Archives for June 2014

Participatory Journalism 2014 Abstracts

June 12, 2014 by Kyshia

Clarifying Journalism’s Quantitative Turn: A Typology for Evaluating Data Journalism, Computational Journalism, and Computer-Assisted Reporting • Mark Coddington, University of Texas at Austin • As quantitative forms have become more prevalent in professional journalism, it has become increasingly important to classify and distinguish between them. This paper defines and compares three quantitative forms of journalism — computer-assisted reporting, data journalism, and computational journalism — and introduces a four-part typology to evaluate their epistemological and professional dimensions. The three practices are characterized as related but distinct approaches to integrating the values of open-source culture and social science with those of professional journalism.

Gender, social cue and interactivity in social media: Investigation of journalists’ social media use and credibility • Rosie Jahng, Hope College; Jeremy Littau, Lehigh University • This study examined the effect of social cues and interactivity in social media on journalists’ credibility based on literature of journalists’ credibility, social information processing theory (SIPT) and social presence theory. Results from a mixed-design experiment showed participants rated highly interactive journalists to be more credible than those who are less interactive in social media. Also, participants showed higher intention to engage and more positive attitude toward highly interactive journalists than less interactive journalists. Results are discussed in terms of theoretical implications for journalists’ credibility in social media, and practical applications for journalists seeking to utilize social media to engage with their audiences.

Exploring the Role of Political Discussion in Political Participation: Online versus Offline • Soo Yun Kim, University of Wisconsin-Madison • Widespread use of the Internet have lead to new forms of interpersonal communication, with a vast potential to reach young and geographically dispersed citizens; expanding earlier citizen communication habits that may not be reflected in the traditional media; and create new opportunities for citizens to form networks and take action to address many issues directly. Citizens now indeed have the advantage of technical proficiency in the online environments to facilitate their engagements with online political discussion and civic activities. Given that the dynamic nature of interpersonal political discussion as mobilizing force in politics is explicitly demonstrated in previous studies, this study takes a step further by exploring each of political participation activities one by one instead of using political participation as a single index. In addition, this study explores which of political discussion setting (i.e., offline vs. online) strongly predict political participation (i.e., offline and SNS). This study found that both online and offline political discussion was significant predictor for offline political participation and SNS political participation respectively.

Working together: Sharing as an emergent newsroom norm • Magda Konieczna • The economic crisis in news media has deepened and the internet has enabled greater interaction between producers of information. At the same time, the United States in particular has experienced dramatic growth of nonprofit news organizations, many of which base their newsroom processes on collaboration. This article uses participant observation to examine collaborative behaviors at three nonprofit news organizations. I use the data to illustrate three observations: 1) Collaboration actually breaks into four different types of behavior. 2) Collaborative behaviors, while differentiating nonprofits from commercial journalism from which they arose, also tie them into that same commercial structure. 3) Finally, I show how the type of collaboration imprints the collaborating organization. These results suggest that collaborative behaviors between nonprofits and the commercial media are an extension of past but frequently unacknowledged collaborative behaviors between traditional news organizations. And, finally, they suggest that editors have become increasingly comfortable with news coming from a broad range of sources.

Reciprocity and the News: The role of personal and social media reciprocity in news creation and consumption • Avery Holton, University of Utah; Mark Coddington, University of Texas at Austin; Seth Lewis, University of Minnesota; Homero Gil de Zuniga, University of Vienna • This study asks: As journalists and audiences increasingly interact via social spaces online, what role might reciprocity, as a key driver within online communities, play in stimulating audiences’ consumption and creation of content, including news content? A national survey finds that, while personal beliefs in reciprocity predict news consumption, it is reciprocity on social media that is associated not only with news consumption, but also with content creation, both for news and in general.

What’s in a Name? Making a Case for Collaborative Journalism • Shawn McIntosh, Columbia University • Definitions of terms such as participatory journalism and other variants reflect a need to clarify conceptually what some of the underlying transformational dynamics are in journalism today. I argue that the term collaborative journalism is best equipped to reframe the debate, avoiding the conceptual blind spots shared by these other terms, and will help us better understand changing journalistic norms and practices that can lead to a more active citizenry in the networked public sphere.

