Sep
15
2010
Title:
Paying the price for information: a study of participatory journalism affecting the cost of content
Question:
How is the value of information impacted when journalistic authorities allow participatory journalism from ordinary community members with no journalistic certifications? How does this citizen-produced content affect the argument of cost of content?
(Authority vs participatory journalism vs cost of content)
Purpose:
As a method of increasing interactivity between news agencies and their audiences, participatory journalism has emerged as a technique allowing ordinary citizens to play the part of journalist. However, questions have been raised concerning the value of this amateur content since it does not come from a trusted commentator. While this brings the audience into a two-way discussion with certified journalists and other interested citizens, it also places strain on the proposed idea of paying for online content. Online media is the only medium that is currently free of charge to the world at large. Newspapers, magazines, television and satellite radio all arrive to their audience at a fiscal price. News agencies across all sectors have grappled with the idea of bringing more interactivity to their online content and determine a solution for profit gain from the information they bring to society.
Understanding the value of content will affect the profitability of media outlets. Are interactivity and engaging with an audience to gain readership for your medium more important than the financial benefits of a media agency? Separate arguments and studies have been made regarding participatory journalism and cost of content. The next step needs to determine how these two factors play off each other and what is best for society.
Social Theory Engagement:
Users and Gratification Theory
Through online media, users are able to take an active role in choosing and using content. Society has abandoned the days of passive knowledge intake due to the interactive nature of the Internet. Blumler and Katz’s Users and Gratification Theory suggests that the media users take an active part in the communication process and are goal-oriented in their media use. They seek out a media source that best fulfills their needs. Uses and gratifications assume that the user has alternate choices to satisfy their need. Adding in the factor of payment to gain access to information will alter a users motivation toward their choices. Also, the user’s opinion of amateur content plays a part in their media decision.
Political Economy and Propaganda Theory
The media holds control over the information about which society learns. They decide what news should and should not be published based upon their opinion of its newsworthiness. Advanced by Herman and Chomsky, the political economy and propaganda theory proposes how propaganda and elite favoritism function in mass media. This model seeks to explain how audiences are propagandized and how consent for various economic, social and political policies are “manufactured” in the public mind. Participatory journalism is an avenue of news generation all its own that strips news agencies of this control.
Methods:
For this research, I will draw information from a variety of disciplines such as economic and social science journals, consumer behavior studies, and possibly media agency experiences or reader opinions. I will focus more on the academic research that has already been investigated. However, I find it important to add examples of first hand experiences since this is an issue currently being wrestled with in regards to both audience and media outlets.
Novelty and outcomes:
Arguments have been made about the topics of participatory journalism and the idea of paying for content as separate issues. I would like to see if there is a correlation between the two debates. I believe the value placed on amateur content affects the potential of paid online content. If a citizen views participatory journalism as an inaccurate information generator that can’t be trusted, in a sense this citizen will not pay to engage with this form of content. However, who is to say that online content merits any type of monetary price regardless of authority. I would like to bridge the gap between authority and cost.
Tags: authority, cost, participatory, research proposal, value
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Sep
10
2010
Week 3: Perspectives on Theory
Applied Mass Communication Theory: A Guide for Media Practitioners
Chapters 5-8
_____
1. The book states, “the thing that makes human beings unique is our ability to engage in symbolic communication.” What is symbolic communication and what are some early examples from human history? Do we still use some of these ancient techniques?
2. When did mass communication begin? Does the term “mass communication” only apply to the decades in which modern technologies have aided in human communication?
3. Chapter 5 lists the main characteristics of the mass communication process as: scale, direction, impersonality/anonymity, simultaneity, transience, and audience. How does new media blur the lines in regards to these six traditions?
4. What is the main difference between early theories of mass communication and today’s more modern approaches? Why did prominent figures of ancient times view messages in this way?
5. Chapter 6 lists the factors that account for perceptual processes of mass media as: biological differences, cultural differences, different social environments, different education levels, and different religious backgrounds. How can this list be condensed into one overall individual influence factor?
6. In modern times do people learn more from direct contact with each other or from mass media? Which is more influential?
7. Who is responsible for public agenda setting and who is responsible for setting the agenda of the press? Describe some factors that lead to agenda setting.
8. What is the main difference between positivist and interpretive theories. Do you agree more with the positivist philosophy or the interpretive theorists?
9. Chapter 8 states, “Critical, cultural, and interpretive traditions have been described as a single entity, and there are some common goals regarding ‘communication in the exercise of social power’.” Discuss critical theory and cultural studies and which level of analysis you believe carries the biggest punch in terms of research.
Tags: agenda setting, contact, culture, framing, influence, interpretive, perceptual, positivist, symbolic, tradition
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Sep
09
2010
Week 2: Intro to Theory
_____
1. How would a person working in the field of mass communications define theory? Chapter 1 states, “Theory is a common word, and most people have at some point in their lives learned about some theories, especially in the natural sciences.” So, how do theories apply to the realm of mass communications?
Theory and research form the basis of the communications field. Theories are attempts to explain something about the world around us by answering a question. Studying communication practices, or communication science draws heavily on observation of the parts of communicative processes that can be objectively measured. Communication theory belongs in the social sciences which seek to explain how people behave and social phenomena. Communication science can also be described as a discipline that “seeks to understand the production, processing and effects of symbol and signal systems by developing testable theories.”
