Introduction

I am a senior at the University of Maryland, double majoring in journalism and psychology. I consider myself a writer (journalistic and creative) and approach journalism as a story-telling art form.  My main journalistic interests are in feature stories, human interest pieces, and articles related to psychology and health research. Other personally eye-catching news stories usually relate to art, theater and nature.

As a journalism student double majoring in psychology, I am naturally inclined to study and analyze human behavior. Understanding Online News Audiences will give me the chance to learn more about the motivations and behaviors of people using the internet for news retrieval.

One of my major goals for the course is to discover the different effects of reporting qualitative and quantitative research to news audiences. I'd like to learn about the pros and cons of each type of research. For example, is it helpful to present qualitative research on an extremely dense topic to make it more approachable? Or does this actual hinder the detail level and accuracy of the article?

Another major goal is to learn how to successfully interpret, synthesize and present tremendous amounts of data to the public concisely and accurately. I'd also like to delve into the differences between type of research institutes, such as universities, government organizations and NGOs. What should journalists keep in mind when using these different sources?

I'd also like to learn more about the growing popularity of Twitter as a source for news for college students and how people engage with instant news updates via their smart phones. Another topic of interest is which news audiences prefer personalized news. Do most college students prefer personalized news? Are adults over 50 less likely to be interested in personalized news?

I look forward to addressing these questions and more.