How to Engage Millennials in the News — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

How to Engage Millennials in the News

Name: Jennifer Shelman
Major: Marketing and Public Relations
Hometown: Solon, Iowa
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Senior thesis

Abstract

The Millennial Generation is characterized by the capacity to access and assess practically limitless quantities of information within seconds. Millennials, also known as Generation X, defines individuals born from the early 1980s to the early 2000s, which happened to be the cusp of the technology boom. As the first generation to grow up with technology, they did not have to adapt like generations before; many Millennials cannot remember a time in which the Internet did not exist. Because of the interrelation between the millennial cultural identity and technology, Millennials are often referred to as “digital natives” (Fromm 167).

Millennials (ages 18-34 in 2015) are currently the largest generation at 75.3 million and are transitioning into a larger proportion of societies’ decision makers. The ability to function as a responsible adult is contingent upon the depth of world knowledge the individual has obtained, and the key way to obtain world knowledge is through the news (Fry).

Throughout recent history, the main source of news and information has been local television news stations and newspapers. But, newspapers have experieced a decline over the past decade and in recent years; local television stations have seen a waning as well (Potter). Millennials are not using traditional sources for news like generations before them. This study aims to determine the most effective way to engage Millennials in the news and will consider television, web, social media, and apps.

Poster file