AEJMC Code of Ethics

Preamble and the Core Values

AEJMC Code of Ethics

Overall Preamble: AEJMC members are educators, scholars, and advocates of free and responsible journalism and media, and free inquiry in pursuit of knowledge. We are committed to fulfilling our responsibilities with high standards of professional competence and integrity in the service of our discipline, peers, students, institutions, and society. We adhere to the following core values:

• ACCOUNTABILITY. AEJMC members act with openness and transparency in our scholarship, teaching, and service roles.
• FIDELITY AND TRUTH TELLING. AEJMC members value honesty, promise-keeping, and faithfulness to our discipline and stakeholders.
• JUSTICE. AEJMC members strive for fairness, impartiality, and distributive justice in our relationships with peers, students, and other stakeholders. We celebrate and promote diversity.
• CARING. AEJMC members act with respect, sensitivity, consideration of others, compassion, and mercy. We try to protect others from abuse and coercion.

In Research

Preamble: AEJMC members follow ethical research standards as researchers, in designing, conducting, analyzing research; when publishing research; as reviewers, referees, and editors; and as teachers, including when teaching methods and supervising studies. As researchers, AEJMC members are committed to:
Accountability. AEJMC members accurately and fully document sources for ideas, words, and pictures. We never plagiarize or take credit for another individual’s work, whether published or not, nor do we ever fabricate data. We safeguard the integrity of research data and report accurately and fully a study’s purpose, procedures, and results. Authors inform editors when manuscripts are based on dissertations or theses. Researchers who discover errors after an article is submitted, accepted, or published immediately inform the journal’s editor.
As editors, reviewers, referees, and research chairs, AEJMC members handle manuscripts with confidentiality and integrity during every phase of the review process. We evaluate manuscripts without reference to our personal preferences or political agendas. We do not use the material from unpublished manuscripts to advance our work; as editors, we ensure that authors whose work we are publishing conform to ethical standards Because multiple and simultaneous submission policies vary by disciplines, AEJMC editors and research chairs make submission guidelines public.
Fidelity and truth telling. AEJMC members submit to journals manuscripts representing original work, not work that has been published elsewhere. AEJMC members design our work to be free of conflict of interest, and we ensure that the conclusions of our work are consistent with the data we find. We inform subjects of our status as researchers. We do not tailor studies to produce outcomes consistent with interests of funding sponsors or institutions, nor do we conceal data or slant the writing of a study to satisfy an outside sponsor or funding agency.
Justice. AEJMC members acknowledge co-authorship credit fairly and accurately, such that the order of co-authors’ names is consistent with the level of involvement for each coauthor. When the contribution of co-authors is truly equal, we agree on and explain the order for listing co-authors.
Caring. AEJMC members protect research participants; treat all research participants with respect, fairness, and integrity, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, gender, religion, culture, or sexual orientation. We ensure that participants provide informed consent and that participation in research is not coerced; keep promises regarding confidential information.

In Teaching

Preamble: AEJMC members believe in the worth and dignity of each human being, recognize the supreme importance of the pursuit of truth, devotion to excellence and the nurture of democratic principles — especially the nurture of freedom of expression. We recognize the magnitude of the ethical responsibilities inherent in the teaching process. As teachers, AEJMC members are committed to:
Accountability. AEJMC members respect the autonomy of others, including of individual learners, their development and their learning needs. We acknowledge the rights of students, faculty, and staff to make their own decisions as long as their decisions do not interfere with the welfare or rights of others.
AEJMC members are accountable to students and colleagues, accepting responsibility for our part in student welfare and development. We deliver the services to which students are entitled (e.g. dependable performance in teaching, advising); whenever appropriate, we acknowledge assistance from students or colleagues. We recognize and attempt to fulfill our role as exemplars, both in scholarship and in ethical behavior, and ensure that ethical principles guide the supervision of students and mentoring of junior faculty. We do not tolerate, even passively, unethical behavior on the part of colleagues or students. Simultaneously, we are collegial with colleagues, staff, and students, and promote environments conducive to teaching and learning; we do not involve students in faculty conflicts.
Fidelity and truth telling. AEJMC members exhibit honesty and keep promises to students and colleagues. We demand and foster ethical academic conduct; avoid conflicts of interest and other behavior that would reduce others’ trust in the faculty or academic profession; display openness in dealing with students, colleagues, and the public. We use procedures for informed consent whenever applicable.
We value academic freedom and freedom of expression as well as appropriate, respectful reactions to ideas and opinions expressed by students as well as colleagues; we label our own opinions as such and expect others to do the same. We foster student discovery, rather than indoctrination.
Justice. AEJMC members are committed to fairness and equity. We treat others as we would wish to be treated under similar circumstances; maintain fair and judicious practices when evaluating students or colleagues; pursue sanctions for academic misconduct only after gathering thorough evidence; advocate and practice non-discrimination in all aspects of teaching. We accord dignity to students and colleagues; respect the confidential nature of the student-instructor relationship; respect diversity in all its forms. We are committed to extended participation in higher education in journalism and mass communication, and especially to equality of educational opportunity.
Caring. AEJMC members seek to minimize harm. We engage in relationships with students and colleagues that are not exploitative; do not coerce students to select our favored dissertation and thesis topics, or give undeserved co-author credit; seek consultation when ethical problems arise; and attempt to mitigate any injurious effects of bias in our work. We convey personal ideology or positions in respectful ways; and do not manipulate or coerce social or political behavior in our students. We exercise institutional duties with care, extending compassion and sensitivity to the greatest extent possible toward students and colleagues.
AEJMC members pursue excellence. We engage in continued reflection, evaluation, and improvement in both our subject and in pedagogy. We engage in continuous professional development by learning and adopting new instructional methods and strategies; are open to criticism and new ideas from students and colleagues; take pride in our work and encourage students and colleagues to do the same.

In Professional Freedom & Responsibility

Preamble: Professional freedom and responsibility encompasses research, teaching, and service. This is related to AEJMC members’ interaction with the media professions through preparation of students for media careers, research examining media roles and responsibilities, and service to the professions through engagement and training. Service in support of professional freedom and responsibility is an essential expectation of every AEJMC member. Members work in support of the principles of professional freedom and responsibility within this organization, at our home institutions, and in society at large. As ethical researchers, teachers, and citizens, AEJMC members are committed to:
Accountability. AEJMC members conduct (and encourage students to conduct) constructive evaluation of the professional marketplace. We work with practitioners and industry watchdog groups to inspire media analysis, to foster media accountability, and to promote attention to ethics in journalism and other forms of mass communication. We act as media critics on our campuses and within our communities.
Fidelity and truth telling. AEJMC members nurture, promote, and protect free expression, particularly freedom of speech and freedom of the press, at all levels and at all times. AEJMC members work to improve the understanding of free expression intellectually, historically, and legally. We also work to implement this freedom in the broadest sense: within organizations, on campuses, in our communities, and nationally and globally. Free expression is a fundamental right. When that right is threatened, we act on our ethical obligation to serve as the voice and support of free expression on our campuses and communities.
Justice. AEJMC members work to ensure that racial, gender, and cultural inclusiveness are included in curricula, considered during hiring decisions, and taken seriously by media organizations with which we collaborate. We encourage AEJMC divisions and interest groups to embrace racial, gender, and cultural inclusiveness and include populations historically excluded from public communication.
Caring. AEJMC members have a mandate to serve society beyond our teaching and research. We offer services related to our appropriate professional fields, particularly activities that enhance understanding among media educators, professionals, and the general public. We assist AEJMC, other media organizations, and media practitioners.

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Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender 2007 Abstracts

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Interest Group

Television and Gay Marriage: A Cultivation Analysis • Sara Netzley, Bradley University • Because of the national debate occurring over the legalization of gay marriage, this study examined whether television viewing had a relationship with a person’s attitude toward gay marriage using cultivation theory. No such relationship was found, but this study revealed that attitude toward gay marriage was influenced by a person’s attitude toward gays, gender roles, and sexuality, and by his or her political ideology, authoritarianism, age, religiosity, and gay friends and family.

Whose Voices are Heard? Gender, Sexual Orientation and Newspaper Sources • Joseph Schwartz, University of Iowa • This study examined the use of sources in newspaper articles about same-sex marriage, paying particular attention to gender and sexual orientation. Overall, the results show that male sources outnumbered female sources, but that the distribution of distribution of gay male and lesbian sources seemed to vary according to a region’s climate of public opinion surrounding same-sex marriage. Additionally, female sources were found to be more likely than male sources to support same-sex marriage.

A New Gay Man in Town • Rodger Streitmatter, American University • This paper looks at three highly popular and financially successful major motion pictures that were released in 1996 and 1997. It argues that these films–The Birdcage, In & Out, and My Best Friend’s Wedding — offered American moviegoers a set of new gay stereotypes that were unremittingly positive. The messages sent by the films included that gay men are affable, physically attractive, and highly successful in both their careers and their personal lives.

Invisible in a visible profession: Lesbian public relations professionals and their roles, responsibilities, and functions in organizations and public relations • Natalie Tindall, University of Oklahoma • Diversity is one of the 14 characteristics of public relations excellence (L. A. Grunig, J. E. Grunig, & Dozier, 2002; Dozier, L. A. Grunig, & J. E, Grunig, 1995; L. A. Grunig, J. E. Grunig, & Ehling, 1992). Although diversity has been important to the Excellence Theory and the practice of public relations, there are limitations regarding the Excellence study’s conceptualization of diversity. Diversity has been limited to racioethnicity and gender.

<< 2007 Abstracts

Entertainment Studies 2007 Abstracts

Entertainment Studies Interest Group

The effect of the writers’ Communist ideology on the 1950s Television Series The Adventures of Robin Hood • Mary Blue, Tulane University • The Adventures of Robin Hood was produced in England and first aired in England, Canada and the United States between 1955 and 1958. The show is a perfect choice for a content analysis of the television writing of blacklisted communist writers since recent articles have added to the list of blacklisted writers, the series to which they contributed, the pseudonyms used by most of the writers, and what is known about their level of participation.

Too Late to Make it Right? Country music, patriotism, & the Dixie Chicks • Naeemah Clark, Kenneth Levine and Daniel Haygood, University of Tennessee • In March 2003, Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience, “Just so you know….we’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.” In the days following this statement, the Dixie Chicks were ostracized by the country music community. Radio stopped playing their music and some former fans publicly tore photos and destroyed their CDs.

The Scope of Music and Film Piracy on College Campuses: A Study of Knowledge, Behaviors, and Perceptions • Victoria Smith Ekstrand and Terry Rentner, Bowling Green State University • The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the scope of music and film piracy on campus as the basis for effective anti-piracy education programs. The study concluded that students thought their peers illegally downloaded more than was the case; that students don’t understand the laws regarding file sharing; and that they don’t perceive their actions to be unethical. The study recommends that such findings be addressed in the creation of anti-piracy campaigns.

Violently Sexy: A Content Analysis of Newspapers’ Schizophrenic Coverage of Violence in Videogames • Howard Fisher, affiliation • Videogame controversy has grown over the years, most recently with the release of “Grand Theft Auto III” that buried graphic sex scenes deep inside the game. The news media have wrung their hands at the content while also praising the games through glowing reviews. This content analysis of videogame articles from 1991-2006 analyzes the language used to discuss videogame violence and finds that it changes when the article is an editorial vs. a review (X2 (50, 934), = 571.609, p < .001).”

Sexuality on Network TV: A Comparison of Sexual References and Behavior by Gay/Lesbian and Heterosexual Characters • Rhonda Gibson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Joe Bob Hester, Texas Tech University • Critics have claimed that although the number of gay and lesbian characters on network television shows is increasing, they are portrayed as less sexual than straight characters because of television executives’ fears of offending viewers. This content analysis of references to romance or sexuality and sexual behavior indeed found disparities between heterosexual and homosexual characters.

What Encourages Online Sports Fan’s Gratification? • Moonki Hong and Arthur A. Raney, Florida State University • Sports websites are among the most popular sites on the Internet. Using survey responses among 442 individuals, the current study investigates why frequent visitors (online sports fans, n=299) of sports information or news websites (e.g., ESPN.com, Yahoo!Sports.com, etc.) use their favorite sites. Based on Uses and Gratification (U&G) approaches and discussion of mediated sports events, three key antecedents of attitude toward and satisfaction with the sites are identified: entertainment, informativeness, and perceived interactivity.

