No abstract

In a nascent attempt at providing citizen-produced news content, volunteers produce quality telecasts of local high school sports via a state-of-the-art multimedia production facility that opened in 2011 in Greensburg, Kansas. This study reports the results of structured interviews with Kiowa County (KS) Media Center volunteers that reveal high levels of civic engagement, strong community-oriented motivations, and enthusiastic support for producing other communityjournalism projects. The need for strong leadership emerged as a central theme.

After the community of Almena, Kansas, lost its newspaper, citizens formed an all-volunteer organization to publish the hyperlocal Prairie Dog Press, which has existed for 21 years. This study examines the dynamics of the organization and volunteers’ motivations and finds collective efficacy and civic engagement at least partially explain the organization’s longevity. Volunteers’ strong bonds with one another have been key to sustaining the newspaper’s production.

This research sought to understand how the loss of a local newspaper impacts the community. Focus groups were conducted among a purposive sample of community leaders. The overall consensus was that residents miss having a single community information platform. Business owners lack an effective way to advertise. Respondents’ perception of the emerging communication platforms trying to fill the information void depends on the consumers’ technical proficiency and prior use of such platforms.

The role that leadership plays in the success or failure of community media organizations is an under-researched area. The concept of leadership in this paper refers to positive influence that moves a group towards its goals and is different from management because it relies on social influence rather than legitimate power to influence people. Focusing on the case studies of two community media organizations in rural Kansas, USA, the paper uses the Kirkpatrick and Locke model of leadership traits to examine the leadership qualities exemplified in these two organizations. The paper found evidence of all the six traits described in the model (drive, leadership motivation, honesty and integrity, self-confidence, cognitive ability and knowledge of business) present in both case studies. The paper also contributes to the further refinement of the model by identifying two other extra traits that ought to be considered in future community media studies.