Department

Communications

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

4-1997

Abstract

This study compares the topics addressed in a professional trade publication, the RTNDA Communicator, with topics specifically addressing broadcast news in the scholarly journals Journalism Quarterly and Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media. The purpose of the research was to help ascertain whether television and radio news directors will find the research and issues of academic journal researchers useful and relevant to their journalism responsibilities.

The findings are based on a content analysis of the publications from 1992-1994, and are a partial replication of an earlier study that compared the content of Quill, Editor and Publisher and Columbia Journalism Review with JQ. As in the earlier study, through the use of correlation measurements of ranking association, the data suggest that the most frequent topics addressed in Communicator re also important to the scholarly journals. An even stronger correlation was discovered when a second ranking--without the category "theory and research methods"--was tested.

Despite evidence that broadcast news managers do not read nor value the published efforts of researchers, these findings suggest that studies involving the quality of journalism, ethics and professional values, competition with other media, and work environment issues, may find a receptive audience with the style of an article is revised and edited for the practitioner in addition to the scholar.

Publication Title

Annual Convention of the Broadcast Education Association

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 1997 David Ozmun

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