Commission on the Status of Women

2022 Abstracts

Research Paper • Faculty • Maha Bashri • Framing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Intersectionality and News Frames in Local and National Press Coverage • Minority female politicians receive less frequent media coverage than their counterparts. Even when they do receive media coverage it tends to be negatively framed. The following study analyzes patterns of congruence (or lack of) in news frames and intersectional categories in local and national media coverage of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a politician affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). The Washington Post has been selected for this study because it is the most circulated newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area, home to many power brokers in the U.S. government. The local newspaper selected for the analysis was the Bronx Times-Reporter, a weekly newspaper covering news from the Bronx, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s district. The findings point to the prevalence of thematic frames and class as an intersectional category in local news coverage more than in national news coverage. The shift in coverage patterns has significant implications for both minority women politicians and the DSA in American politics.

Research Paper • Faculty • Dorothy Bland, University of North Texas; Mia Moody; Gheni Platenburg, Auburn University; Mira Lowe, University of Florida; Lawrence Mosley, Omni Analytics Group • An Analysis of Memes and Misinformation about Kamala Harris’s Rise to U.S. Vice President • “Kamala Harris made political history in the United States and around the globe when she was elected vice president of the United States in November 2020. She is the first Black female and person of South Asian descent to hold that position. She has been the subject of a variety of memes and misinformation. Using Facebook’s CrowdTangle, a content discovery and social monitoring platform, this study employed framing, feminist and critical race theories to analyze memes and (mis)information that circulated on Facebook during the 2021 U.S. Presidential campaign. Specifically, we analyze Harris-themed memes disseminated over a four-month window between October 1, the month before the November 3, 2020 election, through Jan. 31, 2021. This time frame includes the most heated part of the campaign and Inauguration Day. This study shows that memes ranged from celebrating racial/ethnic pride to misogynistic attacks on Harris.

Extended Abstract • Faculty • Meredith Clark; Miyoung Chong, University of Virginia • #JusticeForBreonnaTaylor: A Case Study of the Evolution of the Black Lives Matter Movement • In this study, we use complementing quantitative and qualitative methods in an effort to track and trace the efficacy of hashtag activism participants’ engagement in Black Lives Matter related content, while focusing on the subtheme of police brutality toward Black women in the United States.

Research Paper • Student • Leticia Couto, Washington State University; Stacey Hust • It was all consensual: The news, sexual assault, and student athletes • This content analysis of 179 newspaper articles investigates the portrayal of college athletes that are involved in sexual assault cases as alleged perpetrator and the presence of rape myths in these stories. Results showed that intoxication might be used as a technique to either blame alleged victims or protect alleged perpetrators. In conclusion, rape myths are still very present in newspaper articles that discuss college athletes as alleged perpetrators of sexual assault.

Research Paper • Student • Dana Dabek, Temple University • Covering the Second Wave: Grace Lichtenstein, The New York Times, and the Legacy of Liberal Feminism • This paper explores the intersections of journalism, memory, and liberal feminism through a critical textual analysis of New York Times journalist Grace Lichtenstein’s coverage of the Second Wave feminist movement in the United States from 1968-1981. Themes of liberalist ideologies, upholding hegemonic power structures, and women as newsworthy for their “firsts” are analyzed within her coverage. This analysis adds to existing scholarship of how journalistic constraints bound how memory of a social movement is constructed.

Research Paper • Faculty • Zehui Dai, Radford University; Michael Meindl, Radford University; Dinah Tetteh • Vlogging pregnancy and laboring during the pandemic: Narratives of Chinese pregnant women in diasporas • In early 2020, COVID-19 spread nationwide in China and later became a global pandemic. The rapid changing context of the situation may lead to unforeseeable challenges and questions for pregnant women. Through a textual analysis of personal narratives told via pregnancy and/or laboring vlogs during COVID-19, the present study aims to understand how pregnant women in Chinese diasporas utilizes YouTube (a digital media platform) to construct a digital identity as they convey their pregnancy and/or laboring experiences to during the pandemic to a particular audience—the transnational, Mandarin-speaking diaspora. Through the analysis, we identified various challenges that pregnant women in Chinese diasporas experienced in pregnancy and/or laboring. The COVID-19 pandemic exasperated the normal difficulties of these issues, as well as created additional problems for this group of women, including regular pregnancy tests, choice of birthing locations, and the support and caring that was normal during this time period. We also believe narrative creation, in the form of vlogging, helps this cohort to gain a sense of agency and empowerment of their diaspora experience by examining and reimagining their experience.

