The Role of Local News Media in University Public Engagement Report

The Role of Local News Media in University Public Engagement Report

Dr Anita Greenhill & Dr Gary Graham

Acknowledgements:

This project was funded by the NCCPE (The National Co Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement) and workshops were organized by the authors at Manchester Business School and the Cube Gallery. We would like to thank the Manchester University Beacon and staff for their support throughout the project, and also Peter Murray from the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) for his support and contribution during our full day workshop.

About the Authors:

Dr Greenhill is an academic, community worker, and urban gardener. She is a regular contributor to local initiatives and believes that direct contribution to the communities in which we align ourselves is a core means from which inequalities can be redressed. Her primary academic mission is to contribute to the need for more public accountability by universities in regenerating local economies and communities. Shehas an extensive research and publication list exploring cultural practices of online communities, virtual interactions, and the use of new media for a variety of social and business practices.

Dr Graham is an academic, blogger, freelance journalist, and science fiction author. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of the Creative Commons organization. His scholarship focuses on university engagement with their local communities and educational policies to widen working class participation in higher education. Graham and Greenhill are members of the ESRC-funded centre for research into economic and social change (CRESC) which is a joint research initiative between the Open University/Manchester University.

The focus of our scholarship is the role that local news media plays in diffusing and engaging the public with the intellectual expertise,outputs and products generated by universities. This is a unique and under researched area. While there is a growing body of work exploring the broader issue of engagement in Higher Education, our specific focus is on new technology adoption and its usage as a tool for engagement. In the past three years we have observed a period of major upheaval in Britain. We have lived through one of the worst recessions this country has ever seen with dramatic consequences for businesses both large and small across the nation. A coalition government has been formed and embarked upon a programme of public spending cuts designed to rebalance Britain’s books and reduce the deficit. Recently the coalition government while acknowledging the need for more public accountability of universities have also stressed the vital role they need to begin to play in regenerating local economies and communities. There is need to examine the consequences and possibilities of universities and communities effectively engaging via new technologies in the building and sharing of expertise.

Dr Greenhill and Dr Graham have combined expertise in the areas of new technology and digital culture, business modelling and value chains. They have a long established research foundation in carrying out qualitative and immersive research methodological studies. This combined expertise provides a unique insight in the phenomenon and enabled us to conduct/complete the research.

Table of Contents:

Section 1 - Introduction

Section 2- Project Details

Section 3- Research Findings

Section 4- Research Policy and Implications

Section 5- Future Directions

Section 6- Conclusions

Executive Summary

The aim of this project was to explore the role of local news media in diffusing the intellectual expertise and knowledge from universities and engaging the public in their work. The research begins by studyinguniversity engagement practices with news media operations in inner city Manchester. Examininguniversity engagement practices with local communities (as part of the widening participation agenda) and exploring what news and information flows between these parties.

The study gathered detailed representation of the news media and community engagement experiencesof universities located in inner city Manchester through the use of two workshops alongside a series of in depth interviews with a cross section of news content producers and consumers. These representedactors involved in current news and community engagement activities. Each workshop had between 10 and 20 people in attendance; all of whom were experts in the field, including, a selection of academics, members of the press and associated Unions, and local community group representatives.

The study revealed there are a number of hyperlocal examples currently in operation in inner city Manchester. For example there are hyper local news site such as:“Inside the M60” voice media” there are numerous network of bloggers, community websites and community online forums such as “Whalley Range” forum website

There are clear indicationsfrom our study that universities are workingwith local communities, and there were positive signs for improvement in cross local news engagement.Furthermore there are clear examples of the universities and local community groups engaging in accordance to the widening participation agenda and utilising the online medium as a means to disseminate information and enhance cooperation together e.g. ”commixed” the “beacon projects” and “arcspace”

However, currently there is little indication that universities and local communities have strategic mechanisms in place forsharing ‘News’ and effectively engaging together in the coproduction of hyperlocal news content production. There ismuch room for improvement in the following areas: strategic auditing and measuring media effectiveness, monitoring social and commercial influence, community penetration, brand positioning and virtual identity.

