Traditional Media Provides More Comprehensive News Than Citizen Media and Blogs, MU Researchers Find

Margaret Duffy Strategic Communication Chair Esther Thorson Strategic Communication Faculty

Links

John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Michigan State University Pew Charitable Trusts Project for Excellence in Journalism State of the Media 2009 University of North Carolina

Columbia, Mo. (April 7, 2009) -- Researchers from the Missouri School of Journalism recently completed a comprehensive comparison of citizen journalism sites (news sites and blogs) and traditional media Web sites. They found that despite ongoing reports of financial troubles and cutbacks, legacy media are more comprehensive and more technologically advanced than citizen media and bloggers.

www.pewtrusts.org

"We found that legacy sites offered almost double the percent of news (89 percent) in comparison with citizen news sites (56 percent) and three times that of blogs (27 percent)," said Margaret Duffy, faculty chair in strategic communication in the Journalism School. "The topic coverage on blogs and citizen new sites is generally narrow and the sourcing is light."

Duffy and Esther Thorson, associate dean for graduate studies at the school, along with Steve Lacy, professor at Michigan State University, and Dan Riffe, professor at the University of North Carolina, analyzed citizen news sites in 47 towns and cities across the United States. They found an average of fewer than two citizen news sites per city. Two-thirds of the sites were blogs, and the other sites contained news content.

"One of the biggest surprises we found was that mainstream media Web sites were almost as welcoming to citizen participation as citizen journalism sites, and they were far more welcoming than blogs," Thorson said. "Many industry professionals hope that citizen sites will democratize news media, but that hope has yet to be realized."

Results from the second phase of the two-part study revealed that many of the citizen sites and blogs examined in the first phase had become dormant or disappeared. While some citizen sites and bloggers are doing well, many are struggling to survive and support their efforts, Duffy said.

Other key findings from the report include:

• Blogs were less likely than citizen news sites to permit posting comments or e-mailing the site.
• The majority of mainstream sites provided rules and policies for contributing stories and photos.
• Blogs and news sites were more likely than legacy media to post links within stories to outside sources. However, citizen sites linked to legacy news sites twice as often as legacy sites linked to citizen sites. Citizen sites used legacy sites as news sources.

The study, "Tracking and Analyzing Community News Models," was funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Knight Foundation. It recently was published in the State of the Media 2009 report by the Project for Excellence in Journalism.

Related

Aug. 30, 2007: Missouri Researchers Present 47 Papers, Panel Discussions at Leading Academic Conference Missouri Journalism graduate students and professors showcased their scholarly work in 47 paper presentations and panel discussions at the 2007 meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, which took place August 8-12 in Washington, D.C. Presenting to 14 of AEJMC's academic divisions and numerous interest groups, the Missouri researchers discussed wide-ranging issues in journalism, mass communication, public relations and advertising. Seven papers from the School received top honors at the conference. [More]

April 30, 2007: 31 Missouri Journalism Faculty, Student Papers on Program at 2007 ICA Conference Missouri School of Journalism researchers will present 31 scholarly papers next month at the 2007 conference of the International Communication Association, one of the leading communication-related academic organizations. The 57th annual ICA conference will take place May 24-28 in San Francisco, Calif. [More]

July 17, 2006: Journalism Students and Faculty to Present 31 Papers at 2006 AEJMC Conference Thirty-one scholarly papers - including five receiving top recognitions - will be presented at this year's Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference by Missouri School of Journalism faculty and current and recent graduate students. Their work covers an impressive breadth of topics including advertising, public relations, newspaper journalism, international communications, media ethics and media law. Scheduled for Aug. 2-5 in San Francisco, Calif., the annual meeting is held to encourage academic, industry professionals and students to investigate field trends and issues as well as to create and expand personal networks. [More]

May 25, 2006: Missouri Journalism Faculty and Students to Present 31 Papers at 2006 ICA Conference in Germany The Missouri School of Journalism will be well represented at this year's International Communication Association (ICA) conference with 31 papers accepted, which were written or collaborated by faculty and student authors from the School and with other professors from the University of Missouri-Columbia and other universities. The 56th annual ICA convention will be held June 19-23 in Dresden, Germany. [More]

Dec. 14, 2005: MU Center Awarded $1.5 Million Renewal Grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts The Center for Religion, the Professions, and the Public at the University of Missouri-Columbia has received a $1.5-million renewal grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts. The grant will allow the Center to continue studying issues in the professions related to America's increasing religious and cultural diversity. The Center was established in 2003 with a $1.4-million Pew Trusts grant. [More]