Center for Social Media researchers have conducted a variety of analyses of public media news projects. Here are some highlights from 2008-2011:
Public Media Coverage on MediaShift:
From 2009-2011, CSM partnered with the PBS MediaShift site to cover rising trends and policy battles related to public media 2.0. Stories included:
In the fall of 2010 CSM researchers profiled a set of rising news experiments on the Public Media 2.0 Showcase, including:
Local News Lacking Among Public Broadcasting Stations [34]
In February 2010, University of Pennsylvania doctoral student Christopher Ali—a CSM Research Fellow—conducted a descriptive content analysis of the news and information programming of all PBS stations with available websites, which confirmed the lack of local daily public TV news. Going state-by-state, Ali looked at every listed station’s website for mention of news and public affairs programs, finding that out of 170 stations examined, fewer than 20 air local news programs more than 3 times per week, and 70 produce no local news at all.
Visit this public media map [35], hosted by the National Center for Media Engagement, to click through Ali's station-by-station results geographically.
Comparing New News Models: How Engagagment Strategies and Impact Intersect [36]
Scan and Analysis of Best Practices in Digital Journalism In and Outside U.S. Public Broadcasting [41]
In this August 2009 report, researchers at American University’s Center for Social Media identify a set of best practices in digital new media journalism intended to guide planning and initiatives in this area specifically for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and more broadly for the Public Service Media community in the US. We offer an overview of the current journalism and public broadcasting environments, derived from a scan of recent reports and interviews with relevant experts, along with a set of identified best practices, bolstered with analysis of specific examples that could be replicated by public media producers.
[42]In this 2008 paper, commissioned as part of the Berkman Center's Media Re:Public [43] project, CSM's Pat Aufderheide and Jessica Clark describe the complex system of U.S. public broadcasting, the many exciting experiments that are underway and the barriers to creating a truly public media.
Links:
[1] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2011/04/5-great-media-literacy-programs-and-how-to-assess-their-impact111.html
[2] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2011/03/defunding-public-media-would-stifle-digital-innovation080.html
[3] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2011/03/oversharing-overstimulated-and-setting-boundaries-at-sxsw075.html
[4] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2011/03/ima-sxsw-major-discussion-on-future-of-public-media073.html
[5] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2011/03/world-tv-revamps-site-to-entice-a-younger-audience063.html
[6] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/11/how-should-public-media-respond-to-efforts-to-defund-it326.html
[7] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/12/brazilian-public-media-faces-tough-digital-transition354.html
[8] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/11/public-media-experiments-show-promise-need-to-involve-public323.html
[9] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/11/special-series-public-media-20322.html
[10] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/11/5-emerging-trends-that-give-hope-for-public-media-20322.html
[11] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/10/ketc-works-with-community-on-homeland-immigration-project274.html
[12] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/09/a-guide-to-rising-public-media-networks-in-the-us266.html
[13] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/08/while-others-shrink-kqed-expands-cross-platform-news237.html
[14] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/07/pop-and-politics-blog-becomes-converged-radio-project210.html
[15] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/05/5-needs-and-5-tools-for-measuring-media-impact131.html
[16] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/05/cctv-shows-how-public-access-tv-can-transition-to-digital125.html
[17] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/04/live-blogging-the-fcc-workshop-new-platforms-strategies-for-public-media120.html
[18] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/04/live-blogging-fcc-workshop-public-media-in-the-digital-era120.html
[19] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/03/better-coordination-needed-to-map-local-media-ecologies088.html
[20] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/03/witness-creates-sophisticated-evaluation-tools-for-video-impact070.html
[21] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/02/is-there-a-master-metric-for-evaluating-public-media047.html
[22] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/01/why-youth-media-projects-should-link-up-with-public-media021.html
[23] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/01/public-broadcasters-hustle-to-fill-infrastructure-gap007.html
[24] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/12/ketcs-mortgage-crisis-project-brings-public-into-public-media348.html
[25] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/12/best-of-twitter-ftc-workshop-discusses-future-of-journalism-337.html
[26] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/12/ftc-should-consider-policy-reform-to-support-public-media-20335.html
[27] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/11/10-projects-that-help-citizens-become-government-watchdogs307.html
[28] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/10/pubcamp-examines-new-models-philosophy-for-public-media293.html
[29] http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/10/eight-public-media-20-projects-that-are-doing-it-right279.html
[30] http://centerforsocialmedia.org/future-public-media/public-media-showcase/evolution-whyy%E2%80%99s-newsworks-website-0
[31] http://centerforsocialmedia.org/future-public-media/public-media-showcase/cpb-funded-local-journalism-centers-grow-fits-and-starts
[32] http://centerforsocialmedia.org/future-public-media/public-media-showcase/ketc-works-community-homeland-immigration-project
[33] http://centerforsocialmedia.org/future-public-media/public-media-showcase/while-others-shrink-kqed-news-expands-cross-platform-news
[34] http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/future-public-media/public-media-showcase/local-news-lacking-among-public-television-stations
[35] http://publicmediamaps.org/share_map.cfm?mapid=56141778
[36] http://centerforsocialmedia.org/future-public-media/public-media-showcase/comparing-new-news-models-how-engagement-strategies-and-im
[37] http://centerforsocialmedia.org/future-public-media/public-media-showcase/newshour-aims-expand-reach-among-influencers-young-adults
[38] http://centerforsocialmedia.org/future-public-media/public-media-showcase/public-insight-network-gains-traction-empowering-users-sou
[39] http://centerforsocialmedia.org/future-public-media/public-media-showcase/groundreport-grows-site-aims-diversify-global-coverage
[40] http://centerforsocialmedia.org/future-public-media/public-media-showcase/oakland-local-demonstrates-power-community-centered-journa
[41] http://centerforsocialmedia.org/future-public-media/documents/white-papers/scan-and-analysis-best-practices-digital-journalism-and-o
[42] http://centerforsocialmedia.org/sites/default/files/documents/pages/public_broadcasting_and_public_affairs_mr.pdf
[43] http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/pubrelease/mediarepublic/downloads.html
How are news-focused public media projects tracking their impact? That’s the question that CSM Research Fellow Erin Roberts set out to explore in a set of interviews with leaders from innovative journalism projects. Profiles of some of the most relevant projects include: