The Information cycle is the progression of events over time as processed by the media. This tutorial provides a timeline and introduces the scholarly vs. popular sources.

1. The Information Cycle

2. Dani Wellemeyer &
Jessica Williams,
Information Literacy Librarians
_____________________________________________
UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
Brought to you by Created by

3. With the technology in the palm of your hand, it's
easy to find information about, well...anything.
But there's so much out there. How do you know
what's up with different information sources, what
to trust, and what you should use for class? Some
facts about the cycle of publication can help you
understand the differences.
Let's start by looking at one event…

4. THE ARAB SPRING

5. The Arab Spring isn't really a season - it's a phrase
used to describe the wave of protests,
anti-government demonstrations, riots, and civil
wars that washed over the Arab world beginning on
December 18, 2010.

6. The protests were a reaction to economic troubles, oppressive ruling, and
government censorship and corruption. The Arab Spring as a whole
resulted in significant social changes in the region.
Algeria
Bahrain
Djibouti
Egypt
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Libya
Mauritania
Morocco
Oman
Saudi Arabia
Sudan
Syria
Tunisia
Western Sahara
Yemen
Countries involved in Arab Spring to date:

7. Reactions on social
media appear
immediately
Information Cycle TimelineSocial Media
December 17:
Protests begin2010 2011 2012 2013

8. The Arab Spring was different from other periods of civil protest
because of the important role that social media played in its organization.
Many young people were involved in the demonstrations, which
were sometimes organized over social media networks. For
instance, Facebook event pages were used to organize rallies.
90,000 people responded that they planned to attend one of
those events. It was unsafe to broadcast information supporting
the protest movement using other channels of communication,
so Twitter and social networks became the primary way for protestors to
spread information, and for those outside the Arab world to find out
what was happening on the ground.
SociaL MEdia

9. the revolution will be tweeted
Here's a short story from National Public Radio (NPR) about
how U.S. news outlets and individuals outside of Bahrain,
Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia found out what was going on as
the revolution spread to those countries in early 2011. An
NPR reporter found people in each of those locations who
could tweet about events as they were occurring. His
retweets of their comments became a source of
information for the western world.
(You can listen to it or read the transcript.)

10. This quotation from the NPR story highlights some of the shortcomings
of social media as a news source:
People witnessing the events began sharing their experiences immediately. The "authors" of
social media posts were first-hand eyewitnesses, sharing their observations in real time
without stopping to edit their responses or reflect on what had occurred.
You really have to take some of it with a grain of salt, but
at the same time realize they're doing their best. They're
not professional journalists. They're just trying to get
information outas quickly as possible.
- Andy Carvin
“
”

11. Social Media
Television reports
and online news
follow within hours
Information Cycle Timeline
Social Media
Social Media
TV & WEB
December 17:
Protests begin2010 2011 2012 2013

12. N e w s
Reporting of Arab Spring events by news professionals began soon after
observations from witnesses on the street appeared on Twitter.
A 60 second CNN clip about the Regime change in Tunisia.

13. Newspaper stories
run within a day
Information Cycle Timeline
Social Media
Social Media
Newspapers
TV & WEB
December 17:
Protests begin2010 2011 2012 2013

14. News reporters communicate to their audiences the details of events that
have occurred, to the best of their current knowledge. The label of "journalist"
implies that the source is reporting the facts as truthfully as possible, and
without bias. Because a lot of reporters work for each news source, most of
their credibility comes from the name of the organization they work for.
…is a famous and well-trusted
source of news.
…is an equally famous news
satire source that is more
entertaining than trustworthy.
News stories may include interviews with or quotations from witnesses, but
they are unlikely to have outside references.

15. Sometimes news stories are cobbled
together so that they can appear on the
Internet or TV right away, even if all the
information can't yet be verified. The
news organization then has a
responsibility to update the story as
soon as they have more information.
For example, This story on the National Public Radio
website was updated every few hours as more accurate information became available.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/03/28/134917801/live-blog-monday-developments-in-libya

16. Social Media
Magazines cover
the event over the
next few weeks
Information Cycle Timeline
Social Media
Social Media
Newspapers
magazines
TV & WEB
December 17:
Protests begin2010 2011 2012 2013

17. Within a month of an event's occurrence, news
organizations were beginning to publish articles in
which both the event and its aftermath were
analyzed.
M a g a z i n e s

18. TIME magazine published "Scenes from a revolution" on Monday, August 29, 2011.
The article discusses the strategic problems that Syrian revolutionaries were
experiencing. Beyond just reporting events, the article takes the time to discuss
how the activists would have trouble attempting to overthrow the oppressive
government of President Bashar al-Assad unless they found some strong leaders.

19. That same summer, the Atlantic Monthly published the article "Danger: Falling
Tyrants," when the Arab Spring was well under way. The 7 page article places the riots,
revolutions, and government overthrows occurring in Middle Eastern countries in the
broader context of world politics. The title refers to the challenges the United States
would face in supporting democracy in the Middle East - introducing democracy would
have to follow the downfall of some monarchies and dictatorships.

20. Stories like these from TIME and the Atlantic Monthly quote many different
people and use information gathered from other news sources to show a
bigger picture.
“

21. Social Media
Popular books are
published within
the year
Information Cycle Timeline
Social Media
Social Media
Newspapers
magazines
popular
books
TV & WEB
December 17:
Protests begin2010 2011 2012 2013

22. popular books
The publishing world can move amazingly fast when there is money to be
made. Popular books can begin to appear in a matter of months after the
occurrence of an event.