Simplification and Entertainment in the Public Sphere: Habermas Reconsiders the Mass Culture Critique • Thomas Hove, University of Wisconsin-Madison • This commentary traces revisions in Habermas’s normative assessments of mass culture, the mass media, and their influence on the public sphere. The early Habermas emphasized the public sphere’s critical function of holding state authority to public account. But his recent work assigns it the neutral, pragmatic functions of disseminating information and seizing public attention. Correspondingly, he has reconsidered his earlier critique by recognizing the positive political functions of mass media simplification and entertainment.

The potential for crime dramas to educate: Popular crime dramas and knowledge about sexual violence • Stacey J.T. Hust, Moon Lee, Ana Haase-Reed and Mija Shin, Washington State University • A survey of 934 college students indicated viewers of crime dramas were more likely to believe that sexual violence is more prevalent than what is portrayed on television, yet they were more aware that sexual violence is often committed by non-strangers. Given that an awareness of who is likely to commit the crime is instrumental to preventing sexual violence, these findings indicate that future research should investigate the potential educational impact of crime dramas.

Emulate the style: A content analysis of body image and social behaviors in teen-centered films • Tahlea Jankoski, Brigham Young University • The purpose of this study was to evaluate body image and social behaviors in teen-centered movies. This film sample was chosen to understand the common messages being presented to adolescents as they can emulate the images and behaviors disseminated by their celebrity peers. A content analysis found an overrepresentation of underweight or average weight characters, limiting the portrayal of overweight characters. It also found negative associations existed between overweight images and social characteristics.

Western news media complicity in the shameless spectacle of Borat • Rick Kenney, University of Central Florida • Western news media reporters and editors abandoned their ethics in their complicity in publicizing, projecting, and promoting the image of Borat Sagdiyev, protagonist in the wildly successful feature-length film Borat!: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan as a racist, sexist and anti-Semitic documentary journalist from Kazakhstan.

Coping with Loss: The Use of Media and Entertainment as a Mood-Management Device • Cynthia King and Rebecca Calagna, Cal State Fullerton • This study examined how people use media and entertainment to cope with feelings of grief resulting from relational loss. Adults in divorce support participated in a survey study on coping with loss and entertainment preferences. Consistent with predictions based on mood management, catharsis and empathy theories, participants indicated film and music preferences consistent with their stage in Kubler-Ross’s five stage grief process.

Doing what is “necessary”: The legitimization of torture on Fox’s 24 • K. Maja Krakowiak, Pennsylvania State • As the topic of torture gains prominence in news reports, its depiction in media content becomes worthy of examination. This paper examines the use of torture on Fox Network’s show, 24, and argues that the show focuses on the necessity of such techniques for the preservation of national security while eliminating discussion of alternatives to torture, and discrediting calls for the upholding of human rights. The implications of these depictions are discussed.

Glen, Stacey, and Me, Too…?: Textual Analysis of 2004 Starbucks Advertising Campaigns • Ji Hoon Lee, University of Florida • This study examines, compares, and contrasts the texts of DoubleShot Espresso and Frappuccino TV commercials by Starbucks in 2004. The study text-analyzes and describes key elements that are essential to the foundation of true message and moral behind the ads and explores what make them entertaining, yet equally appealing and persuasive. By combining humor and music, the commercials allow us to identify with the main characters and the situations depicted in the texts.

Popular Music Nostalgia: A Refined Approach • Ji Hoon Lee, University of Florida • Although any culture can be defined by its nostalgia, there is little scholarly work on nostalgia as a cultural phenomenon as exemplified in the historical re-emergence of the pop music of the past. By explicating the concept of nostalgia and by providing historical examples, the study focuses on the proliferation of nostalgia in popular music, including discussion on the retrograde tendencies and general characteristics of nostalgia in popular music.

Through the Eyes of Pornography: The perceptions men come to hold about women • Jaime Loke, University of Texas • Numerous studies have emerged about the role of pornography in social and sexual behavior as well as the wellbeing of the consumers’ psychological health. This study examined the perceptions of women from men who were heavy consumers of pornography. Obtaining testimonials from men who reported to watch more than an hour of pornography daily, similar patterns amongst the interviews surfaced during the analyses of the transcripts. The results revealed the men’s skewed perceptions of women.

A Common Media Culture? Patterns of Magazines, Movies, and Music Among Early Adolescents • Carol J. Pardun, Middle Tennessee State University, Jane D. Brown and Kelly Ladin L’Engle, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • A sample of Black and White early adolescents (Mean age: 12.8 years; N= 2,942) completed media use questionnaires, noting which magazines they read, which musicians they listened to regularly, and which movies they had seen recently. Comparisons by race and gender found few commonalities across demographic groups. Blockbuster movies and a few of the most popular rap musicians were consumed by large proportions of males and females and Blacks and Whites.

Dora the Explorer: Giving Power to Preschoolers, Girls, and Latinas • Erin Ryan, The University of Georgia • “Dora the Explorer” is a highly successful animated program on Nickelodeon; its title character has captured the imaginations of children across the globe. This study examined Dora within the framework of Gramsci’s hegemony, exploring how the program is changing the “face” of children’s television while giving power to three traditionally powerless groups: preschoolers, girls, and Latinas. Two episodes of the program were analyzed: “Dora Saves the Prince” and “Dora’s Fairytale Adventure.”

From “Where the Boys Are” to “I am Curious Yellow”: Sex in the Cinema 1960-1968 • Danny Shipka, University of Florida • This paper examines the few short years between 1960 and 1968 when sexuality in the movies moved out of the backrooms of private projectionists and into the mainstream of popular culture. Considered landmark years for the abolishment of censorship in motion pictures due to court actions, government intervention and the changing social morals of the mass population, the paper will look at the films and auteurs that successfully navigated the changing political and cultural waters.”

“The Daily Show Effect” Revisited: Satire’s contributions to political participation in trust in young audiences • Daxton Stewart, University of Missouri • In 2006, Baumgartner and Morris examined what they called “The Daily Show Effect,” which suggested that viewership of the humor-based news show on Comedy Central corresponded with an increase in political efficacy but a decrease in perceptions of trustworthiness of candidates. This effect was further examined in this study in the context of political participation and trust in politicians in general.

Scenarios USA: Identity Construction, Friendship and Male Narratives in Entertainment-education • Kallia Wright, Ohio University • This paper presents the findings of a textual analysis of three short films produced from the 2004 Scenarios USA scriptwriting competition. These are entertainment-education products which first present characters with evolving identities. Second, all three films emphasize the role of peers in defining identities and demonstrating behaviors. We also observe that in the construction of male identity, men are often defined as being irresponsible. However, counternarratives are presented which resist negative definitions of men.

<< 2007 Abstracts

Community Journalism 2007 Abstracts

Community Journalism Interest Group

Weeklies and the Web: A Study of Newspaper Managers and the State of Their Online Editions • Jennifer Wood Adams, Auburn University • This study examines the state of the online newspaper at U.S. weekly newspapers and the management of the online edition. One interesting insight is that most respondents embrace their online editions as a reality of the newspaper business. A majority said they routinely review and evaluate the online newspaper and its goals. Three-fourths of the respondents said they view the online newspaper as complementary to printed newspaper and not as cannibalizing the subscription base.

Media Roles and Audience Engagement: Relationships Between Perceptions of Journalists’ Functions and Uses of Interactive Features • Deborah Chung, University of Kentucky • An online survey of a local newspaper audience assessed their perceptions of journalists’ roles and uses of various interactive features. Findings indicate that the audience held three distinct perceptions of journalists’ roles: interpretive disseminator, populist mobilizer and adversary. The audience also embraced civic journalism values. The results further revealed five distinct types of interactive features that represent the interactivity continuum. Correlation analysis revealed positive relationships between specific perceptions of roles and the uses of distinct interactive features.

Connecting Virtual and Geographic Communities: Toward a New Model of Journalism in Bluffton, S.C. • Heidi Fedak, University of Kansas • The advent of the Internet and changing revenue models have forced print newspapers to adapt and innovate in order to connect with their communities. That’s what Morris Publishing Group did when it decided in April 2005 to launch Bluffton Today as both a print and online entity. This study, part of a larger case study, examines how the Web site’s citizen bloggers view and use the online community network, BlufftonToday.com.

Fifty Years of Community News: The Erosion of Social Responsibility? • Jeffrey John, Wright State University • This paper suggests that modern America journalism has evolved away from the Social Responsibility Theory, toward an Entertainment Theory of the Press. A case study of news coverage of a mid-sized community over time illustrates this premise, using a secondary analysis of content-analysis projects describing the community’s media since 1956.

A Test of a Measure of Community Journalism • Wilson Lowrey, University of Alabama; Chang Wan Woo, Jenn Burleson Mackay • This study offers a test of an index measure of community journalism, designed to assess the degree to which newspaper content fosters community. Relationship between index score and newspaper size was also examined. Factor analysis results suggest the possibility of several new dimensions for the index. Results also suggest small community papers devote more space to general community surveillance, but they are not more rigorous than larger papers in using content to actively foster community.

Relentlessly Historical: Local History in South-Central Pennsylvania Community Newspapers • Rex Martin, Bowie State University • This paper begins with the premise that local history features in community newspapers serve to build a sense of inclusion and identity among readers. It is based on a survey completed by the editors of 14 community newspapers in south-central Pennsylvania, as well as comments from editors and reporters. It serves as an initial qualitative investigation into the use of local history in community journalism.

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Civic and Citizen Journalism 2007 Abstracts

Civic and Citizen Journalism Interest Group

Civic Respondents: A Content Analysis of Sources Quoted in Newspaper Coverage of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita • Maria Fontenot, Kris Boyle and Amanda Gallagher, Texas Tech • This paper examined how civic journalism impacts newspaper coverage by analyzing the media coverage of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in five newspapers published in some of the affected areas. Specifically, this study focused on newspaper story sources – official v. non-official. The findings suggested larger newspapers used more official sources. Additionally, official sources were more common in the official stories while non-official sources were more common when the story focused on citizen-oriented topics.

Northfield.org: Weaving The Threads Of Community • Victoria Hildebrandt, Wisconsin-Madison • This case study examines the history, editorial philosophy, and operation of the citizen journalism website Norhtfield.org and how it strives to engage the citizens of Northfield, MN in a meaningful sharing of civic information and dialogue in order “to create an electronic commons that strengthens the fabric of community.”

The Communitarian Ombudsman: A Modest Proposal for True Citizen Journalism • Rick Kenney, Central Florida • Forty years after a “Department of Internal Criticism” for newspapers was first proposed, the debate over newspaper ombudsmen, or public editors, remains at a seemingly irreconcilable impasse. Despite a flurry of appointments in the early 1970s, there are only about fifty ombudsmen at U.S. newspapers today. The greatest failure of ombudsmanship is that it doesn’t go far enough in giving voice and visibility to the ombudsman’s work, including interacting with community.

Political Efficacy and Campaign News Attention as Catalysts of Discursive Democracy: The Case of the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election • Hsiang-Ann Liao, Queensborough Community College, CUNY • Based on Kim et al.’s model of deliberative democracy, a contextual model of discursive democracy is proposed in this study, examining the circumstances under which political conversation took place during the 2004 presidential election. It is argued that models of discursive democracy should be domain specific, incorporating situational factors that prompt people to talk about politics. Political efficacy and campaign news attention were examined as catalysts to the contextual model.

Content Differences for an Online Newspaper Site and its Citizen Journalism Publication • Jeremy Littau, Missouri • An analysis of a newspaper Web site and its citizen journalism Web site examined stories on the front page for each site. Content analysis found that there were significant differences in topics, with the front page of the traditional news site consisting of more traditional “hard news” content while the citizen journalism was more focused on lifestyle or community news. Citizen journalism stories also were more likely to be opinionated than the traditional site.