Research Paper • Faculty • Stine Eckert, Wayne State University; Jade Metzger-Riftkin; Fatima Albrehi; Najma Akhther, Wayne State University; Zalika Aniapam; Linda Steiner, University of Maryland • #MeToo academia: Media coverage of academic sexual misconduct at U.S. universities • We conducted a systematic textual analysis of media coverage of 201 academic sexual misconduct cases in the United States between 2017 and 2019 in which a university employee was named as perpetrator. In 97 cases media did not mention the #MeToo movement, indicating that cases were treated as “bad behavior” of a single person rather than as a systemic problem in society linked to rape culture. Four of five cases (80%) were broken to the public by a journalistic news medium demonstrating that journalism, especially local journalism, remains the main path to expose academic sexual misconduct of university employees in the wake of the viral #MeToo hashtag. Student journalists especially broke cases that led to news coverage linking individual cases to broader systemic issues in society, recognizing and contributing to a shift in public discourse on sexual misconduct.

Research Paper • Faculty • Tracy Everbach, University of North Texas; Gwendelyn Nisbett, University of North Texas; Karen Weiller-Abels, University of North Texas • Rebel! Rebel! How Megan Rapinoe’s Celebrity Activism Forges New Paths for Athletes • After the USA won the 2019 Women’s FIFA World Cup, Megan Rapinoe captured the world’s attention with her lavender hair, athletic build, quick moves on the field, eye for style, and outspoken advocacy for equality. This study employs a feminist standpoint and queer theory approach to examine Rapinoe’s activism, advocacy, and celebrity as an influencer and role model for sports fans as well as LGBTQ+ people, and those fighting for racial and gender equality.

Research Paper • Student • Jodi Friedman, University of Maryland, Philip Merrill School of Journalism • #freebritney, #freekesha, #freemelania: Hashtag Activism and Notions of Feminism in Online Communities • Britney Spears, Kesha and Melania Trump are Twitter causes célèbres. Disparate discourses of the hashtag campaigns #freebritney, #freekesha, and #freemelania move users from the personal to the collective, presuming these powerful women are prisoners in gilded cages. Users rally around a central White, female figure who largely does not join discussion of her supposed entrapment. An ethnographic field site of 77,435 tweets is thematically analyzed regarding online fan identity and women’s need for rescue.

Research Paper • Student • Jingyi Guo; Ziwei Zhang; Jinhong Song; Lu Jin; Duan Yu • Femvertising and postfeminist discourse: Advertising to break menstrual taboos in China • This paper investigates Libresse sanitary napkins commercials in China. Employing feminist critical discourse analysis, we interpret the narration of Libresse’s efforts in China as exemplary of the appropriation of femvertising—women empowerment advertising—to challenge menstrual taboos. Our findings indicate that Libresse creates a postfeminist discourse that has generated contradictions regarding gender issues, both liberating and constraining women in an elaborate dance. Our study thus situates a broader discussion of postfeminism, advertising, and global capitalism.

Extended Abstract • Faculty • Meg Heckman, Northeastern University • Building the Gender Beat: U.S. Journalists Refocus the News in the Aftermath of #MeToo • Beats focused on gender have become more common at U.S. news organizations in the last four years—a phenomenon this exploratory study documents in an effort to gauge the prevalence of gender beats and understand the experiences of the journalists (n=66) covering them. Based on semi-structured interviews analyzed using grounded theory, I argue that gender beats are necessary—but ideally temporary—stepping stones to help news organizations move beyond hegemonic masculinity.

Extended Abstract • Faculty • Rahul Bhargava, Northeastern University; Meg Heckman, Northeastern University; Emily Boardman Ndulue • Momala and Willie Brown’s Mistress: A computational analysis of gendered news coverage of Kamala Harris. • It’s well documented that female political candidates face systemic bias in news coverage. There is, however, scant research as to how this phenomenon plays out in the modern hyper-polarized digital media ecosystem. We aim to fill that gap by using computational content analysis to explore recent coverage of Vice President Kamala Harris. We find a perpetuation of sexist tropes and stark differences in the news narratives gaining traction among voters of different political persuasions.

Research Paper • Independent Scholar • Sharmeen Jariullah • An Intersectional Examination of Representations of Muslim Women in Television Series • The interpretive study analyzes the long-standing impact of the Orientalist gaze on representations of Muslim women in the media, resulting in restrictive tropes and archetypes in contemporary television series from the United States and the United Kingdom. The paper proposes how an intersectional framework can be utilized to dismantle preexisting stereotyped and monolithic representations of Muslim women in the news and entertainment media, to favor holistic representations of Muslim women characters.

