Monday, June 9, 2008

6/4 Opening Session: Margaret Duffy, Media Research

Presenter: Margaret Duffy, University of Missouri School of Journalism.
Topic: "Citizens at the Gates: A Research Briefing"

  • A surprising finding: Blogs are not as participatory as we might think. Content analysis shows that news sites allow more user uploads and submissions than blogs.
  • Still, traditional newsroom folks just don't get what customers want (be careful with that word!).
  • Massive media fragmentation since 1975 really messes up the traditional advertising model.
  • People want to create media (we want to be not just consumers, but producers, participants in the media game!) Fewer people feel the need to read/watch/listen to daily news; generally, the younger the subject, the less interest he/she has in daily news.
  • RSS, iPod, TiVo -- people want what they want when they want it. They want customized pieces, not whole programs.
  • Word of the day: aperture -- the idea that readers/viewers/users have different goals at different times of the day (and week, and arguably month and year). TV stations and advertisers know this: they put small news bites on weekday mornings, stockyard reports at lunch, entertainment in the evening, longer news programs Sunday morning.
  • Four main needs our users seek to fulfill: connection, information, entertainment, and shopping!

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