Citizen Journalism and Community Building: Predictive Measures for Social Capital Generation • Jeremy Littau, Esther Thorson and Clyde Bentley, Missouri • A survey (N=102) of citizen journalism readers explored the relations between motivations for reading (content and process gratifications), personal attitudes (interpersonal trust and life contentment), and three measures of community participation (civic engagement, interpersonal trust, life contentment. The gratifications and personal attitudes were highly predictive of community participation. Only a few differences were observed between citizens who contributed journalism and those who only read it.

Apathy: 1. Civic engagement: 0: A Case Study of Civic Journalism on Campus • David Loomis, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Jennifer Easton, Pittsburgh • This case study of a civic-journalism project published in a campus newspaper examines the effects of a yearlong effort to increase civic engagement at a university where apathy, as measured by voting participation in student elections, has been increasing. The qualitative study involves a natural experiment, culminating in a student-government election, combined with focus-group methods to gauge effects of the project based in part on surveys of student-readers to guide news coverage.

Desiderata Across the Decades: Conversations About a Civic-Minded Model of Newspapering • Ronald Rodgers, Florida • This paper examines (1) how similar this discussion about alternative and more civic-minded models of newspapering is to a national conversation around a century ago, and (2) the irony that the impulse for that discussion a hundred years ago was not the uncongealing of a chain-ownership business model, but the threat to journalistic conduct, news content, and the press’s role and responsibility to society by the growing corporate and commercialized press.

The Future of Journalism and How to Teach It • Lou Rutigliano, Texas at Austin • In the fall of 2006 and again in the spring of 2007, the author taught a course as a reaction to changes occurring in the field, particularly news producers’ attempts to encourage the news audience to create content. This phenomenon has created an opportunity for civic and critical educators, whose interests are more closely aligned with the needs of professionals than in the past. Both seek greater journalistic engagement with the public.

Public Journalism Conflated with Propaganda: Newspapers’ Resistance to Social Action Communications • Burton St. John, Old Dominion • This piece analyzes how newspapers, facing problems of relevancy, have explored public journalism as a way to reconnect with audiences, and rejected it as propagandistic. The confluence of two factors – journalism’s professionalized vigilance against co-option and its difficulty differentiating social action communications from propaganda – led to many in the press attacking public journalism as propagandistic. The rise of professionalism after World War I and press cynicism about co-option is reviewed.

<< 2007 Abstracts

Visual Communication 2007 Abstracts

Visual Communication Division

The Epideictic Function of Visual Rhetoric • Jim Benjamin, University of Toledo • Aristotle’s Rhetoric described three forms of rhetoric: forensic, deliberative, and epideictic. This paper advances our understanding of the epideictic function of visual rhetoric. First, paper defines and identifies the unique aspects of epideictic rhetoric. Next the work explains how visual rhetoric applies to a unique media, coins. Finally, the study applies the analytic framework to a specific case of visual rhetoric, the U. S. quarter dollar commemorating the 50 states.

Henri Cartier-Bresson reinterprets his career in magazine photojournalism • Claude Cookman, Indiana University • Between 1952 and 1974, Cartier-Bresson revised his understanding of himself as a photojournalist. This article analyzes that change through close readings of The Decisive Moment; the Le Monde interview, which has never been discussed in the literature; other published statements and unpublished letters by Cartier-Bresson. It draws on interviews and correspondence with his widow Martine Franck, his friend and U.S. representative Helen Wright, and with colleagues and associates at Magnum Photos.

Anthony Suau’s Fear This: The Subjectivity of a Photojournalist’s Photobook • Timothy Gleason, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh • Anthony Suau’s Fear This represents one photojournalist’s view of Americans’ reaction to the government’s threat of war and the actual engagement in Iraq. This study employs a layered analysis that addresses historical practices, political economic forces and the cultural meanings of photojournalism. The author argues photobooks allow for subjective statements and are a form of presentation that engages readers.

Pictures and Pixels: Digital Photographic Archives at Photographic Agencies • Keith Greenwood, University of Oklahoma • A survey (N = 53) was conducted with representatives of photographic agencies to examine the creation and implementation of digital photographic archives. The results indicate adoption of the innovation is influenced by characteristics of the organization and that innovations that fit well within the established routines of the organization and within the existing knowledge and skills of the organization members are likely to be successfully adopted.

Looking for you: An analysis of video blogs • Margaret Griffith, Temple University • Web logs (blogs) are one of the newest forms of self-presentation on the Internet. The blog search engine, Technorati, is currently tracking over 63 million blogs, up from 30 million in February of 2006. There has been some scholarly interest in journalistic blogging, but there has been little research on blogs, and now vlogs, as online diaries.

Ideological Analysis of Iraqi Civilian Casualties as Portrayed in Time Magazine’s First Year Photographic Coverage, 2003 • Sun-A Kim and Zoe Smith, University of Missouri • Using cultural studies and ideological analysis, this study examines how photographs from the Iraq War published in Time from January 13 to December 29, 2003, portray Iraqi civilian casualties and reflect dominant ideologies of the U.S. government. Time’s use of mythical themes reinforced the American government’s rationale of a just war with a humanitarian purpose. This cleaned up view from the first year’s coverage potentially interferes with readers’ grasp of the grim reality of war.

Hooray for VegasWood: Las Vegas Through a Hollywood Windshield • Paul Martin Lester, California State, Fullerton • This paper will show through a unique perspective-the automobiles portrayed within the movies-how Hollywood told and sold the story of Las Vegas, the American hub of gambling, excess, and decadence. A visual analysis of ten Las Vegas-themed motion pictures that were nominated within any category for an Academy Award and concentrating on the ways automobiles were metaphorically inserted and employed within each picture will help explain Hollywood, Las Vegas, and American culture.

“Change the way you communicate!” Visual communication through camera phones and Nokia.com • Jonathan Lillie, University of Hawaii-Manoa • This paper critiques some of the first advertisements for camera phones, exploring what the ads say about their users and uses based on a qualitative textual analysis of multimedia ads selected from Nokia.com. Nokia’s online ads are placed within the contexts of Nokia’s emphasis on downstream innovations, particularly in advertising, and are later compared to the findings of some of the first research studies of people’s social uses of camera phones.

A battle of visions: Dramatistic images of the Missouri 2006 senatorial campaign • Janis Teruggi Page, University of Florida and Margaret Duffy, University of Missouri • One of the most closely watched political races in the nation played out on television during fall, 2006. We used Symbolic Convergence Theory and its critical method, fantasy theme analysis, to analyze the Missouri senatorial campaign ads of incumbent Jim Talent and challenger, Clair McCaskill.

“X”-ing Out Enemies: Time Magazine, Visual Rhetoric, and the War in Iraq • Richard Popp and Andrew Mendelson, Temple University • This paper examines the visual rhetoric of Time magazine’s coverage of the death of Iraq War insurgent Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Time marked al-Zarqawi’s death by using the same visual trope – a portrait crossed out by a blood-red “X” – used to mark the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and the death of Adolph Hitler in 1945.

“Snowflake” White and Politically “Right:” Photographic Framing in News Media Coverage of Stem Cell Research • Nicole Smith, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill • At any given time, there are a number of issues on the media, and subsequent public, agenda. Currently, stem cell research is one such issue. This study seeks to understand the photographic frames in news media coverage about stem cell research. Previous research has indicated that examining news media photos is a valid way to understand how the media frame a particular issue.

Animated editorial cartoons: Is Ben turning over in his grave • Karon Speckman and Kalen Ponche, Truman State University • This study examined whether Web-based animated editorial cartoons are different from print cartoons and whether the cartoons have characteristics that make them effective as political symbols. The authors devised three modes of animated cartoons: “value-added” print; “The Daily Show”; and “musical-review.” The study concluded some content changes in print are reflected in animated cartoons, for example the emphasis on funny cartoons over controversial cartoons.

Children’s Recognition of Alcohol and Tobacco in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and 101 Dalmatians • Andrea Schuch, University of South Florida • How images in media, including Disney productions, relate to children has long been a topic of debate. Though most media effects studies have examined violence, the effects of alcohol, tobacco, and stereotypes are becoming significant areas of research as well.

The Nicholson Photographs: A Caseworker’s Visual Record of Rural Clients in the South during the Depression • Patsy Watkins, University of Arkansas • This project examines a collection of 97 photographs taken by federal relief caseworkers in Arkansas during the depression. The photos were likely taken as a local alternative to the famous Farm Security Administration photos, which were rejected by state relief administrators as inappropriate for their uses. The project examines the content, the composition and the captions accompanying the photos for their contributions to the visual historical record of the depression in the rural South.

Nielsen versus Nielsen: A Usability Analysis of Television Homepages • Norman E. Youngblood and Amanda McDermand, Texas Tech University • No study has examined Web page design and usability in the context of local television Web sites. A content analysis of 173 local and eight national television homepages stratified by Designated Market Area (DMA) rank and station rating provide insight into how television homepages follow usability guidelines proposed by Nielsen and Tahir. This study revealed that although usability score does not correlate DMA rank, it does correlate with station rating within a DMA.

<< 2007 Abstracts

Scholastic Journalism 2007 Abstracts

Scholastic Journalism Division

She Took a ‘Leap of Faith’ and Lost Her Job: The Censorship of Ann Long • Genelle Belmas and Andi Stein, California State University at Fullerton • This paper is a case study of the censorship of Ann Long at Troy High School in Fullerton, Calif., who was asked to resign her position as co-editor of her school paper following publication of a controversial article. It examines her situation in the context of other cases involving student censorship and explores the question of why the case received as much publicity as it did, given that there was no legal action involved.

The Scholastic Journalism Effect on a Newspaper’s Teen Section: A Case Study with Curricular Implications • Amanda Brozana and George Daniels, University of Alabama • Few studies have empirically tested the link between a local teen newspaper section and the existence of middle or high school journalism in a community. This paper conducted such a test using PULSE, a teen newspaper section launched in October 2005 in a small Southeastern community where all three-city high schools have school newspapers. An 18-month census of PULSE content showed no significant difference between number of stories from scholastic journalists and other students.

Media Convergence in the Classroom: A Survey of How Mass Communication Academics Are Confronting a New Paradigm • Coy Callison, Texas Tech University and Pamela Parry, Belmont University • This internet survey of mass communication educators (N = 281) indicates that media convergence and integrating it into the curriculum is becoming less controversial. Respondents rejected the notion that convergence diminishes traditional classroom instruction. The majority disagreed that adding a focus on technology to the curriculum results in deletion of critical thinking and writing skills. Respondents noted barriers to teaching convergence but remained neutral in terms of how strongly they saw them as real impediments.

Managing the Mass Communications or Journalism Department: Do Department Chairs Think They’re Doing a Good Job? • Andrea Dilworth and Donna Lander, Jackson State University • An analysis of perceived leadership practices of mass communications and journalism department chairs at 33 southeastern colleges and universities found significant differences between chairs in public and private institutions, chairs appointed to the position and those hired through a competitive process, and chairs with varying degrees of experience. The chairs responded to surveys that addressed Kouzes and Posner’s five effective leadership practices. The most prevalent leadership practice was Enabling Others to Act.

Retooling the news approach: Online news professionals’ attitudes towards current and future journalism skills • Shahira Fahmy, Southern Illinois University • This paper, based on a national survey, examines the attitudes of online news professionals towards current and future journalism skills, and it looks at the implications for the training and hiring of online journalists. Overall, respondents stressed the importance of fundamental journalism skills and emphasized the importance of a few digital and web-coding skills.

An examination of the comfort levels of high-school principals and newspaper advisers regarding controversial topics • Vincent Filak and Adam Maksl, Ball State University • A survey of 202 high-school principals (n=100) and newspaper advisers (n=102) revealed high levels of congruity regarding controversial topics that members of each group were most and least comfortable seeing covered in their student newspaper. However, statistical analyses demonstrated that advisers were significantly more comfortable than were principals in the coverage of topics related to sex, substance abuse/use and religion.

Why Men from Mars Stay on Mars, and the Women Roam: Differences in Journalism Student Perceptions of Study Abroad • Hans Ibold, University of Missouri • This study investigates differences in male and female journalism student perceptions of study abroad. Participants have been characterized by a 2-to-1 female-to-male ratio for decades. To gain a better understanding of this gender gap among journalism students, surveys were administered to a sample drawn from an undergraduate news reporting class at a large Midwestern journalism school known for its internationalization efforts.

