Online Environmental Risk Information Seeking Via North Carolina’s Urban-Rural Divide

By Laurie Phillips, Daniel Riffe and Robert McKeever WJMCR 47 (June 2014) Introduction | The Digital Divide | Specialized Information | Environmental Risk | Hypotheses | Method | Discussion and Conclusion Abstract Using statewide telephone survey data from North Carolinians (N=406), this digital divide study oversampled rural households to explore urban rural differences in Internet access, use, and […]

News Coverage of Environmental Risks: Subjective Knowledge, Personal Efficacy and Perceived Usefulness of Different Media

By Brooke Weberling, Jennette Lovejoy and Daniel Riffe  WJMCR 40 (February 2011) Introduction | Previous Research | Theoretical Framework | Research Questions and Hypotheses | Method | Findings | Discussion and Conclusion Abstract Telephone survey data (N=511) are used to explore relationships among exposure, attention, and usefulness of online, newspaper, and television environmental news; subjective knowledge; personal efficacy; and environmental risk. Correlations show exposure to online environmental news was […]

An Exploration of Sample Sizes for Content Analysis of the New York Times Web Site

By Xiaopeng Wang and Daniel Riffe WJMCR 20 (May 2010) Introduction|Literature Review|Method|Results|Conclusion and Discussion Abstract This study explores the effectiveness and efficiency of sample sizes for content analysis of online newspaper sites. Using simple random sampling, the comparisons showed that a sample size of six days was effective and efficient to represent one year of content […]

Examining the Features, Policies, and Resources of Citizen Journalism: Citizen News Sites and Blogs

Stephen R. Lacy, Daniel Riffe, Esther Thorson, and Margaret Duffy WJMCR 15 (June 2009) Introduction|Background|Method|Results|Conclusion Abstract This study used content analysis to explore the policies, citizen participation features, and means of financial support for sixty-four citizen journalism sites�both news sites and blogs�in 15 randomly selected U.S. cities. Community size was related to number of sites in […]

Media System Dependency Theory and Using the Internet for In-depth, Specialized Information

Daniel Riffe, Stephen Lacy, and Miron Varouhakis WJMCR 11 (January 2008) Introduction|Literature Review|Research Questions|Method|Results|Conclusions Abstract This national survey found that a notable percentage of people depend on the Internet as a valued source of in-depth information about health, science, and business. Between 31% and 50% of the respondents said they use the Internet weekly for in-depth […]