Archives for January 2012

Entertainment Studies Interest Group

Black and White on the Silver Screen: Representations of Interracial Romance in American Film of the Post-Civil Rights Era • Carole V. Bell, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Although socially taboo, interracial sexual involvement has been a source of recurring fascination since the silent era. With an eye towards tracking evolving social norms and conceptions of race, this paper investigates how interracial relationships have been depicted in popular American film in the post-segregation era, exploring how these representations have changed over time and how they remain the same.

Ancient Rome and Las Vegas: Communicating Entertainment as Diversion • Gregory Borchard and Anthony Ferri, University of Nevada-Las Vegas • This study analyzes the entertainment productions of ancient Rome and contemporary Las Vegas relative to media employed by both cultural centers to communicate a sense of presence, interpreting the roles of theatre and architecture as constructs for projecting participation in events on artistic and experiential levels. The study is significant for media and communications scholars because it illustrates the roots of contemporary themes and trends relative to historic institutions, juxtaposing modern entertainment with ancient institutions.

Network News Coverage of Celebrity Trials during 2004:A Study of Source Use and Reporter Context • Serena Carpenter, Stephen Lacy and Frederick Fico, Michigan State University • A study of network news in 2004 found the reporting of celebrity trials (Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Scott Peterson, and Martha Stewart) differed from other big stories. Morning network news carried the bulk (83 percent) of celebrity trial stories when compared to evening news. The morning celebrity trial stories had more transparent and female sources compared to other big stories, while celebrity stories were more likely to have only one viewpoint and contain anonymous sources.

Master of This Domain: Audience and the Reality of Dis-identification in Seinfeld • Phil Chidester, Illinois State University • The enduring popularity of Seinfeld as a media text, coupled with the patent inability of any of the program’s core actors to carry that popularity over to more recent television products, presents an intriguing critical problem: To what inherent quality – or set of qualities – might we assign the show’s historic appeal? Further, how does Seinfeld’s rise to prominence relate to a contemporary explosion of interest in reality TV fare?

Women Wrestling Fans: Claiming Feminine Power in the 1950s • Chad Dell, Monmouth University • This study demonstrates how women in the 1950s used professional wrestling to maintain their gendered identity in the face of societal attempts to renegotiate the meaning of femininity in conservative, domestic terms. The fan club bulletins these women produced stand as evidence of their challenge to changing definitions of feminine roles, representing an important step women took in the direction of the second wave of feminism that would emerge in the decades to come.

Playing Online: Motivations for Fantasy Sports Use • Lee Farquhar, University of Iowa and Bob Meeds, Kansas State University • Approximately 15 million people participate in online fantasy sports. Using Q-Methodology, we apply a Uses and Gratifications framework to examine types of online fantasy sports users and their motivations. Five types of players emerged, with casual players, statisticians, and isolationist thrill-seekers being the three most common types. Differences among types were primarily associated with two motivations– arousal and surveillance, while entertainment, escape and social interaction motivations were judged to be less important motivations.

Reality Trek: The Colonialist and Xenophobic Ideologies of International (and Intergalactic) Relations Portrayed in Star Trek • Howard D. Fisher, Ohio University • Star Trek portrayed the Federation as the United States and the Klingons as the Soviet Union in a galaxy-wide Cold War. Recent incarnations of Star Trek portray a different ideology of human interaction with aliens – analogous to United States’ international relations. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) continued the colonialist attitudes that marked the first series, while Enterprise (2001) showed a Star Fleet skittish of alien encounters and more afraid of any “other.”

A Historical Examination of the Representation of Media Messages and Social Issues in ABC Afterschool Specials, 1972-1981 • Amanda Hall Gallagher, Texas Tech University • Theoretically grounded in cultural studies and supported by a historical framework, this paper explores media messages and social issues as represented in ABC Afterschool Specials from 1972-1981. Through textual analysis, thirteen specials were analyzed. Some key themes which emerged from this analysis include the lack of diversity in individual characters and family structures, the presence of young characters in traditional, patriarchal gender roles, and the non-controversial treatment of important, key social issues.

