"OU Nightly:" Promoting news consumption to children

"OU Nightly:" Promoting news consumption to children
By Annie Bowen

Situated at the end of a long hallway in the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Oklahoma students work diligently for hours each weekday to produce the nightly news broadcast “OU Nightly.”

“OU Nightly” covers news and events relevant to the OU campus and Norman area, as well as national news and weather. Despite the specific focus on the OU and Norman communities, however, many students and Norman residents are unaware of its existence and/or details about the program, such as when it airs.

One of the publics we are targeting in our campaign to promote “OU Nightly” is Norman parents of elementary-aged children. We plan to publicize the general details of “OU Nightly,” while also relaying the idea that “OU Nightly” is concerned with Norman children and the community.

The main messaging and strategy we developed for this public is a focus on encouraging children to begin to follow the news at an early age, and educating parents about how to speak with their children about the news.

We found a considerable amount of research about the media consumption habits of children and young people. For example, a 2007 Pew Research Center study found that close to 61% of parents (with children in kindergarten through senior year of high school) encourage their children to consume news content, such as reading the newspaper or watching the news. Despite this, however, only 6% of children currently follow news about national and international issues very closely. In fact, “the vast majority don't follow the news too closely or at all.” Other studies also indicate that fewer young people are watching the television.

Further, we found that parents are seeking guidance in regard to how to dialogue with children about the violence they witness on the news each night. As part of our campaign, we will provide sources like the PBS Web site that contain information about how to speak openly with children about events on the news.

Overall, we reasoned that, through a relationship centered around their children, we could provide Norman parents with useful information about news consumption, encourage a new generation of media consumers and also promote our client to its target publics.

Image available at http://jmc.ou.edu/Pulse/broadcast_students.html