Big data and analytics now make it possible for media researchers and professionals to quantify media content and audience usage. Today, legacy and new media producers have replaced intuition with new ways of understanding audiences through data analytics that inform the creation, distribution, and marketing of media content.  Audience usage data are streamed instantaneously from computers and mobile devices, and by traditional media, such as broadcast radio and television, that infuse and enhance their distribution with online platforms.  New computational procedures allow content producers the opportunity to analyze large amounts of data, consider nuanced patterns of audience consumption, link datasets to generate actionable insights, and visualize data in ways that guide decision making.  This symposium will consider a range of topics that specifically impact media academic programs and professions.

Research Symposium Chair:  Don A. Grady, Elon University, gradyd@elon.edu

8:00 – 8:30 am – Early Bird Coffee

8:30 – 9:00 am – Student Poster Session

Topics for the poster session include any topic pertinent to understanding, monitoring, reporting, visualizing and interpreting data, and engaging audiences using tradition empirical media analysis, including qualitative and quantitative approaches and social media analytics.

Vice Chair/Paper Competition Chair: Amanda Sturgill, Elon University

1st place: Drew Scott, Elon University; Using analytics to assess the AltGov vs. Official Government on Twitter

2nd place: Rachyl E. Jackson, Elon University; Comparing Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes online communities: A natural language processing study

3rd place: Ansley Hamilton, Caroline Miller & Madeleine Hagy, Elon University; #ThisisWe: A content analysis of live tweets of This is Us

Calvin Mincer, Elon University; Jane Seidel, The Wall St. Journal; Actions Speak Louder than Words: Incarceration and the Success of Rappers

Drew Scott, Elon University; Charles Perschau, Elon University; Breaking News“Don’t Read the Comments”:  Sentiment Analysis of YouTube Political News Comment Threads

Eddie Metzger, Ball State University Department of Journalism; Enhancing Regional Tourism Through Media Analytics

Jasper Pike, Elon University; Bennett Lemanski, Elon University; How Long Should a TV Show Last?

Xiaoyu Wu, Ohio University; What Can Data Tell Us?  The Value of Using Social Media for SMEs: A Case Study on Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery

9:00 – 10:00 am – Curriculum and Instruction: Teaching Legacy and Social Media

This session will focus on teaching traditional media measurement and social media analytics. Submissions are encouraged that focus on the development of courses (knowledge and skills), introduction of core analytics concepts, the selection and use of various media platforms, analytic tools, dashboards and, statistical packages, consideration of the value and selection of metrics and performance indicators that address audience engagement, and the use of metrics to guide content and storytelling.

Vice Chair/Paper Competition Chair: Ann Hollifield, University of Georgia
Jennifer Robinette, Marist College; Cultivating Analytics Proficiency in Communication Undergraduates: A Sequence of Social Media Active Learning Experiences in an Applied Research Class

Kathleen Stansberry, Elon University & Madison MacKenzie, Elon University; Equipping the Media Analytics Toolbox: A Study of the Skills Required for Entry and Mid-Level Media Analytics Jobs

Miao Guo, Ball State University; Integrating Media Analytics across the Journalism and Mass Communication Curriculums: Digital and Social Opportunities

Dianne Finch, Salem State University;

10:15 – 11:30 am – Applied Data-Driven Decision Making
Moderator: Jack MacKenzie, Executive Vice President, PSB Research
Panelists: Patricia Marsden, Senior Director of Research, EW Scripps
Jamal Salmon, Vice President, Research & Analytics Marketing, Paramount Pictures
Vinny Bruzzesse, Analytics Consultant

11:45 – 12:45 pm – Student Poster Session (Continued)

1:00 – 2:00 pm – Research Symposium Keynote Address

Lee Rainie is the Director of Internet and Technology research at the Pew Research Center, a non-profit, non–partisan “fact tank” that studies the social impact of the internet. His Project was described by the American Sociological Association as the “most authoritative source of reliable data on the use and impact of the internet and mobile connectivity” and the ASA awarded him and the Internet Project its award for “excellence in the reporting on social issues award.” The Project has issued more than 650 reports based on its surveys that examine people’s online activities and the internet’s role in their lives.
Lee is a co-author of Networked: The new social operating system with sociologist Barry Wellman about the social impact of the internet, mobile phones and social media. He is also co-author of five books about the future of the internet that are based on Project surveys about the subject.  Prior to launching the Pew Internet Project, Lee was managing editor of U.S. News & World Report.
Introduction:  Don A. Grady, Elon University, 2018 Research Symposium Chair
Symposium Keynote Speaker: Lee Rainie, Director, Internet, Science and Technology, Pew Research Center

2:15 – 3:15 pm – Analysis and Interpretation: Researching Content and Audiences using Media Analytics Chair: Jessica Pucci,

This session will focus on the use of media analytics to answer meaningful questions, to help drive content creation, and to engage with audiences. Other relevant topics include: sources and characteristics of data, methods of collecting, storing and managing data, interpreting results, gauging the success of news, information, entertainment and persuasive messages, and considering access, privacy and ethical responsibilities, such as hacking and fake news.
Vice Chair/Paper Competition Chair: Jessica Pucci, Arizona State University

Maryam Mohamed Abdulla Shaikh Mohamed Saleh, Ohio University; Suleyman Gurbanov, Ohio University; Rena Yamada, Ohio University; Richard Quarshie, Ohio University; Comparative Study of Memes in North America, Post-Soviet Region, and West Africa: Common Characteristics of the Most Engaging Online Content on Twitter

Jacob Nelson, Northwestern University; Measurement Uncertainty in the Pursuit of Audience Engagement

Bryan Anderson, Elon Uninversity; Qian Xu, Elon University; Winning over Fans: How Sports Teams Use Live-Tweeting to Maximize Engagement

3:30 – 4:30 pm – Research Data in the Real World of Local Media
In a best-case scenario, academic studies can push the media research industry toward greater measurement accuracy and better consumer insight. But, the day-to-day business of media is often done in less than ideal circumstances with less than ideal data, particularly in local markets. Join us for an insightful panel conversation with local market media research leaders as they discuss the current measurement landscape, as well as efforts underway to improve it.
Moderator: Dan McDonald, Vice President, Research, National Association of Broadcasters
Panelists: Bill McDowell, VP-Research, Raycom Media Inc.
Ed Cohen, VP-Ratings and Research, Cumulus Media