The Water's Width* Need to check on what I previously submitted (2011)

Undergraduate: Elizabeth Hazeltine

Faculty Advisor: Lucila Vargas
Department: Journalism & Mass Communication

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This thesis aims to excavate the relationship among community media, community, identity and place on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, United Kingdom and Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. Community media is a genre of news and information distinguished from the mainstream by its dedication to serving its audience, rather than delivering a product. Ethnographic-style interviews with longtime community members and community journalists at the Inverness Oran and CBC Sydney in Cape Breton and West Highland Free Press and CULLIN FM in Skye are the primary source of insight into the interaction among community media and their community audiences. Respondents’ comments about community media content and the community journalists who produce it illustrate this connection. Combined with information from community journalists, these interviews illustrate both audience and professional perspectives. Grounded theory analysis revealed mutual understanding, cooperative news processes, dialogue between community and community journalists, and community journalists’ philosophy about their work. The exchange of criticism and encouragement between community members and community journalists shapes the news process from collection to assigning news value, realigning the content and form with the community’s priorities. Community journalists explained the philosophy that guides their work as a “reflection” of community concern. All of the characteristics demonstrate an egalitarian relationship