November 24, 2020
Poynter.
This is a general view of the Associated Press London bureau newsroom, showing cable transmitters in foreground in an undated photo. (AP Photo)
Professors, consider volunteering in a local newsroom during the winter break
Student media is a lifesaver, and The New York Times wants you to send them your best coronavirus work
I’m wondering if any of you might want to consider volunteering over the long holiday break for a stint at your local TV or newspaper? I know that getting back into the newsroom game helps me stay current with trends (and know that yes, even in the few months that I’ve been away, things have changed!).
If any of you do this or have done this, I’d love to hear about it, especially if there are takeaways for other professors. amelia.nierenberg@nytimes.com
In the meantime, it’s November! You are so close to the end of the semester, and with a new presidency decided and positive vaccine news last week, it feels like an end to the unknowns is coming — and not a moment too soon.
“Hey, local TV news execs, read this: By a healthy margin, viewers — especially younger viewers — prefer solutions-focused stories to problem-focused pieces.”
-David Boardman
Journalist/educator. Dean, Klein College of Media and Communication
A new research study puts solutions journalism to the test
Is this an opportunity to create a new ‘tentpole’ for local TV news?
The nonprofit Solutions Journalism Network (SJN) started training local TV newsrooms around the country in its methodology early last year. This fall, following one of its own precepts — namely, the importance of measuring outcomes — SJN commissioned a study from the highly respected research, strategy and design firm SmithGeiger. The results, published just last month, not only affirm the benefits to viewers and stations of embracing a solutions journalism approach, but they may point the way to a significant next stage in the evolution of local TV news.
SmithGeiger put together a sample of 638 local news viewers from six markets with stations that practice solutions journalism — Chicago, Cleveland, Austin, Phoenix, Kansas City, and Portland, Maine — and tested 10 solutions journalism stories head-to-head against more conventional “problem” stories. The results were unambiguous: Solutions journalism stories had greater storytelling appeal, helped distinguish the station from its competitors, and were more likely to inspire viewers to take action — an attribute company president Seth Geiger calls “efficacy.”
[…]
‘Research shows that it’s a good idea.”
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