Extended Abstract • Student • Solyee Kim, University of Georgia; Juan Meng • Women in Communication: Assessing and Advancing Gender Equality • This study addresses the persistent gender discrepancies in the communication profession at three levels (i.e., the micro level with individual communication professionals, the meso level with communication department and/or agency, and the macro level with the communication profession itself). By conducting an online survey of 1,046 communication professionals in the United States and Canada in the year of 2020-2021, this study provides some of the latest analyses on perceptions and experiences related to women and gender equality in the communication profession. Several key issues are investigated, including the perceptions of women’s leadership status within the organization, the perceived improvement of gender equality, contributing factors to gender inequality, the glass ceiling issue, and the barrier for women’s leadership advancement. Research and practical implications are discussed.

Extended Abstract • Faculty • Katie Olsen, Kansas State University; Danielle LaGree, Kansas State University-Manhattan • Mentorship as a Tool to Close the Leadership Gender Gap: Understanding How Professional Relationships Impact Women During Their First Five Years in the Strategic Communications Industry • The strategic communications industry is plagued with a lack of gender diversity among its leadership, and little is known about how early-career women (ECW) receive the support necessary to develop their professional identity–and ultimately, their rise to the top. Using in-depth interviews with 31 ECWs in their first five years of employment, this study seeks to understand how mentorship and professional relationships impact their experiences during the formative first five years in industry.

Research Paper • Student • Mikayla Pevac, Pennsylvania State University • How to Connect: Sexual Assault Activists’ Reliance on Social Media • From social media to smartphones, the 21st century has seen a lot of change. One area that has specifically undergone an extreme shift due to the digital age is the feminist movement in the United States. As Robert Putnam’s work in Bowling Alone (2000) suggested, people are adapting to the influx of technological advances and are responding by reshaping their social networks. The American feminist movement has arguably utilized digital tools, like the various social media platforms, to create and sustain online relationships between like-minded individuals and provide safe spaces for feminist ideas like never before. By analyzing the social media accounts of two American sexual assault activists, Kamillah Willingham and Chanel Miller, this paper will offer insight into different ways feminist activists are using social media to sustain awareness for their respective causes and also share their personal journeys with their followers. In the past, there has been contention over whether social capital theory is an ideal theory to use when studying phenomenon through a feminist lens this paper thus expands on social capital theory and exemplifies how the theory can be applied to the analysis of two female, persons of color, sexual assault activists’ respective social media accounts.

Research Paper • Profesor instructor adjunto • Valentina Proust, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Magdalena Saldana, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile • “What a nasty girl!” Incivility and gendered symbolic violence in news discussions • This study examines gender exchanges developed in the virtual public sphere to identify if gender affects incivility in news comment sections. By relying on a mixed-method analysis of 1,961 news comments, we observed uncivil speech and gendered symbolic violence traits. We found higher incivility levels in comments posted by men, especially comments mentioning females. Also, we identified hegemonic masculinity discourses in conversation referring to women and their gender roles.

Research Paper • Student • Shannon Scovel, University of Maryland • An SEC soccer champion and a winless football team: Media framing and the self-representation of Sarah Fuller’s fall season as a Vanderbilt Commodore student-athlete • This paper analyzes the representation of Sarah Fuller in traditional media and on her own social media platforms before and after her historic kick for Vanderbilt’s football team. Results of over 200 social media posts and nearly 400 articles suggest that traditional media focused almost exclusively on Fuller’s experiences as a football player, downplaying her accomplishments as an SEC soccer champion and instead comparing her football success to that of her male peers.

Research Paper • Faculty • Lyric Mandell, Louisiana State University; Natasha Saad; Alaina Spiers • A Feminist New Materialism Analysis of Digital Pelvic Floor Health Messages • This interdisciplinary study examines digital communication strategies used by advocacy groups/social media influencers about a highly stigmatized women’s health issue. Pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) affect one in four women, but many women lack knowledge about them and do not discuss them. Women often report feeling isolation, shame, embarrassment, and dirtiness. Advocacy organizations have recently implemented campaigns to educate women of varying ages about PFDs. This thematic analysis considers digital messages from three PFD advocacy organizations as well as PFD influencers on TikTok. A feminist new materialism theory and shame resilience theory frame this analysis.

Research Paper • Student • Jun Xu • Incarcerating Successful Women? Affective Economies in Popular Chinese Television Series • “Stemming from China’s neoliberal transition, a plethora of women take part in the workforce. In response, representations of ‘successful-yet-single’ women are emerging in China’s popular television series. Following Esther Peeren’s (2018) and Sara Ahmed’s (2004) work, we argue that affective economies that trigger particular feelings and cultural values related to the notion of single womanhood are constituted through these televisual shows. We therefore consider dominant media representations of ‘successful-yet-single’ women by delving into the mediated ways in which these women are ‘punished’ or ‘remunerated’ for their modern lifestyle—coined and developed in this paper as ‘a neoliberal urbanism with Chinese characteristics’. Through discourse analysis and the mobilization of Goffman’s study on stigma (1986 [1963]), we argue that these series epitomize the cultural reality and re-create a mediated ‘punitive society’, suggesting a successful woman’s happiness is only resolved through securing a romantic relationship—a caveat for all single female viewers.”

