Files
Abstract
Cooperative Extension provides research-based community education related to agriculture and other topics. Mass communication is a traditional means of informing county clients, but several previous studies identified limitations with Extension mass media publications. The purpose of this study was to examine how Cooperative Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources county agents interpreted research-based agricultural information into written mass media communication articles for urban audiences. Data were collected using mixed methods to examine:1) Factors that influenced article topic selection; 2) Factors that influenced how information was presented; and3) Reading levels of articles written by urban ANR Extension agents.Findings indicated that client questions and agent assumptions about clients influenced topic selection and content creation. Based on the Flesch Reading Ease formula, articles were within the estimated reading levels of most adult county residents.