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Report: New Perspectives on News

Introduction

Download the report as a pdf

J-Lab’s New Media Women Entrepreneurs Initiative undertook this study to understand how women are interacting with news, participating in the news, creating the news and consuming the news. Funded by the McCormick Foundation, the study explored perspectives and behavior with regard to both new and traditional media.  Using focus groups and in-depth interviews among women news consumers and news creators, the research lends important insights into the impact the changing media landscape is having on how journalism is being practiced and how it is being consumed.

The study included four focus groups, three among women news consumers and one among women news creators (primarily traditional news creators, but with some who are creating in new media) and 11 in-depth interviews among new-media news creators who are founders and editors of online news sites serving geographic areas. The research was done between April and July of 2009.

View a SlideShare presentation by one of the researchers

Executive Summary: Key Themes

Six themes emerged in our study:


Theme 1. Community journalism is evolving as an exercise in participation, not merely as observation.


Theme 2. A shift in objectivity, broader definitions of news and the inclusion of different voices characterize the new forms of community journalism.


Theme 3.

Building community rather than simply covering

community is the impetus for launching community news sites.


Theme 4.  Community news sites rise to fill gaps in news coverage.


Theme 5. New media entrepreneurs are motivated by a frustration with old media’s pace of innovation and change.


Theme 6.  Both news creators and consumers express excitement and regret over changes confronting old media.

These themes show a transition not just in the way that news is delivered but also in the way that news is defined and produced and in how it is used in our society.  The word “democracy” was not cited by the participants as a primary role for news, perhaps because it is taken for granted.  But the need to be informed and connected was paramount.  Women news creators are seeing new ways to fill this need and women news consumers are welcoming the changes.

 

 

The Findings


Theme 1. Community journalism is evolving as an exercise in participation not merely as observation.  Participation can include commenting and discussion, unraveling news tips, nudging the community to address needs or show up at events, exchanging banter and sharing observations.

Online news creators are going beyond just reporting about a community. They felt that journalists should play an active part, encouraging the community to participate, but also participating themselves.  And while most of them saw themselves as entrepreneurs and had great passion and ownership for what they were doing, they felt that their sites belonged to the community, the sites were the community.  Participation does not simply refer to consumers contributing to the process.  To make stories more meaningful, local online journalists are taking part in the communities that they cover.  These new media creators felt that journalists should be active participants in their communities to bring greater meaning to their sites. Consumers also spoke of the importance of news in their lives.  Many reported being a news source for others in their professional and personal networks.  News was something that connected them to other people.


Theme 2. A shift in objectivity, broader definitions of news and the inclusion of different voices characterize the new forms of community journalism. New media creators use words like frankness, honesty and transparency.  They seek out non-traditional voices and allow non-traditional content.

By focusing on community, new media creators see a different approach to their coverage of news, with a broader definition of news.  They felt that news in a traditional sense, with its urgency, does not provide context for consumers.  They felt more explanation, linking to other stories, to other sites, to government documents, and to other people all provide information that can make the news more meaningful to consumers.  A number of the new media creators used local government meetings as examples of the distinction between their coverage and traditional news media’s coverage.  A traditional news story would cover the meeting and indicate who was there and what was discussed.  New media creators would also provide the background, past voting histories, minutes of previous meetings, news coverage of those meetings and more perspectives from the community.  They would also present the agenda prior to the meeting and encourage people to attend.  These new media creators spoke of providing depth and context to the news that they present. 

Being a part of the community rather than detached from it also led to more thorough reporting in the opinion of some of the new media creators.  They believed they had better access to sources and were better versed in the issues.  These creators felt that detached reporting and formulaic story writing led to the same sources who would give an expected response rather than any insight into the situation. 

For consumers, the distinction between “news” and “information” was blurred. While there was some agreement that “news” was more urgent or timely than “information,” it was difficult for many to articulate a difference.  Consumers seek out news and information that is of interest to them and that can help them make decisions in their lives.  They do not place any greater value on news or information - it’s the relevance to them that is important.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

New media creators are experimenting with and redefining “objectivity.”


Seeing themselves as the community has an impact on the way that new media creators present the news.  All the news creators in this research had respect for objectivity in journalism, but several new media creators questioned the extreme to which traditional news may have gone to maintain objectivity.  They spoke of a detached objectivity coming from observation - a “top down” approach to journalism. 

New media creators believe that they can be objective, but still be connected to their community and to the stories they report.  They saw a very strong distinction between news and opinion and took great strides to ensure that they, their contributors and their readers understood the difference, but they did not see their “participatory perspective,” a more informed, connected perspective, as encroaching on objectivity.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

News consumers and new media creators see less value in framing stories around conflict.  To traditional news creators, conflict remains an important definition of “news.”