2022 Abstracts

Sports Communication Interest Group

2022 Abstracts

Extended Abstract • Faculty • Kim Bissell, University of Alabama; Bummsoo Park, University of Alabama • Narratives and frames of firsts in women’s sports: A content analysis of newspaper coverage of Sarah Fuller and Power Five Football Introduction • Sarah Fuller became the first woman to ever play in a SEC or Power Five football game in November 2020, and news coverage of the event touted the historic nature of it all. Social media users, however, were critical of everything from her actual play to the words on the back of her helmet–Play Like a Girl. Using framing as the underlying theoretical framework, the present study represents a content analysis of news stories published about her play in two NCAA football games. Using a coding protocol developed by Billings and Eastman (2003) to identify descriptors used and the nature of those descriptors, 71 (of 107) news articles were included in the analysis. Of the 5,628 total descriptors coded, a majority were positively valenced and emphasized the historic nature of the event and that it represented a “first” for women in sport. These and other findings are discussed.

Research Paper • Faculty • Patrick Ferrucci, U of Colorado-Boulder • Covering sports, when there’s no sports: COVID, market orientation, paywalls and The Athletic • This study incorporates in-depth interviews with 43 journalists from the digitally native, venture-capital-backed sports journalism organization The Athletic. Through the lens of gatekeeping theory and utilizing the concept of market orientation, findings illustrate how having a somewhat strong market orientation could positively impact gatekeeping processes. Data illustrated that, during the pandemic, journalists at The Athletic collaborated more, and included more diversity in content. This positive result, which led to a subscription increase, is primarily due to market orientation, leadership, staff size and technological adoption, all organization-level influences on gatekeeping. This study concludes with analysis on how these findings can impact journalism in general and sports journalism specifically now and after Covid-19.

Extended Abstract • Student • Adrianne Grubic, The University of Texas at Austin • Proud: A Case Study of the Social Media Representation of Ibtihaj Muhammad • Media portrayals of sportswomen along with Black and Muslim women in general tend to be monolithic, focusing only on oppression of the body and the barriers they face for entry into sport. Using fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad as a case study wiht an eye towards transnational feminism, this multimodal discourse analysis study found her social media representation provides complex insight into what it means to Black, Muslim, and a woman in a traditionally white and elitist sport.

Research Paper • Faculty • Virginia Harrison, Clemson University; Brandon Boatwright; Joseph Bober • “A manifestation of their city as a god”: Gritty memes, the 2020 U.S. presidential election, and online representations of home • During the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty starred in political election-related memes. Using systematic discourse analysis, this paper analyzes 14 Gritty memes to understand the interplay of sport mascots, fandom and home, and meme co-creation. Evidence was found for meme intertextuality and polyvocality as well as four personas of Gritty that propelled the mascot to transcend sport and become a historic symbol of Philadelphia’s role in determining the election outcome.

Research Paper • Faculty • Guy Harrison, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Charli Kerns, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Jason Stamm, The University of Tennessee • Covering the Rooney Rule: A Content Analysis of Print Coverage of NFL Head Coach • While scholars and football insiders have given much attention to the NFL’s ongoing head coaching diversity crisis, the (mostly White) sports media’s coverage of the issue — and of systemic racism in general — has been uneven. 2020’s racial upheaval — and the ensuing commitments made by individuals and corporations to fight systemic racism — offered sports journalists an opportunity to reflect on and recalibrate their coverage of these issues, however. Employing agenda building as a theoretical framework (Lang & Lang, 1991; Rogers et al., 1993), and taking into account the United States’ racial upheaval in 2020, this study uses the content analysis method to compare the rate at which print sports journalists assigned to cover specific NFL teams broadly discussed race in their written coverage of the 2020 and 2021 NFL head coaching hiring cycles. Previous agenda building research has found that the media’s story selection has been influenced at times by external actors and events. In statistically comparing the written coverage of both hiring cycles, which took place before and after the events of 2020, this study explores the possibility that NFL beat writers may have been influenced by those events. The study found statistically significant increases in the amount of web articles that mentioned race during the 2021 hiring cycle, including stories that were written after a head coach was hired. These findings suggest that social movements may influence otherwise routine sports reporting.

