Serena Carpenter joined the Arizona State University faculty in 2007 specializing in newer media after finishing her Ph.D. degree in Media & Information Studies at Michigan State University. Her research has been published in research journals such as Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Mass Communication and Society, and Telecommunications Policy.

Carpenter teaches courses in the areas of online and broadcast journalism in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Carpenter has also taught courses at Michigan State University and Bloomsburg University. Her professional background includes working as a television reporter. Carpenter has produced an award-winning documentary on rural issues. She also works with journalists and faculty helping them transition to the online environment.

Her teaching and research interest areas include newer media, news quality, and sociology of news production. Carpenter is an active member of the Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, International Communication Association, Broadcast Education Association and National Communication Association.

How do you define mass communication?

This definition is not my own, but I am not sure who defined it. Mass communication is organized communication to anonymous audiences. The communicator operates within an organizational setting.

However, we have to go beyond the mass-marketing mindset. Educators not only have to reevaluate skills courses that they are teaching, but they have to also concentrate on discussing how communication is changing among individuals, and how the news industry fits into people’s lives. In the past, the mass media were directed toward a large, heterogeneous audience whereas today’s consumer market is more fragmented and complex than the mass market, which translates into news media having less impact in a concentrated way. Organizations need to understand readers and how to connect to readers offline and online. Power has tilted in the direction of the people. The use of social media is one approach to connecting to readers and opinion leaders.

This also means teaching journalists to not only understand how to produce online content under the organization’s umbrella, but also to educate students on the economic, entrepreneurial, and relational aspects of the business and the implications of their actions. Scott Rosenberg, formerly of Salon.com, said that being part of a monopoly let journalists be ignorant about every aspect of the business besides the content. Today, journalists need to understand the broader components of the business to survive. This includes understanding their readers to a greater extent. This is why I also believe that mass communication theory courses should contain interpersonal communication theory as well. [Read more...]