The main themes that emerged from our workshops included the following:

• Universities continue to follow a traditional approach to news dissemination.
• The underlying understandings about news and audience are both similar and different for universities and local communities.
• University and local community do have long term and existing relationships, however there is a notable shift towards short term project driven engagement.
• Time and location play a significant role in news sharing and relationship building.
• Costs and funding are core to both the production and consumption of news
• Digital access and technological Infrastructure are playing a significant role in how universities are and are not engaging

Section 1- Introduction

Defining Engagement

Public Engagement in Higher Education is defined by the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) as,

“the many ways in which higher education institutions and their staff and students can connect and share their work with the public. Done well, it generates mutual benefit, with all parties learning from each other through sharing knowledge, expertise and skills. In the process, it can build trust, understanding and collaboration, and increase the sector's relevance to, and impact on, civil society.” (NCCPE, 2011)

Recent research highlights the importance of university engagement in stimulating innovation and economic growth (Cash et al, 2004, Percy et al, 2009). Historically universities have strategically focused their news media relations and communication resources at the national level for the associated prestige and esteem this achieves. The study of university engagement is a growing interest and there is a growing body of study exploring Higher Education engagement practice including the modelling of engagement practices (The Higher Education Community Engagement Model, 2003, Leiter et al 2007) (see the construction of inventories of engagement (Watson, 2004); principles of engagement (PEARLS,1999 ; National Consumer Council 2008)and critical perspectives on University engagement (Jackson 2010). While the majority of the research about higher education engagement practices focuses on the science and medical fields (Abreu, et al (2010), Royal Society, 2006, Science for All (2010) Burchell, et al (2009) there is little that delves into social science engagement practices and sustained relationship between higher Educational Institutions and their most immediate neighbours. Similarly, in relation to news media and university engagement while there are existing quantitative studies carried out about university online reputation levels (AURORA), there is a lack of research exploring engagement practices, and the role and contribution that universities make in relation to news information generation and dissemination via new media channels at a local level. This report makes initial inroads into addressing this scholarly gap and provides the foundations for broadening research about engagement practices (and the role and contribution universities play in relation to news information generation and dissemination via new media channels at a local level).

Defining news

News is defined as newly received or noteworthy information, especially about recent or important events, for local communities and the news appropriate to the local audience is predominantly situated within a physical location and is core to encapsulating a sense of community. Those who live within or closely to the surrounding community’s location are a key source of news as well as providing potential contributors and audience participation. Disruptions, significant events and changes to the physical location are all news worthy in this sense. There is no doubt that universities as knowledge generators and educators are both potential hubs of news production and consumption.

AUORA (2011) in their report on understanding University online reputation levels, draw on online media or news content, including media article recordings, instances of recordings of experts available to talk to the press about specialist issues, and student awards and achievements as they are presented in the media online. However when considering the news production of universities a breadth of topics about ‘universities’ are considered newsworthy for example, reporting the results of research, student and staff awards and achievements, the physical location of the institution and its campus’s, expert opinion (as mentioned above), educational practice including rankings and reputation levels and the general antics and ‘real life’ stories of student and staff, to name but a few. Universities have strong online media reputations and are newsworthy!

Universities also house significant numbers of people for extended periods of time and therefore have huge potential news audiences. The Guardian reports a total of 335,795 students who have submitted an application to study at university in 2011. While on the 1st December 2008 there were382,760 staff employed in the Higher Education sector, of whom 179,040 (46.8%) were academic professionals. For news producers these numbers represent a significant potential audience for their products.

A Period of Rapid Change

While traditional publishers, especially newspapers, are experiencing declining readership and a loss of advertising, it is internet organisations whose revenues are increasing. Uptake and user generated content on the Internet using the World Wide Web has changed dramatically in the past 20 years. The diffusion of the Internet has created new opportunities for local communities to engage with policy and governance, and enhance the engagement of civic groups, creating a more networked form of organisation, collectively and social movement (Anheier et al., 2001; Bartelson, 2006; Castells, 1999; 2005; Kaldor, 2003). Social media has taken the role of the Internet to a new level (Dutton& Eynon2009).Engagement practices and the potential for sharing news and information between universities and their most direct neighbours should not be underestimated. Technologies such as the internet have spread out to many aspects of daily life leading to a diversity of engagement with technologies. No longer can we describe our engagement with technologies simply as a pervasive electronic space it is now much more a ‘co-mingling of electronic and physical space’ (Page & Phillips, 2003: 73 quoted in Crang et al 2007). These engagements are highly diverse for example: the use of ATMs, iphones, ipods, accessing the internet at home or on the move. The development and advent of Web2.0 technologies is claimed to have moved from the consumption of information by users to the creation and linking of content by multiple users (Cormode and Krishnamurthy 2008). For example on social networking sites (SNS) people create digital profiles of themselves whose interests and friends are intertwined with messages, photographs and video (Boyd and Ellison 2007) enabling active ‘online’ modes of interaction. These changes in the media landscape have also resulted in a shift for traditional news publications with increasing attention turning to the unrestricted usage by online publishers of material. Although many newspapers launched websites in 1995 they have struggled to get consumers to pay for online news. Asincreased numbers of people embrace the variety of forms of technologically-enabled communication devices and online tools, there remains little clarification about the shifting platform of news content reporting and this new media landscape.

