephants i the room since I began my
academic career 20 years ago, where I worked with our colleague Jack Hartman as he
lived in Bowling Green, Ohio, where I was in grad school.
How many times have you gone to an academic presentation and rolled your
eyes as some nervous grad student presented an incomprehensible set of
Powerpoints using four-way ANOVAe and linear regressions describing something
totally arcane and obscure, or a qualitative critical analysis on the social
construction of the meaning depictions of codpeices in Edwardian
proto-subversive film culture circa 1907?
we support our colleagues on principle and roll our eyes under our breath,
if I may mix metaphors.
I have had MANY conversations over the years about the over-emphasis on
researchResearchRESEARCH!!!!!!, particularly theoretical research rather than
lowly and pedestrian applied and accessible research to which many of us
former-and-current journalists are attracted . But the academic culture,
particularly at research-intensive schools, is all about scholarship. And
while there is CERTAINLY a place for that even in our disciplines, it's not
everything.
Since communication/journalism programs are often viewed as professional
programs within universities and within departments, we sometimes have to
justify our scholarship as we compete for resources with STEM areas, social
sciences and the humanities. We need to show that we're good and valuable
scholars, too. But good, professional work is becoming more important all the
time within academe and beyond it.
At a time when journalism is undergoing radical change and high schools
don;t teach civics any more, I think we have an opportunity, perhaps an
obligation, to help our students, our colleagues in the profession , and our
audiences, understand what's happening and the implications of what's
happening. What's at stake, I think, is free speech in America. And we can have a
major role in strengthening the profession and the understanding and
practice of free speech through serious research and serious application of that
research and ongoing serious journalism that we can produce ourselves.
But too often we stick our noses in the proverbial sand and crank out
jargon-laden piffle that we can reasonably expect to be published somewhere in
order to make tenure.
There are good programs who have a good balance, some at larger schools,
and many are at smaller schools. But many, probably most, are in what the
Chronicle of Higher Education (for whom I freelance sometimes) calls "the
mushy middle." That's where I have spent most of my career: trying to balance
a research agenda, get tenure (which I did) and then maybe show up for
class now and then. The reality is that teaching suffers because it's what you
can cut back on, practically speaking, with no penalty.
If we don't make changes, or find ways to defend ourselves and resist
changes, outside forces may force us to make substantive changes in what we do
and how. I think the general emphasis on assessment is just the start. For
good or ill, the Ceppos memo signals that a discussion that we have been
having for years in small programs, of which I am a former head, is coming
to the bigger schools.
I think the news division of AEJMC is the core of the group. It's the
biggest division and it can be the leader in re-focusing what we do. I would be
happy be part something proactive as we face issues rather than engage
in continual hand-wringing over it.
jack
John B. (Jack) Zibluk, Ph.D.
Professor
Arkansas State University
Department of Journalism
P.O. Box 1930
State University, AR 72467
(H) 870-931-1284 <tel:870-931-1284>
(W) 870-972-3255 <tel:870-972-3255>
(cell) 870-219-3328 <tel:870-219-3328>
________________________________________
From: news-list-bounces at aejmc.net [news-list-bounces at aejmc.net] On Behalf
Of SkyeDent at aol.com [SkyeDent at aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, June 24, 2012 6:16 PM
To: john.hartman at dacor.net; dsclaussen at hotmail.com; ted.pease at usu.edu;
news-list at aejmc.net
Subject: Re: AEJMC Newspaper & Online News Division The
academic-professional "chasm"
Hello,
I was a pure journalist for almost a decade. Then I worked in
entertainment as a TV writer. Then, in 05, I went back to school to obtain my MFA so
that I could teach journalism and screenwriting on the higher education
level.
During both my professional career and my academic career, no one from
AEJMC ever reached out to me. Some of the tenured mass comm professors I met
even belittled me because I had worked professionally in the field of
journalism. I sought out AEJMC on my own.
I'm not sure you should berate professional journalists for not reading
academic publications unless it can be proven that you've reached out to all
of us. I've been to BEA conferences, NATPE conferences, National
Association of Black Journalists conferences. Not a word from AEJMC.
In addition, just because we are talking about the same subject does not
mean that we are talking the same language. Academicians write in a style
that is so unlike the style of professional journalists. I mean, you would
not go to Spain and berate them because they did not speak English.
For example, AEJMC splits professors up into a myriad of categories. In
journalism, we're just all journalists. If you cover politics, you can
still cover crime. And you can go from being a White House correspondent to a
public relations expert with the same skills.
One can dish professional journalists as much as one wants. But, in the
short time in which new media, piracy, and the internet have caused the
death knell of many fine journalism institutions, the cry by students for
journalism education is dwindling also.
We can stand together or we can fall together.
