What is this blog?

This blog is for The Pine Needle student newspaper.

Thanks!

Thanks, Dan and Adam, for the extra effort!

What actually happens?

Remember that more events occur in any one day than media report as news. News professionals -- gatekeepers -- determine which events are reported as news. An event's newsworthiness determines whether a gatekeeper allows it to be covered and thus flow into the news stream.

The Agenda Setting Theory of the Press holds that media determine a news agenda by selecting which events to cover and ranking them in order of significance that then is adopted by audiences.

Newsworthiness is characterized by the seven news values commonly used by media gatekeepers. They are impact, timeliness, conflict, prominence, proximity, currency, bizarreness.

Ultimately, we're trying to compare the news values expressed by a cable news channel with news values expressed by newspapers with which we are familiar.

Here are the steps:
Pick up the "Entry Question" from Dr. Judy and fill it out.

During your assigned shifts in the PN office, keep CNN on in the background. Make mental or written notes on what stories they are covering.

At the end of your shift, log on to this blog and post what you saw -- like a quick log of the CNN stories during your shift in the office.

Add to each of your posts a brief reflection -- a paragraph or two -- on what you think about what you saw on CNN during your shift.

Your reporting will cover the ten weeks beginning Jan. 30, Feb. 6, Feb. 13, Feb. 20, Feb. 27, Mar. 13, Mar. 20, Mar. 27, Apr. 3, and Apr. 10. After your last post in that last week, pick up the "Exit Question" from Dr. Judy and fill it out.

Thanks for your generous help with this significant research project!

Research project participants

Scott Ammons, Editor
Adam Fenwick,Managing Editor
Lisa Tyndall, Web Editor
Carol Franch, Photo Editor
Nicole Lord, Section Editor
Brandon Barber, Section Editor
Kelly Freeman, Asst. Photo Editor
Dan Kelly, Asst. Section Editor

The 37-inch plasma research project

What is the research project?
The current Pine Needle research project is titled "Journalism Students’ Identification of News Value Differences Between a Cable News Channel and Newspapers."

What's it about?
More events occur on any given day than are reported by mass media organizations as news. News professionals operating as gatekeepers determine which events are reported as news. An event’s newsworthiness determines whether gatekeepers allow coverage into the news stream.

Newsworthiness is characterized by seven news values commonly accepted by industry gatekeepers: impact, timeliness, conflict, prominence, proximity, currency, bizarreness.

The purpose of the research project is to compare whether news values expressed by a cable news station are different from news values commonly expressed by newspapers.

What's the research question?
The research question is "How do news values expressed by a cable news channel compare with news values expressed by newspapers?"

Participants will identify, analyze, and compare news values used by a cable news station with those used by newspapers. Analysis will be reported each day right here on this blog!

You may recall that the Agenda Setting Theory of the Press by McCombs and Shaw (1972) held that media determine the news agenda by selecting which events to cover and ranking them in order of significance that then is adopted by audiences. This research project is a qualitative comparison of news values expressed by the Cable News Network (CNN) main channel with news values expressed by newspapers.

Who is taking part?
Participants are senior editorial staffers on The Pine Needle campus newspaper. They will observe CNN during their assigned shifts in the newspaper office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. At the end of each shift, a staffer will post on this blog her or his observations and a short reflection on what they saw during their shift.

Who are the project directors?
The research is a project of:

• Dr. Anthony Curtis, Professor, Mass Communications
• Dr. Charles Harrington, University Provost
• Dr. Judy Curtis, Asst. Professor, Mass Communications, & Pine Needle Advisor
  

About The Pine Needle

The Pine Needle was founded in 1947. At that time, the school was known as Pembroke State College for Indians. In 1949, the school was renamed Pembroke State College. The school was opened to all qualified applicants without regard to race in 1954. It became Pembroke State University in 1969 and The University of North Carolina at Pembroke in 1996.

The Pine Needle was associated with the university's Department of Communicative Arts until 1998 when the elements of that department were redistributed. Journalism moved into the new Department of Mass Communications and The Pine Needle went with it.

Today:

The newspaper is advised by a member of the Mass Communications faculty, Dr. Judy Curtis, who integrates the publication into the preparation offered mass communication students for careers in newspaper journalism and print media. In fact, The Pine Needle provides an active journalism learning laboratory for students. Majors and non-majors work side-by-side to earn academic credit for writing, editing, designing and publishing the newspaper 14 times a year with up to 16 pages in each issue.

The Pine Needle began publishing an online edition in 2003. Dr. Anthony Curtis of the Mass Communications Department faculty advises the editors about the convergence of print and online media as they publish the Web version of The Pine Needle.

The newspaper offices are in room 253 in Old Main, the oldest brick building on campus and the building with columns known as the most recognizable symbol of UNCP. Old Main is on the southeast corner of campus. It is number 1 on the campus map. The offices are on the second floor of Old Main near the Mass Communications Department office, classrooms, and faculty offices.

Contact info:

The Pine Needle
PO Box 1510
Pembroke, NC 28372

Phone: 910.521.6204
Fax: 910.522.5795
Email: pineneedle@uncp.edu