Documenting Decline in Chicago’s High School Newspapers • Linda Jones, Roosevelt University • A survey of Chicago high school newspaper advisers and journalism teachers finds that, compared with research conducted in 1996, newspapers publish less frequently and print fewer pages per issue; advisers have less experience; advisers spend little teaching time on the First Amendment; principals are exercising considerably more prior review of newspapers; and media companies and journalism educators make little effort to reach out to high school journalism programs and their newspapers.

Academic Pursuits on Behalf of Scholastic Journalism: Research Projects Concerning the Student Press • Bruce Konkle, University of South Carolina • Throughout the past 85 years, hundreds of theses, dissertations, course research papers and research studies addressed scholastic journalism topics. Knowledge of these works needs to be highly visible as journalism teachers and publication advisers attempt to educate administrators and others about the student press.

Measuring Students’ Journalism Career Potential: A Simple Inventory • Bruce Plopper, University of Arkansas at Little Rock • Through focus group interviews with journalism students and through career inventory item testing processes with several subgroups, this research attempted to create a career inventory that would identify students likely to succeed as hard-news, print media reporters. Ultimately, a set of 11 items that described journalistic values, beliefs, and behaviors was found to differentiate journalism majors from non-majors, and to identify students with a high likelihood of success as professionals in the field.

<< 2007 Abstracts

Radio Television Journalism 2007 Abstracts

Radio Television Journalism Division

Pictures From the Air: The Untold Story of the First TV News Helicopter • Terry Anzur • This paper documents the invention and early use of the first live TV news helicopter in the United States. The author interviews the chief engineer on the top-secret project at KTLA in Los Angeles and draws on contemporary press accounts as well as memoirs of others involved in early helicopter coverage. Early footage is available for presentation.

Structuring Journalism: Economic Influences on Journalistic Practice in Newspapers, Radio, and Television • Thomas Baggerman, Capital University • The development of journalistic practice in the United States was strongly influenced by social and economic concerns. Economic decisions made in the newspaper industry resulted in journalistic practices which flowed virtually unchanged into radio, and then into television. This flow was largely a result of cross-media ownership, which itself led to further economic efficiency efforts which again changed journalistic practice. The paper traces these structures and practices from the penny press to the present day.

Conventional Wisdom: Putting National Party Convention Ratings in Context • Jill Edy and Miglena Daradanova, University of Oklahoma • This paper places broadcast major party convention ratings in the broader context of the changing media environment from 1976 until 2004 in order to present a more nuanced view of the decline in audience for the convention. Broadcast convention ratings are considered in the context of: convention ratings for cable news networks, ratings for broadcast entertainment programming, and ratings for “event” programming.

On Second Thought: A Longitudinal Analysis of How Embeds Assess Influences and Performance in Reporting the Iraq War • Shahira Fahmy, Southern Illinois University and Tom Johnson, Texas Tech University • This study aimed to determine how well embedded reporters perceived they covered the Iraq War and whether those attitudes have changed over time. While findings suggested embeds continue to judge their overall performance as positively in 2005/06 as 2004, respondents largely recognized problems with the embedding process.

YouTube Uses Watching and Sharing the News: A Uses and Gratifications Approach • Gary Hanson and Paul Haridakis, Kent State University • This study is an exploratory effort to identify motives young adults have for viewing and sharing news content on YouTube. Viewing and sharing through social networks represent a technology phenomenon that gives people an opportunity to select and disseminate news of interest to them. The study found that information-seeking and leisurely entertainment motives predicted the viewing of different types of news-related content. Interpersonal communication motives predicted sharing of news videos on YouTube.

Political News Use and Democratic Support: A Study of Uganda’s Radio Impact • Yusuf Kalyango, Jr., University of Missouri-Columbia • This study examines the relationship between radio use and support for democracy in Uganda. It tests whether political interest has a direct influence, or is a moderating variable to democratic support. Radio is the most accessed and used medium for current affairs in Africa, and remarkably so in Uganda. Public opinion survey data signify a considerable use of radio for political information, but no direct influence between radio use and support for democracy.

Going Live: News Innovation and Constraints in the Chinese Coverage of the Iraq War • Limin Liang, Northwestern University • This paper looks at the innovation in news-making practices during the coverage of the major phase of Iraq War at China Central Television’s English Service, CCTV International. Forces leading to the change and its impact on news routine and content were examined. The essence of innovation, the introduction of live studio interviews, was found to be accompanied with various uncertainty reduction measures on the one hand and to open up room for greater diversity of opinions.

Do Racial Descriptors Work for Crimes Stoppers? The Utility of Suspect Race in Broadcast Descriptions • Ginger Loggins, University of Alabama • Thanks to the prevalence of Crime Stoppers, suspect descriptions are used in news broadcasts across the country. In this study, Black and White university students watched a news story that described a suspect wanted in an armed robbery. The explicitness of the robber’s race (stated or implied) and his race (White/Black) was manipulated. Findings support the use of racially implicit descriptions. Those and related findings are discussed as they relate to newsroom policies concerning suspect descriptions.

All Things Cultured: Analysis of Popular culture Coverage on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” • Sara Magee, Ohio University • National Public Radio’s flagship news program “All Things Considered” has long been known for its sophisticated style of political and cultural news coverage. In recent years, the program has attempted to increase the amount of popular culture stories covered in an effort to reflect the growing and changing interests of listeners.

A Comparative Analysis of Web Newspapers, Radio Stations and Television Stations Design and Content of Websites • Michelle Seelig, University of Miami • For many years, the visual distinction between print and broadcast media was clear, however the Internet and multimedia have almost completely dissolved the boundaries of traditional media on the web. The purpose of this research is to examine the content and design that contribute to the evolving visual convergence format of web newspapers, radio stations and television station websites.

EARwitness Testimony: Applying Listened Perspectives to Developing a Working Concept of “Localism” in Broadcast Radio • Gayane Torosyan, SUNY at Oneonta and Charles Munro, University of Iowa • Ever since the introduction of new technologies such as satellite, Internet and cable radio, the concept of “local” has been at the center of a debate on radio. Consolidation of ownership has led to concerns about the loss of “local” identity. The trend toward “outsourcing” – importing news, weather, sports, traffic, and other content – is raising questions about the nature and definition of “local” radio and its role in defining or re-defining listener communities.

The Impact of Market Research on Enterprise Stories: A Survey of Television Journalists • Kate West, University of Texas • Television stations across the country hire news consultants to conduct market research on the local demographic. Using the social control in the newsroom theory, this study investigates the role market research plays in journalists’ ability to tell stories they feel are important for viewers. The study finds journalists are opposed to the way market research is implemented by managers, which limits the journalists’ ability to enterprise and report stories they feel are important for viewers.

Hard News vs. Soft News: A Content Analysis of Breaking News Coverage on Network Television 1995-2005 • Yan Yang, University of Florida • This content analysis examined the composition of hard news and soft news in television network newscasts during four breaking events—the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the Columbine School shooting in 1999, the Columbia shuttle tragedy in 2003, and the London subway bombing in 2005. This study found that hard news increased dramatically when breaking news happened.

Partisan Balance and Bias in Network Coverage of the 2000 and 2004 Presidential Elections • Geri Alumit Zeldes, Michigan State University, Frederick Fico and Arvind Diddi, SUNY Oswego and Serena Carpenter • This study adds to the conceptual understanding of measurable bias in national TV news coverage. Using content analysis to compare the television networks’ coverage of the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, this study first assessed the Partisan Balance of individual stories and daily news segments consisting of multiple stories. Partisan Bias then was assessed by identifying politically consistent patterns of imbalance favoring a candidate in stories and segments in both elections.

Facial Prominence and Perception of News Sources • Shuhua Zhou, Jie Xu, Lu Zheng and Po-lin Pan • Past research demonstrated that visual displays portrayed men with higher facial prominence than women, a phenomenon known as face-ism. This paper moved beyond the descriptive nature of most face-ism research by investigating face-ism effects of television news sources. The experiment manipulated the face-ism index of news sources and measured participants’ perception of source credibility, competence, attractiveness, warmth and dynamics.

<< 2007 Abstracts

Public Relations 2007 Abstracts

Public Relations Division

Work-Family Discourse in Public Relations:Development of a Work-Personal Continuum for Gender Theory • Linda Aldoory, Hua Jiang and Elizabeth Toth, Maryland and Bey-Ling Sha, San Diego State • This study extended gender theory in public relations by examining how work-family balance is perceived by public relations professionals. Eight focus groups were conducted. Findings revealed gendered constructions of a fluid, complex work-personal continuum affected by such factors as societal norms; perceived organizational contradictions; technology; perceived professional identity; and parenthood. Practitioners discursively constructed blame and guilt narratives. Communicative, cognitive, temporal and behavioral strategies were used to adjust and relieve stress.

The Effect of Shared Experience on Problem Recognition and Involvement: An Elaboration of the Situational Theory of Publics for Risk Communication • Linda Aldoory, Maryland, Jeong-Nam Kim, Purdue University and Natalie Tindall, Oklahoma • The notion of whether actual, shared experience with a media portrayal could influence various cognitions-such as concern, sense of personal involvement, self-efficacy, and desire to learn more-that are important for behavior change. This study examined shared experience within the realm of news rather than planned campaigns. The research presented here used the situational theory of publics in order to evaluate whether shared experience is an antecedent to the factors leading to communication behavior.

A Model for Teaching Public Relations Students a Continuum of Power Distribution between Organizations and Publics in Two-way Web Site Communication Tools • Terri Ann Bailey, North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Noting the importance of two-way communication in relationship building, this study presents a model of power distribution in two-way web site communication tools, related considerations, and supporting literature that can be used by instructors to present a teaching module to students on the subject of organization-public communication on the web from a power-differential standpoint.

Testing OPR: Relationship Management • Stephen Banning, Bradley and Mary Schoen • This study employed the organization-public relationship scale to measure member perceptions of an art museum. The scale is a 15-item, multi-dimension tool developed by Bruning and Ledingham (1999) to measure a public’s relationship with an organization (Ledingham, 2001) using the three dimensions of personal relationship, community relationship, and professional relationship.

Admiring the organization: A study of the relational quality outcomes of the volunteer-nonprofit organization • Denise Bortree, Florida • Because nonprofit management often faces challenges in deciding how to best incorporate volunteers in working toward the organization’s mission, it is important to understand how volunteers view their involvement with organizations. This study measured the volunteer-nonprofit relationship using the four relational quality outcomes proposed by Hon & Grunig (1999). In addition, the study introduced the measurement of admiration as an outcome in the organization-public relationship.

University Reputations and Campus Health Education Campaigns: Managing Strategic Stakeholder Relationships • John Brummette and Michael Palenchar, Tennessee • Developed from an issues management and stakeholder theory approach, the purpose of this study is to examine how parents’ perceptions of a university’s reputation are affected by its efforts in health education and public relations programs. The efforts addressed include university binge drinking prevention, assessment of parental knowledge of prevention programs, and parental perceptions about the university in dealing with this issue.

Reality is Greater Than Fiction • Alexa Chilcutt, Alabama • The relevance of Mohamed, Gardner, and Paolillo’s 1999 A Taxonomy of Organizational Impression Management is examined in a “”real world”” context. The object is to give credence to the tactics and effectiveness of OIM in reality situations that involve an organization’s efforts to manage its impressions when dealing with its publics.

Agenda-tapping: Conceptualizing the relationship between news coverage, fund raising and the First Amendment • Colleen Connolly-Ahern, Penn State • Agenda setting represents a promising framework for understanding donation behavior. This paper reports the results of a pilot study investigating the link between the agenda setting function of the press and nonprofit donations. Using financial information from two nonprofit organizations associated with the issue of gun control/control rights, this study found strong and significant correlations between media mentions of gun control, donations to a gun control-oriented nonprofit, and nonprofit contributions to political campaigns.

The Contingency Integration Matrix: A Public Relations Crisis Communication Tool • James Cunningham and Michael Mitrook, Florida • This study proposes and tests the Contingency Integration Matrix, a crisis communication tool based on the situational variables of the contingency theory of accommodation and the framework of Public Relations Field Dynamics. Practitioners at three test locations found the matrix validated public relations postures, actions, and strategies while providing an additional tool to present public relations efforts to the dominant coalition.

