Date of Award

1-1-2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Nobuya Inagaki

Abstract

With the rise of the Internet, print media has been forced to reinvent itself. Now, with the growing acceptance of social media networks such as Facebook, the industry must once again find relevance within the new technology. As social networks have become widely accepted within the general population, it behooves print publications to be involved in the same milieu as its readers. Becoming part of the social networking community as well as a publication’s geographic community may reap rewards as publications begin to participate in and foster conversations around topics of interest in the community. This thesis discusses the link between technology and community, looking at gatekeeper theory, social identification theory and two-way symmetrical communication in turn. It further examines this link by reporting on focus group research including both producers of print publications and their readers who also use social media, gauging their acceptance of social media and their willingness to further engage in conversations via the medium. By measuring both groups’ level of engagement with social media, the study’s findings suggest a willingness to further participate in social media as a way disseminate and read news and community information, and to perhaps go a step further by engaging in conversations that may benefit the community at large.

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