Research project

During the production of this wiki, my interest in the challenges and opportunities that emerge from the collaboration between professional and citizen journalists has grown. I, as a professional journalist—one of those who holds the college degree—, shared with many of my colleagues the fascination and the concern about the future of journalism’s quality with the advent of new technologies and new journalism practices. This wiki has helped me increase my fascination and inform my concerns. Consequently, I feel confident that in the future I will be able to work more efficiently with citizen reporters so that together we can improve *our* journalism.

          Now, apart from being a journalist, I am a media and journalism scholar in the making. I am currently pursuing my master’s degree in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. This program has brought me closer to academia and its contributions to the media industry. Therefore, I would like this wiki to become the breeding ground of new research project related to citizen and professional journalism… one in which YOU can collaborate.

          In this brief section, I offer an outline of the research project I plan to undertake in the following months—and maybe years. I hope you find it interesting.

## Media Deserts beyond Geography

          In the new media environment, newspaper’s circulation and revenue has been consistently declining. The 2015 State of News Media Report by the Pew Research Center shows that in 2014 American newspapers ad revenue has fallen 4% while their Sunday circulation has dropped 3%. 120 newspapers have shut down since 2008, and massive media layoffs are now so common and cyclical that some media talk about a media layoff season now.

          Ohio University’s Associate Dean for Innovation, Michelle Ferrier, has looked into this shifting—and apparently broken—print media system, and found that there are areas in the U.S. that are now lacking local news. Although digital media are multiplying and extending their reach, Ferrier has warned that “the existence of these sites doesn’t necessarily translate into coverage that serves all of the residents of a particular community.” In order to tap on this problem, Ferrier has coined the definition of media desert: “A media desert is a geographic locale without access to fresh local news and information to inform and educate the public”

          Existing research on this topic has been able to identify media deserts using geographic information systems, like Ferrier explains in this video.

          Although the concept of and the research about media deserts have so far been guided by geographic definitions of community, I propose to expand the concept to those communities whose defining ties go beyond a shared location. Research about community building suggest that common “interests, experiences, goals, values or vision” are the essence of communities. By understanding communities as networks of individuals connected by commonalities, we should be able to identify other communities that are poorly served by media.

          To narrow the scope of my research, I will focus on a community that is rarely reaches the news: the Somali refugee community in Columbus, Ohio. According to the Somali Community Association of Ohio, there are at least 38,000 Somali immigrants and refugees living in the Columbus metropolitan area, which represents the second biggest Somali refugee community in the U.S. Considering the vulnerability of refugee groups, their invisibility in news media reports could yield serious consequences for the refugees, who could face discrimination and even hostility from locals in their host cities.

          To determine if the Somali refugee community in Columbus, Ohio, is a media desert I propose the following research question:

**RQ1:** How do local media in Columbus, Ohio, report about the Somali refugee community that lives in the area?

           I will address this inquiry by performing a content analysis of the three main newspapers in Columbus: The Columbus Dispatch, Columbus Messenger, and The Columbus Post. The idea is to monitor their coverage of the city for six months to determine how extensively they report about the Somali refuge community of Columbus.

          After determining the nature of the news media coverage regarding this community, I will address other research questions:

**RQ2:** What are the information needs of the Somali refugee community in Columbus, Ohio? What is the best way for them to get it?

**RQ3:** How can members of the Somali refugee community in Columbus, Ohio, serve the information needs of their community? How can information produced by this community reach local media?

          To answer these questions, I will conduct surveys and focus groups with the members of the Somali refugee community in Columbus. The idea is to define the critical news and information this community needs to facilitate their life in the U.S. and what type of media will allow them to obtain this information more easily. Then, I would like to explore how the development of citizen journalism within this community would satisfy the community’s information needs, and how their content can appeal to local newspapers.

          I think research like this, although ambitious, can enhance our understanding about the importance of the alliance between citizen and professional journalism. Therefore, I would like you to post in the comments section links to information about this community, and media deserts. Also, if you want to get involved in the project, email me at cabas.ayleen@gmail.com.