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Comparisons of Internet Application between Newspaper Journalists in Hong Kong and Beijing
Huang Guo
Introduction
Because of the necessity of their career, journalists have always lead the way in terms of using new communication tools. From pager to mobile phone, from telephone to Tele-conference, from desktop computer to laptop computer, from traditional camera to digital camera, journalists are avant-garde in application.
With the simplification and diffusion of Internet, more and more journalists engaging in traditional media begin to adopt Internet in daily news report. Mainly there are many usages like seeking background information, corresponding with persons to be interviewed, finding news from data mining, retrieving and reporting messages revealed from BBS or chatroom. Foreign journalists started using computers and Internet in earlier period, a course for journalism named “Computer-Assisted Journalism” even comes into being.
Journalists are a group well worth studied. In the past, adoption of innovation is mainly carried out from the perspective of “receiver” — exploring how they are influenced by media. However, journalists are not only “receiver”, but also “givers” when using Internet. In the meantime, they transit the knowledge of Internet as well. Relevant forms, channels and different content before and after they use Internet are within the scope of our research.
At the same time, previous research has shown that interpersonal relationship is the essential way to adopt novelties in rural area — mass media can only have weak impact; under urbanized environment, due to the standing off of human relationship, the proportion between interpersonal relations and mass media’s impact on adoption of innovation will be dramatically reversed. But journalists are a special group because they are in urbanized circumstances with various communication channels, including activities with interviewees and peers.
Beijing and Hong Kong are two places under different geographical areas. Generally their cultural environment are the same but they are quite different in terms of sub-cultural group. From the perspective of an individual journalist, the variance in micro factors like gender, age might also cause their different behaviors in utilizing Internet. We are also interested in how social and cultural element lead to differences between these two groups of journalists.
Purpose of Research
1、Through this study, we hope to provide empirical suggestions for journalism education, thus making more students in this area to be well trained with concrete techniques and practice in Internet interviews and collecting information via Internet, etc.
2、The comparisons between journalists in two locations can give us first hand materials in understanding cultural environments, journalism education and application behaviors, all of which can contribute to further research in future.
3、From the perspective of “givers”, the differences in the content and means of their adoption and re-diffusing of information will be proposed.
Literature Review
１、 Survey of Usage of Internet among Journalists
Few surveys have been carried out to make a map of how journalists use Internet. But Middleburg Consulting Company and Ross, a professor of Journalism Department of Columbia university, have researched this program for 6 years, it has surveyed about 4000 journalists of magazine and newspaper in American (United States). According to the results, “about 75% of the interviewees claim that they use Internet at least once a day, the proportion is growing rapidly comparing to the past survey. The Average of the interviewees use Internet at home is 4.7hours a week, the time at office is 8.7hours.
Some think the traditional media using Internet is increasing dramatically. When journalists meet outbursting event or crisis, visiting the relevant company’s website has become 49% journalists’ primary responds, the choice is ranked as the second , only after calling to the relevant sources. What’s more, journalists can get much background information easily via Internet.
The opposite opinion is: the reliability of the information on Internet is the main reason that prevents journalists from using Internet. The survey finds that the website of the guild is considered relatively reliable ,on the other hand ,the information of BBS and newsgroup is hardly told the wrong from the true. The ethic of journalism in Internet environment is challenged. Many Interviewees admit that they have used the unproved information from the Internet and report the rumor widely spread on the Internet. Steven Ross, the author of this survey even thinks the journalists rely on Internet too much make their work unprofessional.
2、 Adoption of innovation, the pattern discovers the elements that affect the user in different lifecycle of the innovation.
As Gabriel Tarde , the French sociologist posed the issue in 1890:
Our problem is to learn why, given one hundred different innovations conceived of at the same time – innovations in the forms of words, in mythological ideas, in industrial processes, etc- ten will spread abroad, while ninety will be forgotten. The culture spread he chose to study was (1) the adoption of postage stamps by 37 countries between 1836 and 1880. (2) the number of states (in the United States) that adopted constitutional limits on taxation by local government between 1835 and 1885.(3) the enactment of compulsory education laws by both northern and southern states over periods of four decades. He concluded that in each case, a particular curve of adoption was found:
Thus, Tard’s answer was to search for universal “laws of imitation” relating the characteristics of “things “to human “desires” through a process of “suggestion”. He wanted to identify the human decision-making process that led people to adopt or reject a given innovation when it came to their attention. While he was concerned with the effects of the newspapers on crime, he did not see the connection between the adoption of innovation and the creation of public awareness of a particular invention through the use of mass communication. His laws of imitation were based on psychological concepts that became outmoded quickly.