Maintenance of Standard, Regardless of Cost: Early Public Relations and the Fred Harvey Company • Patricia Curtin, University of Oregon • This paper fills a gap in the literature by examining the publicity efforts of, and on behalf of, the Fred Harvey Company from 1876 to 1933.

Krafting the Obesity Message: A Case Study in Framing and Issues Management • Keren Darmon, Kathy Fitzpatrick and Carolyn Bronstein, DePaul • This study examined the application of framing theory in issues management. Using case study methodology, the researchers analyzed message frames used by Kraft Foods in its public response to the obesity crisis, how the Kraft frames were reported by the media and whether Kraft’s approach might help define effective framing and issues management practices in public relations. The case suggested that framing was indeed useful in Kraft’s attempt to manage the issue of obesity.

How Do Past Crises Affect Current Events?: An Experiment Testing Corporate Reputation During a Crisis • Drew Elliot, North Carolina-Chapel Hill • Research has shown that a corporation’s history of crises has a damaging effect on reputation during a current crisis. This experiment tests not only the effect of a corporation’s own crises on reputation, but also the effect of a corporation without a crisis history but in an industry with a history of similar crises, called extraorganizational crisis history. Findings show that publics’ knowledge of extraorganizational crisis history may protect an organization’s reputation in a crisis.

Knowledge is Power: Examining how General Public Relations Training Influences Non-major Graduate Students’ Attitudes about our Profession • Lisa Fall and Jeremy Hughes, Tennessee • This study examines pre- and post-perceptions about the public relations field among non-major graduate students who have successfully completed some general training. Results indicate significant decreases regarding how much the media, general public, and practitioner behavior influences their viewpoints about the profession. Additionally, significant increases are reported with regard to students’ overall positive perception toward the public relations field, the profession’s proactive behavior, and how the industry serves the good of the public.

Educational Crisis Management Practices Evolve to Address New Public Engagement Constructs and the New Media • Barbara Gainey, Kennesaw State • This study provides an initial look at how public school districts are engaging their many publics and using communication techniques that extend beyond traditional media to incorporate many new media tactics. This pilot study of school districts in a major metropolitan area of the United States will lay the groundwork for a future nationwide study that will propose additional ways to improve the crisis-ready status of public school districts, with implications for other public-sector organizations.

Mediation Effects of Customer-Company Identification in Models of Public Relations Effectiveness • SooYeon Hong and Sung-Un Yang, Syracuse • By combining the growing body of knowledge on organizational reputation and organization- public relationships with insights from marketing literature on customer-company identification, the present study develops and tests models of public relations effectiveness. Specifically, this study examines the effects of organizational reputation and relational satisfaction on customers’ positive word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions, and the critical mediation role of customer-company identification in such effects.

Managing Community Crisis: an Analysis of a Health Department’s Response to the Influenza Vaccine Shortage • Deena Kemp, South Florida • This article reports the results of a case study on crisis management at a county health department following the 2004 flu vaccine shortage. The study compares the department’s approach to established crisis communication principles, which emphasize image restoration following organizational wrongdoing. The results show that the department relied on strategic partnerships to navigate the crisis. Accepted crisis communication theories provide limited explanation of this community-based crisis. The implications of two emerging crisis frameworks are discussed.

Reliability and Validity of Organization-Public Relationship Measurement and Linkages among Relationship Indicators on a Membership Organization • Eyun-Jung Ki, Alabama and Linda Hon, Florida • This research was to develop reliable and valid measures of the outcomes of quality relationships. Hon and J. E. Grunig’s (1999) extended scales for four relationship dimensions were tested using multiple-item measurement procedures suggested by Spector (1992). The constructed measures were refined further using factor analysis-EFA and CFA. This study also tested the causal linkages among relationship quality indicators.

An experimental test of public relations message: Effects of involvement, corporate trustworthiness, goodwill and message sidedness in Weblogs • Jangyul Kim, Colorado State • An experimental study (n=216) examined the effect of involvement in public relations messages and its interaction effect with source trustworthiness, source goodwill and message sidedness on the message recipients’ attitude toward the message, the public relations issue, and toward the company.

Public relations’ place in corporate social responsibility: Practitioners define their role • Sooyeon Kim, Florida and Bryan Reber, Georgia • Qualitative responses from 173 PR practitioners were used to analyze their roles and contribution to corporate social responsibility. Practitioners identified five roles for public relations in CSR – Significant Management, Philanthropic, Value-Driven, Communication, and None. PR professionals illustrated these roles by describing their contributions to social responsibility programs. They also expressed limitations to their ability to contribute to CSR programs. Contributions of the research to theory and practice are examined.

Assessing Dominant Corporate Communication Strategies on Fortune 100 Company Web Sites: Corporate Ability versus Corporate Social Responsibility Focus • Sora Kim, Scott Rader and Eric Haley, Tennessee • This paper suggests three possible corporate communication strategies used to affect publics’ corporate associations: 1) corporate ability (CAb) strategy, 2) corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy, and 3) a hybrid strategy. Through content analysis, the results demonstrate that a majority of corporate advertising for Fortune 100 companies emphasizes a CSR communication strategy over a CAb or hybrid strategy. Corporations higher in the list of Fortune 100 companies displayed more prominent use of a CSR strategy.

The White House and Public Relations: Examining the Linkages between Presidential Communications and Public Opinion • Spiro Kiousis, Florida and Jesper Stromback, Mid-Sweden • The purpose of this study was to probe the linkages between presidential communications and public opinion. More specifically, it investigated the associations between the use of press conferences and speeches by the White House and presidential job approval from 1961-1997. The results suggested that there is a positive linkage between the frequency of presidential press conferences and perceived foreign policy job approval but a negative linkage with perceived economic job approval.

Student-to-Professional Mentoring as a Supplement to Public Relations Education • Phyllis Larsen, Nebraska-Lincoln • Mentoring is a practice that helps individuals and organizations to maximize potential and skills in the workplace. Limited information exists about student-to-professional mentoring, providing an opportunity to explore its potential as a supplemental teaching tool in public relations. A two-year study of a pilot program of one-to-one mentoring of students by practicing PR professionals showed that both mentors and protégés perceived benefits.

Examination of Relationships as Resources in Successful PR Campaigns: Guidelines for effective PR strategy development • Youngah Lee and Sungwook Hwang, Missouri • This research explored the possible guidelines for successful public relations strategy development through content analysis of 10 years of PRSA Silver Anvil Award winning cases. Specifically, the resource usage patterns for different organizations, campaigns, and target audiences were examined with special attention to relationships as resources.

Building Trust Through Blog-Mediated Public Relations (BMPR) • Joon Soo Lim, Middle Tennessee State and Sung-Un Yang, Syracuse • This experiment tested blog-mediated public relations (BMPR) in which the salience of narrative structure, dialogic disposition as a dialogical self, and perceived blogger credibility were assumed to lead to increased interactivity, which ultimately culminates in higher trust between the corporate blogger and blog visitors.

Framing emergency management communication: How to generate media coverage for disaster messages • Brooke Liu, DePaul • Ninety-one percent of Americans live in places at moderate to high risk of natural disasters. Yet only 16% of Americans say they are well prepared for the next natural disaster or public emergency (Ripley, 2006). This study evaluates how state emergency management agencies (SEMAs) frame messages to persuade citizens to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters.

From aspiring presidential candidate to accidental racist?: An analysis of Senator George Allen’s image repair during his 2006 reelection campaign • Brooke Liu, DePaul • In summer 2006, Senator George Allen, a Republican from Virginia, was seeking reelection in November. But, with a double-digit lead over his Democratic opponent, Jim Webb, Allen was less concerned with his reelection campaign than positioning himself for a likely 2008 presidential bid (Barnes, 2006).

Infusing Two-Way Symmetry with Postmodern Values: Isocratean Rhetoric and Public Relations’ Dominant Theoretical Paradigm • Charles Marsh, Kansas • Postmodern philosophy has presented significant challenges to the practicality, universality, and justice of the dominant paradigm of public relations theory: the Excellence Theory, including the concept of two-way symmetrical relationships. This paper seeks to show that the successful, symmetrical rhetoric of Isocrates in fourth century BCE Athens presents a practical model for the infusion of postmodern values into 21st-century two-way symmetry.

Are Two Heads Better Than One?: The Dynamics and Efficacy of Coalition Building • Andrew Miller, Maryland • Coalition building is an important part of public relations, yet there is not much empirical data or theory that explains this phenomenon. This paper explores coalition building as a social process and considers both its advantages and disadvantages. The findings suggest that although coalition building is not suited for everyone or every situation, it can be an effective strategy when principles of successful coalition building are applied to maximize the advantages and minimize the disadvantages.

Community Stakeholders and Marketplace Advocacy: A Model of Advocacy, Agenda Building, and Industry Approval • Barbara Miller, Elon • The study used survey data and structural equation modeling to examine how community stakeholder attitudes were influenced by a marketplace advocacy campaign, a form of issue advocacy. The validated model demonstrates how awareness of a marketplace advocacy campaign initiated by an industry influenced the salience of industry-promulgated issues among the stakeholders. Subsequently, an agenda-building influence resulted in more favorable attitudes toward the industry. Environmental concern moderated this relationship by decreasing the salience of industry-related issues.

Building Multi-Sector Partnerships for Progress with Strategic, Participatory Communication: A Case Study from Colombia • Juan-Carlos Molleda and Belio Martinez, Florida and Ana-Maria Suarez, Medellin • This study focuses on the use of strategic, participatory communication to build multi-sector partnerships. A multidisciplinary literature informs the dimensions of partnership formation and development. A case study from Colombia describes the role of strategic, participatory communication in facilitating multi-sector partnerships. Results indicate that partnerships require a clear expression of collective commitment; avoidance of dominance by partners; agreement on shared goals and key messages; and a transparent, inclusive and protracted dialogic process to achieve synergy.

Increased Persuasion Knowledge of Video News Releases: Audience Response and Public Policy Issues Related to Source Disclosure • Hye-Jin Paek, Georgia “Michelle Nelson, Michelle L. M. Wood, Hye-Jin Paek” • Public policy implications for disclosure of video news release (VNR) sources in broadcast news are reviewed in this paper. Across two studies (experiment, national survey), we investigate how increased persuasion knowledge about VNRs impacts audience members’ views of media and support for source disclosure policies. Findings show that increased knowledge about VNRs is positively related to beliefs in media commercialization and distrust. Each of these factors is related to support for governmental regulation of VNRs.

Building an Integrated Crisis Mapping (ICM) Model: Organizational Strategies for a Publics-Driven, Emotion-Based Conceptualization in Crisis Communication • Augustine Pang, Missouri, Yan Jin, Virginia Commonwealth and Glen Cameron, Missouri • Extending current theories in crisis communication, the authors have developed a more systemic approach to understanding the role of emotions in crises and the strategies used to respond. The authors’ Integrated Crisis Mapping (ICM) model is based on a public-based, emotion-driven perspective where different crises are mapped on two continua, the organization’s engagement in the crisis and primary public’s coping strategy.

Strengthening Internal Relations Among the United States Army National Guard Soldiers: Testing Predictors of Employee Satisfaction • Erich Randall and Lisa Fall, Tennessee • Recruitment of soldiers to serve in the Army as well as the Guard has become very difficult, partially due to the war in Iraq and in Afghanistan. With recruiting activities being so challenging, it becomes more and more important to retain existing soldiers within the organization.

Relational communication strategies, psychological empowerment, and relational trust in employee communication • Yunna Rhee, Hankuk-Foreign Studies • In this study, employee relations is defined as a special practice area of public relations. The purpose of this study was to explore the associations among three key concepts in employee relations-interpersonal communication strategies, interpersonal trust, and employee empowerment. Relevant constructs were adopted through a review of literature in interpersonal communication, organizational psychology, and public relations.

An analysis of the Reagan Administration’s crisis communication using image restoration discourse theory • Danny Rigby, Florida • This study uses image restoration discourse theory to provide insight into the failure of the Reagan Administration to manage the Iran arms crisis that was preceded the Iran-contra scandal. Analysis via image restoration discourse theory indicates the Administration’s representatives invoked a variety of defensive discourse strategies, many of which were self-contradictory. This study illustrates the utility of image restoration discourse theory as a tool for analyzing crisis rhetoric.

