Posted June 17th, 2010 by Christopher Clark - Special Assistant to the Future of Media project
Below is a list of recent, relevant research and studies conducted both by the FCC and by a variety of outside groups (a list that we are regularly supplementing). To the extent that they contain recommendations, which are the most meritorious? Which are the most troubling? What other subject areas should be studied and/or additional data collected? Are there other completed studies that should be added to the list and considered?
AJR Staff. (2009). “AJR’s 2009 Count of Statehouse Reporters,” American Journalism Review, Apr./May. Available at http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=4722.
Alliance for Better Campaigns, Benton Foundation, Center for Creative Voices in Media, Center for Digital Democracy, Common Cause, Media Access Project, et. al (2004, Apr. 7). Public Interest Obligations and the Digital Television Age (Proposed Guidelines). Available at http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=6516886561.
Posted March 2nd, 2010 by Christopher Clark - Special Assistant to the Future of Media project
Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project has released an interesting study about online news consumption. Currently, more people get their news from the Internet than from any other medium, other than TV. Some of the news and information most commonly sought online include weather forecasts, national news, information about health/medicine, and business/financial news. When seeking out these (and other) types of information, most Americans (92%) utilize multiple platforms (e.g., national TV, local TV, Internet, national newspapers, local newspapers, radio) in a typical day. Those who use the web tend to visit only a few news sites regularly, and a significant percentage of online news consumers value portability, the opportunity to participate in creating news, and the ability to customize the news content that they receive. Social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter play a significant role in news dissemination. Check out the study for yourself and view the press release here.
Posted in Research and Studies , Internet and MobilePosted February 17th, 2010 by Irene Wu
In his book, Post-broadcast democracy: how media choice increases inequality in political involvement and polarizes elections (Cambridge, 2007), Markus Prior shows the following graphs. To simplify, he argues when people with little interest in public affairs lived in an environment with few media choices, they were more likely to hear the headlines – for example, catching a news reel while at the movies. With more media choices – cable and satellite television and the Internet – catching the news as a by-product of other activities declines. In other words, more Americans watched the news when there was little else to watch. Fast forward to today, this means that with more media, citizens who are not interested in politics live in an increasingly separate world those who are – thus elections and political involvement are more polarized. What do you think?