Motive Differentiation Among Viewers of Reality Television Subgenres: A Uses and Gratifications Approach • Jill Griffith and Vincent F. Filak, Ball State University • This study examined the gratification-seeking behavior of reality television viewers (n=327) based on the subgenre of their favorite reality show. Survey results demonstrated that viewers of certain subgenres reported higher levels of specific gratification satisfaction when compared to viewers of other subgenres. The outcomes of the study codifies previous work that argued reality television should not be viewed as a homogenous genre and provides support for the individualism postulates of uses and gratifications theory.

Thirty Years Locked in Pandora’s Box: Weirum v. RKO • Mark D. Harmon, University of Tennessee • Weirum v. RKO (15 Cal. 3d 40, 1975; 539 P.2d 36, 1975) is an exceptional entertainment law case. A radio station was held liable for a promotional campaign that encouraged young listeners to be the first to locate a traveling disc jockey. One such motorist forced another driver off the road, leading to that driver’s death. The author tracks efforts to expand the Weirum media precedent, and demonstrates how those cases have both clarified and limited the Weirum precedent.

The Images: A Content Analysis of Celebrity Photographs in Three Celebrity Magazines • Elizabeth M. Hendrickson, University of Missouri-Columbia • The American publishing industry has recently witnessed a proliferation of celebrity weekly magazines. This paper is a content analysis of the photographic images in three celebrity weekly magazines during three months in 2005. This research examines the photos in terms of age, race and sex. Attention is given to both the cultural significance of celebrity and the magazine readership experience.

Tour de Lance: An Investigation of Lance Armstrong as a Celebrity Endorser of the ‘LiveStrong’ Campaign • Andrea M. Holt, University of Alabama • Very little research in the mass communication field has been done on athletes and health campaigns; therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the power and influence of celebrities endorsed campaigns. Specifically, the study will examine such characteristics using the “Live Strong” campaign. Additionally, this study will look at parasocial interaction and celebrity worship of Lance Armstrong, in terms of his effectiveness as a spokesman for the campaign and connection with the public.

Parental-Peer Mediation and Children’s Perceptions of the Television World: Influence of Mediation and Exposure on Perceived Reality of Family • Seok Kang, Arkansas Tech University • This study considers multiple features of parental-peer mediation in examining their influences on children’s perceived reality about family. This study also examines children’s viewing of family programs on their perceived reality. The data were collected from 184 families (184 parents and 184 children) by asking their mediation styles, television viewing behaviors, and perceived reality. Results show that peer mediation is a compelling contributor to children’s construction of social reality about family.

Can Shows Be on Top When Mom’s Not?: The Portrayal of the Sitcom Mothers from the 1950s to the 1990s • Kyun Soo Kim, Jon Mills and Brett Morris, University of Alabama • This study content analyzed the comedic events that include mothers to explore a typology of humor and representation of women in family sitcoms over the last decades. The study found that slapstick has been the most prevalent humor type over time. The study also found that romantic and sexual topics were common themes in family situation comedies over the last decades.

Chief Executive Officers: An Examination of Mediated Portrayals of Male and Female American Presidents in West Wing and Command in Chief • Christine A. Kleck, Penn State • West Wing and Commander in Chief are both award-winning situational dramas that showcase the office of the President of the United States. A content analysis of several episodes of both series was conducted to study portrayals of gender in the media. The data yielded four interactions of statistical significance (p<.05). These answered questions concerning representation of gender and presents an update of the perceptions of women in the media.

The Entertainment Experiences of Iron Chef • Shu-Yueh Lee and Naeemah Clark, University of Tennessee • This paper attempts to examine why a Japanese cooking show, Iron Chef, successfully attracts American audiences. A questionnaire containing 45 items was designed to investigate viewers’ motivations and pleasures. First, the most successful feature is the competitive nature of the program. Second, respondents noted the most enjoyable aspect of the program is the creativity of the chefs.

