News Research Journal

Negative consequences can face a news organization that “outs” an anonymous online commenter, according to a qualitative study of one incident of media “doxxing” within The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s online site, cleveland.com. Posters said privacy is a significant issue, and the newspaper violated its ethical duties by unveiling the identity of an anonymous poster, regardless of the reasons. Some also threatened to delete their online user accounts or unsubscribe to the newspaper.

This study examines how the American news media have framed the question of who is responsible for rising healthcare costs in the United States. Commercial pressures seem to influence news media to focus less on such social-level causes as pharmaceutical companies, while patients—an individual-level cause—have been mentioned most frequently as being responsible for rising healthcare costs.

Results from a survey here provide little evidence that millennials recognize a civic duty to keep informed in the same way as earlier generations. They show no clear commitment to keeping up with civic or political events, although more than half see news at least six days a week,

Researchers have long investigated error rates in news stories and their impact on media credibility. This new research explores spelling and grammar error rates in the digital era and their association with reported credibility. Results show basic errors in spelling and grammar persist in digital news; however, their influence on perceived credibility is not so straightforward.

When a food company faces recalls, their crisis communicators need to direct their message to those most likely to be affected—consumers—and provide them with information on how to deal with the recall. The study here by Monique Farmer and Ming Wang demonstrates that a focus on “instructional messaging” correlates with a positive tone in newspaper coverage.

A national survey in Taiwan suggests offline political participants spend more time reading print newspapers than those who participate less. Online political participants also read a larger number of print newspapers than do non-participants. To increase readership, newspapers can consider increasing their political coverage and provide mobilizing information that enables citizens to participate in the political process.

Live-blogging aids news organizations in achieving transparency with audiences, according to this content analysis of The Guardian’s live-blogging practices. The study provides guidelines for other media outlets on how to use various news elements available online to achieve transparency.

An analysis of the coverage of endangered Meskwaki language in five Iowa newspapers shows the language’s endangerment receives minimal attention. Moreover, while the top two Iowa newspapers acclaim English-Meskwaki bilingualism, they associate the sole use of the Meskwaki language with educational and economic impediments.

After the community of Almena, Kansas, lost its newspaper, citizens formed an all-volunteer organization to publish the hyperlocal Prairie Dog Press, which has existed for 21 years. This study examines the dynamics of the organization and volunteers’ motivations and finds collective efficacy and civic engagement at least partially explain the organization’s longevity. Volunteers’ strong bonds with one another have been key to sustaining the newspaper’s production.

John H. Parmelee and David Deeley, “Florida political reporters interact rarely online,” Newspaper Research Journal 38, no. 1 (winter 2017):104-118.

(Original DOI: 10.1177/0739532917698438)