Some traditional news creators felt that conflict was an important part of news.  Conflict gave news its urgency and importance, but also was a way of suggesting that both sides were covered.  Consumers did not recognize conflict in news but rather described it as drama.  They felt that often journalists heighten the drama in their stories.  New media creators were less likely to share this viewpoint.  They felt that with their depth of coverage and involvement in the community, the conflict was not necessary. The consumer interest came from the involvement rather than being manufactured by the news creator. 


Theme 3.

Building community rather than simply covering

community is the impetus for launching community news sites.  Creating community news sites involves sharing news from the inside-out rather than the outside-in.


Community building is the focus for most new media news sites.  Creating community was an overriding theme among new media creators.  Virtually all the women who were editing their news sites used “community” in describing what they did. 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

News consumers, on the other hand, use news to meet a basic need for information and to connect with their personal communities.

For news consumers the purpose of news is to create a sense of community and to satisfy a basic human need to be informed.  When asked directly about the purpose of journalism and news in our society, the responses were personal in nature.  News serves a very personal need to be informed, connect with others, understand and engage with the world and even to be entertained.  News creators gave similar responses to consumers, but they were more likely to believe that the news media serve as watchdogs, that they keep our institutions honest, and that they help to generate an informed public.  Interestingly, “democracy” was not cited as a role for the news, perhaps because it is taken for granted.  Many of the concepts were indeed related to democracy, but the word itself was rarely mentioned and not at all by consumers.


Theme 4.  Community news sites fill gaps in news coverage. New media creators launch news ventures to fill a need that they notice.


The potential for new media is to fill gaps or needs that traditional media have not met.  Both consumers and creators saw new media as being able to provide news that has not been available through traditional media in the past or that traditional media has moved away from more recently because of the changes in the industry. These gaps were in three areas.  The largest and most apparent was a geographic-based gap. Consumers indicated that they wanted local news and news that affected them in their neighborhoods. Creators felt that many local papers and broadcast media have overlooked some smaller communities, especially as resources are reduced. This gap is what drives the creation of hyperlocal news sites. 

Another gap was audience based.  Certain audiences are not as well served by media as others.  They may be audiences that have specific shared needs (e.g. military families) or audiences whose perspective has not been a part of traditional media.  For example, two new media creators pointed out that financial news is presented from the perspective of the business community and not from the perspective of labor. 

A third gap was in interests.  Aside from interest in local communities, new media allows news consumers to access more information about their areas of interest.  Many of the consumers in this study indicated that with new forms of online media they were able to research topics of interest to them in much more depth than they would be able to through traditional media.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Consumers also see gaps in coverage, and they are learning how to fill them.


New media fill other gaps as well.  Consumers are interested in many different types of news and information.  While they particularly want news that affects them - local, usable news about their neighborhood - they also want to know more about the world around them.  They reported being interested in news on health, finance, family, entertainment and sports.  They wanted the ability to find the information that was of interest to them.  More sources gave them the opportunity to find the specific information they cared about. 

More available sources provide more relevant information, but also afford different perspectives.  Consumers wanted those different perspectives.  The BBC was mentioned in every focus group as a source that provided a different way of looking at the day’s events.  Looking at different sources also serves as a way to judge bias and credibility for news consumers. 


Theme 5. New media entrepreneurs are motivated by a frustration with old media’s pace of innovation and change. 


While all the news creators in this research had a similar view of journalism, the difference between the traditional and the new media creators was their willingness to see new technology as an opportunity rather than a threat.  New media creators are more likely to embrace the changes facing journalism and not see them as a threat.  They do not see new media as a new field but an evolution of a field that they have great passion and respect for. 

This slowness in adapting to new technology and new consumer habits was a frustration to new media creators but also a motivating force.  A number of creators indicated that traditional newsrooms did not (and still do not) realize the profound changes that are occurring in the industry.  The new media creators in particular felt that traditional media’s reaction to the changes was to attack the new media rather than embrace it.  The passion and respect for journalism that was seen among all creators (and even consumers) may make some feel threatened by any change to the industry.  But the new media creators are more likely to see the change as an evolution that can be accepted without threatening the basic standards of the profession.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

New media creators are taken aback by old-media’s reaction to their news sites.

Many of the new media creators indicated that traditional media in their areas did not welcome them.  Some reported very negative reactions to their news sites, some very petty behavior, but also some attacks on their business.  These new media sites were seen as competitors in a shrinking marketplace.  The new media creators, however, did not see themselves as competing with the traditional media and several were willing to partner or collaborate with the local media. 


