Computer Technology and News Research

A national research project that focuses on online news and traditional news media use, online newspapers, online news credibility, online news interactivity, and other aspects of online news consumption by American adults was completed in 2003. This project was directed by University of Miami Profs. Michael Salwen, Bruce Garrison, and Paul Driscoll. Inquiries are welcome. Their book, Online News and the Public, was developed from the series of studies in this project and was published in 2005 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates in Mahwah, N.J. This title is now part of the Rutledge / Taylor & Francis catalog.

Learn more about computers and newsgathering from the study reports linked in the "Research Reports" section below. Studies analyzing online news, online news research, uses of electronic mail, and computer-assisted reporting include some or all of the six censuses conducted in the United States (from 1994 to 1999), personal interviews with leading CAR journalists, surveys, content analyses, historical perspectives, and other related research. Visitors can review and print the 1999 questionnaire, the 1998 questionnaire, or the 1997 questionnaire.

• A research paper presenting findings of a case study of news media convergence focusing on a daily newspaper, a television news network affiliate, and an online news organization authored by Bruce Garrison and Michel Dupagne, "A Case Study of Convergence at the Media General News Center, Tampa," was presented at the "Expanding Convergence: Media Use in a Changing Information Environment" conference at the University of South Carolina at Columbia on November 6, 2003. This paper is downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat format file.The paper is published in Journalism Studies 7:2 (May 2006), pp. 237-255, and this version of the paper is also downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat format file.

• A research paper presenting findings relating to credibility of electronic mail authored by Bruce Garrison, "The Perceived Credibility of Electronic Mail in Newspaper Newsgathering," was presented at the annual national conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication,  to the Newspaper Division, at Kansas City on August 8, 2003. This paper is downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat format file. An earlier version of the paper was presented at the annual AEJMC Communication Technology and Policy Midwinter Conference at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colo., on March 1, 2003. This paper is also downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat format file.

• Three research papers that focus on online news and uses of electronic mail in newsgathering will be presented at the annual national conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, in Miami Beach, August 7-10, 2002:
  • A research paper presenting findings from the electronic mail use study by Bruce Garrison, "The Use of Electronic Mail as a Newsgathering Resource," was presented to the Newspaper Division on August 10, 2002. The paper is also downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat format file. An earlier version of the paper, "The Use of Electronic Mail as a Newsgathering Resource," was presented to the Newspaper Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication at the annual Southeast Colloquium in Gulfport, Miss., on March 7, 2002. This paper is also downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat format file. A revised version of the Miami Beach paper has been published in the Newspaper Research Journal 25:2 (Spring 2004), pp. 58-69.
  • A research paper, "The Credibility of Newspapers, Television News, and Online News," was presented to the Mass Communication and Society Division on August 9, 2002, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, at the Miami Beach conference in August. The paper is authored by Rasha Abdulla, Bruce Garrison, Michael Salwen, Paul Driscoll and Denise Casey. The paper is also downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat format file. This paper is published in the new book, Online News and the Public (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, N.J., 2005).
  • A research paper, "Third Person Perceptions of Fear During the War on Terrorism: Perceptions of Online News Users," authored by Michael Salwen, Bruce Garrison, Paul Driscoll, Rasha Abdulla, Denise Casey, and Kristin Campbell, was presented to the Theory and Methodology Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, on August 8, 2002. This paper is published in the new book, Online News and the Public (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, N.J., 2005).

• Three research papers that focus on uses of computers and newsgathering were presented at the annual national conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in Phoenix, August 9-12, 2000:
  • A revised paper by Bruce Garrison, "Journalists' Newsroom Roles and Their World Wide Web Search Habits," presented to the Mass Communication and Society Division. This paper is downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat format file. An updated version of this paper is available in the Newspaper Research Journal (22:4, Fall 2001, pp. 70-86).
  • A revised paper by Bruce Garrison, "Online Information Use in Newsrooms: A Longitudinal Diffusion Study," presented to the Newspaper Division. This paper is downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat format file. An updated version of the Phoenix paper has been published in a recent special technology research issue of Journalism: Theory, Practice, and Criticism (2:2, August 2001), pp. 221-39).
  • A new paper by Bruce Garrison, "World Wide Web Use in Newsrooms, 1997-99," Mass Communication and Society Division. This paper is downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat format file. A revised version of this paper was published in the Newspaper Research Journal (24:3, Summer 2003, pp. 62-75).

• Two research papers about computers and news reporting were presented at the Southeast Colloquium, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, March 17-18, 2000, at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: 
  • A paper prepared by Bruce Garrison about methods and tools journalist use while searching information on the World Wide Web, "Journalists' Newsroom Roles and Their World Wide Web Search Habits," was presented to the Newspaper Division. This paper is downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat format file. 
  • A paper tracing the evolution of computer-assisted news reporting, written by Melisma Cox, "The Development of Computer-Assisted Reporting," was presented to the Newspaper Division. This paper is downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat format file.