A Social Cognitive Approach Towards Understanding the Effects of Popular Poker Television Shows on College Students • Marc Londo, University of Central Florida • Tournament poker shows have become a leading ratings draw on American television. Since ESPN and the Travel Channel began airing their innovative poker shows in 2003, the game has reached a new following, particularly among college students. There are unique and psychologically significant factors that characterize the college population that make students particularly receptive to popular characterizations in media.

Maintaining Friendships: A Content Analysis of Rituals in Friends • Lisa Marshall, Bowling Green State University • The purpose of this study is to examine how the characters in Friends use friendship rituals to maintain their relationships with one another and suggest a relationship between the series and changing social patterns in society. This research adapts Bruess and Pearson’s (1997) ritual types and found that the cast both exhibit the six friendship rituals defined in literature and that they don’t increase, but are shared and maintained over the course of the series.

Twirty Is as Twirty Does: The Consumer Community of Shesheme.com • Rachel Davis Mersey, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Running under the tagline “happiest girls are the prettiest girls,” shesheme.com, a NC-based Web site offers a weekly newsletter-meets-diary targeted at twirties—women in their twenties and thirties who are perplexed by work, love, and life. Shesheme.com’s positioning as a self-help tool meets consumer guide offers an interesting forum for study.

A Comparison of the Logical and Emotional Impacts of the Citizens’ of Houston and Dallas Toward Their City’s NFL Teams • Jennifer Miller, Texas Tech University • This study applies Aristotle’s theories of logos and pathos to the connections citizens have with the sports team in their city. Focus groups and in-depth interviews are used to determine the differences between the logical and emotional impact the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans have on their fans and the cities they are a part of.

This Is Next Year: Myth and Ritual in Four Films about the Boston Red Sox • Heather Muse, Temple University • This paper will examine the narratives created in four recent films about the Boston Red Sox. It draws upon theories of structuralism, collective memory and cultural studies to determine how these films portray the Red Sox, the team’s fans and the city of Boston. The films had several mythological qualities that illustrated that the narrative of sport victory transcends filmic genre and that identification with the team is stronger than with any specific player.

The Brand Appearance Typology: Going Beyond Product Placement to a Broader Understanding of Brands in Primetime • Anne C. Osborne, Louisiana State University • This paper presents a qualitative analysis of one night of primetime programming across six networks. The result is a new typology of brand appearances. Unlike other efforts to categorize product placement, this typology outlines how brands appear within television rather than how the brands get on television.

Active Mediation, Rule Making, and Cosurfing: Can Traditional Parental Mediation Strategies be Applied to the Internet? • Erin L. Ryan, University of Georgia • This paper examines and defines the three well-established parental mediation strategies (active mediation, rule making, and coviewing), outlines the effects of such strategies when used with traditional media, and applies these strategies to one of the most popular new forms of child-focused entertainment: the Internet. It is the goal of this research to contribute to the emerging body of research about parental mediation of the Internet in the new media environment.

Attitudes Toward Will and Grace: A Comparison of Heterosexual and Gay/Lesbian Viewers • Tracy Tuten Ryan, Virginia Commonwealth University and David W. Glascoff, Western State College • Using Rusbult’s Investment model as a theoretical base, this study compared the attitudes of heterosexual viewers of the television program, Will & Grace, with those of gay/lesbian viewers. Sexual orientation was relevant for understanding differences in viewer attitudes, but viewer satisfaction, entertainment alternative quality, and investment size was predictive of program commitment regardless of sexual orientation. Thus, application of the Investment model is an appropriate framework for understanding commitment to television programming.

A Test of Flow and its Potential Moderators as Predictors of Video Game Enjoyment • Barry P. Smith, University of Alabama • Flow has been proposed as a theoretical framework for explaining enjoyment obtained from playing video games. This paper describes the results of a study designed to test this proposition. Flow was found to significantly predict the level of enjoyment of video game. Additionally, self-consciousness, video-game self-efficacy, and need for cognition were shown to moderate the occurrence of flow and resultant enjoyment in a statistically significant manner.

