Understanding News Story Chains using Information Retrieval and Network Clustering Techniques

Content analysis of news stories is a cornerstone of the communication studies field. However, much research is conducted at the level of individual news articles, despite the fact that news events are frequently presented as “stories” by news outlets: chains of connected articles offering follow up reporting as new facts emerge or covering the same event from different angles. These stories are theoretically highly important; they also create measurement issues for general quantitative studies of news output. Yet, thus far, the field has lacked an efficient method for detecting groups of articles which form stories in a way that enables their analysis. In this work, we present a novel, automated method for identifying news stories from within a corpus of articles, which makes use of techniques drawn from the fields of information retrieval and network analysis. We demonstrate the application of the method to a corpus of almost 40,000 news articles, and show that it can effectively identify valid story chains within the corpus. We use the results to make observations about the prevalence and dynamics of stories within the UK news media, showing that more than 50% of news production takes place within the form of story chains.     

“Lots of Questions about ‘Fake News’”: How Public Libraries Have Addressed Media Literacy, 2016–2018

ABSTRACT

This exploratory research investigates how American public libraries have addressed the issue of media literacy in their communities from 2016 to 2018, including programs, partnerships, and other initiatives. The authors selected this period because events, such as the 2016 U.S. presidential election, contributed to an increased national concern about media literacy. This study fills a research gap by providing a broader assessment of public library responses to this issue, as most of the published literature thus far stems from academic libraries. An electronic survey solicited data from both a stratified purposive sample and a self-selecting sample of public libraries throughout the United States (U.S.). Analysis of qualitative and quantitative data from sixty-five public libraries revealed several key themes related to media literacy initiatives, including types of initiatives developed, initiatives deemed most successful by staff, community response to initiatives, and reasons for not pursuing initiatives. Findings denote the current state of how public libraries address media literacy and offer practical guidance for those developing media literacy initiatives. Key findings are as follows: lack of staff time is the reason most often cited for not engaging in media literacy initiatives; more effective measurements are needed to assess both community needs and outcomes of library initiatives; “fake news” is a topic of interest in the community and among library staff; and there appears to be a relationship between staff interest in the topic and perceived interest on the part of the public, which may impact efforts to address the issue. Implications for practice resulting from those findings include engaging in initiatives that maximize service while minimizing staff time involvement; measuring and assessing community interests as well as outcomes of initiatives; using trending topics such as “fake news” to increase interest in library services; and continuing to increase staff awareness of and training in issues deemed important by the library community.     

台湾地区新闻从业人员网络素养与网络新闻识读能力之研究

认为1999年因网络原生新闻概念而创立的网络报纸在台湾出现后,网络新闻开始让传统新闻媒体的产制作业产生冲击,新兴媒体时代的新闻产制过程,让新闻工作者无法用原本的媒体素养来因应网络。使用问卷调查法,了解新闻从业人员的网络素养以及具备网络素养的衡量准则。研究结果发现,新闻工作者已大量使用网络,但网络素养却十分匮乏,难以因应媒体科技在新兴媒体时代的变化。     

With a Little Help from My Friends

Abstract

This article highlights a project on information literacy that began in the fall semester of 2003 at the University of Redlands. The faculty in the School of Education needed an information literacy component for their teacher credential program. The Manager of Instructional Technology believed that a tutorial of this type would work well in the Blackboard Course Management System, and the Off-Campus Services Librarian, who is the library liaison for the School of Education, was a natural choice as the person to present the tutorial to the students. The beginning information literacy workshop was developed in the fall of 2003, and the advanced workshop was developed in the spring of 2004. This article provides an overview of the content of the tutorial and workshops, as well as some conclusions about the project in general.     

Fake news alerts: Teaching news literacy skills in a meme world

ABSTRACT

Thirty years ago, fake news was resigned to tabloids at the grocery store. Now, fake news is often more convincing than real news. Many library users lack the appropriate skills to discern between what is real and what is not, and many more get their information from social media memes. When memes are more effective than actual news, what can librarians do to teach information literacy? Librarians can use memes to promote information literacy; they can even create their own!     

Focus on the facts: A news and information literacy instructional program

ABSTRACT

This article provides an overview of the “fake news” issue and places it in the context of information literacy instruction for college students. In 2017, the faculty librarians at a large state college in Florida developed a news literacy instruction program that included instructional faculty outreach, lesson plans for one-shot information literacy instruction sessions, lessons assignments for one-credit information literacy classes, and learning objects in a LibGuide that can be used by students or embedded by faculty into courses across the disciplines.     

