Allison Bradley, Megan Cencula, Andrew Hunt
Dr. Bryon Balint
MIS 3100.05
8 December 2015
The Belmont Observer: Social Media and Business Intelligence in Journalism
Business and Industry Overview
The Belmont Observer is a student newspaper on the campus of a small, private university. With a student population numbering roughly 7500 students, the University hosts a sizable population that could benefit from a student-centric news media organization. With a lean but driven staff, the Belmont Observer seeks to build community by informing students of the University about their neighbor. With the right business model and technology, the Observer can hopefully turn a profit.
The Belmont Observer operates in the news industry. The news industry is defined by the elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public, which includes print media, broadcast news, and online journalism. The news industry is highly subject to sociological and technological trends. According to Pew Research Center’s “State of the News Media” 2015 report, “Americans’ changing news habits have a tremendous impact on how and to what extent our country functions within an informed society. So too does the state of the organizations producing the news and making it available to citizens day in and day out.” In addition to the rise of mobile consumption, social media has also risen as a popular news medium.
The Observer covers the news by engaging in three main tasks. They cover existing news on the university campus. When a high-profile speaker comes to the University, they
…show more content…
Social networks add value to businesses by increasing the number of relationships, strength of relationships, and the number of connections to resources. No technology has had a larger impact on the news media industry than social