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Community Journalism Interest Group

Weekly Dilemmas: A Study of Community Journalism, Connections, and Ethics in Small Towns • Lisa Coble-Krings, Kansas • Small-town journalists are able to connect with their communities by practicing community journalism. This form of journalism is explained by examining community ties and the potential problems close connections can cause for small-town journalists. The data used in this study was gathered during visits to five weekly newspapers and from interviews with journalists and non-journalists. Conclusions developed from this study show how small-town journalists answer ethical questions and how community members feel about their newspapers.

The Historical Mission and Evolution of the Capital Outlook Newspaper • Yanela Gordon, Florida A&M • This study explores the history and mission of the Capital Outlook, Tallahassee’s only African-American owned newspaper. Established in 1975, the Capital Outlook has existed under five-periods of ownership. For thirty years, the newspaper has been a voice of victory and vision for African Americans living in Florida, especially within the North Florida region. The Capital Outlook has distinguished itself having been awarded, three times, the A. Philip Randolph Messenger Award, known as the Black Pulitzer.

No Union in Humboldt, Kansas: Readers’ Perceptions of Loss When a Community Loses Its Newspaper • J. Steven Smethers, Bonnie Bressers, Amber Willard, Linda Harvey and Gloria Freeland, Kansas State • This study seeks to gauge perception of loss among newspaper readers in Humboldt, Kansas, in the aftermath of losing their community newspaper, the Humboldt Union. Variables relating to newspaper use and the degree to which readers miss certain features in the Union are examined, along with perceptions about the role of the newspaper in the community and the effectiveness of other area media outlets in filling the communications void left by the Union’s demise.

The Rumble in the Dark: Regional Newspaper Coverage of the West Virginia Buffalo Creek Mine Disaster of 1972 • Rita Colistra, North Carolina-Chapel Hill • The flood caused by the Buffalo Creek coal mine disaster was one of the worst on record in West Virginia history. This paper examines news coverage of the disaster by two regional newspapers with historically different stances on the coal industry and unions.

Toward a measure of community journalism • Wilson Lowrey, Amanda Brozana and Jean Mackay, Alabama • This paper represents a first step toward an index measure of community journalism. Academic literature over the last 10 years that focuses on the relationship between news media and community were systematically explored. Definitions of “community” and of “community journalism” from the literature were organized, and models of community and community journalism are proposed.

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Civic and Citizen Journalism Interest Group

Sense of Community as a Driver for Citizen Journalism • Clyde H. Bentley, Brian Hamman, Hans Ibold, Jeremy Littau and Hans Meyer, University of Missouri-Columbia • Persons who registered with a Midwestern citizen journalism site in order to gain the ability to author on it were surveyed on their motivations. Using the registration rolls of MyMissourian.com, the authors conducted a Web-based survey that tracked media usage, interest in politics and attitudes toward community information. The study showed that the sample of citizen journalists was highly interested in community building and local information.

The Next Generation 60 Years Later: How Civic Journalism is the Offspring of the Hutchins Commission of 1947 • Judy Buller, Notre Dame de Namur University • The Hutchins Commission released its historic reports in 1947. With the 60th anniversary upon us, it is an appropriate time to revisit the roots of social responsibility – and to examine the forms the next generation has taken. This paper illustrates how civic journalism became that next generation of social responsibility.

CivicMinded Crises: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Government Communications and News Coverage of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita • Maria Fontenot, Kris Boyle and Amanda Hall Gallagher, Texas Tech University • This study examined coverage of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in five newspapers based on themes introduced through government press releases. Specifically, it compared the coverage to the press releases and investigated the role of civic journalism in the coverage. The findings suggested there was no connection between the press releases and newspaper coverage. Additionally, civic journalism was influential in the way the newspapers reported the disasters.

Surveying Citizen Journalism: Describing emerging phenomena that posit a renovation of the public sphere • Lewis A. Friedland, Hernando Rojas, Christopher Long, Eulalia Puig Abril, Victoria Hildebrandt, Nak Ho Kim, Eunsun Lee, SeungHyun Lee and Yong Jun Shin, University of Wisconsin • This paper presents work being pursued by a network of researchers interested in systematically describing, documenting and understanding citizen journalism efforts. To do so, we combine qualitative and quantitative techniques, and develop a three tier research strategy that includes: a) a case narrative; b) surveys of citizen reporters; and, c) analysis of content.

