Website management: A course of study for strategic communication students Christine Clark Perry A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Chapel Hill 2010 Approved by: Lois Boynton, Ph.D. Heidi Hennink-Kaminski, Ph.D. Ron Bergquist, Ph.D. © 2010 Christine Clark Perry ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT CHRISTINE CLARK PERRY: Website management: A course of study for strategic communication students (Under the direction of Lois Boynton, Ph.D.) Strategic communicators are increasingly called upon to evaluate, maintain, and improve websites. Yet, journalism and mass communication schools are not adequately preparing students to assume the role of website manager. This thesis presents evidence of the need for a website management course and offers a solution for professional graduate and upper-level undergraduate students studying public relations, advertising, or marketing. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the patience, love, and support of my husband, Vernon, who took care of me and our home during my years in graduate school. He has been my rock, and I thank him deeply. I would also like to thank my advisor and committee chair, Lois Boynton, for her guidance and enthusiasm for my project; my other committee members, Heidi Hennink- Kaminski and Ron Bergquist, for their helpful contributions; and all of the journalism and mass communication professors who directly or indirectly influenced my work. Ramona DuBose and other leaders at the public health school also supported my studies and allowed me to flex work hours around my schoolwork. Likewise, I could not ask for a better group of colleagues in the school’s communications and information technology groups. I have learned so much from all of them. A special thanks goes to Yvonne Welbon at Bennett College for Women. She saw my potential, valued my experience, and provided me with a laboratory – a classroom where I could test and strengthen my teaching skills. Thank you also to the strong undergraduate women at Bennett who challenged me to achieve teaching excellence. Finally, my list of acknowledgements would not be complete without mentioning my sensei, Beth Seigler, who helped me find my spirit, energy, and focus, and my adult son, Kevin Clark, whose maturity and independence allowed me to pursue my dream. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................... 6 Historical perspective.................................................................................. 6 Communicator challenges ........................................................................... 8 Content performance ................................................................................. 12 The need for a website management pedagogy ........................................ 15 Teaching methods and materials ............................................................... 19 III. RESEARCH QUESTION AND METHOD ................................................... 24 Research question ..................................................................................... 24 Filling a pedagogical gap .......................................................................... 24 Method ...................................................................................................... 25 Course descriptions. ...................................................................... 25 Syllabi analysis. ............................................................................ 27 Textbook analysis. ........................................................................ 27 IV. RESEARCH RESULTS ................................................................................. 29 Course descriptions ................................................................................... 29 v Syllabi analysis ......................................................................................... 32 Textbook analysis ..................................................................................... 34 V. PILOT COURSE.............................................................................................. 38 VI. PROJECT: THE COURSE OF STUDY ........................................................ 42 VII. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................. 56 APPENDICES Appendix A: A sample of possible reading or discussion materials .................... 60 Appendix B: ACEJMC Accredited Programs: 2009 - 2010 ................................. 61 Appendix C: Course descriptions ......................................................................... 75 Appendix D: Internet and Web-related courses offered at UNC-Chapel Hill .... 113 Appendix E: Sample syllabi ................................................................................ 118 Appendix F: Textbooks....................................................................................... 142 Appendix G: Piloting teaching methods and resources ...................................... 151 Appendix H: Pilot: Final project checklist.......................................................... 159 Appendix I: Website management course outlines for instructor ....................... 161 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 179 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Strategic Communication Sequences Offered by ACEJMC-Accredited Colleges and Universities…………………………………………………….….26 2. Types of Internet or Web Courses Offered by ACEJMC-Accredited Colleges and Universities……………………………………………………..…30 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Website Management Course Syllabus……………………………………...…..49 viii CHAPTER I Introduction When corporations, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and private businesses create websites, the purpose is generally to communicate a message to a specific audience or group of audiences. When strategic communication practitioners craft messages, their goal is to provide information that will effect a change in attitude or behavior, such as encouraging a voter to select a specific candidate or enticing a consumer to purchase a product. Because strategic communicators are knowledgeable and experienced in targeting audiences, developing strategies, writing messages, and managing relationships, it seems natural that strategic communication practitioners would be the most likely candidates for managing corporate websites. For several reasons, however, that is often not the case. First, research shows that many strategic communicators are unprepared for the task (Hill & White, 2000). Often coming from print and broadcast backgrounds, many mid-career practitioners still see the Internet as a foreign and scary place. Information technology experts sometimes compound the situation by using vocabulary unique to the industry, making the Internet seem all the more foreign. Young practitioners might have more Internet experience and confidence, but without technical knowledge of the ever- changing landscape of Web development languages, software, hardware, and best practices, they, too, will be unprepared to apply their campaign management skills to the ongoing management of a website. Another reason that websites are often not managed by strategic communicators has to do with the history of the World Wide Web’s development and the history of website development in each organization (e.g., Mahler & Regan, 2007). Despite the history of website development and the limited capacity of many strategic communicators to manage sites, organization leaders are increasingly placing website management in the hands of public relations or marketing departments.1 The “2007 G.A.P. V Study” from the Strategic Communication and Public Relations Center ranked external websites fifth among functions for which strategic communicators have primary budgetary responsibility – higher than community relations, corporate reputation, and 16 other communication functions (Swerling, J., et al, n.d.). The Council of Public Relation Firms, in its “Q4 2009 Quick Survey” (2010), found that 82% of respondents anticipate online media to be the highest growth area in the public relations industry in 2010. When executives delegate website management to strategic communicators, they view their online presence as a communication tool that may help achieve organizational goals, and they likely understand the importance of content audits, a customer-driven marketing strategy, message development, relationship management, and evaluation – tactics best provided by professional communication practitioners. Although many 1 Personal communication and an observation of trends in my working environment have led me to this conclusion. For example, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in recent years, I have observed several schools and units either create new communication positions or expand existing positions to handle website