Extended Abstract • Faculty • MILES ROMNEY, Brigham Young University; Kevin Hull, University of South Carolina; Kirstin Pellizzaro, University of South Carolina; Denetra Walker • “Where do I even begin?”: The Harassment of Female Local Sports Broadcasters • This study examines the harassment faced by female local sports broadcasters throughout the United States. The women in this study overwhelming report they experience sexism, gender discrimination, and harassment based on their gender. This poor treatment comes from the audience, station management, and the athletes on whom they are reporting. The participants share their stories and reveal some of the many difficulties they face while simply trying to do their job.

Extended Abstract • Faculty • Kevin Hull, University of South Carolina; John Carvalho, Auburn University; Blake Waddell, Auburn University • Who’s Got Game? A Survey of College-Level Sports Media Programs and Classes • As more higher education programs throughout the United States begin sports media programs, this research answers the call to take a closer look at what types of classes are being offered. An examination of the programs at 90 different journalism schools found that the majority offered some type of sports media class. These classes involved both theoretical, lecture-style classes and hands-on skills classes. Further breakdowns of the classes within type of school will be discussed.

Research Paper • Student • Muhammad Fahad Humayun, U of Colorado-Boulder • Construction of Mediated National Identity Through Sports Journalists Twitter Feed • The purpose of this study is to analyze how Pakistani and Indian national identity was portrayed in selected Pakistani and Indian journalists tweets about the 2017 International Cricket Council (ICC) champions trophy final. This study draws on the conceptual framework of mediated national identity, which has been extensively covered in previous sociological literature (e.g., Bale, 1986; Li, Stokowski, Dittmore, & Scott, 2016; Nossek, 2004). This study employed textual analysis to analyze Tweets from 10 sports journalists during the Champions Trophy final 2017. Results indicate that Pakistani and Indian sports journalists attempted to construct narratives of national identity while tweeting during the live match. They did so by employing metaphors, symbols, and semiotic anecdotes unique to their own countries. As one of the first attempts to evaluate how Pakistani and Indian sports journalists construct narratives around national identity and national belonging through their live tweets during a global sporting contest, this study helps push forward an understanding of sporting national identity in South Asia through a study of social media.

Research Paper • Faculty • Mark Mederson, Loras College; Michael Mirer, University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee • Flipping the Frame: Rudy Gobert’s journey from episodic bad actor to thematic hero • Rudy Gobert’s positive COVID-19 diagnosis started the process that led to American sports shutting down in the early days of the pandemic. After the diagnosis, video of him touching reporters’ voice recorders at a press availability went viral. This framing analysis in five mainstream newspapers finds that over the course of 72 hours, Gobert went from a bad actor to a hero in news copy as an episodic frame focusing on his actions gave way to a thematic frame about the virus and its effects on the country.

Research Paper • Student Member • Dinfin Mulupi, University of Maryland, College Park • “Stick to tennis”? Media and public narratives in reaction to Naomi Osaka’s #BLM activism • This study examined social media commentary and news media framing of a Black woman athlete’s racial justice activism. Comments (N = 1,400) published to Naomi Osaka’s official Facebook page and online articles published by seven U.S. news organizations (N = 63) were analyzed qualitatively guided by framing and critical race theories. Facebook comments revealed frames of support, infantilization, and silencing of Osaka. News media framed Osaka’s activism as compatible with sports but sidestepped discussing racism.

Research Paper • Student • Vincent Peña, University of Texas at Austin • (Un)fair Pay to Play: Alienation, Exploitation, Labor Power and the NCAA • The argument about paying college athletes is not a new one and has long been a thorn in the side of the NCAA. However, there is a resurgence in the push for compensating college athletes amid a rash of legislation at the state level and court cases headed before the Supreme Court. This paper conducts a critical discourse analysis of this debate surrounding the compensation of college athletes that appears in both the popular and academic press. It examines news and sports media, as well as academic literature, major academic blog sites, and college newspapers. Using a Marxist lens, this paper examines the alienation, exploitation and labor power of major college athletes, especially those in the so-called moneymaking sports of basketball and football. It attempts to explicate the concepts in the context of college athletics and then look at the way various media outlets discursively perpetuate, challenge, or reify the alienation and exploitation of college athletes. Findings suggest that although there is a growing sentiment toward paying the players in some form, whether through granting them the rights to their name, image and likeness or providing them direct compensation, the arguments made by the media contribute to the alienation of college athletes from their athletic labor, and ultimately set the stage for the exploitation of these athletes.

