Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Akil II, Bakari Rashidi
URN	etd-04062007-140914
Title	African American News Websites: Publishers' Views, Perspectives and Experiences in Relation to the Social Construction of News, Online News and The Black Press
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy
Department	Communication, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Stephen McDowell Committee Chair Andy Opel Committee Member Felecia Jordan Committee Member Maxine Jones Committee Member
Keywords	Black History Website News African American Internet Publishers
Date of Defense	2007-03-19
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract The purpose of this dissertation was to understand Black publishers views, perspectives and experiences as they relate to the social construction of news, online news and the Black Press. Recording the views, perspectives and experiences of Black publishers, in their own words, was one of the major outcomes desired from this research. Using non-structured standardized interviews as the primary methodology, ten publishers participated in this study and shared their views, perspectives and experiences on the news creation process, on publishing Black news websites and their thoughts on the Black press and mainstream news organizations. A descriptive content analysis was also conducted to further understand the publishers’ views and perspectives on the social construction of news and how it manifested into a final product, the actual website. Findings indicate that the majority of publishers in this study follow the traditional processes and procedures of mainstream news organizations outlined by media scholars. However, resources (i.e., staff size, advertising revenue or capital) influence how closely the publishers adhere to these practices. When publishers have little resources they use different modes of behavior, utilizing the advantages available through the Internet. In addition, the majority of publishers in this study use agenda setting mainstream Internet news organizations as an agenda setting tool for their own news websites. The research also demonstrated that publishers consider themselves as a part of the traditional Black press but also realize that they have the potential to reach larger, diverse and more complex audiences than their offline predecessors.
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