Slideshows: New Shorenstein Fellows Look at Polls, Nonprofit Journalism

February 6, 2009
by Lindsay Hodges Anderson

The Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy welcomes four spring fellows this semester. Their research will focus on everything from conflicts between newsroom staff to an investigation into the use of polls in mainstream media.

Our fellows and visiting faculty this semester reflect the cutting edge of new media, traditional journalism and scholarship, and will offer Harvard students a rich resource in multiple dimensions," said Alex S. Jones, director of the Shorenstein Center.

Maralee Schwartz, who spent more than 20 years at The Washington Post and spent time as Harvard Kennedy School as a visiting lecturer, is going to look at nonprofit journalism and how nonprofits contribute content to media outlets. For instance, Schwartz said she will look at the Kaiser Foundation which produces “Kaiser Health News,” a news service that provides coverage on healthcare policy, and examine whether such nonprofits offer valuable, unbiased coverage to media outlets. In light of the cash-strapped newspaper industry Schwartz will explore the issues around newspapers making more use of these nonprofit sources. Will the quality of work decline? Who will keep an eye on this content sharing?

“For a newspaper that is going to take their work, how can you avoid questioning if the stakeholder doesn’t have some stake in [the story]?” said Schwartz.

Hear Schwartz discuss her research

Michael Traugott, professor of communication studies at the University of Michigan, will carry out research on the use of polling in mass media. He said he intends to approach his research at the “intersection of methods and substance,” not just from a mathematical, scientific point of view.

Traugott, who first became interested in polls after working at the Gallup organization, said he intends to look at how polls were used during the 2008 presidential campaign and how the main players in the world of polling contributed to news coverage.

Hear Traugott discuss his research

The other fellows, Mitchell Stephens and James O’Shea, will examine the priorities of major news organizations and conflicts in the newsroom, respectively.

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