Research Paper • Faculty • Gregory Perreault; Mildred Perreault • eSports as a news specialty gold rush: Communication ecology in the domination of traditional journalism over lifestyle journalism • Esports are becoming more popular with adults as they often result in prize money for those who play, and now even academic scholarships for Division 1 athletes. Therefore, online news might expand these opportunities to understand the impact of business news even further on investors and markets centering around eSports. This study included an analysis of news coverage in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes and Business Insider from January 2018 to December 2020 has yielded 406 articles. Researchers coded these articles for specific marketing and public relations messages, and identified how various entertainment businesses have worked their support of these teams into the news coverage of eSports. We will argue that eSports represents a topic that would typically be covered through lifestyle journalism–after all, both gaming and sports are predominantly lifestyle specialties–that traditional journalism has dominated in order to reaffirm its privileged placement in the communication ecology.

Extended Abstract • Student • Brian Petrotta, University of Oklahoma • From Prohibition to Promotion: Discursive Power in the Legalization of Sports Betting • The discursive power perspective has increasingly been employed in the study of political communication, but only recently made its way into sports scholarship. This study will explore which speakers wielded discursive power by introducing, amplifying, and maintaining topics and frames at critical points in time in the evolution of sports betting legalization in the United States. Results will contribute to the emerging study of discursive power within the context of public policy.

Research Paper • Student • Shannon Scovel, University of Maryland • #TriathlonSoWhite: A critical assessment of the representation, underrepresentation and branding of intersectional bodies on the @USATriathlon official Instagram account • This paper critically evaluates the representation of intersectional bodies on @USATriathlon’s Instagram account in 2020 to understand how the organization viewed the sport during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results also reveal efforts to diversify representation in triathlon after a June 1 statement that committed the governing body to creating a more inclusive sporting space. @USATriathlon’s Instagram feed reproduces hierarchies of the white, able-bodied sporting male, though the 429 posts do also feature white women prominently.

Extended Abstract • Faculty • Matthew Taylor, Middle Tennessee State University • Crowd Pleasers: Exploring Motivations and Measuring Success Among Independent Sports Podcasters • This study uses in-depth interviews with independent sports podcasters to explore their motivations for podcasting and to determine how they measure their success. The findings will contribute to a growing body of podcasting research that has given limited attention to sports thus far despite the rising popularity of the format, which currently ranks among the Top 10 most popular genres for podcast listeners over the age of 18.

Research Paper • Student • Maria Tsyruleva, University of South Florida; Travis Bell, University of South Florida • “Golden Spike”: Examining Atlanta United’s Communication Strategies and Brand Attributes from Launch to Kickoff • This research explores Atlanta United FC, a soccer club that achieved record-breaking average attendance, from the communication perspective. Utilizing thematic analysis of the press releases published between the launch of the club through the team’s first official game, the study examines communication strategies the new organization used and core brand attributes it communicated. The results extend the current knowledge on strategic communication in the sports industry and provide insights for public relations practitioners.

Research Paper • Student • Carolina Velloso • Making Soufflé with Metal: Effects of the Coronavirus Pandemic on Sports Journalism Routines • This paper investigates the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on sports journalism routines. Through open-ended, semi-structured interviews with 12 journalists, this study examines the challenges reporters faced, their adaptation strategies, and reflections on their professional capabilities. This paper argues that while the pandemic destabilized traditional sports journalism routines, respondents relied on previous experience and knowledge about their job requirements to find creative ways to combat the challenges imposed by the unusual sports seasons.

2022 Abstracts

Small Programs Interest Group

2022 Abstracts

Extended Abstract • Faculty • Dawn Francis, Cabrini University • Methods for Teaching Social Justice Journalism • The roots of social justice journalism are over a century old. However, today, there are very few studies defining this genre and preparing journalism and mass communication educators to teach it to their students. This paper provides the results of an exploratory qualitative study into the pedagogical methods for teaching storytelling for social justice. It also takes the insights gained from this analysis and presents an initial model for teaching social justice journalism.

Research Paper • Faculty • Chris McCollough, Jacksonville State University • Building Sustainable Client Partnerships: A Non-Profit Outreach Center’s Value to Developing a Service-Learning Pedagogy • Pedagogical literature documents service-learning’s impact on students, the community, and educators alike. Benefits aside, concerns remain about the time- and resource-intensive nature of building, cultivating, and sustaining client-partnerships (Fall & Bourland-Davis, 2004). The paper is a case study of the development of a non-profit outreach center, its operating practices, its cultivation and maintenance of client partnerships, as well as a consideration of some of the challenges it faces.

2022 Abstracts

Religion and Media Interest Group

2022 Abstracts

Extended Abstract • Faculty • Ibrahim Abusharif • Competing Binaries: “Sufism” vs “Salafism” in The New York Times • In recent years, there have been a string of violent acts committed by extremist Salafists and Taliban against Sufi Muslim worshipers, mosques, and shrines. In covering these acts, The New York Times reporters employ terminologies that seek to explain to readers what Sufism is. In doing so, the newspaper often uses words that unintentionally create a news frame that indicates a binary between Sufism and Islam itself. This study examines through qualitative textual analysis the usage of framing terminologies (such as “sect” or “strain” of Islam) in articles describing Sufism.

