Impact of news blogs on mainstream journalists Sakina Hussain COM 529: Research Strategies and Methodologies

 Research question  Significance of study  Conceptual framework  Research Design  Expected Finding AGENDA

Research Question Is the growing popularity of news blogs affecting mainstream journalists in America?  Specific questions:  How are journalists reacting to the blogging phenomena?  Has anything changed in the way journalist write/cover the news?  Do blogs have any advantages over newspapers in terms of content and technology?

SIGNIFICANCE & PURPOSE  “Blogger vs. Journalist” debate raging in the media world. Is this debate grounded in reality?  Is there are any possible common grounds for the two seemingly antithetical ideas to coexist?  Assess what this means for the changing media landscape

OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS Blogs: Shortened version of Web logs. It has many constructs: it can represent an action (to blog), an end product (a blog), or a technology (software that enables blogging). There is no clear distinction between the technology and the product. This paper will use the definition of blog as the end product. Newspapers: A newspaper (an end product) is printed (an action) on newsprint (a technology). This paper will only examine the effects of blogs on traditional, mainstream dailies in America. Journalists: Professionals, few of whom have gone to journalism school to earn a formal degree, and a few who have been taught by experienced veterans on the job. They all work or have worked for mainstream newsroom under the sharp eye of city editors and faced the demands of deadlines. Practice virtues of restraints, of confirmation, accuracy, balance and fairness. (Ted Gup, Media Studies Journal, Vol 13, 1999). Impact: This variable will measure the factors that have contributed to the popularity of blogs and the effects of blogs on mainstream media. Content: The message contained in blogs. For this paper, we look only at news blogs.

Impact on journalists DEPENDENT VARIABLE Relationship between variables INDEPENDENT VARIABLE Popularity of blogs Content of blogs

EXPLODING BLOGOSPHERE According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project 2005 survey, 25 percent of the 120 million American adults using the internet said they read blogs and nine percent have created blogs. Another estimate by (Wyman, 2005) suggests that there may be anywhere from 8 million to 24 million blogs on the World Wide Web. This number has grown dramatically from 1998 when there were only a handful of blogs.

Charting blog use & growth

RESEARCH DESIGN: Ideal plan  “Unit of analysis: Journalists  Mode of observation: Interview survey  Talk to 10 journalists from very state in the nation.  Contact Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) for / phone numbers. OR look up listing of every paper on yahoo.com.  Select three journalists from city/metro editions with average daily circulation of 55,000 and above, three from mid-sized local newspapers with average daily circulation of 35,000-55,000 and three from the smaller newspapers with average daily circulation less than 35,000. Select one journalist from alternative weeklies.  Get 10 journalists from every state, hopefully with a cross-section of views, gender and age-group.

RESEARCH DESIGN: Practical plan  “Unit of analysis: Journalists  Mode of observation: Interview survey  Scale down. Targeting 20 journalists in Washington State only. The simple logic: It is practical, cost-effective.  Locate 20 journalists using industry contact. Seattle Times, Seattle Post Intelligencer, King County Journal, The Spokesman Review and The Stranger (an alternative weekly). 4 journalists from each paper. Total: 20.  Drawback: Findings may be narrow, less accurate. Washingtonians have a higher exposure to technical development.  Advantage: I will be able to judge effectiveness. Can serve as a pre-test for the ideal plan.

SAMPLING PROCEDURE  Age range of  Male and female journalists from Washington State:  Purposive sampling. Babbie describes this sampling as “selecting a sample on the basis of knowledge of a population, its elements, and the purpose of study.”  Target response: percent  Population sample: 20

Have you read a news blog in the past 12 months?

Have you written a blog in the past 12 months?

Have you altered you style of writing?

Future studies What is a viable business model for blogs? Has the quality of information improved due to rise of new media?

17 Bibliography 1. Andrews, Paul. "Is blogging journalism" Nieman Reports, Cambridge. 57. no.3 (2003) 2. Babbie, Earl. “The Basic of Social Research.” California. Wadsworth Group, Gillmor, Dan. “We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People” California: O’Reilly Media Inc., Gill, Kathy. E. “How we can measure the influence of the blogosphere?,” Paper presented at WWW 2004 New York.(2004): Huffington, Arianna. "Come on in, the blogging's wonderful." Sunday Times (London), May 15, p. 1. This article talks about the wonderful world of blogging and how the process has changed the way we look at journalism. It emphasizes the ease of communication and frequent follow-ups/updates as critical to creating a sense of community and being engaged in public life. 6. Madden, Andrew. “The Business of Blogging.” Technology Review. Cambridge.108, no. 8;( 2005) Roth, Marci. “How journalists see the blogosphere.” Annenberg School of Communication, University of Pennsylvania, (2004). 8. Smith, Steven. "A Newsroom’s Fortress Walls Collapse " Nieman Reports. Cambridge. 59 no. 2, (2005): Wyman, Bob. “Over 8 Million Blogs Served,” As I May think…18 January, "Blogging more evolution than revolution." The Bangkok Post, June 1, p.1

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