Legislation

It is not only changes to technology that are driving change in attitudes and processes for universities, there are also legislative reforms such as “The Research Excellence Framework (REF)” (see Lord Browne The REF is a part of the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s (HEFCEs) assessment of the quality of research in UK higher education institutions (HEIs). This framework replaces the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and is due to be completed by all HEIs in 2014. A main focus of the REF is that universities will need to illustrate their impact in relation to research and knowledge dissemination. The area of engagement is foundational to achieving the principles outlined in REF and the issues such as the sharing of news will be able to contribute to enhancing engagement practices between universities and their most direct neighbours. However currently there seems little evidence of research or considerations about how such practices are being carried out.

Community Representation

Thurman (2010) has argued that the advance of the social media/Web 2.0 is eroding away the timeliness, relevance and utility of the local news product. However there are clear indications that community news media firms are not a dying breed as predicted by Meyer (2004; 2008), but are evolving over time from being a product supplier into a multimedia content service provider. In response to the challenges of the internet, many media firms are retaining their community connectivity and therefore influence - for being trusted sources of locally produced news, analysis and investigative reporting about public affairs.

Community news media traditionally incorporates local newspapers, radio and television which act as a mirror to the communities they serve. Intellectuals such as Meyer (2004; 2008) and Franklin (2008) emphasise the essential role that news media plurality plays in maintaining public service journalism and community democracy. In essence they are the ‘social glue’ facilitating community connectivities and temporal belonging. There is a growing literature by writers such as Thurman (2010), who argue that the advance of the social media/Web 2.0 is eroding away the timeliness, relevance and utility of the local news product.

While recent research highlights the importance of university engagement for stimulating innovation and economic growth (Cash et al, 2004, Percy et al, 2009). Historically universities have strategically focused their news media relations and communication resources at the national level for the associated prestige and esteem this achieves. Widening participation and community engagement are “Cinderella activities” with low gravitas in respect to an individual’s presence, collegiate standing, peer reputation or career (promotion) prospects. A significant civil service and media criticism of universities is that although much of their work is publicly funded the scientific and technological outputs generated are frequently irrelevant and of limited value economically or socially to people living in the surrounding community. University media and communication policy, public relations (PR) resources and engagement strategies’ have been criticized for not being orientated towards the local news media or nearby communities.

The majority of the research about higher education engagement practices focuses on the science and medical fields (Abreu, et al (2010), Royal Society, 2006, Science for All (2010) Burchell, et al (2009) and there is little that delves into the relationship between higher education institutions and their neighbours. Similarly, in relation to news media and university engagement while there are quantitative studies carried out about University online reputation levels (AURORA), there is however a lack of research exploring the engagement practices, and the role and contribution Universities play in relation to news information generation and dissemination via new media channels at a local level.

This research therefore begins to address the gap through the exploration of University engagement practices and news media supply in inner city Manchester. We examined university engagement practices with local communities (as part of the widening participation agenda) exploring what news and information flows exist between these parties. The objective of the project is to explore the role of local news media in diffusing intellectual expertise and knowledge from universities and engaging the public in their work. Our project fits in with objectives 2, 3 and 5 of the Manchester University Beacon project. It aims to change perceptions and improve accessibility (objective 2); increase the relevance of research and connectivity with communities and to develop deeper partnership working across the Beacon partners and with the community (objective 3). Finally it aims to develop a more effective communication methodology and knowledge networks (objective 5).