From Poynter.org: “The death of display advertising has been greatly exaggerated,” Randall Rothenberg, CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, said last week at the trade organization’s MIXX conference. Read more. [Read more...]
Book Review: Ubiquitous Learning
September 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Ubiquitous Learning. Cope, Bill and Mary Kalantzis (eds.) (2009). Urbana: University of Illinois Press. pp. 279.
Digital and social media are as pervasive today as the air we breathe. So it’s natural that every field claims these tools as their own. Journalists use them to create interactive multimedia news content, while public relations teams use them to build consensus or “buzz” for their clients. [Read more...]
Being Small Has Advantages
August 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment
By Vivian Martin, Central Connecticut State University
Like their counterparts at large universities, faculty in smaller Journalism and Mass Communication programs are challenged with integrating multimedia storytelling and social media into their curriculum. The task is configured a bit differently than it is in larger programs though, so a priority for the Small Programs Interest Group (SPIG) continues to be programming that helps members respond to the need for changes in curriculum and teaching. After surveying our membership in 2008, we had a pretty good blueprint for how to proceed, and we have hit on a few things that seem to work. [Read more...]
“It’s perfect for on-air, breaking news”
August 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Twitter has rolled out a new feature called Fast Follow: text “follow [account]” to 40404 and you’ll immediately start getting that account’s tweets via SMS—without ever signing up for Twitter >>> Four ways to use Fast Follow
Using Skype to Teach Live Reporting
July 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment
By Suzy Smith & Terry Heifetz, Ball State University
Social media has changed the way we interact within our communities. We use it to keep in touch with our families and friends, to connect with people who have common interests, to inform our social and professional groups about upcoming events or happenings, and even to share instant information about our feelings, our whereabouts and even share advice about places to go and things to do.
The news media has a long history with social media, although it is not obvious to most. From the early beginnings of the industry news has encouraged interaction between the audience and the news organization. Letters to the editor and phone call-in shows to the broadcast station are just two of the many ways that audiences in the past have played a part in interacting with the news. Technological advances have now made that interaction instantaneous. Discussion boards, twitter feeds, citizen journalism websites and Facebook groups, what we call social media, are among the many new outlets that provide audiences a way to take an active role in the news industry. [Read more...]
Incorporating Social Media in a Required Research Course for Advertising / PR / Strategic Communication Majors
July 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment
By Joe Bob Hester, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
JOMC 279, Advertising and Public Relations Research, is a required course for students majoring in advertising, public relations, or strategic communications in the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The primary goals of this course are for students to learn 1) to conduct research and evaluate information by methods appropriate to the advertising and public relations professions, and 2) to apply basic numerical and statistical concepts.
During the spring 2010 semester, I integrated social media, specifically Twitter, into all aspects of the course. I had previously used local/regional businesses as “clients” for a research project in the course. However, the benefit of working with real clients carried with it some fairly serious drawbacks, particularly the difficulty in finding appropriate new clients each semester. A previous instructor in the course had always used Super Bowl advertising as the topic for the research project since the course was usually taught in the spring semester. Now that the course would be taught year round, I was looking for a research project topic that would be appropriate regardless of semester. [Read more...]
NYT: Tracking the National Mood Through Twitter
July 23, 2010 By 1 Comment
Nick Bilton shares the latest research on trending ‘moods’ at The New York Times:
By gauging the mood of messages on Twitter, a group of researchers from the Northeastern University College of Computer and Information Sciences, along with researchers from Harvard Medical School, set out to determine how happy or sad Americans are at different times of the day and week. [Read more...]
Sports & Social Media: AEJMC LIVE Chat Highlights
July 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Marie Hardin, Penn State, led a recent online chat on sports journalism and social media with guests, Malcolm Moran, Knight Chair for Sports Journalism and Society; Viv Bernstein, New York Times contributing correspondent for sports; Megan Hueter, founder, Women Talk Sports; and Brad Schultz, associate professor and researcher on sports reporters and new media. The following offers a selection of highlights from the chat.
View the full unedited transcript of “Sports & Social Media: Issues & Predictions” at AEJMC LIVE.
Harris Poll: Gays, Lesbians More Social Online
July 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment
PC Mag | Gay and lesbian adults are more likely to use Twitter and check social-networking sites more frequently than their heterosexual peers, according to a new Harris poll.
Gays and lesbians also read blogs more frequently than their heterosexual peers, Harris found.
In June, Harris conducted a poll of 2,412 adults, ages 18 and over, of whom 341 self-identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender (271 as either gay or lesbian), Harris said. The firm said it over-sampled gay men and lesbians in order to allow for more detailed analysis of the groups. [Read more...]
Business Insider: Newsweek’s Tumblr Editor Leaves For Tumblr
July 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Business Insider | Mark Coatney, an online editor who’s gained recognition for building up the magazine’s Tumblr blog, announced on his Tumblr blog that he’s leaving Newsweek for Tumblr!
Coatney writes:
My new job, basically, will be to take the lessons I’ve learned at Newsweek and bring them to other media outlets. The mission is to show how this platform can be key to connecting journalists and readers, making the process more engaging and conversational. [Read more...]