Democratic Mobilization through #Gosnell: Twitter as Public Sphere and Realm of the FIfth Estate • Michael Jezewak, Loyola Marymount University; Gwyneth Mellinger, Xavier University • The national news media’s initial failure to cover the criminal case of Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell triggered an activist response on Twitter. Using the hashtag #Gosnell, pro-life and pro-choice advocates debated the newsworthiness of the case and drew the national media’s attention to the trial. In addition to resetting the media agenda, #Gosnell constructed a Habermasian public sphere and, per Hallin’s theory, redefined an issue of deviance as a matter of legitimate controversy.

The Social News System: Examining the Relationship between Psychological Sense of Community, Social Network Site Use, and News Sharing Behaviors • Natalie Olsen, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities • News has long been understood as central to community functioning and a healthy democratic society. As community and news engagement transition to online venues, research must examine this relationship within social media. This study proposes and tests a new theoretical model that enables us to identify the roles that overall news consumption, SNS perceptions and behaviors, and PSOC play (both directly and indirectly) in encouraging audience members to share news stories on social network sites.

Framing citizen activism: A comparative study of the CGNET Swara and Mobile Voices projects • Paromita Pain, The University of Texas at Austin • The CGNET Swara (India) and Mobile Voices (United States) demonstrate that dedicated citizen journalism outlets can effectively combine journalism and activism to mobilize communities for positive social impact. Few studies have compared citizen journalism effects in the area of mobilization across countries, in multi-cultural settings, especially in the developed and developing world. This paper compares and contrasts conceptual frames employed and approaches pursued in fundamentally different settings to examine how citizen media works for progressive change.

reddit and the Boston Bombings: The Entextualization of a Witch-Hunt • Noah Springer, University of Colorado, Boulder • The social news website www.reddit.com played an instrumental role in the release of the suspects of the bombings during the Boston Marathon in April, 2012. This paper provides a linguistic analysis of how reddit identified the wrong suspects in the case, and examines how redditors “entextualized” this content in order to determine the meaning of how reddit users identified and prosecuted an innocent man. Specifically, this paper first examines various understandings of digital media, including Marshall McLuhan’s “global village,” Donna Haraway’s “cyborg,” and Jürgen Habermas’s “public sphere.” I then explore the various “entextualizations” of the Boston bombing case within reddit, specifically looking at how the decontextualization and recontextualization of the tragedy created room for a performative self-critique within the site. I conclude with a brief discussion of how the discourse surrounding the events in Boston show how reddit functions and fails to function as a global village, cyborg and public sphere.

Hyperlocal with a mission; Motivation, strategy, and civic function • Marco Van Kerkhoven, Utrecht, School of Journalism; Klaus Schoenbach; Piet Bakker, Utrecht School of Journalism • Independent online news start-ups seem to gain ground in local news ecosystems. To what extend they demonstrate to be a sustainable asset remains to be seen. Based on content analyses of 123 local news websites and 74 interviews with owners of these so-called hyperlocals in the Netherlands, we explored their motivation, their editorial and organisational strategy, and how hyperlocals effectuate their civic function in the community. Results indicate that the motivation to start a local online news website is for the better part grounded in the perception of a local news gap. But we also found sites predominantly motivated by commercial objectives. In all cases a common business strategy, however, is owners operating the service on a “no-staff, no-budget” basis. Most sites rely on banner advertising. Crowd funding has been tried on a small scale. In terms of strategy and claimed civic role there are only few differences between ideologically non-profit hyperlocals and commercial chains. But many sites underperform in terms of efficient use of resources, attracting readers and advertisers and the way they connect with sources and audiences. The sustainability of local news websites, therefore, is far from secured.

