Grant Will Help JMA Faculty Develop a Study of Mobile Journalism

The Journalism and Multimedia Arts Department (JMA) is developing a new study to evaluate how audiences assess the quality, usability and trustworthiness of mobile content. The study will be supported by a two-year, $125,750 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Dr. Charlie Gee, assistant professor in the JMA department, will lead the research team, which includes colleagues Drs. Giselle Auger, Zeynep Tanes-Ehle, John Shepherd and Professor Maggie Patterson.

The group’s research will focus on the effect of new technology news gathering, story type and in-field editing on news credibility, quality and transparency, according to Gee. The study will investigate these effects on various age demographics, beginning with the “Millennial” generation through a series of experiments.

“We are excited that the grant will allow us to enhance the experience and understanding of students engaged in news-gathering techniques,” said Gee.

A unique course, which will be offered by special invitation, will provide JMA undergraduates who are advanced in the study of news production with the opportunity to participate in the research. The course is being developed for the fall semester, with the intention of making it a mainstream course in the curriculum by 2014.

“One of the goals is to establish a set of best practices for mobile journalism,” said Dr. John Shepherd, chair of the JMA department. “What smart phone works best, what size tablet, how do we reduce the shakiness. So, if a (radio or television) station is thinking of using mobile devices, they can look at what we found to be the best.”