Miller, Mason E. (author / CSRS, USDA) and CSRS, USDA
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
1982
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 54 Document Number: C01093
Notes:
AgComm Teaching; See ID C01090, In: Marks, J.J. and Cooper, B., eds. Proceedings of the EXCOP Communications workshop; 1982 September 16-17; St. Louis, MO. Columbia, MO : University of Missouri, 1982. p. 11-14
Online from publisher. 4 pages., Author and current editor in chief of Progressive Farmer magazine describes his journey into agricultural journalism, with special emphasis on his participation in AAEA (1998 president) and the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists. "Why didn't someone warn me? I'm glad they didn't. Otherwise, I never would have joined AAEA or enjoyed the rich rewards of friendships from ag communicators both near and far."
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 26 Document Number: B02658
Notes:
See B02289 for original; Phase 1, In: Communication for change with the rural disadvantaged : a workshop. Washington, D.C. : National Academy of Sciences, 1972. p. 84-92
16 pages, via online journal article, This study examined the online content of interdisciplinary agricultural center webpages. Content modification dates, mission statements, and content were determined through a content analysis. Many of the websites did not mention a modification date for the content, while many websites had outdated content mostly older than six months. More than two-thirds of the websites provided PDFs that visitor could download to learn more about topics, by many of the websites lacked any media element that was being coded. Additionally, many websites did not use multiple forms of media. More than half of the websites were coded as lacking any social media content or plugins, but out of the websites that did include social media content, Facebook was the most prevalent. The commonalities between the center’s mission displayed on the website and the content theme were analyzed and chi-square tests provided the degree of association. A significant association existed and an alignment between communication strategies and missions of the centers was concluded, which is important when organizations communicate about agricultural science as indicated by previous literature. It is recommended that centers communicate via their websites in a timely manner and allow modification times to be seen to viewers to show their information is up-to-date. Website media content should also be diversified and communicators of these centers should explore the unique communication opportunities provided by social media. Future research should explore the target audience of interdisciplinary agricultural centers and should analyze the messages centers are using to communicate with those audiences.