Self-Governance on Trial: A Public Sphere Analysis of News Website Forum Comments • David Wolfgang, University of Missouri • The online public sphere offers an opportunity to pursue self-governance through rational-critical discourse. This article studies two online news forums and the types of content produced based on the structure of the forum. Ultimately, forums allowing pseudonyms led to comments with more reasoned positions and use of supporting facts. However, neither the pseudonymous nor identified forums included constructive dialogue. News forums might need to restructure in order to promote consensus building and constructive dialogue.

2014 Abstracts

Commission on the Status of Women 2014 Abstracts

June 11, 2014 by Kyshia

Good Green Mothers: First Time Expectant Mothers’ Views on Environmental Consumption Pre- and Post- Partum • Niveen AbiGhannam, University of Texas at Austin; Lucy Atkinson • Our interest in this study is exploring the experience of women who opt for environmentally conscious approaches to pregnancy. The study will focus on how these non-conforming mothers navigate environmental risk, and how they balance dominant mothering discourses with their own sense of what it means to be a mother and the kind of pregnancy and delivery they seek. These relationships are examined in the context of information seeking and sharing communication theories.

Victimized on plain sites: Social and alternative media’s impact on the Steubenville rape case • Cory Armstrong; Kevin Hull, University of Florida; Lynsey Saunders, University of Florida • This study employs a content analysis of the Steubenville (Ohio) sexual assault case to explore the mainstream media characterization of the victim and perpetrators. Researchers examined articles from local news agencies (n= 422) and national news agencies (n= 156) to answer the overall research question centering on how new technology is being employed as sources by traditional media sources. The results outline implications for scholars and practitioners as it relates social media sources shaping the narrative characterizing the victim and perpetrators.

No Woman, No Cry: Gender and Emotional Management in U.S. Electoral Politics • Ingrid Bachmann, Catholic University of Chile • The role of a political leader often is associated with the emotional attributes of a man. This discourse analysis examines the media constructions of Hillary Clinton’s emotionality during her bid for the 2008 Democratic nomination. Clinton was described mainly as a cold and unsympathetic contender, an unwomanly woman with too much ambition, and either as fake or frail when being more emotionally open. The media thus favored determined understandings regarding women, politics and emotions.

The Everlasting Damsel in Distress?: Analyzing the evolution of the female Disney character over time • Lisa van Kessel, Radboud University Nijmegen; Serena Daalmans, Radboud University Nijmegen • The current study analyzes the evolution of female Disney characters over time, from Disney’s Snow White from 1937 to Disney/Pixar’s Brave from 2012. Gender role representations of the characters from twenty-three features (that included a human female lead or secondary character) were examined in a qualitative content analysis focused on the manifest level (representation of behaviors, goals) as well as a latent level (gender related norms and values). Results suggest that on a manifest level significant changes have occurred in how female characters have been presented over time, i.e. female characters have grown to have more agency and are less preoccupied with love as a primary goal, though these changes are not linear. Results on a latent level suggest that more stereotyped gendered norms and values have not disappeared but are now incorporated in the narrative in secondary rather than primary characters. Overall, results do seem to indicate that Disney’s representation of female (lead) characters are slowly becoming less stereotyped, most prominently so in the case of Brave’s Merida.

“Wendy and the Boys:” Having it All on the Texas Campaign Trail • Shugofa Dastgeer, Graduate student at the University of Oklahoma; Desiree Hill, University of Oklahoma • This study content analyzed news headlines on the Texas female candidate for governor, Wendy Davis, in the 2014 elections. The results demonstrate more than half of the news headlines had a neutral tone toward Davis, and less than one-fourth of the headlines were negative and positive each. While a large number of neutral headlines shows progress for female candidates, a significant number of the headlines treat Davis as a celebrity.

Creative women in Swedish advertising and the case for systemic scarcity • Jean Grow, Marquette University • This research explores the experiences of ten Swedish advertising creative directors. In-depth interviews are framed by Csikszentmihalyi’s systems model of creativity. Findings suggest that gender-neutral Swedish cultural norms and values have limited influence on the culture within advertising creative. Data highlight provocative insights about systemic power and constraints women face, suggesting that female creatives across the world most likely face roadblocks to advancement that are far more systemically embedded than may have been previously understood.

Walk like a man: A content analysis of anti-sexual assault websites for men • Leslie Howerton, University of Oregon • This study examines four websites that target men with anti-sexual assault messages. The theoretical framework used for this research is rape myth acceptance theory and the Acceptance of Modern Myths about Sexual Aggression scale (AMMSA). Content analysis was conducted on two websites that use traditionally masculine approaches and two websites that use androgyny advocacy approaches. All four websites contained gender stereotypes, rape myths and sexual concepts consistent with rape myth acceptance theory. The messages on these sites may explicitly endorse an anti-sexual assault agenda, but the text and images contain gender stereotypes and rape myth functions that undermine the websites’ purpose and perpetuate rape myth acceptance.

Attention to Heterosexual Scripts in Magazines: Factors associated with Intentions to Sexually Coerce or Intervene • Stacey J.T. Hust, The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, Washington State University; Kathleen Rodgers, Human Development, Washington State University; Stephanie Ebreo, Washington State University; Whitney Stefani, Washington State University • Sexual coercion has gained researchers’ attention as an underreported form of sexual abuse or harm (Adams-Curtis & Forbes, 2004). The percentage of male and female college students who reported engaging in sexual coercion was as high as 82% for verbally coercive behaviors over the course of a year (Shook, Gerrity, Jurich, & Segrist, 2000). Guided by heterosexual scripting theory and the Integrated Model of Behavioral Prediction, we examine young college students’ beliefs about rape myth acceptance, perceived norms related to perpetration and intervention of sexual coercion, dating violence efficacy, and then exposure to men’s and women’s magazines in relation to intention to use coercive tactics in dating relationships, and intentions to intervene with friends who use coercive tactics in dating relationships. Results indicate rape myth acceptance, as predicted, was positively associated with intentions to sexually coerce, and negatively associated with intentions to intervene. Dating violence efficacy was negatively associated with intentions to sexually coerce, and positively associated with intentions to intervene. Exposure to the heterosexual scripts in men’s magazines, which connect sexual prowess to masculinity, was associated with intentions to sexually coerce. Overall, an understanding of the independent contribution of these factors toward sexual coercion has implications for dating violence prevention programming.

Beyond ‘the Bump’: How media portrayals of celebrity pregnancies perpetuate fertility goddess cultural norms • Nicki Karimipour, University of Florida • Modern-day pregnant celebrities share many similarities to fertility goddesses of prehistoric and ancient times: they occupy a powerful place in society; they are revered and even worshipped; average women view them as role models; and they possess comparable physical traits. The way in which the media represents pregnant celebrities (and by explicitly or implicitly portraying them as fertility goddesses) can result in the establishment of social and cultural norms. The purpose of this study is to introduce a conceptual model for evaluating the way in which media portrayals of pregnant celebrities perpetuate fertility goddess cultural norms. Variables and antecedent conditions associated with the conceptual model have been outlined within.

#ThighGap and #BikiniBridge: The New ‘Thinspo’(s)?: Examining the role of social media and dissemination of new body shape thin ideals • Nicki Karimipour, University of Florida; Kéran Billaud, University of Florida • Mass-mediated thin ideals have been a media staple for many years, but recently, two body shape trends have gone viral in mainstream and social media. The purpose of this study is to examine content being disseminated on Twitter about the thigh gap and the bikini bridge from December 1, 2013 to March 1, 2014 using a quantitative content analysis. Applications of social comparison and identity demarginalization theory are used to explain the online behavior of these users. Feminist theory is used to buttress the argument that social media interactions about the thigh gap and bikini bridge perpetuate potentially harmful aspirations and behaviors among young women.