In 1962, Everett Rogers reviewed 506 studies of the process in his definitive work on the process and effects of the diffusion of innovations . The innovation under study by that time included medical practices, agricultural technology , educational changes , birth control methods , consumer products and a variety of other inventions and changes. Rogers defined an innovation in a manner as “an idea , practice or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption”.
Ryan and Gross’s study of adoption of innovation is regarded as a classic one. Published in 1943,the study was designed by Ryan as a means of focusing on hybrid seed corn and its adoption among two groups of farmers in Iowa. Rogers clarified the work of Ryan and Gross by identifying five major stages in the adoption process. They were awareness, interest, evaluation, trial , and adoption.
Indeed, what they described was a web of relatively orderly social and media contacts, in which established patterns of social interaction with neighbors and salesmen, plus attention to mass communications, played the central roles in creating awareness of the innovation and defining it as important on the part of those who would adopt it. It was that finding, saying that the adoption of innovation depends on some combination of well-established interpersonal ties and habitual exposure to mass communication, made the study important.
Conceptual Framework
Hypotheses:
1、There exist differences among regions caused by various cultural influences.
2、Definitions of innovation and diffusion in Marketing tell us that early market are consisted of professionals with fastest speed in catching up with latest technologies and enjoying consequent benefits; whereas mass market is predominantly made up of non-professionals. Thus it can be proposed that there are differences between journalists in IT media and in none IT media.
3、Communication among journalists and between journalists and interviewees is one of the factors affecting journalists’ application of Internet.
4、There are some other factors influencing journalists’ application of Internet, e.g. competitive environment of two areas, the combination and education level of journalists, the respective situation of spreading Internet, the emphasis level and input from newspapers for information and networking.
５、Influence on journalists’ adoption of Internet from professional training and continuous education.
Research method
Survey and FGI (Focus Group Interview) will be implemented to compare journalists’ utilization of Internet to report news and explore underlying potential reasons.
1. Research Methods
Qualitative design
by FGI, two groups (about 10 persons in respective group) of journalists or media operators will be identified in each area. The purpose is to focus on factors that cannot be justified by quantitative methods, such as the experience of different journalists in terms of using Internet, differentiating methods of usage by time or occasions.
Quantitative design:
survey by questionnaires.
A、Sampling
This research will be divided into Group A & B according to location. IT media and non-IT media will be the sub-groups under each group. Samples for questionnaires will be chosen from public newspapers, or random selection from yellow pages. The preliminary total amount is 600.
B、Design of questionnaire
2. Results, analysis on quantitative and qualitative research
This part will include:
Summary of how journalists utilize Internet.
Summary of factors inhibiting journalists to use Internet
Main elements affecting journalists’ application of Internet, including various media, different report columns, cultural and educational factors.
Relationship between journalists’ taking up of knowledge regarding using Internet and their diffusion of network knowledge in media.
Application
1、For research institutes and researchers: first-hand materials investigating journalists’ application of Internet will be provided, thus facilitating future analysis in the future; furthermore, how the communication content and methods of “givers” are changed after their “reception” will be positively explored.
2、For journalism media and the practical application of journalists: concrete examples will be shown to journalists in terms of using Internet; relevant issues worth attention are told and techniques for accessing Internet will be summarized.
3、For education in journalism: journalists in the new era should be a composite one who can be versatile including ability in photographing, wording, capturing etc. At the same time, application of Internet in such a networking age, which requires browsing news, processing emails and using searching engines for information, etc. This study can help journalism department in opening new course about communication on the net or how students in this area should learn to use Internet.
Limitations
Research methods
The sample size is too small, and there is partial inadequacy in the process of sampling.
In addition to survey, diaries can be introduced for more accurate data.
Design of questionnaire
Limitation from conceptual framework
Due to the commercial confidentiality in some media, it is impossible to investigate deep into media and understand the actual amount of computers and those surfing net.
Psychological elements: because of personal face, there are some people boasting their application status; whereas considering work, someone might not admit that they utilize Internet for reporting news, which will lead to readers’ doubt in the authenticity of news.
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文章评论:Comparisons of Internet Application - 海英菜 - 2001-08-30 12:21:21
俺是第一个看客，但俺英文不好，得去找翻译。