Going Digital at College Newspapers: The Impact of Photo Credibility and Work Routines.

A study used a diffusion of innovation approach to examine the adoption of digital imaging technology at daily college newspapers and to gauge its effect on student journalists' attitudes about the credibility of news photography and their work routines. College papers are well suited for such a study because their adoption of technology is likely to be more gradual than at professional papers. The study measures adoption rates over a 3-year period using questionnaires sent to student newspapers publishing at least 4 days per week. Measurement began in the early adoption stage (13%) and concluded in the late majority stage (66%). In all, 99 newspapers participated. By April 1995, 56 of them were using digital imaging technology on a routine basis. Adoption rates followed an s-curved (sigmoid) pattern. Students at the papers using digital technology said they had an easier time processing their photographic reports. Most disturbing for the photojournalism profession, however, is the pessimistic attitude these student editors expressed about the future credibility of news photos. It is possible that those who work with the computers daily learn very well how easy it is to change photographic representation without leaving a trace. Students also reported that the technology allowed for significant improvements in the way they perform their jobs in the newsroom. Response patterns suggest early adopters and majority adopters reacted differently to digital imaging. (Contains 3 figures, one table of data, and 24 notes.) (TB) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. * ***********************************************************************