Traditional news organizations (print, television, radio) long have fostered a sense of community by concentrating coverage on geographical areas. For years, members of the public knew they could turn to their weekly newspaper to find the latest actions of their town council or school board, as well as the results of local high school sports games. Likewise, television and radio focused on events taking place in the areas in which their signals reached.
The advent and growth of the Internet have made it possible for news organizations of all sizes to extend their coverage areas and reach audiences all over the world. However, advances in technology also may have altered the concept of community. Some media scholars have suggested that because the Internet has eliminated the geographic barriers of communication, the sense of community is changing from traditional geographic-based communities to topic- and interest-based communities, formed around subjects such as sports, theater and public policy.
To explore this question in more detail, we will track the manner in which individuals access stories on The Convergence, an online news site covering several communities in Western New York State. The Convergence is staffed by students at St. Bonaventure University as part of the journalism school’s experiential learning curriculum requirement.
During the fall, students will track whether visitors to the site access stories by clicking on the name of one of the communities The Convergence *covers or by clicking on the name of one of *The Convergence’s sections (news, features, sports, etc.). The results will be supplemented by anecdotal information gathered by the students as they cover their beats, which will be defined both geographically and topically.
If our proposal is accepted, results of this study will be presented at the conference. Students staffing The Convergence also may take part in the presentation.
About the presentersRichard Lee
Richard Lee has been a music critic, political reporter and deputy communications director for two NJ governors. He also was a founding member of the Hall Institute of Public Policy - NJ. Rich left NJ in 2011 to teach at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure University, where he is a professor in the Jandoli School of Communication and Executive Director and founder of the Jandoli Institute, a research center focused on media issues.
Anne Elizabeth Lee
Anne Lee, a lecturer in journalism at St. Bonaventure University and assistant director of SBU’s Francis E. Kelley Oxford Program, worked as a journalist for 25 years and taught composition and critical thinking courses at Mercer County Community College and the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. A graduate of St. Bonaventure’s journalism program and of the Pratt Institute School of Information, Anne also worked as an academic librarian and writing tutor and in government communications.