Skye
In a message dated 6/24/2012 7:00:02 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
john.hartman at dacor.net writes:
If it is mission-sensitive, relevant and accessible, journalists and
journalism professors will read it. Ted and Dane's thoughts were both
mission-sensitive and relevant and should be widely read. Most of what journalism
professors write about the profession of journalism is neither
mission-sensitive nor relevant. That has been a constant for the three-plus decades I have
been paying attention. Gerald Stone created Newspaper Research Journal to
provide practical research, but most of his initiative has been lost over
the years. I say keep trying to bridge the gap, but in today's environment
where the once mighty Newhouse organization is going out of the daily
newspaper business and into the tri-weekly advertising distribution business, I
would not hold out much hope of a breakthrough. Nonethess, I and we should
keep trying.
-- John K. Hartman, professor of journalism, Central Michigan University
----- Original Message -----
From: Dr. Dane S. Claussen<mailto:dsclaussen at hotmail.com>
To: Edward C. Pease<mailto:ted.pease at usu.edu> ;
news-list at aejmc.net<mailto:news-list at aejmc.net>
Sent: Saturday, June 23, 2012 7:10 PM
Subject: Re: AEJMC Newspaper & Online News Division The
academic-professional "chasm"
Plenty to respond to in Ceppos's essay, both pro and con, but for the
moment I'll say only that readership of J&MC scholarly journals is a two-way
street. Journals could publish more practical research and be more readable
for people who don't have Ph.D.s, but professional journalists aren't
exactly clamoring for professional development, whatever they might claim in
surveys. Only 10% of U.S. journalists bother to belong to SPJ; fewer than
that read AJR or CJR; only 10-15% of U.S. journalists read the paper or
electronic version of The New York Times; obviously a very low percentage read
books of journalism criticism/recommendations by people such as Fuller,
Fallows, Kovach/Rosenstiel, Rosen, etc.; most beat reporters seem only
semi-serious, not really serious, about developing expertise on their beat (with
sports being the exception that proves the rule, and the rule is quite painful
when to comes to, say, business/economics reporting). Good luck in getting
U.S. journalists to read Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly
regardless of how fine the writing is, how practical the research is, or how low
the subscription price is.
As for JMC academics not reading scholarly research, there certainly is a
high percentage of them who don't want to and/or don't need to do research
(they already have tenure, or they teach at an institution where research
is not necessary to get tenure, or they are on a non-research tenure track,
or not on tenure track). I've seen professors retire from research
universities, and how that process physically goes can tell you a lot, especially a
visible layer of dust on journals sitting in an open box in the hallway.
Dane S. Claussen, Ph.D., M.B.A.
Editor (3/2006-9/2012), Journalism & Mass Communication Educator,
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC);
and
Head (2011-12), Media Management & Economics Division, AEJMC
________________________________
From: ted.pease at usu.edu
To: News-list at aejmc.net
Date: Sat, 23 Jun 2012 14:32:54 +0000
Subject: AEJMC Newspaper & Online News Division The academic-professional
"chasm"
All: Jerry Ceppos (re)opened this can of worms.
Opinion: The same old song about journalism’s academic-professional
disconnect<http://hardnewscafe.usu.edu/?p=8031>
June 21st, 2012 Posted in Opinion<http://hardnewscafe.usu.edu/?cat=1> |
Edit<https://hardnewscafe.usu.edu/wp-admin/post.php?post=8031&action=edit> |
By Ted Pease<mailto:ted.pease at usu.edu>
Jerry Ceppos, the new dean of the Manship School of Mass Communication at
LSU and a former newspaper editor, writes somewhat grimly this week about “
How Journalism Professionals and Educators Can Close the
Chasm<http://uiswcmsweb.prod.lsu.edu/manship/MassComm/AbouttheSchool/ReportsandPublications/it
em49390.html>.”
His column took me back to my first journalism educators
(AEJMC<http://www.aejmc.org/>) convention—in 1984 at the University of Florida. As a
brand-new assistant professor, newly migrated from the newsroom, that first
encounter with journalism/mass communication education was an epiphany. I
remember distinctly hearing a research panel presentation that included Guido
Stempel and Max McCombs, two of the biggest names in journalism research. I
had never heard of them. “Wow!” I thought. “This is great stuff. I wonder if
anyone in the newsroom knows about this.”
More at http://hardnewscafe.usu.edu/?p=8031
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Edward C. Pease, Ph.D
Professor & Department Head
Book Review Editor, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly
Department of Journalism & Communication
Utah State University
Logan, Utah 84322-4605
435-797-3293 <tel:435-797-3293> ; 435-797-3973 <tel:435-797-3973> FAX
• JCOM Website: <http://www.usu.edu/journalism>
http://www.usu.edu/<http://www.usu.edu/journalism>journalism<http://www.usu.edu/journalism>
• Hard News Café:
http://hardnewscafe.usu.edu<http://hardnewscafe.usu.edu/>
• PeezPix: http://peezpixphotos.blogspot.com<http://tedsword.blogspot.com/>
• Today's WORD on Journalism:
http://tedsword.blogspot.com<http://tedsword.blogspot.com/>
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Words are sacred. They deserve respect. If you can get the right ones in
the right order, you can nudge the world a little." --Tom Stoppard
[cid:X.MA1.1340579793 at aol.com <mailto:cid%3AX.MA1.1340579793 at aol.com> ]
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