What’s Behind a Name? The Effect of Source Attribution on Spokesperson and Institutional Credibility • Jonathan Riley, San Diego State • All public spokespeople thrust into the spotlight to respond to a major organizational crisis situation surely recognize the perception of their own character as a central component to the persuasive power of their arguments. This study uses the heuristic-systematic model to measure the effects of four spokesperson attribution models on spokesperson credibility under differing heuristic and systematic processing conditions.

Dimensions and Models of Investor Relations Practice: A National Study of Public Relations’ Neglected Specialization • Gregory Rosenstein, Superior Energy Services, Inc., Kathleen Kelly and Alexander Laskin, Florida • Although public relations claims investor relations as one of its specializations, or sub-functions, scholars have paid little attention to it and practitioners historically have been divided between finance and corporate communication/public relations. A survey of 145 investor relations officers in publicly owned corporations tested models and dimensions of practice to build theory.

Strategic Corporate Philanthropic Relationships: Nonprofits’ Perceptions of Benefits and Corporate Motives • Gregory G. Rumsey, Southern Adventist and Candace White, Tennessee • This study examines strategic philanthropy, a component of corporate social responsibility, from the perspective of nonprofit managers engaged in strategic philanthropic relationships. Using a grounded theory approach, the study found nonprofits perceive multiple corporate motives, with blends of altruism and self-interest. They describe a negotiating environment in which nonprofits analyze potential corporate donors’ needs, then pitch mutual-benefit packages. In the most strategic alliances, relationships were characterized as interdependent and benefits were viewed as equal.

Corporate Public Relations and Democracy: Arthur W. Page and the FCC, 1935-1941 • Karen Russell, Georgia • The connections between consumer research, corporate public relations, and government regulation may not be readily apparent, but a 1930s FCC investigation of the telephone industry called the relationships among them into question. This paper seeks to understand how, under Arthur W. Page, AT&T’s lauded consumer relations program served to protect its status as a regulated monopoly.

Coorientational Measurement of Organization-Public Relationships • Trent Seltzer, Florida • This paper details the development of a coorientational approach for measuring organization-public relationships. The coorientational approach advocated by Broom and Dozier (1990) is integrated with the relationship measures developed by Hon and Grunig (1999). Results of an exploratory study using the method are presented to illustrate how the relationship scales were modified, how the procedure is implemented, and how the information generated by the approach can be used to evaluate organization-public relationship quality.

The Nature of Activism and the Complexities of Identity: A Phenomenological Inquiry • Bey-Ling Sha, San Diego State • Using the qualitative method of phenomenology, which Marshall and Rossman (1999) defined as “”the study of lived experiences and the ways we understand those experiences to develop a worldview”” (p. 112), this manuscript reflects on my experience with regards to a declared faculty union strike and explores how that experience offers insight into both (a) the nature of activism and (b) the implications of collective action for the complexities of identity.

The Effect of Shared “From Baby Boomers to Generation X: What Has Changed and What Hasn’t for Women in Public Relations • Bey-Ling Sha and David Dozier, San Diego State and Elizabeth Toth and Linda Aldoory, Maryland • After more than 25 years of gender research in public relations, we know that gender inequities persist for men and women in the field with respect to salaries and roles, even when age and years of experience are controlled statistically. This paper reports the results of the 2006 Survey on Work, Life, and Gender, sponsored by the Public Relations Society of America, finding that much has not changed for women in public relations.

Image Repair in Politics: Testing Effects of Communication Strategy and Performance History in a Faux Pas • Catherine Sheldon, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Lynne Sallot, Georgia • A 3×2 factorial experiment tested effects of crisis communication strategy (mortification, bolstering, and corrective action) and performance history (positive and negative) in conjunction with a politician’s faux pas involving racial remarks. Benoit’s (1995, 1997, 2004) image repair theory and Coombs’ (2004) crisis response standards theory and experimental methods (Coombs & Schmidt, 2000) provided the theoretical and methodological framework for this study.

Toward an Ideal Master’s Curriculum in the 21st Century • Hongmei Shen and Elizabeth Toth, Maryland • This study provides further endorsement for a cross-disciplinary graduate public relations curriculum based on in-depth interviews with leaders in industry and education and qualitative Web content analysis. It summarizes prior research studies that have tracked master’s curriculum since 1985 and concludes that although there is little curriculum consistency in place, there is more vision and expectation on the part of leaders in the field for an ideal public relations master’s curriculum.

Persuasion, Motivators and Obstacles: Influences in the Evolutional Transition from Public Relations Practitioner to Professor • Patricia Silverman, Lee • The purpose of this study was to look at the practitioner to professor transition experience using in-depth interviews of public relations faculty. Using Strauss and Corbin’s (1998) coding paradigm, five themes evolved in the analysis and findings indicated that practitioners made the transition successfully based on perceived self-efficacy (Bandura, 1986) and self-determination (Deci & Ryan, 1985) along with the fulfillment of an additional need, situation. Additionally, a practitioner to professor model was proposed.

When Corporate Public Relations Hits the Limit of Collaboration in High Conflict: What the Public Thinks • Simon Sinaga and Emily Kinsky, Texas Tech • While collaboration is generally considered the right communication strategy for businesses embroiled in a conflict with an activist group, in reality, organizations often shift to non-collaborative strategies, including avoidance and confrontation. The results of this experimental study indicate that collaboration is the best option; however, when an organization chooses to cease collaboration, confrontation appears to be a more acceptable choice than a cessation of communication with the media or a hostile public.

Corporate Citizenship and Social Responsibility: How Effective are Pharmaceutical Companies Communicating These Business Initiatives? • Morgan Sones, Hartford • Major pharmaceutical companies in the United States have a strategic process that, under the emphasis of philanthropic efforts and benevolent image projection, annually continue to contribute to profitability in unprecedented rates. Pharmaceutical companies’ business initiatives of corporate citizenship and corporate social responsibility have been utilized as a strategic method to communicate and demonstrate their commitment to their employees and to their targeted consumer audiences.

Public Relations in a Non-Conventional War Disaster: Advice Framing during the Anthrax Attacks • Kristen Swain, Kansas • This content analysis examined advice for citizens that appeared in U.S. news coverage of the anthrax attacks, in light of coverage of outrage, hypotheticals, contradictory or confusing evidence, and risk comparisons. Five coders analyzed 833 stories from AP, NPR, 272 newspapers, and four national television networks. Over time, an inverse relationship between coverage of practical advice and outrage rhetoric appeared, and the ratio of practical advice to vague advice stories was higher during the post-impact phase.

Journalist and Official Source Attitudes Concerning News about a Terrorist Attack: A Co-Orientation Analysis • Christopher Swindell, Marshall and James Hertog, Kentucky • The paper presents partial findings from a survey of journalists and official sources regarding emergency messages following a hypothetical terror attack. The co-orientation model is used to assess the groups’ views about features of emergency news and to evaluate their expectations about each others’ views on the topic. Journalists and official sources exhibit similar attitudes with regard to the importance of timeliness, accuracy, and reassurance against panic, but perceive their views to differ significantly.

Public Relations and Conflict Resolution: Toward a Synthesis of Excellence and Contingency Theory Approaches • William Szlemko and Cindy Christen, Colorado State • Research in public relations has recently been dominated by a debate between those espousing excellence theory and those espousing the contingency theory of accommodation. Briefly, excellence theory suggests that two-way symmetry represents the most ethical and effective way of resolving conflicts, while contingency theory posits that the optimal approach is situation dependent. This paper proposes a theoretical solution to the debate, derived from the literature on conflict resolution.

Into The Vortex: A Case Study in Big League Public Relations Throwing A Curveball in a Defamation Lawsuit • Samuel Terilli, Sigman Splichal and Dustin Supa, Miami • In 1997 a small public relations firm and family-owned beer distributor issued press releases characterizing a legal dispute with Anheuser-Busch as “”David taking on Goliath”” and recalling memories of deceased family patriarch, baseball legend Roger Maris. The distributor claimed the rhetorical high ground, but paid a price when a court ruled the campaign made it a vortex public figure that had to satisfy a difficult legal burden to win its defamation lawsuit against the brewer.

Resonance as the Mechanism for the Message Effect in Motivating Behavioral Intention-Examining Crisis Communication in A Tourism Context • Hua-Hsin Wan, Texas at El Paso • This study proposes that resonance could be the underlying mechanism that accounts for that tailoring effect. To investigate that possibility, resonance, operationalized as involving both cognitive and emotional components, was examined in an experiment to see how it might impact attitude formation and behavioral intention. The results of the investigation revealed that resonance is indeed a strong factor in influencing attitude and behavioral disposition.

National image and Olympic coverage • Kaisheng M. Wang, Edelman Public Relations Worldwide Ltd., Taipei Branch and Xiuli Wang, Syracuse • Hosting Olympic Games is used by nations to enhance their image and economic benefits. This study examines the U.S. media coverage of South Korea, Spain, Australia and Greece before and during the year they hosted the Olympic Games. Independent t-tests found that hosting such global event improves a nation’s visibility and valence in media coverage. The change of news topic selection also makes the news coverage of the host countries less deviant in general.

Comparing the Two Sides of the Donor-Nonprofit Organization Relationship: Applying Coorientation Methodology to Relationship Management • Richard Waters, Florida • Despite advances in the measurement of the organization-public relationship, there have been few attempts to measure the views of both sides of the relationship. Even though public relations literature strives for symmetry, the research is still asymmetrical when it comes to organization-public relationship. Ferguson (1984) called for the measurement of both sides, and this sentiment has been echoed by others in the late 1990s though their calls went unanswered.

Coming Out to Tell Our Stories: The Career Experiences of Gay Men in Public Relations • Richard Waters, Florida and Natalie Tindall, Oklahoma • Despite the increasing focus on understanding the diversity of the public relations profession, academics and practitioners have largely ignored gay men. This qualitative study seeks to understand the gay male experience of working in the public relations industry and why they were drawn to public relations and communications management.

The Effect of Doing Good: An Experimental Analysis of the Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives on Beliefs, Attitudes, and Behavioral Intention • Kelly Werder, South Florida • Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives identified by Kotler and Lee (2005) were tested using Fishbein and Ajzen’s (1975, 2005) theory of reasoned action to determine their influence on individuals’ beliefs, attitudes, and behavioral intentions toward an organization and its products. Results indicate that CSR initiatives influence salient beliefs about an organization; however, they do not influence attitudes and behavioral intention toward an organization. Support is shown for the propositions of the theory of reasoned action.

Assessing the Value of the Public Relations Curriculum: A Survey of Opinions of Educators and Practitioners • Donald K. Wright, Boston and Michelle Hinson, Institute for Public Relations • This paper explores the disconnect some claim exists between public relations educators and practitioners in terms of the value and importance of what is taught in university-based public relations degree programs. It compares the perceived importance of the most recent curriculum recommendations of the Commission on Public Relations Education’s The Professional Bond report with a list of alternative curriculum suggestions prepared by a small group of mid-level, high-performing, New York-based public relations practitioners.

Coverage of E. Coli Contaminated Spinach: Sources and Messages Chosen by National and Local Print Media • Emma Wright, Tennessee • In September 2006, the FDA issued a recall of E. coli contaminated spinach. Situations like this allow crisis communicators and public relations professionals to investigate messages created during a crisis situation, sources that are utilized, and messages that are conveyed – through the media – to key stakeholders. This paper extends an analysis of the crisis messages framed by the media coverage regarding the sources of information and the message strategies used by these sources.

Measuring Country Reputation in Multi-Dimensions: Predictors, Effects, and Communication Channels • Sung-Un Yang, Syracuse, Hochang Shin, Sogang, Jong-Hyuk Lee, Central Michigan and Brenda Wrigley, Syracuse • A country’s reputation is a subject of increasing interest for the practice and research of public relations. South Korea’s reputation as viewed by Americans, the country’s most strategic foreign constituent, is the topic of this study.

