Cristina Nistor, Phd Lecturer Journalism Department Babe ş -Bolyai University, Romania

Media and University Rankings

Academic Cooperation and Competitiveness, University Ranking Methodologies, September 2009, Romania

Cristina Nistor, Phd LecturerJournalism Department

Babeş-Bolyai University, [email protected]

Cristina Nistor Phd Lecturer [email protected]


Structure:

The main role and effects of media (within a democratic society) University rankings / the Berlin Principles on Ranking of Higher

Education Institutions Media coverage of education / within general media and niche media

(education) / within the technical progresses in the industry Media coverage of (university) rankings Media articles (examples) Some conclusions



Rankings of higher education institutions a global phenomenon

They serve many purposes:

they respond to demands from consumers for easily interpretable information;

they stimulate competition; they provide some of the rationale for allocation of funds; and they help

differentiate among different types of institutions and different programs and disciplines.

Berlin Principles on Ranking of Higher Education Institutions, 2006



The role of media to inform to explain to entertain/etc

The media effects

the agenda-setting effect the media dependency theory the media effect of silent spiral / etc



Media coverage of education:

general media (print and online media, TV and radio) they provide general news (including news on education) to very large and complex audiences

recent studies suggest that there are some serious weaknesses in mainstream education reporting, especially when it comes to daily newspapers. "readers would have to look long and hard to find the larger education story in their daily newspapers." (http://thisweekineducation.blogspot.com/2005/12/is-daily-education-coverage-closed.html)

limits: a (general media) reporter’s lack of a proper background in the field may cause serious damage to the information provided to the large audiences; general audiences (!)

challenges: the communicator (the universities) should pay attention that the reporter (therefore the media audiences) understands the entire context/criteria



Media coverage of education:

When do general media cover education? whenever there is a “wow” factor involved:

important conferences or inaugurations, special guests, awarding ceremonies (personalities), rankings and (of course) any kind of crisis! (The biggest the crisis, the more intense the coverage!)

during specific important moments (admissions, graduations)



niche journalism – educational journals they provide very specific news (on education) addressed to niche media consumers; these journals are categorized on topics such as:

Educational Administration, Business Education Curriculum Studies Education Research Sociology of Education and others (according to yahoo.com searching engine)

advantages: specialized journalists / specialized media consumers the perfect communication tool for more elaborated/in-depth articles on

educational issues



Media audience has always been fascinated by different kind of rankings (political rankings, sport rankings…)

university rankings generate massive media coverage, too.

Why do media cover (university) rankings so heavily?

it’s short, fast and easy to access it has always been easy to consume media

products that include different kind of rankings it is also quite easy to cover: there is “top”

and the “bottom”



What do experts say about this?

Harvard University: “Rankings highlight correlation between university prestige and media coverage <…>”

Boston College: “The major factors that contributed to BC’s high ranking were a well-published academic community, a strong public relations office, and a successful sports program in recent years.”

(http://www.languagemonitor.com/college-rankings)



The Effect of Media Coverage On Education

Discussion regarding the media’s coverage impact on American education nowadays / Harvard Graduate School of Education/Dean Kathleen McCartney together with New York Times columnist Bob Herbert and Boston Globe columnist Derrick Jackson:

education doesn’t get the attention it deserves education is greatly influenced by media, especially columnists a common problem with media is their tendency to lead with stories the

public wants to read, rather than what it needs to know the media seems to favor writing about problematic school systems

rather than inspirational stories of school and student success.

(http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news_events/features/2008/04/09_media.php)



Covering education

it's really important that journalists have a sense of history in terms of educational issues. And that they understand the context in which things happen in education. And then of course a deepened knowledge of the issues.

(Columbia Journalism Review, New York, Sept/Oct 2000, Vol. 39, Iss. 3; pg. 34)



Berlin Principles on Ranking of Higher Education Institutions

Presentation of Ranking Results

Provide consumers with a clear understanding of all of the factors used to develop a ranking, and offer them a choice in how rankings are displayed.

Be compiled in a way that eliminates or reduces errors in original data, and be organized and published in a way that errors and faults can be corrected.



Public opinion’s rankings – the same with the official ones (Gallup polls/http://www.gallup.com/poll/9109/Harvard-Number-One-University-Eyes-Public.aspx)

from time to time Gallup measures what colleges the general public considers to be the best in the nation

respondents to a July Gallup Poll were given the opportunity to answer to this question: "All in all, what would you say is the best college or university in the United States?“ there is one clear winner in the court of public opinion: Harvard University



The technical progress in communication offers new possibilities for reaching the large audiences

Universities (and not only) are no longer 100% media dependent in terms of communicating they can easily/with no significant expensive costs develop their own tools of communication:

websites newsletters email lists blogs etc

these communication tools could:

reach different categories of audiences provide more in-depth information (without the usual words/time

limitations imposed by the professional print or broadcasting media)

Cristina Nistor Phd Lecturer cristiCristina Nistor Phd Lecturer [email protected]@staff.ubbcluj.ro



Washington Monthly magazine came out with its own college rankings today, naming the nation’s “best’’ colleges from a very different vantage point from that of U.S. News and World Report.

The Washington Monthly ratings try to measure which colleges do the most for the social good, by improving social mobility, producing research and promoting service.

The New York Times, September 2009



Some conclusions

the majority of studies indicate that often journalists focus on high profile education events and issues

media have always been interested in covering crises, problems and scandals that may occur in the education institutions/system, rather than develop balanced in-depth articles; even if they don't have a "wow" factor, the latest would definitely provide more useful information for the audiences

within a media industry limited by financial pressures, the public media institutions hold a very significant role in providing in-depth information on educational issues; these institutions have both the mission and the budget/human resources to include educational topics within their program.

Cristina Nistor, Phd Lecturer Journalism Department Babe ş -Bolyai University, Romania

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