Freedom of Expression and Information Society • Nikhil Moro, The Ohio State University • Civic journalists of the information society, many of whom are bloggers, represent varied theoretical traditions of freedom of expression. They also represent an individualization condition that has been discussed as one of the important social effects of the Internet. This paper uses these arguments to develop a normative theory of freedom of expression for the information society.

Citizen Journalism, Technological Convergence and Development: Transforming Villages through Cable Audio • Veena V. Raman, Pennsylvania State University • This case study examines how a cluster of villages in South India have been transformed by a community managed cable audio service that delivers radio to local households, linked to a computer training centre. Citizens act as journalists, operate the audio center, produce all the programming and have influenced politics and local development. This is significant given that India has resisted allowing community radio arguing that local broadcasting would foment political unrest.

“The Newspaper With a Conscience”: Discourse on Journalism’s Responsibility to Society and Civic Life in the Late 19th and Early 20th Century • Ronald R. Rodgers, The University of Florida • This paper examines late nineteenth and early twentieth century discussions by the magazines and trade press about the newspaper’s responsibility to society that foreshadowed by many years the Hutchins Commission’s landmark call for a socially responsible press in 1947. Newspapers were viewed, as one speaker put it in 1910, as the “chief educator of the masses.”

Participatory journalism opportunities on major newspapers’ online sites • Jack Rosenberry, St. John Fisher College • In 2005, ordinary observers of major news events such as the London transit system bombings and U.S. hurricanes became part of the news coverage by supplying firsthand accounts and selfproduced images. An investigation into the opportunities audience members have to engage in participatory news coverage aside from such big events determined that online news operations of major U.S. newspapers are beginning to use devices that open the gates for participatory journalists with some regularity.

<< 2006 Abstracts

Visual Communication Division

The Aldine Hypothesis Revisited • Kay Amert, University of Iowa • First formulated by Stanley Morison in the 1920s, the Aldine hypothesis proposed that the roman type of the Italian Renaissance publisher, Aldus Manutius, was the central influence in the design of later romans. The paper examines the development of the hypothesis and situates it in the cultural concerns of the period. It reevaluates the hypothesis based on fresh analysis of romans used In Paris, emphasizing the formation there of an international idiom for typographic communications.

The Visual Framing Of The Indian Ocean Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina: A Depiction In The American Press • Porismita Borah, University of Wisconsin-Madison ? Newspapers worldwide produced different images of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and of hurricane Katrina in 2005, two natural disasters that have recently stunned audiences all over the globe. This study examines how the American press; the NYT and the Post, framed the disasters and their aftermath by analyzing the content of all photographs they published during the first week after the calamities hit.

The lives of French women through the lens of Janine Niepce • Claude Cookman, Indiana University • This paper analyzes Janine Niepce’s photographic documentation of the lives of French women, situating it in historical, sociological, and biographical contexts. It argues that for over fifty years she was the only photojournalist to devote sustained attention to French women and the French women’s movement.

What Hurricane Katrina Revealed: A visual Analysis of the Hurricane Coverage by News Wires and U.S. Newspapers • Shahira Fahmy, James Kelly and Yung Soo Kim, Southern Illinois University • Results of a visual content analysis of American newspaper front-page photos and photographs distributed by the Associated Press and Reuters wire services revealed that newspapers were far more likely to run images depicting African-Americans from Louisiana as emotionally distraught victims of Hurricane Katrina than the wire content would have suggested. Gatekeeping decisions based on values of human interest, race stereotyping, and proximity seem to have been the principal factors driving editorial decisions.

Thirty Years Of Sarcasm And Biting Humor: Newspaper Use And Content Of Editorial Cartoons • Howard D. Fisher, Stan Alost, Tom Hrach and Yan Li, Ohio University • This study sought to discover whether editorial cartoons have been increasingly marginalized and restricted since the 1970s as cartoonists claim. The researchers conducted a content analysis of editorial cartoons appearing in four newspapers (two regional and two national). The results showed that even though there are fewer staff-drawn cartoons appearing in 2004, those cartoons are just as critical as those produced in the 1970s, the time that cartoonists often consider the height of their profession.