Research Paper • Student • LaRisa Anderson, University of Texas at Austin • “You can’t fight what’s already happening, right?”: A Case Study of Christian Live-Streaming • Amongst the myriad expressions of church, live-streaming services are a growing format of evangelism. This case study investigates two churches of varying sizes, demographics, and resources in Austin, Texas who use live-stream services in unique ways. Current literature on the interplay of religiosity and media are discussed including the influence of televangelism. I specifically focus on the nature of communal engagement in the context of live-stream as a definitive characteristic of church. As explicated by John Wright (1987)’s framing of community within the Church, this project explores: How do churches who use live-stream technology facilitate communal engagement? Or rather, how do church leaders intentionally replicate community online? To what extent are the producers of content for churches cognizant of the necessity for community formation? A total of six church officials and other religious personnel were interviewed for approximately 60 minutes. Each were asked to operationalize the community of their church in the physical space and the community they suspect is developing online. Interview data as well as observational field notes were used as source material for content analysis. The hypothesis that churches might neglect the online audience or minimize its use was supported. Findings indicate three suppositions for live-stream approaches: healthy discourse, points-of-entry, and innovation and expansion. These are aided by one constructive finding regarding the reactionary nature of technology adoption in the church. Limitations and future research suggestions are also discussed.

Research Paper • Student • Ruta Kaskeleviciute; Helena Knupfer; Joerg Matthes, University of Vienna • Who Says “Muslims are not Terrorists”? News Differentiation, Muslim vs. Non-Muslim Sources, and Attitudes Toward Muslims • In a quota-based experiment (N = 291), participants were confronted with news about terrorism. We manipulated source (non-Muslim, Muslim) and degree of differentiation between Muslims and terrorists to analyze effects on explicit and implicit attitudes toward Muslims. Undifferentiation predicted negative explicit attitudes but did not affect implicit attitudes. Participants perceived non-Muslim sources as more similar. The effects of undifferentiation on hostile attitudes were more pronounced when sources were perceived as similar compared to less similar.

Research Paper • Faculty • Suman Mishra, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville • Branded Spirituality: Gurus, Globalization, and Neo-Spiritual Nationalism in Indian Marketplace • Scholars have examined the role of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism in marketing practices and in shaping consumption, but similar research related to Hindu religion and associated spirituality in the Eastern marketplace has been scant. This study informs about the new trend of commodification of spirituality in India by examining the advertising of brands associated with prominent spiritual gurus in India. The study highlights how Indian gurus are harnessing the power of Hindu religion and spirituality and combining it with political ideology to add value to their brands and structure consumer choice. The process has worked to direct Indian consumers toward local brands and away from multinational brands by fostering spiritual nationalism, a movement expressed through messages such as sudhta (purity), Ayurveda (nature and naturopathy), rejuvenation, divinity, and swadeshi (local) in brand advertising.

Research Paper • Faculty • Gregory Perreault; Kathryn Montalbano • From Lifestyle Journalism to General News: Field Theory in the hard news turn of religion reporting • In the spirit of Ranly (1979) and Buddenbaum (1988), the present study analyzes the role of religion reporting with the journalistic field. Personnel cuts within newsrooms and the development of “religion reporters” operating from religious institutions necessitate a re-exploration of the field. At stake is the coverage of religion, a topic that continues to be near-and-dear to the vast majority of people in the United States, nearly 79 percent of which identify as religious (Putnam & Campbell, 2010). Simultaneously, the majority of the United States tends to think journalists cover religion poorly. Through the lens of field theory, this study analyzes 20 interviews with U.S.-based religion reporters who work for both mainstream and religious publications. This study finds that as a result of weak economic capital, religion reporting shifted to the general news beats of courts, crime and education. This shift yielded two results: a loss of specialization in reporting of religion, and a loss of much of the lifestyle journalism, or audience-oriented, guidance-oriented news, within the specialty. New entrants, in the form of reporting from religious organizations, offer a means with which to reintroduce lifestyle journalism into the field, thereby facilitating their entry into the field.

Extended Abstract • Faculty • Brian Smith, Brigham Young University; Danielle Hallows; Maggie Vail; Caleb Porter; Alycia Burnett; Camilla Owens; Kateryna Kravchenko • Rise of the Religious Influencer? Examining Faith-Based Influence on Social Media • With their increasing impact, social media influencers are an emerging focus in communication research. Their influence on religious activity is of particular relevance, given the growing use of social media for religious and faith-based purposes. This study examined religious advocacy on social media through in-depth interviews with 20 faith-based influencers. Results showed a duality of social media use among influencers—evangelism and self-transcendence were primary motivations. Additionally, dialogic rather than monologic communication was dominant.