Domestic violence as entertainment: Gender, role congruity and reality television • Carol Liebler, Syracuse University; Azeta Hatef, Syracuse University; Greg Munno, Syracuse University • This study examines how young adults react to domestic violence in reality TV, with particular attention to how gender factors into perceptions of acceptability. Data were collected via eight sessions that included pre and post-viewing questionnaires, rating an edited 24-minute video of content from three reality TV programs, and focus group discussions. Findings indicate that consistent with role congruity theory, acceptability of televised domestic violence varies contextually and with gender.

Television’s “Mean World” for Women: The Portrayal of Gender and Race on American Crime Dramas • M. Scott Parrott, The University of Alabama; Caroline Titcomb Parrott, The University of Alabama • A quantitative content analysis examined gender and racial stereotypes in fictional crime-based television programs that aired in the United States during a three-year period. Women were underrepresented. While black women were relatively non-existent, white women were victimized more often than male characters. Compared to men, white women stood a greater chance of being raped or sexually assaulted, suffering serious harm at the hands of an assailant, and being attacked by strangers.

Effects of Women’s Social Media Use in fostering Social Capital and Civic Participation • Maria Gomez y Patino, Universidad de Zaragoza; Magdalena Saldaña, The University of Texas at Austin; Trevor Diehl, The University of Texas at Austin; Homero Gil de Zuniga, University of Vienna • Observing women as benchmark, this article examined how social media activities impact social capital and civic participation. Scholars concerned with the role of women in democracies have long noted a gender gap in participatory behaviors. However, social media might offer an alternative route to community engagement for women. Analyzing original US-survey-data, results (n=831) found strong statistical evidence that social media use for community involvement and news is associated with social capital and civic participation offline.

The Disney Princess Films: 72 Years of Idealized Beauty and Love • Jennifer Hecht, San Jose State University; Diana Stover Tillinghast, San Jose State University • Portrayals of dependency, confidence, rescue, and romantic love have slowly changed in the past seven decades in the nine Disney princess films examined in this study. However, the depiction of beauty has remained much the same although many of the princesses are no longer only Caucasian. Princesses have become less dependent and more confident. Love has become more realistic with fewer romantic illusions. Suitors rescued princesses and, in the newer films, princesses rescued their suitors.

Black Womanhood, Desire, and Single-doom in Television News • Timeka Tounsel, University of Michigan • Amidst shifting tides in America’s ethnic landscape, racial uplift ideology urges black women to pursue marriage as a means of demonstrating African American’s adherence to hegemonic social values. Yet, data from Hannah Brueckner at the Yale Center for Research on Inequalities and the Life Course and the U.S. Census Bureau (2010) suggest that 45 percent of black women over 15-years-old have never been married, and that this rate is even higher for women with post-graduate degrees. Thus, professional black women are perceived as having failed to fulfill dominant gender expectations. The consequential construction of a crisis focused on increased academic achievement, and low marriage rates offers an example of how American culture manages this supposed gender deviance. In this essay, I point to salient examples—specifically in traditional news outlets such as ABC Nightline and CNN—within a contemporary cultural environment that restrict professional black women to a distinct narrative arc. Beginning at the professional peak of black women, the arc climaxes in a black gender war, and ends with a disciplining of black women’s life desires. By burdening black women with racial uplift, this narrative neglects a rational discussion of black men, evades the impact of structural inequality, and elevates independence and autonomy as inappropriate desires for black women.

Empowerment messages with women from underserved communities: Expanding a theory of women’s communication about health • Jennifer Vardeman-Winter, University of Houston • As women’s health has received significant political and media attention recently, I proposed an expanded theory of women’s communication about health. Public relations and community health work literature framed this study. I interviewed 15 communicators and community health workers from grassroots organizations focused on women’s health. Findings suggest that women face structural, cognitive, cultural, political, and emotional/spiritual barriers to communicating about health. Participants also discussed the importance of messages of empowerment and resilience with women.

An Indian Abroad: Postulating post-colonial feminisms via Priyanka Chopra’s globality • Roshni Verghese • Priyanka Chopra’s prolific career has taken her from being the belle of Bollywood to a global celebrity as she enters Western popular culture, symbolically representing India and Indians. This paper uses visual analysis of her English music videos, select interviews with American and Indian media and other print media texts to identify how she invokes themes of globality; using sexual exoticism, racial ambiguity and cultural hybridity to successfully promote a new prototype of Indian women.