2. Is there ever an end to research? Whether focusing on communication theory or the natural sciences, research of common topics have progressed for years. However, how close are we to the finish line? And is the statement to “prove a theory” accurate?
Researchis endless and we can always learn new things. As discussed in class, testing the practicality and falsifiability are two ways that research can always be extended. Until something is proven false, even in the slightest instance, it can still be considered true. Nothing is definite. If a theory starts out as practical during one time period, it doesn’t mean it will forever stay this way. Times change and people adapt to new ways of society. Therefore theories change and research continues. Social scientists believe that theories can never be proven beyond all doubt; theories can either be supported or challenged.
3. In social sciences it is difficult to establish guidelines for assigning values to measurements because of the variability of human behavior and the inability to directly observe a construct. Therefore, values must often be inferred. How do social science researchers get around the potential inaccuracies of inferred information?
This is tough. Natural science researchers have definite ways to read exact measurements such as a thermometer or measuring tape. They can count cells or species and use mathematical formulas to arrive at an answer. But the social scientist does not have comparable tools to precisely measure a characteristic such as motivation or anxiety. They also can’t put a measurement on the knowledge someone already posses, such as social awareness or computer understanding. Social science researchers must decide what measure will be used and explain why they are appropriate for the construct that is being studied. However, different people act differently in the same situation and responses to situations change over time. This makes it difficult to measure human behavior with the kind of precision social scientists are looking for.
4. Although this may seem basic, what is the most popular research technique for mass communications and why? As we conduct our own research this semester we should pinpoint the most efficient way of collecting accurate and relevant information that will benefit our final projects in the long run.
Surveys are considered the most common research technique in mass communication. It is also the most familiar method, not only in this field but for nearly any research purpose. A survey is a research technique for collecting information from people by asking them structured questions. It is important to think of the types of questions that will be asked, how it is related to the hypothesis, who the people are that will answer the questions, and how the questions will be asked. Surveys can be done either at a single point in time (cross-section) or at different times (longitudinal). Open-ended questions can be answered in any way the respondent chooses. Whereas with closed-ended questions the researcher provides responses and instructions to the respondent about selecting them.
5. In past schooling and jobs I’ve held, case studies seemed to pop up as the most common form of research a company can easily do on it’s own. However, I always questioned their worth. Chapter 3 explains the purpose of a case study to be a systematic investigation of a “sample” consisting of a single unit. Are case studies a definite understanding that can be applied to the mass populous?
A case study may be considered a version of the sampling done by quantitative researcher who are trying to investigate a sample consisting of a single unit. They also are concerned with gathering enough detail to answer questions such as why or how the event or situation came to acquire particular characteristics. A weakness of case studies is that they cannot be generalized. All that applies is the logic: “if it happened here, it can happen somewhere else.” It is not a guarantee that characteristics discussed in the case study do actually exist and apply everywhere. It is simply proof that they could happen.
6. Most mass communication programs in college emphasize the development of skills towards media production. This is also the main idea of students when learning about their career choice. Why learn theory? What is the relevance and how can it be applied to a real-life situation on the job after schooling?
Although the theory itself may sound abstract, the principles that it relates to are anchored in reality. The book defines theory in chapter 1 as: a statement that seeks to predict or explain how certain phenomena are related to each other. The theory may be an abstract idea, but the questions it helps people answer are real. In the work environment, journalists talk about the public’s need to know which can be considered setting the agenda of a story. Just because reporters do not openly talk about agenda setting to pass the time, this does not mean they are not actively (or deliberately) engaging in it.
Tags: agenda setting, case study, human behavior, response, social scientist
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Sep
04
2010
Week 2: Intro to Theory
Applied Mass Communication Theory: A Guide for Media Practitioners
Chapters 1-3, 13
_____
1. How would a person working in the field of mass communications define theory? Chapter 1 states, “Theory is a common word, and most people have at some point in their lives learned about some theories, especially in the natural sciences.” So, how do theories apply to the realm of mass communications?
2. Is there ever an end to research? Whether focusing on communication theory or the natural sciences, research of common topics have progressed for years. However, how close are we to the finish line? And is the statement to “prove a theory” accurate?
3. In social sciences it is difficult to establish guidelines for assigning values to measurements because of the variability of human behavior and the inability to directly observe a construct. Therefore, values must often be inferred. How do social science researchers get around the potential inaccuracies of inferred information?
4. Although this may seem basic, what is the most popular research technique for mass communications and why? As we conduct our own research this semester we should pinpoint the most efficient way of collecting accurate and relevant information that will benefit our final projects in the long run.
5. In past schooling and jobs I’ve held, case studies seemed to pop up as the most common form of research a company can easily do on it’s own. However, I always questioned their worth. Chapter 3 explains the purpose of a case study to be a systematic investigation of a “sample” consisting of a single unit. Are case studies a definite understanding that can be applied to the mass populous?
6. Most mass communication programs in college emphasize the development of skills towards media production. This is also the main idea of students when learning about their career choice. Why learn theory? What is the relevance and how can it be applied to a real-life situation on the job after schooling?
Tags: framing, human behavior, implications, measurement, proof, real-life, social science
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