The Morality of Photojournalists: Reactions to Kevin Carter’s 1994 Pulitzer-winning photograph • Yung Soo Kim and James D. Kelly, Southern Illinois University Carbondale • A modified photo-elicitation method (Smith & Woodward, 1999) was used to gauge the assessment of six news media readers and two journalists of the morality surrounding Kevin Carter’s 1994 Pulitzer-winning photograph of a collapsed Sudanese girl as a vulture awaits her death. All respondents accepted the journalistic rationale for making the photo and agreed that journalists must adhere to a different ethic than others.

Get Me Up to Speed… Pronto! • Randy Livingston, Middle Tennessee State University • We have more sources of news available to us than ever before. Readers having less time to read news and more news sources available to them (via the Internet) is a growing problem. How are newspaper Web site designers addressing this problem? This pilot study analyzes interactive features offered by popular news Web sites. This analysis specifically addresses what methods are being employed and how these methods enhance a reader’s ability to learn more efficiently.

The Emotional Effect of Negative News Photographs • Renee Martin-Kratzer, University of Florida and Esther Thorson, University of Missouri • When faced with gruesome news images, picture editors must balance their duty of informing the public with the possibility of offending readers. Sometimes a compromise is made to publish the images but alter the size and color in the hopes of lessening the emotional effects. This study uses two within-subject experiments to determine if manipulating the structural features and the emotional content of photographs affected viewers’ responses.

Tell me a story about Arabs: An analysis of readers’ interpretations of visual and verbal narratives in a National Geographic story on Saudi Arabia • Andrew L. Mendelson and Fabienne Darling-Wolf, Temple University • The purpose of this paper is to examine how the pictures and texts in a photo story interact to produce meaning for readers. Using focus groups combined with elements of experiments, readers examined a recent National Geographic Magazine story on Saudi Arabia as a case study into the relationship between photography and writing in a photo story.

New Orleans in Pictures: Determining and Interpreting the Iconic Images of Hurricane Katrina • Andrea Miller and Shearon Roberts, Louisiana State University • This study seeks to determine and interpret the iconic media images of Hurricane Katrina as decided by survey respondents. The major events of the century have been framed by the media and Katrina was no different. However, technology and 24-hour cable news now offer more images for the audience to digest.

Comparing Verbal and Visually-Elicited Responses to Advertisements: A Test of Two Complementary Theories • Lawrence C. Soley and Angela Speed, Marquette University • This study compared responses to a print advertisement using verbal instruments (i.e., a semantic differential scale and a sentence completion test) and a visual (i.e., pictorial) instrument in the context of Paivio’s (1971) theory that humans employ two distinct modes of mental processing – visual and verbal. The results show that the two verbal response measures produced similar evaluations of the ad, but the responses to the pictorial test differed from these.

Shield law extended to cover unpublished photographs: A case study • Dustin Supa, University of Miami • This paper uses a case study approach to examine how unpublished newspaper photographs became the target of a subpoena in the state of Colorado. It examines how the newspaper was able to keep its unpublished photographs confidential, and also examines potential implications of shield laws for visual news, particularly photographs.

A snapshot of photojournalists’ attitudes toward the ethics of digital manipulation • Brad Thompson, Linfield College • This Web-based survey asked photojournalists to respond to 19 statements regarding the ethics of various digital manipulations for cover, spot news and feature photos. It found that photojournalists had a significant difference in attitudes toward the digital manipulations for the different kinds of pictures. It also found that National Press Photographers Association members’ attitudes were significantly different than nonmembers regarding cover and feature pictures.

