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About MMC's New Communities Initiative

Savvy publishers, editors and broadcasters have known for a long time that successful media products often spawn communities of users, readers and viewers. In the digital age, technology can enable new communities to form, amplify the power of community interaction and increase loyalty and participation.

The Media Management Center wants to help newsrooms, media companies and their leaders understand digital community-building and learn how to apply new technologies to connecting with their audiences and enabling audience members to connect with one another. The Center's New Communities Initiative is being led by Rich Gordon, associate professor at the Medill School of Journalism and a longtime MMC instructor.


The goals of the New Communities Initiative are:
  • Understand the different forms of online community - from traditional discussion boards to online social networks such as Facebook and MySpace to virtual worlds such as Second Life.

  • Work with our partners at media companies to understand the lessons they have learned about digital community-building;

  • Generate or foster research providing actionable insights on digital communities and their relevance to media companies;

  • Understand the potential connections between geographic communities and digital communities;

  • Explore ways journalism can benefit from, and contribute to, online communities;

  • Publicize strategies and best practices that are working to build connections between media companies and their audience communities.

The center's research and teaching will be informed by recent research on interpersonal and digital networks - a focus of the interdisciplinary Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems.


Some resources that may be helpful:
The Newspaper Association of America's "Online Community Cookbook" (authored by Rich Gordon)

Online Communities Can Build Engagement, but Require a Plan

Online Community is Essential to Newspapers

Blogs as Community

What News and Information Web Sites can Learn from Facebook and MySpace

News as a Dialogue Works Better for Democracy

    
Hold these dates for next year

July 19-30
Media Executive Leadership Program, James Allen Center, Northwestern University. Details here.

September 27-29
McCormick Scholars Biennial Symposium, James Allen Center, Northwestern University.

September 29-October 1
McCormick Fellows Fall Forum, James Allen Center, Northwestern University.


Contact Mike Smith for more about MMC engagements.

 
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phone: 847.491.4900 • fax: 847.491.5619 • email: contact@MediaManagementCenter.org