Culture and Chinese Public Relations: A Multi-Method ‘Inside out’ Approach • Ai Zhang, Hongmei Shen and Hua Jiang, Maryland • This study adopts an “inside out” approach to examine contemporary Chinese public relations and culture’s effect on it, based on an analysis of 15 top domestic Chinese public relations agencies’ Web sites and 17 in-depth interviews of public relations professionals from multinationals operating in mainland China. Results indicate an emerging trend of Chinese strategic management and a new understanding of guanxi as an on-going process of one-on-one bonding.

Returning to the Ark: An In-depth Investigation of Public Relations Theory Articles • Lynn Zoch, Hilary Fussell Sisco and Erik Collins, South Carolina • The research reported in this paper looks at the presence of theories, theoretical concepts, models and frameworks, and the names given to each by the article’s author(s) as well as whether or not articles either expanded or proposed theory. The research builds on previous studies, particularly of Ferguson (1984) and Sallot et al. (2003), by using the same classification and topic ideas (with modifications) in the coding.

The Influence of Media Visibility on Firms’ Corporate Social Performance • Stelios Zyglidopoulos, Cambridge, Andreas Georgiadis, London School of Economics and Political Science and Craig Carroll, North Carolina-Chapel Hill • This paper investigates the effect that media visibility has on Corporate Social Performance (CSP). Drawing on agenda-setting theory and the business and society literature, we develop and test two hypotheses regarding the impact media visibility has on the firm’s CSP. Our findings indicate that while media visibility does have a positive impact on the firm’s CSP, some aspects of CSP are affected more than others.

<< 2007 Abstracts

Newspaper 2007 Abstracts

Newspaper Division

Examining Episodic and Thematic Framing of the 2005 French Riots in Cross-National Press • Angela D. Abel, Cynthia-Lou Coleman, Portland State University • Framing theories have provided a rich landscape for viewing media coverage of political conflicts, social protests, and wars, and the current study joins the body of research that examines news through a framing lens. Specifically the authors extend Shanto Iyengar’s thesis of episodic and thematic news framing, honed by analysis of television coverage, to print media.

Preserving News Integrity: Ethical Certainty and the Boundary Spanning Roles of Newspaper Advertising Executives • Soontae An, Kansas State University and Lori Bergen, Texas State University-San Marcos • This study examined a boundary spanning role of advertising sales executives who sell newspaper advertising, i.e., the degree to which advertising sales executives’ duties may influence a newspaper’s editorial content. A survey of 219 advertising directors measured their amount of formal and informal communication with advertisers to assess their boundary spanning activities.

Editorial and Editorial Cartoon Content in the 2006 Ohio Gubernatorial Campaign • Erin Armstrong, Lisa Forster, Katherine Muse, Jared Rutecki, David Sennerud, Mai Tang and Yi Tian, Ohio University • This study analyzed the content and differences between editorials and editorial cartoons in the six largest Ohio daily newspapers during the 2006 Ohio gubernatorial campaign. Instead of gubernatorial campaign issues—like education or the economy—the election process, including endorsements and horse-race coverage, was the topic most frequently covered. Additionally, there was significant editorial coverage on international and national security content during a statewide election, when more local content might have been expected.

Citizen Journalism and the TMC: User content as a driver for a free newspaper • Clyde Bentley, Hans Meyer and Jeremy Littau, University of Missouri • A random-digit-dialing survey was used to test the impact of citizen journalism content on a weekly total market coverage (TMC) edition of a Midwestern daily newspaper. Regression analysis of the data showed high interest in and readership of the user-generated content supplied to the TMC by a citizen journalism Web site was a major driver of the overall readership of the publication.

Keeping Which Gates for Whom? Choosing Nation/World News at Local Daily Newspapers • Dan Berkowitz, University of Iowa • This paper explores the selection of national and world news at daily newspapers. Data come from interviews with editors at small- and medium-sized newspapers. Unlike the gatekeeping days of Mr. Gates, wire news selection was a minor task, with nation/world stories relegated to a small inside space. Editors worked alone with minimal guidance, and the news they chose had a low priority compared to local news, which increasingly dominated the overall news hole.

“Well worth the dime”: Reader Loyalty to The New York Standard When Television Was New • Joseph Bernt and Marilyn Greenwald, Ohio University • During New York’s 114-day newspaper strike of 1962-1963, nine newspapers throughout the city closed, causing economic stress and forcing New Yorkers to alternative media. This paper carefully examines one successful alternative news source: The New York Standard, a six-day-a-week newspaper published by a credit-card company and staffed by out-of-work journalists. This study indicates that The Standard’s publishers and staff offered readers desired news, features, and advertising—which earned high readership, reader loyalty, and ad-lines.

Bias in the Newsroom: Newspaper Staff Describe the Personal, Organizational and Structural Influences on Coverage • Carrie Brown, University of Missouri • A secondary analysis of survey data collected by the Committee of Concerned Journalists from 896 journalists at 18 newspapers identifies six kinds of biases modern journalists believe influence their work. While some journalists said that the political biases the public perceives in the news do affect coverage, more responses indicated that inherent human biases, structural biases produced via the routines of news production, and the lack of staff diversity are a larger influence on the news.

Not So Different After All: An Examination of the Uses and Gratifications of a Newspaper’s Youth Section • Amanda Brozana, Stillman College and University of Alabama • A survey, from the uses and gratifications approach, was conducted with readers (N=152) of a Southern daily, specifically who took interest in the paper’s youth section. The study found teens often use the newspaper and youth sections in order to gain information that they may pass on to others. Further, adults and youth use this youth section in different ways and the gratifications this section are higher than of the general newspaper for young readers.

Selling Gay Rights in Colorado: A New Approach for the Centennial State • Christopher Burnett, California State University-Long Beach and Genelle Belmas, California State University-Fullerton • In 2006, Colorado became a battleground in the struggle for gay rights. In an attempt to blunt the impact of the potential passage of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as one man and one woman, gay rights advocates promoted an alternative approach – providing domestic partnership rights for same-sex couples. This paper explores whether a rural-urban divide, or other factors, played the key role in determining the vote.

Haunted by the Babe: Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick’s Newspaper Columns about Babe Ruth • John Carvalho, Auburn University • In 1961, Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick, a former newspaper sports columnist, announced that Roger Maris’s home run record would not be recognized unless he set it in 154 games, as record-holder Babe Ruth did. Frick’s announcement sparked criticism. This paper demonstrates that the motive for Frick’s actions was loyalty toward Ruth, as reflected both in his ghostwriting for Ruth and his columns in the New York Journal newspaper.

Outside Influences: Extramedia Forces and the Newsworthiness Conceptions of Online and Print Newspaper Journalists • William Cassidy, Northern Illinois University • This paper examines the influence of extramedia (outside) forces on the newsworthiness conceptions of online and print newspaper journalists. A national survey (N=655) found that while extramedia forces exerted only a moderate influence overall, there were more influential on the online group. Online newspaper journalists rated Audience Research, Advertisers, Public Opinion Polls, Wire Service Budgets, and Prestige Publications as significantly more influential than did print newspaper journalists.

Setting the Record Straight: An Analysis of Letters to the Editor about Gay Marriage • Kristin Comeforo, Berkeley College • The current study analyzed 256 letters to the editors about gay marriage. The goals were to explain how letter writers come to understand gay marriage, and to evaluate the letters page as a public sphere. Findings suggest that letter writers attempt to interpret gay marriage through existing frames of reference, in various ways, and to different ends. In this way, the letters page functions as a marketplace of ideas rather than a public sphere.

Lessons Learned from Covering Katrina: Comparing Local, Regional, and National Newspapers and Staff Perspectives • Roxanne Dill and Denis Wu, Louisiana State University • This study examined the first two-week coverage of Hurricane Katrina by local, regional, and national newspapers. Specifically, the researchers looked at topics covered, frame, types of sources cited and authorities quoted, geographic focus, and assignment of blame for the devastation and evacuee distress that followed this historic storm.

Boosting the home team: The framing of business news in a large metro daily • Felicity Duncan, University of Missouri • This paper analyzes the ways in which a large midwestern metro daily covers local, national and international businesses and individual businesspeople. Business news forms an integral part of today’s metro newspaper and readers appreciate quality business coverage, yet little research has focused on business news content. Using a framing approach, this paper studied the subject matter and tone of business news coverage, and identified the frames used in covering business.

War of Words: How 22 Newspapers in 11 Countries Framed the Buildup to the Iraq War • John Hatcher, University of Minnesota-Duluth • The buildup to the Iraq war offered the ideal test for what Babbie (2001) calls a natural experiment. This study compares 528 news items from 22 newspapers in 11 democracies. It asks if differences in news coverage are explained by differences in the social structure of a country, the public opinion of a country or with a country’s political position with respect to a specific global event.

International news coverage in U.S. newspapers in a post-Sept. 11 world • Beverly Horvit, Robyn Kriel, Karen Anderson and Jackie Rodriguez, Texas Christian University • An analysis of a four-week constructed sample of international news (N=1,024 stories) in The New York Times, USA Today, Houston Chronicle and Buffalo News indicates the volume of coverage has declined since the 1990s. Iraq received the most coverage, and the top topics were combat/political violence, government and diplomacy. The Middle East received the most coverage in all papers but The Times, which covered Asia more. Of the papers, USA Today had the least coverage.

U.S. News Media: Guardians of Freedom? • Ralph Izard, Louisiana State University and Weimin Chang, Shantou University • This study looks into coverage of the USA Patriot Act to determine whether four prominent newspapers adhere to their traditional function of being guardians of civil liberty. The content analysis found that concerns for individual liberty topped the framing and generally coverage was negative toward the act. Results also showed framing changed as the debate on the act advanced.

The real gender-bender: The curious case of news coverage of the Steve Stanton story • Rick Kenney, University of Central Florida • In its editions for Thursday, Feb. 22, 2007, the St. Petersburg Times reported: “With the mayor at his side, longtime Largo City Manager Steve Stanton disclosed to the St. Petersburg Times on Wednesday that he is undergoing hormone therapy and counseling in preparation for a sex-change operation” (Helfand and Farley, 2007, p. 1A).

Modern-Day Slavery: News Frames of Human Trafficking and Attributes of Trafficking Victims • Jeesun Kim and Wayne Wanta, University of Missouri • This study explores news frames and attributes used in the coverage of human trafficking from 1996 to 2007 in The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. Results show the responsibility frame was dominant, while the victim-centered attribute, emphasizing “modern-day slavery,” was the most frequently used to identify trafficking victims. Most victims are from Asia, Latin America, or Africa.

Differential News Coverage of Female and Male Athletes During the 2004 Olympic Games • Nathan Kirkham, Catherine Luther and Robin Hardin, University of Tennessee • This study examined how U.S. newspapers covered female and male athletes during the 2004 Olympic Games. Previous research has indicated framing devices that reflect bias against female athletes would be present in the coverage. This research found that although male athletes received more coverage than female athletes, the traditional regressive framing devices against females found in other studies were not significantly present. The only appreciably present frame was physical attractiveness.

Public Opinion Formation of a President: An Agenda Setting study of newspaper coverage of George W. Bush and how it associated with Gallup Poll • Jennifer Kowalewski, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill • This study examined 15 newspapers to determine the relationship between the supportive tone and Gallup Poll approval ratings. The study showed a positive correlation between public approval rating and supportive newspaper coverage, including an increase in supportive tone following the terrorist attacks, and a decrease in supportive tone leading up to Hurricane Katrina. In a presidency where public approval rating has shifted, newspaper supportive coverage and Gallup Poll relate in their view of the president.

The News Readability Problem • Dominic Lasorsa and Seth Lewis, University of Texas-Austin • Low readability of news has often been attributed to production and format features (e.g., deadlines; lead-packing). This study puts blame elsewhere. Stories found deceptive were more readable than authentic stories from the same news organizations. Because the stories were written under similar production and format conditions, findings indicate that low readability is due to the challenge of journalism to convey information only about the real world. Not so constrained, deceptive “news” portrays a simpler world.

The Impacts of Declining Newspaper Readership on Young Americans’ Political Knowledge and Participation: A Longitudinal Analysis • Tien-Tsung Lee, University of Kansas and Lu Wei, Washington State University • Using national survey data from 1984 to 2004, this study examines changes over time in newspaper readership among Americans aged 17 to 24. Newspaper readership is the lowest in this age group and has been declining, which has negative effects on political knowledge and participation. Possible solutions and implications, including competing media and the impacts of political ideology and partisanship, are discussed.