图书馆"在线信息素养课程"构建与实现

在广泛调研国内外高校图书馆在线信息素养教育内容和形式的基础上,分析了我国高校信息素质教育目前存在的一些问题,提出构建集成化、开放式的图书馆"在线信息素养课程"建议,并从教学内容的整体构架、教学模式、模块内容、学习效果测试和反馈方面展开探讨.     

Attention cycles and the H1N1 pandemic: a cross-national study of US and Korean newspaper coverage

This study analyzes US and South Korean news coverage of the H1N1 pandemic to examine cross-cultural variations in attention cycle patterns, cited sources, and news frames. A content analysis was conducted on 630 articles from US and Korean newspapers during the period of April to October 2009. It found that attention cycle patterns, news frames, and sources varied across the two countries according to professional norms, cultural values, social ideologies, and occurrences of relevant events. While US news coverage showed two phases of waxing and waning attention, Korean news coverage showed five phases. The frames used in US news stories placed more emphasis on attribution of responsibility, action, and reassurance. Other framing variations were found as news attention in each country rose and fell. Regarding sources used, Korean news stories relied more on governmental sources, while US news stories used a greater diversity of sources. This study advances research on variations in the attention cycle for transnational issues by specifying how journalists’ framing of social problems can differ according to the following: cultural factors, the shape of the news attention cycle, and the occurrence of events related to the issue at hand.     

LibGuides and Web-Based Library Guides in Comparison: Is There a Pedagogical Advantage?

This study investigates whether the platform used to deliver a tutorial matters in online information literacy instruction and assesses the overall quality of an information literacy tutorial assignment given to an undergraduate survey class. The study asks whether there is any pedagogical advantage between information literacy tutorials created in the LibGuides library guide creation software and tutorials created as Web pages. This research question is relevant to current studies of online information literacy tutorials, particularly given the increasingly dominant but under-researched position of LibGuides in the academic library world for delivering guides and tutorials. Two separate groups of students completed LibGuides and Web page versions of the same information literacy tutorial assignment in a university undergraduate communication course. Survey results of these 89 students indicated that both the LibGuides and Web page platforms deliver online instruction content effectively and achieve learning objectives almost equally well. Results also indicated content areas within the assignment that could be strengthened.     

Today's news — tomorrow's context: A dynamic model of news processing

We are proposing a feedback model of news processing, assuming that news reception is guided by media input as well as by existing cognitive structures. However, these structures are in turn shaped by former media coverage. In our study we examine viewers’ processing of TV news, comparing objective news content (content analysis) to subjective meaning of news stories (viewer interviews). Results show that viewers interpret information about new events in the context of past events, themselves mainly a reflection of former media coverage.     

Visual Tutorials for Point-of-Need Instruction in Online Courses

ABSTRACT

This paper will discuss a method of incorporating demonstrations into online information and technology literacy courses. The demonstrations are designed to increase the visual component and to address point-of-need questions and problems. Also discussed will be experimentations with this method in other library services, such as electronic reference services, one-shot course-related instruction, subject research guides, and outreach to faculty for their own professional development and as a way to incorporate information and technology literacy in their courses. Recent developments in tutorial software have made it possible to quickly create brief demonstration modules to visually illustrate information literacy concepts and research tools. The primary example presented here is the incorporation of short, task-oriented demonstrations into lesson modules, answers to student questions, and assignment instructions and feedback in an online information and technology literacy course. Initial comments from students and instructors indicate high satisfaction with this method.     

A Mother-Daughter Book Club: A Search for Intimacy

This study examines the nature of group interaction and response to texts in an African American, mother-daughter literature discussion group in a predominately White, Midwestern college town. The implications of this research for teachers and librarians include a discussion about the value of community and intergenerational literacy and adolescents’ need to share literacy events with adults from their own racialized group.     

Why We Watch: Factors Affecting Exposure to Tragic Television News

This study explored the reasons people expose themselves to news depicting tragic events. A total of 376 undergraduates completed anonymous questionnaires about their responses to news coverage of the events of September 11. The study examined the extent to which individual differences in empathy gave rise to news viewing motives (surveillance, reassurance, curiosity), and how these variables, as well as negative emotional responses (anger, sadness, fear), were related to news interest and exposure. Both empathy and emotional responses were associated in predictable ways with interest in news coverage and selective exposure to specific types of news stories (e.g., casualty news, positive news). The results demonstrate that considering affective motivations can enrich our understanding of how and why people use news media. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

USING CITIZENS FOR COMMUNITY JOURNALISM

Hyperlocal journalism is thriving. This article describes the case of a Belgian regional newspaper experimenting with citizen journalism and user-generated content (UGC) for hyperlocal news coverage. For each municipality of the region, an online news page has been created where all citizen contributions are published side by side with professional stories on local community news and events. The fact that the UGC is not separated from the professional articles makes it an interesting case to examine commonalities and differences between both types of community reporting. The findings, based on a content analysis of 474 news items, suggest that the newspaper seems to use citizen volunteers primarily as a means to outsource the “soft”, “good” and “small” news coverage of local community life, while preserving the “hard” and “bad” news provision as the exclusive domain of professional journalists. Further, the study's findings support previous research indicating that (1) local community journalism is characterised by a mix of crime reporting and news coverage of fires and accidents, on the one hand, and positive human-interest stories about social club activities, cultural events, health and sports, and school life, on the other; and that (2) citizen journalists tend to rely heavily on first-hand witnessing and personal experience due to a general lack of access to official sources of information.     

