Current Research on Current Events

I wrote my final paper on the effect of social media and the Internet on the four leadership frames.  Social media is constantly changing.  What was relevant even a few years ago, is no longer applicable for leaders.  As I was conducting my research, I wanted to reference current events that have been affected by social media and the Internet.  I found there was a lack of scholarly articles on current events.  The peer review and publication process takes time, which could make it difficult for scholarly publications to keep up.  I found myself wondering if this was actually the case or perhaps I am not proficient at looking up articles?  In my paper, I compromised and used a mix of scholarly articles with references to current events using credible news sources like The New York Times and the Associated Press.  A great example of this surfaced when I was writing about the Symbolic Frame.  I was trying to come up with ways the Symbolic Frame could be negatively impacted by social media and the Internet.  A great example of this was a case involving the Texas Rangers before the last game of the 2011 World Series.  A member of the organization leaked an audio copy of the manager’s pregame speech over the Internet.  The pregame speech is a ritual that is sacred to a team.  The manager used language and made statements that were not intended to leave the locker room.  What was intended to be a motivational speech became a source of embarrassment in the aftermath.  I ended up citing an article from espn.com.  When we are writing about current events, I think it is important to find a balance of scholarly evidence with current examples.

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