Next-generation news consumers: An exploratory study of young adults and their future with news and newspapers • Seth Lewis, University of Texas-Austin • This study explored the link between young adults’ perceptions and intentions toward news. It surveyed 1,222 students at two large universities and found that five years from now young adults expect to get less of their news from social-networking sites and more from traditional media—especially newspapers. A factor analysis revealed that perceptions toward the future of news have five dimensions: Time and Effort Consuming, Satisfying Civic and Personal Needs, Socially Useful, Devoid of Fun, and Biased.

Editorializing Immigration: A Content Analysis of Op-Ed Columns • Jennifer Lloyd, University of Texas-Austin • A content analysis of New York Times and Washington Post op-ed columns over two one-year periods found that coverage of immigration issues increased over time and was framed in terms of political action. Columnists were more likely to mention politicians as initial sources of immigration information than expert or immigrant sources. Columnists were also more likely to address immigration issues with a positive overall tone which was significantly related to the immigrants’ area of origin.

Tip of the Iceberg: Published Corrections Represent Less than Two Percent of Factual Errors in Newspapers • Scott Maier, University of Oregon • To assess how frequently inaccurate news stories are corrected, this investigation tracks 1,200 factual errors identified by news sources in a cross-market accuracy audit of ten daily U.S. newspapers. The study showed that less than 2 percent of errors identified by news sources resulted in published corrections. The findings challenge how well journalism’s “corrections box” sets the record straight or serves as a safety valve for the venting of frustrations by wronged news sources.

Framing the Storm: Comparison of Frames Used in Impending Storm Coverage • Chris McCollough, Louisiana State University • This is an examination of newspaper coverage of the hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2006 to determine if the hurricane season of 2005 impacted impending storm coverage. Content analysis of 164 articles in four newspapers, guided by framing theory demonstrated differences with traditional scholarship (Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000). Findings surprisingly indicated valence of frames was more neutral in the 2006 season than in the 2004 season.

Reporter beat and content differences in environmental stories • Michael McCluskey, Ohio State University • Literature suggests story content varies by reporter beat, but little confirming evidence exists. Project used environmental news, which cuts across beats, to analyze differences in story content and context. Analysis of 484 newspaper articles and survey responses from 37 environmental groups shows environmental writers wrote stories more positive to environmental groups than business, political and general reporters. Context of environmental group resources and goals showed some variance among reporter types.

Researchers Are Writing the Obituary, but Geography Is Not Dead Yet • Rachel Mersey, University of Minnesota • The idea of geography is fundamental to the local newspaper, which covers both community news and news from a community perspective. But now scholars suggest that “geography is dead.” A survey of 1,171 adults living in Maricopa County, Ariz., uses geographic and online sense of community measures in order to determine the importance of geography in today’s Internet-rich environment. Results rebuff scholars’ suggestions and indicate that respondents are still attached to their geographic communities.

Maybe the Internet Can Not Save Journalism: The Geographic Sense of Community Gap • Rachel Mersey, University of Minnesota • This research, a survey of 1,171 adults living in Maricopa County, Ariz., is rooted in the idea that there is a virtuous cycle linking newspaper readership to sense of community for the benefit of social capital. Using psychological sense of community measures, it is designed to address what is happening to this relationship when news and news consumers move online. Evidence suggests that newspapers still have a stronger hold than the Web over geographic communities.

The Ties that Bind: News Discourse, Gay Marriage and the Politics of GLBT Representation • Leigh Moscowitz, Indiana University • This paper employs critical-cultural perspectives to examine the mainstream news media as the central battlefield where America’s latest “civil war” is waged—the debate over same-sex marriage rights. Through an analysis of prominent television and print news texts, this paper is concerned with how the journalistic selection of particular couples and the use of certain images and narratives both shape and reinscribe dominant definitions of gay and lesbian identity in our modern culture.

Sampling Error and Presidential Approval Ratings: How Three Major U.S. Newspapers Reported the Polls • Matthew Reavy, University of Scranton • This paper examines coverage of presidential approval ratings in three major U.S. newspapers to determine the accuracy with which those newspapers discuss poll changes in light of sampling error. It finds that the majority of the articles under study over-emphasize change in the polls even when that change could be accounted for by sampling error alone.

Newspaper journalism in crisis: Burnout on the rise, eroding young journalists’ career commitment • Scott Reinardy, Ball State University • The three-component Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (Exhaustion, Cynicism and Professional Efficacy) was implemented to examine burnout among newspaper journalists (N = 770). With a moderate rate of exhaustion, a high rate of cynicism and a moderate rate of professional efficacy, burnout among the journalists in this study demonstrate higher rates of burnout than previous work.

Measuring the Relationship Between Journalistic Transparency and Credibility • Chris Roberts, University of South Carolina • Declines in mainstream media credibility, and the Internet’s rise of alternative voices, have heightened calls for news organizations to be more transparent in news reports and decision-making. In two online experiments, participants read the same newspaper story but had varied access to data sources and/or editor’s explanation. Extra “transparency” boosted neither story nor message credibility, suggesting transparency’s limits in boosting credibility of a traditional news story from a well-known messenger.

City Editor Job Satisfaction and Perception of Local News Reporters • Charles St. Cyr, Butler University • A survey of 303 city editors at daily newspapers found that 88 percent of respondents said they are less than very satisfied with their jobs, almost all expressed less than very high satisfaction for every measure of local news reporter performance used in the study, and most rated themselves favorably for how they interact with reporters.

Gulf Coast Journalists and Hurricane Katrina: Mounting Challenges to the Work Routine • Shearon Roberts, Louisiana State University • This mixed methodological study contrasted changes in news sourcing and framing with changes in the work routine of Gulf Coast journalists one year into the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Newspaper content analysis found significant increases in human interest framing techniques with ordinary people as sources. Interviews with Gulf Coast journalists revealed that these findings were consistent with a new found connection and identification with the public given a common suffering these journalists shared with readers.

Measuring an eroding base: Use of the circulation robustness variable for U.S. daily newspapers • Glenn Scott, Elon University • This study examines the circulation performance of a randomly selected sample of 195 U.S. daily newspapers by applying a methodological tool that calculates their circulation robustness. Aimed at measuring the support of a paper’s key base of readers, this tool pioneered by media researcher Philip Meyer calculates changes over time in newspapers’ penetration rates for their home counties. Only eleven newspapers showed increases over a period of about six years ending in 2003. Newspapers as a whole showed a decline.

Press Coverage of Ohio’s 2006 Gubernatorial Election • Michael Sheehy, University of Cincinnati • This content analysis examines coverage of the 2006 Ohio gubernatorial election by six metropolitan daily newspapers. The study tracks story type, subject, focus and candidate advantage in the nine weeks before Election Day. A major finding was that the papers published relatively few in-depth stories profiling the issues and candidates, even though one had never before run a statewide race. The study also found that the Democratic candidate received more advantageous coverage than the Republican.

Washington Post Policies and Practices On Unnamed Sources Over Four Decades • Michael Sheehy, University of Cincinnati • This qualitative study focuses on the Washington Post’s policies and practices on the use of unnamed sources over four decades beginning in the early 1960s. The study begins with an examination of the style book under editor Russ Wiggins, then continues with policies under Benjamin Bradlee and Leonard Downie Jr. Archival research, interviews with prominent editors and an analysis of Post coverage produced this study, which tracks the evolution of policies and factors influencing change.

You Must Read This: A content analysis of most e-mailed stories from five news sites • Stephen Siff, Ohio University • The lists of most e-mailed stories presented on many news web sites present a new tool for evaluating reader preference. This study analyzes the topics, treatments and news values present in most e-mailed stories from five major online news sites during a two week period. The study uses established coding methodologies to allow comparison with prior research into the types of stories generally present in newspapers and on newspaper front pages.

Legal qualifications and perceived ideologies: How the New York Times framed the Supreme Court nomination of John Roberts • Derigan Silver, University of North Carolina • Today, the Supreme Court nomination process is one of the most confrontational aspects of American politics and garners wide media coverage. Despite its importance, little research has focused on how the media covers the nomination process. This research used framing analysis to identify how the New York Times and politicians set the agenda for John Roberts’ 2005 nomination hearings and represented the debate over his nomination.

Out of the Gate, Onto the Front Page: Coverage of Presidential Candidates, 2000 to 2004 • Elizabeth Skewes, University of Colorado • This paper examines news coverage of the 2004 presidential candidates in the political season that ran from November 2000 to November 2004. It finds that only a few candidates received a significant amount of coverage; that issues and policy received the greatest coverage early in the election season; and that the two eventual nominees – George W. Bush and John Kerry – received both more positive and negative coverage than the other candidates, whose coverage was more neutral in tone.

The Weblog Forest: The effectiveness of staff-produced blogs in engaging newspaper audiences in conversation • Mary Spillman, Lori Demo and Larry Dailey, Ball State University • This exploratory study examines the conversation created by staff-produced political blogs at general-circulation daily newspapers one week prior to the November 2006 election. Results show that the blogs studied contained a small number of postings, failed to create much interaction between the blogger and the audience, and attracted few audience comments, calling into question whether political blogs are effective in meeting newspaper goals to encourage civic discourse.

Anonymous Sourcing and “Contest-Winning” Impact on Story Credibility • Miglena Sternadori and Esther Thorson, University of Missouri • This study explores the effects of two variables, use of anonymous sources and journalistic judgment of story quality, on news credibility. These variables were tested in an experiment where the stimuli consisted of 12 abridged stories from the morgue of Investigative Reporters and Editors, a professional association.

Interactivity in J-Blogs: Opportunities for Online Communication between Journalists and the Public • E. Jordan Storm, Syracuse University • If done well, j-blogs can enhance communication between journalists and the communities they serve but if done badly, j-blogs simply act as repositories for static content. In order to determine to what degree newsrooms are communicating with their publics on j-blogs, this study analyzed a proportionally representative sample of j-blogs on American daily newspaper Web sites.

An Exploratory Study of International News Coverage in Indian Newspapers • Venkata Ratnadeep Suri, Indiana University • The exploratory study investigates the patterns of International news coverage and the influence of some systemic determinants on international news coverage in two leading Indian English language newspapers. Based on previous studies, 5 systematic determinants were selected as predictors of international news coverage: Diaspora ties, colonial ties, geographical proximity, trade volume measured by average volume of Indian imports and exports to a particular country, and a particular guest country’s economic power measured by its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

News Sourcing in a Bioterror Disaster • Kristen Swain, University of Kansas • This content analysis examines risk framing in relation to sourcing and play in 457 newspaper stories about the 2001 anthrax attacks. Health agency and law enforcement sources dominated the coverage, followed by scientists, victims, and citizens. After the initial outbreak, fear, speculation, and victims characterized coverage of the acute crisis, while health officials dominated post-crisis coverage. Stories that received less play were more likely to explain risks. The more sources a story used, the less likely it was to include vague advice.

Why women are dropping out of newspaper jobs: Exploring the factors influencing their decision to leave • Amber Willard, University of Texas • This study assessed the job satisfaction of current and former newspaperwomen and their reasons for leaving their last newspaper position. Recent research has found women are leaving the newspaper industry at a higher percentage than other mediums. A job-satisfaction theory was applied to form many of the questions in an online survey that used snowball sampling, and the study found many women left their previous position because of salary and management-related issues.

Factors that Predict Newspaper Reading Habits in College Students • Brenda Wilson, Tennessee Technological University • A sample of first-time college students (N=343) at a four-year university in Tennessee completed a questionnaire measuring their newspaper reading habits as well as their previous experiences with newspapers. Factors studied included the students’ current newspaper reading habits, their family newspaper literacy practices during childhood, their experiences with newspapers in their K-12 education, and their civic interests.

Putting the Story Back in Hard News Stories to Engage Young Audiences • Amy Zerba, University of Texas-Austin • This experimental study examines young adults’ expectations of hard news stories and whether narrative storytelling can positively influence their reading experiences for comprehension, learning, interest and enjoyment. Participants reported an increased understanding and interest in an Iraq story after reading a narrative version than what they had expected. They enjoyed and stayed interested in a murder story better than the traditional storytelling group, which reported learning less and losing interest more quickly than they had expected.

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