Abstract
This paper examines the relationship between local police and television news journalists in small town America in order to identify effective strategies for building and maintaining trust and increasing positive communication between the two organizations. The study was designed as a quantitative study, performed using an Internet based survey that focused on police and media relations specifically designed to measure the perceptions of journalists and police, the strategies used to communicate between the two organizations, the effectiveness of community policing, and the role of the public information officer. Police officers and television news journalists from around the country were selected based on availability through the use of the Nielsen market rankings. The research findings suggest that that police personnel consider the relationship between the two organizations to be stronger than journalists consider it to be, both police and journalists hold strong impressions of one another, and both organizations need to be more open to information sharing at all levels in order to build a stronger police-media relationship.
Advisor
Johnson, Michelle
Department
Communication Studies
Recommended Citation
Chunglo, Julia, "They Will Lie to You: a Solution For Interorganizational Conflict Through a Quantitative Analysis of the Communication Patterns Between Law Enforcement and Journalists in Small Town America" (2012). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 999.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/999
Disciplines
Journalism Studies | Social Influence and Political Communication
Keywords
communication studies, police, media, conflict, organization, journalism
Publication Date
2012
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2012 Julia Chunglo