Theme 6.  Both news creators and consumers express excitement and regret over changes confronting old media.

Consumers are well aware of changes taking place in the way that they get news.  While there is some bewilderment as to where it will all lead, most are adapting to it and many are welcoming the changes. 


Consumers and creators see potential benefits in new media including:

But there was also some concern over the changes in the industry and some things that were seen as benefits also had a downside:

This last point was particularly a concern among many news creators, both traditional and new media creators.  They fear that financial constraints on the industry will force news operations to cut back on investigative reporting.  Many of the new media creators interviewed in this research felt that operations such as theirs do not have the capability to do investigative reporting even on a local level and that this type of reporting on a national level is critical in fulfilling the “watchdog” purpose of journalism.

 

 

Conclusion

The changes facing the news industry are not just in the delivery of news, but in the fundamental way that people use and perceive news.  The news itself is changing - how it is defined, how it is presented, who presents it and how it is used.  The objectives, and the promise, of news are also changing - news no longer serves to inform, it serves to involve and create connections for individuals.  To connect them to other individuals and to their communities and to the world.  For the creators of news it is no longer enough just to observe, but to participate and connect with their communities. 

 

 

Methodology

This study was conducted using a qualitative research methodology.  The qualitative approach is better suited to in-depth exploration of perceptions and attitudes. Four focus group discussions and 11 in-depth interviews were conducted as follows:

Chicago Focus Groups Philadelphia Focus Groups In-Depth Interviews
News Consumers April 16,2009
1 group
no segmentation by age
 June 15, 2009
2 groups
1 among ages 18-35,
1 among 40+		 July 1-16, 2009
- -
News Creators 1 group of traditional
and
new media creators
- -
 11 interviews
among
new media creators




All respondents were adult women.  Respondents in the news consumers groups were screened to ensure that they were indeed news consumers (i.e. that they used news media on some level) and for their demographics to ensure a mix in the group.  The news creators in the Chicago focus group were recruited from a list provided by J-Lab of women who were known to be creators of news in either traditional or new media.  All of the women in the news creator group were trained journalists.  The respondents for the in-depth interviews were also identified by J-Lab and included women who have started or were editing new media news sites.  These women were in cities across the country.  The interviews were conducted by telephone.

Each focus group included 10-12 respondents and lasted approximately two hours.  All groups were both audio and video recorded.  All interviews (the focus groups and in-depth interviews) were conducted by a single researcher to ensure consistency.  The topics covered across all the audiences were the same.  The information elicited from these three audiences - consumers, traditional news creators and new media creators - provide an opportunity to compare attitudes and to identify trends. 

Statement of Limitations: It should be noted that focus groups are a qualitative research technique used to obtain in-depth analysis of attitudes and opinions on a particular subject.  Although the responses given by participants in the groups may be considered actual honest opinions, due to sampling methods used, the limited number of respondents, and the unstructured interviewing technique, this information may not necessarily be representative of all individuals in the target audience.  The findings should be viewed primarily as general learning, offering working hypotheses to be validated with quantitative research techniques.


The Researchers


Maria Ivancin
Assistant Professor, School of Communication, American University

    Maria Ivancin teaches courses in strategic communication, research and management. She is an expert in qualitative research and has conducted focus group studies for corporations, non-profits and government agencies on a variety of communication-related topics.  Ivancin brings many years of professional experience to her academic work. She was executive vice president and chief operating officer of an advertising and public relations firm and also worked for Procter & Gamble, where she was responsible for advertising research as well as consumer research for many P&G brands. Most recently, Ivancin has consulted with clients through her own firm. She has worked on many types of communication challenges and through her research has provided insight and new perspective to these situations.

 

Jan Schaffer
Executive Director, J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism
A center of American University’s School of Communication

    Jan Schaffer has led pioneering initiatives in civic journalism, interactive and participatory journalism, innovations in journalism and citizen media ventures. J-Lab rewards innovations in journalism through the Knight-Batten Awards. It funds citizen media start-ups through its New Voices project and the McCormick New Media Women Entrepreneur initiative. It produces Web tutorials at J-Learning.org and it tracks community news startups and foundation funding of journalism through its Knight Citizen News Network (www.kcnn.org). She previously directed the Pew Center for Civic Journalism, a $14 million initiative that funded more than 120 pilot news projects. She is a former Business Editor and a Pulitzer Prize winner for The Philadelphia Inquirer, where she helped write a series that won freedom for a man wrongly convicted of five murders. Currently, she serves as a speaker, trainer, author, consultant and Web publisher on digital storytelling models and the future of journalism.

 


(c) November, 2009 J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism,
  American University School of Communication

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See the Knight Citizen News Network at www.kcnn.org
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