• A research paper about diffusion of online news research in newsrooms, written by Bruce Garrison, "Online Information Use in Newsrooms: A Longitudinal Diffusion Study," was presented to the ãMedia in the New Millennium: Technology, Images, Issuesä Conference, Communication Technology & Policy Division, Media Management & Economics Division, and Visual Communication Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, February 25-26, 2000, in Denver. This paper is downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat format file.

• A research paper about online journalism, "Market Types and Daily Newspapers: Use of World Wide Web Technologies," was written in fall 1999 by Wendy Dibean and Bruce Garrison. It was presented at the Media in Transition Project conference hosted by the Comparative Media Studies graduate program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass., October 8-10, 1999. This paper is downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat format file. An updated version of this paper was published the Newspaper Research Journal in the Spring 2001 issue (22:2, pp. 79-93).

• Two research papers were presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference in New Orleans August 4-7, 1999. The papers focus on use of the World Wide Web by journalists: 
  • Journalists and Their Computers: An Inseparable Link for the Future? Mass Communication and Society Division, written by Bruce Garrison. This paper is also downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat format file. A revised version of this paper was published in the Newspaper Research Journal  Winter 2001 issue.
  • Journalists Perceptions of Online Information-Gathering Problems, Newspaper Division, written by Bruce Garrison. This paper is downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat format file. An earlier version of the paper was presented to the Newspaper Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Southeast Colloquium in Lexington, Ky., on March 5, 1999. This paper is also downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat format file. An updated version of this paper was published in the Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly Autumn 2000 issue.

• Three research papers that look at online resources used for newsgathering in newsrooms, electronic mail use by journalists, and online editions of daily newspapers are now available. The papers, each based on data collected in 1998-99, were presented at the recent Creativity and Consumption Conference at the University of Luton, Luton, England, U.K., on March 30, 1999. The papers are:
  • "Online Information Use in Newsrooms," written by Bruce Garrison. This paper is also downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat format file. An updated and revised version of this paper has been published in Convergence: The Journal of Research into New Media Technologie, 6:1 (Spring 2000), pp. 84-105.
  • "E-mail Use by Newspaper Editors," written by Suzanne Buckley. This paper is also downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat format file. 
  • "How U.S. Daily Newspapers Are Using their Internet Counterparts," written by Wendy Dibean. This paper is also downloadable as an Adobe Acrobat format file.

• Three research papers, based on data collected during 1994 through 1997, were presented at the annual national meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in Baltimore, August 5-8, 1998. The papers, written by project director Bruce Garrison, are: (a) "Newspaper Size as a Factor in Use of Computer-Assisted Reporting" for the Communication Technology and Policy Division; (b) "Caught in the Web: Newspaper Use of the Internet and Other Online Resources" for the Newspaper Division; and (c) "Computer Literacy in the Newsroom: A Model for Learning," for the Council of Affiliates and Investigative Reporters and Editors.

• Online journalism and World Wide Web use by journalists preliminary findings from the 1998 study, presented at the "New Media, Free Speech: Challenges for the Future" conference, Mass Communication and Society Division and Newspaper Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, at the University of South Florida, Tampa, April 3, 1998.

• Basics of using the Internet and World Wide Web for the Newsroom, seminar presented at the National Writers' Workshop, Orlando, Fla., April 25, 1998. Sponsored by The Orlando Sentinel, Central Florida News 13, and the Poynter Institute. The presentation included a handout of World Wide Web bookmarks handy for newsrooms.

• Data and findings about daily newspaper use of the World Wide Web, the Internet and other online resources during 1994-97, a research paper presented at the Southeast Colloquium, Newspaper Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, New Orleans, March 12-15, 1998.

• Findings that focus on newsroom use of online resources, including the World Wide Web and the Internet as reporting tools, taken from the 1997 study data and presented at the Society of Professional Journalists national convention in Denver, October 3-6, 1997.

• Two papers presenting data and findings about online newsgathering trends during 1994-96: (a) presented to the Communication Technology and Policy Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Chicago, July 30-August 2, 1997; (b) presented at the Mid-Year Conference of the Communication Technology and Policy Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, St. Petersburg, Fla., February 8, 1997.

• Data and findings about computer-assisted reporting resources in newsrooms, 1994-96, a paper presented to the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and Council of Affiliates research session, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Chicago, July 30-August 2, 1997.

• Data and findings about CAR daily reporting and projects subjects during 1995-96, a research paper presented at the Southeast Colloquium of the Newspaper Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Knoxville, Tenn., March 13-15, 1997.

• Data and general findings from the 1996 study, presented at the Society of Professional Journalists national convention at Washington, D.C., September 19-22, 1996.

• Data and specific findings from a 1996 case study of 44 small dailies, circulation from 20,000 to 30,000, presented at the National Newspaper Association convention. This was a special meeting of the Huck Boyd Center (Kansas State University) Community Building Research Symposium, Nashville, Tenn., September 25, 1996.

• Two papers presenting from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Anaheim, Calif., August, 1996: Data and findings about online services and CAR use during 1994-95, a research paper presented to the Newspaper Division. Data and findings about newsroom CAR software and hardware tools in use during 1994-95, a research paper presented to the Communication Technology and Policy Division.