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Scholastic Journalism Division

Hostile to Hosty? What College Media Advisers Think • Genelle Belmas, California State University-Fullerton and Christopher Burnett, California State University-Long Beach and David L. Adams, Indiana University • The Supreme Court recently refused to hear the appeal of a Seventh Circuit case called Hosty v. Carter. In that case, the dean of an Illinois public university escaped personal liability for her censorial actions. This case might be interpreted as permitting administrative censorship of college student media. Our research will review the legal doctrine and conflicting holdings in other federal circuits and will examine college media advisers’ levels of knowledge and concern about Hosty.

Religion Inside the Schoolhouse Gate: Gatekeeping Forces and Religion Coverage in Public High School Newspapers • Peter S. Bobkowski, University of Houston • This study extends the examination of religion coverage in the press (Hoover, 1998), by investigating public high school newspapers. Adviser responses (N= 297) were used to identify possible individual and organizational gatekeeping forces (Shoemaker & Reese, 1991), affecting the quantity of religion coverage. Findings indicate that individual gatekeeping forces appear to reduce religion coverage in newspapers whose advisers are more religious and less experienced.

Today’s Teens and Tomorrow’s Newspapers : The Influence of a High School Newspaper on the Future of Newspapers • Dianne Bragg, The University of Memphis • This paper is an overview of how one high school newspaper, The Teen Appeal, is attempting to increase teen interest, especially among minorities, in newspapers. The Teen Appeal tries to identify and encourage teens who are interested in journalism as well as provide a newspaper by and for teens that will encourage other teens to become newspaper readers and future subscribers.

High School Advisers’ Perception Of Scholastic Press Freedom In A State Without A Protective Law Versus One Without A Protective Law: A Comparison of Iowa and Indiana • David W. Bulla, Iowa State University and Calvin L. Hall, Appalachian State University and Adam Maksl, Ball State University and Joe Owens, Iowa State University • The 1988 Hazelwood decision by the U.S. Supreme Court led to an expansion of constraints on the student press. This study attempts to isolate the factors that actually mitigate constraints on student press freedom. Using information from surveys of journalism advisers in two similar Midwestern states—Iowa, which has a law protecting student press freedom, and Indiana, which does not—the paper examines whether protective laws enhance freedom of the press for scholastic journalists.

Media Influences Explored: What High School Students Say About The Power Of Newspapers, Television And Magazines • Tamara M. Cooke Henry, National Center for Education Information • A 2004-2005 survey of 355 Florida and Pennsylvania high school students found that they deny media’s influence in their choice of clothing, snacks and beverages, but acknowledge some media impact with intangible things, like issues. The study also found unequal effects of media on different racial and ethnic groups. Buttressed by focus groups, study results suggest that students need a sophisticated knowledge of media and the skills to navigate their terrain, i.e. “media literacy.”

Transparency for the Student Press: When Practice Makes Perfect…Sense • Thomas E. Eveslage, Temple University • High school journalists continue to search for legal arguments and strategies to enhance their ability to publish content of their choice. One seldom-used legal argument helped a Michigan high-school publication win a censorship battle in 2004. This argument—that practicing quality journalism, modeled on the standards of professional journalists, deserves First Amendment protection—was the impetus for this exploratory study. The focus here is two-fold: What evidence exists that specific professional standards could warrant protection?

Teaching News Writing To Mass Communications Students: How Peer Editing Influences Learning And Perceptions Of Instruction • Howard D. Fisher, Ohio University and Coy Callison, Texas Tech University • One method proposed for improving the quality of student writing is the implementation of peer-editing groups. The researchers conducted a field study with news writing students to quantitatively determine the impact of peer-editing groups on graded, student writing. Data analysis revealed that peer-editing did not produce significantly better scores. The results suggest that peer-editing groups be implemented when the instructor wishes to enhance students’ self-esteem, but instructors should not expect gains in final scores.

The English and Journalism Secondary Education Curriculum Connection: A Preliminary Historical Perspective • Bruce E. Konkle, University of South Carolina • Between 1913 and 1995, more than 100 articles concerning scholastic journalism appeared in the English Journal, indicating a possible direct connection between the two curricular areas. And during the 20th century, dozens of articles in other journalism and education periodicals, as well as textbooks, theses and dissertations, also discussed the importance of linking English and journalism in the secondary school curriculum.

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