2010 July — AEJMC Hot Topics

Public Relations Education Around the Globe

July 12, 2010 By AEJMC Leave a Comment

By Patricia Swann, Utica College | Public Relations

United States invented the modern-day profession we know as public relations. The United States has also pioneered the creation of public relations education.

Public relations educators in the United States have long rallied around Public Relations Society of America’s Commission of Public Relations Education report, “The Professional Bond,” which endorses a five-course standard. Those courses include principles of public relations, research methods, public relations writing, internship, and an additional class in campaigns or case studies. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Features Tagged With: AEJMC, International Communication, Patricia Swann, Public Relations, Utica College

Curriculum Fatigue

July 12, 2010 By AEJMC Leave a Comment

By Bill Cassidy, Northern Illinois University | Newspaper

How to best offer our students the skills and knowledge needed for success in their careers is undoubtedly important to all the divisions and interest groups of AEJMC. Given the tumultuous nature of the industry, not to mention the media landscape, most—if not all—journalism schools, departments, and programs have made changes in their curriculums.

I think the issue of curriculum change and development is particularly important to the Newspaper Division in large part because traditional newspaper writing and editing courses have been the backbone of journalism curriculums. But, in today’s environment, that simply won’t do. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Features Tagged With: AEJMC, Bill Cassidy, Curriculum, Newspaper, Northern Illinois University

HDTV and its implications for mass communications

July 12, 2010 By AEJMC Leave a Comment

By Todd Chambers, Texas Tech University | Media Management and Economics

Wow. Have you heard the news? Television is making a comeback! From viewers spending more time in front of their new HDTVs (Stelter, 2010) to double-digit increases in spot television advertising revenues (Elliott, 2010), it appears that the good ole’ days are back. Despite these positive indicators for an important cog in the media wheel, significant challenges remain for an industry struggling to stay relevant to younger media consumers. It’s within these challenges where new theoretical and applied research studies can inform the next generation of media management and economics teachers and scholars.

In addition to the implications of policy and regulatory issues, the adoption of digital television by the industry and the consumer has provided numerous opportunities to think through some of the research opportunities in management and economics. Just on the consumption side, media managers are constantly trying to justify ‘new’ strategies for new ‘revenue streams’ from an active audience that is using multiple media concurrently. From applied studies related to managing multiple media platforms to theoretical studies about competition in local television markets, the digital era provides unique prospects for scholarship. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Features Tagged With: AEJMC, Federal Communications Commission, HDTV, Mass Communication, Media Management and Economics, National Association of Broadcasters, National Cable & Telecommunications Association, Texas Tech University, Todd Chambers

Ten Years Young, the Media Ethics Division Continues to Meet Ethical Challenges

July 12, 2010 By AEJMC Leave a Comment

By Jack Breslin, Iona College | Media Ethics

In reflecting on our first decade as an AEJMC division, the Media Ethics Division leadership must continue to attract and inspire members with an open and engaging dialogue about crucial media ethics issues.

This on-going dialogue should not only promote relevant and innovative scholarship, which MED’s panels, research sessions and publications have demonstrated over the past decade. But this ethical “marketplace of ideas” must also inspire students and professionals to create their own ethical identities to discover insights and solutions for existing and new ethical challenges in our global media environment. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Features Tagged With: AEJMC, Iona College, Jack Breslin, Media Ethics

Increasing Visibility for Digital and Media Literacy

July 12, 2010 By AEJMC Leave a Comment

By Renee Hobbs, Temple University | Mass Communication and Society

On October 2, 2009, the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy released their report, “Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age.” Among the main recommendations, the Commission urges that the nation (1) maximize the availability of relevant and credible information to all Americans; (2) strengthen the capacity of individuals to engage with information; and (3) promote individual engagement with information and the public life of the community.

In particular, the report recommends that digital and media literacy be integrated as critical elements of education at all levels through collaboration among federal, state and local education officials. Young people, in particular, have a special role to play in efforts to develop the digital information and communication capacities of local communities. Other recommendations call for universal broadband, open networks, transparent government, vibrant local journalism, public media reform, and local public engagement. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Features Tagged With: AEJMC, Media Literacy, Renee Hobbs, Temple University

Diversity, racism not issues of the past

July 12, 2010 By AEJMC Leave a Comment

By Jennifer Bailey Woodard, Middle Tennessee State University and Ilia Rodriguez, The University of New Mexico | AEJMC Minorities and Communication

The election of Barack Obama, a black president, symbolizes to many of our students that the United States is now a fair and color blind society where there is no need to discuss issues of diversity and racial relations. Therefore, they do not see the need to be bothered with class assignments like creating a diverse source bank or ethical case studies on how to enter multicultural communities and report on them.

