This project is a case study of three different news entities headquartered in the Champaign-Urbana community. Broadcast, radio and print newsrooms were observed in order to gauge the effects of new media, digital technologies and social media in relation to the state of journalism today.

The twin cities of Champaign and Urbana are home to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Yet outside of the university district, the twin cities house upwards of 200,000 residents in the surrounding area. But there are more counties than just Champaign and Urbana in the immediate vicinity. Savoy and Mahomet are two of the many small cities that border the towns.

WCIA, WILL and The News-Gazette have a reach that stretches much farther than just the Champaign-Urbana community. They reach not just Savoy and Mahomet, but Danville, Springfield and Decatur amongst others. WILL even reaches border cities near Indiana.

In researching these outlets, it became apparent that social media use exemplifies how they reach not just the immediate community, but the surrounding ones as well. Each tab on the left navigation menu explains how they connect with their audience and what factors each outlet believes is important to focus on in order to deliver their content effectively.