Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to report on the use of the critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) method as a potential tool for aiding library selection decisions. Design/methodology/approach -CIS was used to model research trends in the intersection of journalism and popular culture using presentation titles collected from five years of Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference programs (2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011). Findings -CIS was determined to be effective for focusing a subject selector's current awareness activities.Research limitations/implications -Considering the limited information provided in the PCA/ACA programs, the researchers were required to analyze the intent of many of the presentations from their titles and the titles of the sessions where they were given. Originality/value -CIS is a flexible means of systematically producing explanatory theories directly from the data that, while new to library and information science, is useful for modeling cutting-edge research for current awareness activities.

Studies suggest that the goal of convergence curriculum should be one in which students are prepared both conceptually and practically. The purpose of this study was to examine the experience of students working with new and traditional technologies to develop and produce news stories. The results indicate that participation in the course strengthened both students’ technological skills and skills of importance in traditional journalism—the ability to write, interview, and listen well; to construct a news story; and to adapt to varied situations. Students also developed a deeper understanding of themselves as storytellers.

The purpose of this study was to add to the limited body of knowledge on the effect of the media ethics course, specifically to investigate the effect of the course on the growth in moral judgment reasoning of students through a quasi-experimental pretest, post-test analysis using the Defining Issues Test 2 (DIT-2). Results demonstrated significant advances in such reasoning among students in one section of the media ethics course but not in the other. It is difficult to determine the exact cause that led to significant increases in moral judgment reasoning in one section of a course and not the other, but the effect of different educational interventions seems clear. Although we cannot know which techniques or combination of techniques were successful, it would seem that interactive and experiential activities that require demonstrated application of principles in the classroom are more successful than traditional Socratic lecture and reflection essay methods.

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This multistage project explored new territory by evaluating news stories produced by multiplatform journalism using different technologies and among viewers from different generations. Mixed results were found between the controlled laboratory setting and the nationwide deployment. Lack of significant differences in perception of transparency or credibility of news produced using traditional technologies and new technologies provides promising implications for those concerned with media economics and the benefits of multiplatform journalistic production.

The focus of the study centered on television (TV) newsgathering techniques and if the techniques delineated the quality of journalistic presentation. College students ( N = 493) were surveyed on preferences of production quality criteria associated with news stories produced by traditional two-person crews and backpack journalists (BPJs). Respondents were shown eight randomly selected videotaped news stories from a TV market that employed both traditional two-person news crews and BPJs. Each news story was judged on perceptions of pacing, camera composition, lighting, voice narration, interviews selected, and script production.