Our nation wants to be one that is finished with the problem of racism, but unfortunately we are not yet at this point in our history. On the contrary, a cursory view of recent events offers ample evidence of the pressing need to address race and diversity issues in our teaching, research and advocacy. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Features Tagged With: AEJMC, Civil Rights Act, Diversity, Ilia Rodriguez, Jennifer Bailey Woodard, John Stossel, Middle Tennessee State University, Minorities and Communication, MSNBC, Obama, Rachel Maddow, Racism, Rand Paul, University of New Mexico

Integrating social media into the classroom: resources, readings and lessons learned.

July 7, 2010 By AEJMC Leave a Comment

By Gary Ritzenthaler, University of Florida, Ph.D. Student/Instructor, @gritz99

Introduction

At the 2009 AEJMC Convention in Boston, I presented a paper (written with David Stanton and Glenn Rickard) entitled, “Facebook groups as an e-learning component in higher education courses: one successful case study.” (See the paper here or presentation slides here.) The paper described a study we did in 2007 regarding students use of a Facebook group as a course component. That 2007 study, in turn, grew out of my experiments in building social media websites for a college audience, undertaken as a part of my master’s degree on social media, completed in 2006.
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Features Tagged With: Blogging, Delicious, Digg, Diigo, Facebook, Gary Ritzenthaler, Google, Huddle, LinkedIn, Ning, Social Media, Social Media in the Classroom, Twitter, YouTube

Social Media and Copy Editing

July 7, 2010 By AEJMC Leave a Comment

By Yanick Rice Lamb, Howard University, Associate Professor/Sequence Coordinator, @yrlamb

Students use social media in their daily lives, but they don’t always think about using those skills as journalists. We are revamping how we teach Copy Editing to place a greater emphasis on Interactive Editing for newspapers, magazines and the Internet in print, on the Internet and on mobile devices. Social media is also a key part of the curriculum. However, we stress the importance of solid reporting, sound editing and high journalistic standards so that students don’t focus on speed, bells and whistles at the expense of quality.
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Features Tagged With: Chats, Comments, Community, Copy Editing, Crowdsourcing, Digg, Facebook, Forums, Foursquare, Geotagging, Google, List Serves, Myspace, SEO, Skype, Social Media, Social Media in the Classroom, Social Media Policy, Twitter, Yanick Rice Lamb, YouTube

Using Social Media to Connect Content and Develop Individual Responsibility

July 7, 2010 By AEJMC Leave a Comment

By Serena Carpenter, Arizona State University, Assistant Professor, @drcarp

I design and teach Online Media, which is the required foundation skills online/Web reporting class for journalism and public relations students at the Cronkite School. I focus my social media efforts on helping them understand how to connect content to online users and build their online reputation. To accomplish this goal, I weave social media throughout my assignments and lectures. I have highlighted my major social media exercises for my class.
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Features Tagged With: Bit.ly, Blogging, Comments, Feedburner, Friendfeed, Google, Hashtags, Live Reporting, Serena Carpenter, Sitemeter, Social Media, Social Media in the Classroom, Social Mention, TweetStats, Twitpic, Twitter, YouTube

What’s New in Cross-National Comparative Communication Research

July 7, 2010 By AEJMC Leave a Comment

By Vanessa de Macedo Higgins, The University of Texas at Austin
with collaboration of Thomas Hanitzsch, University of Munich

International Communication • Comparative communication research, an inherent part of international communication studies, is receiving increasing attention from communication scholars, funding organizations and publications. Technological, political and economical developments of the late 20th century, combined with increased global media and transnationalism, have elevated the subject of comparative research to new prominence.

Comparative communication research has also faced its share of critics. There are those who doubt the accuracy of cross-national and cross-cultural comparisons, who fear reductionism and the lack of theoretical base in such studies. In a wide range of studies, cross-national communication researchers have recently undertaken major efforts to address such methodological and theoretical challenges. These projects bring innovation and a better understanding of communication phenomena, cultures and initiatives. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Features Tagged With: International Communication, Thomas Hanitzsch, Vanessa de Macedo Higgins Joyce