Seeking Out and Avoiding the News Media: Young Adults’ Proposed Strategies for Obtaining Current Events Information

This study takes a closer look at the role the news media plays in how young adults inform themselves in the high-choice media age. In-depth interview data with 21 young adults from varying socioeconomic backgrounds were used to identify the strategies they had for locating current events information. During the interviews, the young adult participants responded to six hypothetical “vignettes” by articulating the steps that they would take to find information about current events. Findings revealed two strategy patterns that interviewees voiced—one set of strategies directly involved use of the news media, and another set avoided the news media in favor of functional information alternatives. Common among all the interviewees, however, was the need for information skepticism when navigating the contemporary media environment. Implications for social inequality and news media literacy are discussed.     

The Influence of Television News Depictions of the Images of War on Viewers

Results of an experiment about the influence of network television news coverage of combat in Iraq on viewers indicated that, compared with a control condition which featured news stories about combat operations in Iraq described by news anchors, news reports also featuring footage of combat operations increased viewer involvement levels about the war and reduced viewer support for continued military presence in Iraq. Television news footage of combat operations also reduced viewers' pride in U.S. military presence but did not affect other emotions. However, regardless of how news stories were packaged, women experienced greater emotional response to network news stories about combat operations than men. The results also shed light on the potential of inoculation to deflect such influence.     

Librarian - Faculty Collaboration： Designing for Success

在今天这个信息爆炸与科技迅速发展的时代，信息保存、信息结构、信息获得与信息评价等已经成为社会所关注的重要问题。如何对待和处理信息教育已成为学生能否学以成功的关键。美国的图书馆员，尤其是高校的图书馆员们，充分地认识到了信息教育的重要性和关键性，力图寻找传授信息的最佳方法。其目的是把信息教育有效地融入课堂教学中去，最终能使学生不仅在学校学习期间学以成功，而且能够将所学技巧与知识为终生所用。本论文将介绍与探讨将信息教育融入课程设置中去的一些有效方法，并详细阐述通过图书馆员与教师合作的方式而进行信息教育之成功的范例。     

Identifying top news stories based on their popularity in the blogosphere

A huge volume of news stories are reported by various news channels, on a daily basis. Subscribing to all the stories and keeping track of the important ones day after day is very time-consuming. This paper proposes several approaches to identify important news stories. To this end, we take advantage of the blogosphere as an information source to evaluate the importance of news stories. Blogs reflect the diverse opinions of bloggers about news stories, and the attention that these stories receive can help estimate the importance of the stories. In this paper, we define the popularity of a news story in the blogosphere as the attention it attracts from users. We measure popularity of the stories in the blogosphere from two viewpoints: content and a timeline. In terms of content, we suggest several approaches to estimate language models for a news story and blog posts, and we evaluate the importance of the story using these language models. Furthermore, we generate a temporal profile of a news story by exploring the timeline of blog posts related to the story, and evaluate its importance based on the temporal profile. We experimentally verify the effectiveness of the proposed approaches for identifying top news stories.     

The expression of localism: Local TV news coverage in the new video marketplace

The emergence of a new video marketplace raises questions about the commitment of local TV news organizations to the FCC localism doctrine. Local news coverage at ten Pennsylvania stations in 1992 was content analyzed and compared with 1976 data collected by Adams (1980). Results indicate that stations devoted more coverage to outlying market areas in 1992 than in 1976, but emphasized sensationalism/human interest stories at the expense of local public affairs issues.     

Changing the Tire Instead of Reinventing the Wheel: Customizing an Existing Online Information Literacy Tutorial

ABSTRACT

Information literacy instruction has become a core responsibility of many academic librarian positions in recent years. Online information literacy tutorials have gained increasing popularity among librarians struggling to keep up with the growing demand for this type of instruction. The availability of high-quality, open source tutorials has prompted some librarians to customize existing tutorials rather than build their own resource from scratch. This article provides an overview and checklist for librarians who are considering customization of an existing online tutorial as a means of meeting student information literacy needs.