2022 Abstracts

Participatory Journalism Interest Group

2022 Abstracts

Research Paper • Faculty • Kenzie Burchell, University of Toronto Scarborough; Stephanie Fielding, University of Toronto • I did my best to show their pain: Participatory genres of photojournalistic witnessing • This paper analyzes an emerging genre of participatory reporting by eyewitness image producers turned professional photojournalist stringers of the Syrian conflict. Borrowing the subjective authenticity of UGC and the diaristic war blog, their AFP Correspondent blog posts stand in contrast to traditional international agency content by providing accounts of the embodied, relational, and temporal dimensions of their experience, each central to the practices of witnessing and bearing witness by UGC producers and photojournalists alike.

Research Paper • Faculty • Deborah Chung, University of Kentucky; Hyun Ju Jeong; Yung Soo Kim • Working together? Contributing and Adopting Citizen Visuals From the Lens of Social Media Usage, Perception, and Visual Attributes • We examined how visual professional journalists and citizen journalists use and view Facebook and Twitter and investigate the role of three visual attributes on their tendency to contribute or adopt citizen visuals. Findings reveal citizens adopt Twitter for dissemination and interpretation; professionals use both platforms mainly for interpretation. The visual quality attribute functions as a mediator for citizens primarily on Facebook for soft news. No significant mediating models were found in the visual professionals’ data.

Extended Abstract • Faculty • Jennifer Cox, Salisbury University • Reacting to Black Lives Matter: Facebook Engagement with News Coverage During the Summer 2020 Protests • This study examined 286 posts from the six most-viewed U.S. news outlets on their Facebook feeds about the Black Lives Matter movement and protests following George Floyd’s death by during summer 2020. Users engaged with stories at a high rate, though engagement declined throughout the summer. Users engaged most frequently with posts featuring anti-BLM and pro-police frames using a variety of reactions. Additional analysis will reveal specific ways in which users engaged with posts.

Research Paper • Faculty • Letrell Crittenden, Thomas Jefferson University; Andrea Wenzel, Temple University • “I Think We Are Truly Ignored” – An Assessment of How Small Town Media Serves the Information Needs of BIPOC Residents • Much has been written recently about how emerging news deserts have impacted small towns across America, and how the loss of news coverage has had an impact upon the sense of community in such places. Nevertheless, little effort has been made to detail how BIPOC communities in particular are served by local media. This is an issue, given the changing nature of small towns, which are increasingly becoming more diverse. This study, which uses a Communication Infrastructure Theory framework, assesses how BIPOC residents of a small town in the Mid-Atlantic are served by local media within their community. Through a series of focus groups and a community discussion involving local media, we interrogate how BIPOC members of this town feel about their place in local news coverage, and investigate how they share and receive important information inside of their community through an assessment of the community’s storytelling network. We find that BIPOC residents do not feel represented in local media, and that storytelling networks, which are siloed by racial and language barriers, have also failed to adequately serve BIPOC residents.

Research Paper • Faculty • Muhammad Fahad Humayun, U of Colorado-Boulder; Patrick Ferrucci, U of Colorado-Boulder • Understanding social media in journalism practice: A typology • While the intersection of social media usage and journalism practice enjoys a prominent place in many scholarly inquiries throughout the field of journalism studies, a comprehensive understanding of this body of literature is lacking. This study attempts to alleviate this problem. Through a systematic analysis of more than 200 studies primarily focusing on how journalists utilize social media in newswork, this paper first classifies social media usage into three broad categories: news construction, news dissemination, and branding. Next, this study introduces a typology that visualizes and explores three dimensions of social media use: motivation (self vs organization), prevalence (sporadic vs prevalent) and disruption (disruptive vs normalization). Our findings illustrate potential future research areas.

Research Paper • Faculty • Avery Holton, University of Utah; Valérie Bélair-Gagnon; Diana Bossio, Swinburne University; Logan Molyneux • “When You’re Out Here On Your Own”: Journalists, Harassment and News Organization Responses • Drawing on interviews with American newsworkers, this study finds that journalists are facing acute, chronic, and escalatory forms of harassment on social media at a time when they are being asked to be more engaged and participatory. Harassment is reported more by journalists self-identifying as women. Journalists also report a lack of resources from news organizations to help prevent and cope with this harassment. Left to address increasing amounts of harassment on their own, journalists report searching for ways to alleviate harassment, including consideration of disengaging from social media and audiences and leaving the profession.

2022 Abstracts