23. Popular books are written for a broad
audience - you will generally find
them at Barnes & Noble, and on
bestseller lists. They vary in how
much reporting has been done and
whether or not outside sources are
referenced and cited. West has been a
reporter in the Middle East for many
years and wrote this book from the
perspective of a trained journalist
with a deep knowledge of the region
and its history.
This popular book came out in October 2011. Johnny West's book chronicles his travels through
Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, talking to ordinary people who live in each, hearing their stories and
experiencing history in the making.

24. Social MediaSocial Media
Scholarly articles
take longer to
research and review
Information Cycle Timeline
Social Media
Social Media
Newspapers
Scholarly
Articles
magazines
popular
books
TV & WEB
December 17:
Protests begin2010 2011 2012 2013

25. academic journal articles
The article "Why was the Arab world poised for revolution? Schooling,
economic opportunities, and the Arab Spring" was published in the Journal
of Economic Perspectives in the spring of 2012.
The authors make the case that education in the Middle East and the
economic climate were major conditions that set the stage for the Arab
Spring uprisings. They present statistical analysis to support their points, and
discuss how their findings can be applied to other situations.
You can view the article here:
(You don't need to read it!)

26. Language clearly
intended for an
academic
audience
Black and white
Includes tables
and charts to
present data
No photographs
Lots of in-text
citations for
related studies
2 ½ pages of
references at the
end
What do you notice about a scholarly article that differentiates it from the
information types that come earlier on the timeline?

27. After the authors completed their research they submitted it to The Journal of Economic
Perspectives, who then put it through a peer-review process before they published it. So we
know that other scholars of who study economics and have verified education and credentials
checked this article for truth and accuracy before it ever reached an audience.

28. JOURNAL
OF
ECONOMIC
PERSPECTIVES
AUTHORS
EXPERT
REVIEWERS
READERS

29. Social Media
Social Media
Newspapers
Scholarly
books
Scholarly
Articles
magazines
popular
books
TV & WEB
Scholarly books are
published after
academics have time
to compile research
Information Cycle Timeline
December 17:
Protests begin2010 2011 2012 2013

30. scholarly books
Scholarly audiences (professors, researchers, graduate
students) are more concerned with quality than with
speed. It may take several years for an academic
researcher to run experiments, compile data, analyze
results, and publish findings. This distance from events
also allows them to be examined, explored, and considered
in the context of larger trends or movements.

31. The Oxford University Press is the
largest and most prestigious scholarly
publishing house in the world. It only
prints high-quality academic writing.
The review and editorial process at
OUP lends extra credibility to works it
publishes. The authors of Democracy's
Fourth Wave? are both university
professors who research and publish
scholarly articles and books about
communication, information, and
political studies.
This scholarly book, Democracy's Fourth Wave?: Digital Media and the Arab Spring, talks about the
role of social media in the events in the Middle East, analyzing the most immediate form of news
about the events for its effects on the whole phenomenon of the Arab Spring. (Scholars build on
the research of others. The reference list at the end of this book is 8 pages long.)

32. Social Media
Social Media
Newspapers
Scholarly
books
Scholarly
Articles
magazines
popular
books
TV & WEB
Reference works are
compiled after the facts of
an event have become
verified by time
December 17:
Protests begin2010 2011 2012 2013
Information Cycle Timeline
Reference
Works

33. reference works
Reference works are encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other
materials designed to be consulted in research but not read
cover-to-cover. They provide background information on a
topic and contain only confirmed facts.

34. What's the reference work you're most familiar with?
Wikipedia?
That's what I thought you'd say.
Wikipedia is an amazing resource and it mostly fits the
definition of a reference work - except for the "confirmed
facts" part. Wikipedia entries are updated by the user
community almost immediately after events occur, without
waiting for enough time to pass for things to be confirmed.

35. Here's a sample of an article overviewing
the Arab Spring from an electronic
reference database called Credo
Reference. It cites a variety of sources
for the information it provides about
events in different Middle Eastern
countries. Since reference works come
out later than anything else, the writers
can wait to use other scholarly writings
as sources.
Published (not crowd-sourced, like Wikipedia) reference works are compiled by specialists and
require research to authenticate the details of an event.
The American Heritage Dictionary.
The Encyclopedia Britannica.
Trusted sources that summarize factual information.

36. Social Media
Social Media
Newspapers
Scholarly
books
Scholarly
Articles
magazines
popular
books
TV & WEB
December 17:
Protests begin2010 2011 2012 2013
Information Cycle Timeline
Reference
Works

37. The Cycle Continues…
The Arab Spring had a definitive beginning, on December 17,
2010, when Mohammed Bouazizi, a fruit-seller in Tunisia, lit
himself on fire in protest of mistreatment by the police and
government. That single event sparked protests and revolutions
all over the region.
The information cycle connected to the Arab Spring began that
same day.
The Arab Spring isn't over, and there will be no conclusive end.
The information cycle continues indefinitely as more events
occur that influence the way we think about past
happenings.

38. Image credits
Crowd in square via Sanford Journal of Public Policy http://sites.duke.edu/sjpp/
photograph by Diario El Tiempo, All Rights Reserved
Map of Arab Spring via Wikimedia Commons
Falling Tyrants via The Atlantic Monthly www.theatlantic.com
Book and magazine covers and images via Amazon, author websites, and
magazine websites
Some icon images via Iconify.it
Website logos via the represented websites’ media download pages