News
Milbrath participates in capitol event
Scott Wagar
02/10/2015
Bottineau resident Heather Milbrath took part in North Dakota State University’s Undergraduate Research Day at the State Capitol in Bismarck in coordination with NDSU’s Office of Research and Creative Activity.
Eleven students from NDSU, along with their academic advisors, spent a day in the Capitol’s Legislative Hall sharing information with state officials about research projects they have conducted as undergraduates at the university.
For Milbrath, her undergraduate research topic came from her communication analysis course where she conducted a research project on the vitality of rural, small town North Dakota newspapers in association with larger daily papers in the state and the digital age of online newspapers.
“I looked at five different newspapers in North Dakota for a five week duration, which totaled 25 newspapers,” Milbrath said. “I analyzed article topics, graphics, authors and many other aspects of these weekly newspapers.
“One key finding that I found was that 75 percent of the articles I looked at had a very local focus. This seems obvious, but I think it is keyed to why small town newspapers are able to still thrive in a ‘dying’ newspaper age,” Milbrath added. “Readers of the Crosby Journal or Enderlin Independent buy these newspapers because they know the people in them. If readers want to find out about state or international news, they will go to a larger newspaper; or more often, go to online news.”
Milbrath stated that she was pleased with her research project.
“I really enjoyed reading the newspapers as it gave me insight on the happenings of small towns much like Bottineau,” she stated.
Milbrath discussed her project with state legislators and government officials, which she found beneficial in a number of ways.
“I enjoyed the experience because I was able to share what I had learned in class with others,” Milbrath said. “I was also able to learn quite a bit while there from the other students’ projects and from those I spoke with.”
Milbrath’s advisor and professor of her communication analysis was Dr. Charles Okigbo.