Stigmatized Presentation of Single Women: A Content Analysis of News Coverage on Single Women and Single Men in China • Gong Wanqi, City University of Hong Kong; Caixie Tu; Jiang Li • This study explored the stigmatize presentation of single women in news reports by content analyzing the news coverage of Chinese single women and single men from 2008 to 2013 in Mainland China. Among the three prevalent news frames (conflict, attribution of responsibility, and human interest), results showed that the news reports commonly employ human interest frame and concentrate on the single women’s family conflicts . News stories also unduly attributed the responsibility of the ‘single’ issue to the single women themselves. Moreover, the media tend to utilize positive tone to portray single men rather than single women. The biased standpoint in reporting single women reflect and further shape the stereotype of single women. As an exploratory study, our research shed light on the public perception of single women. Theoretical and practical implications were provided.

Mitigating the Engendered Digital Divide: Women as Active Learners in Developing Countries • Jessica Wendorf, University of Miami • Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become part of modern life, but sadly developing countries are unable to benefit from this technological advancement. Consequently, the knowledge gap between information-rich and information-poor has intensified. Today, it is not the lack of physical access, but in fact, the intellectual access limitations confounded by the omitting of ethnic, racial, and cultural individualism that most affect ICT interventions focused on minority females.

Are Men from Mars and Women from Venus in Terms of Twitter and Facebook Use? And How about Whites and Non-Whites – Are They on Different Planets? • Geri Alumit Zeldes, Michigan State University; Saleem Alhabash, Michigan State University; Elizabeth Quilliam, Michigan State University • Indeed. Men are from Mars, and Women are from Venus, when it comes to the intensity in which they used Facebook and Twitter. Using Uses and Gratifications theory and Liu, Cheng & Lee’s (2010) 19-item scale to measure motivations, this study found that women are significantly more intense in their use of the two social media platforms especially when it comes to several motivations – entertainment, escapism, and medium appeal. In terms of race, Whites and Non-Whites are also on different planets. The study indicated a greater intensity to use Facebook and Twitter than their Non-White counterparts, out intensifying their Non-White counterparts in their use of Facebook except in the motivations of self-documentation and commercial interaction. The researchers recommend a replication of this study using a much more diverse population than that of students in a mass communication school at a large Midwestern university.

2014 Abstracts

Sports Communication 2014 Abstracts

June 11, 2014 by Kyshia

Sports Draped in the American Flag: Impact of the 2014 Winter Olympic Telecast on Nationalized Attitudes • Andrew Billings, University of Alabama; Kenon Brown, The University of Alabama; Natalie Brown, University of Alabama • A total of 525 U.S. respondents participated in a survey of nationalized attitudes surrounding four qualities (patriotism, nationalism, internationalism, and smugness) and their relationship to Olympic media consumption. Four data collection points were used: three months prior to the Sochi Games, immediately before the Opening Ceremonies, immediately after the Closing Ceremonies, and one month after the Sochi Games. Results indicated that the amount of Olympic media consumption significantly heightened responses on all four qualities, but that these qualities were higher before the Sochi Olympics than after. Conclusions are offered regarding the potential mitigating role of Olympic success as it relates to the bolstering of national pride through consumption of international mediated sporting events.

I know you, therefore I share: Parasocial disclosures and sharing of sport news on Twitter • Jan Boehmer, Michigan State University • The present study investigates the effects of sports journalists’ self-disclosures on Twitter. More specifically, an online experiment was conducted examining whether being exposed to self disclosures posted on Twitter influenced the audiences’ perceptions of likability and credibility, as well as the desire to interact with the sports journalist. Results of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) show that self-disclosure had a positive effect on a personal dimension of likability, as predicted by Uncertainty Reduction Theory (URT). Contrary to predictions, however, self-disclosure did not affect the professional dimension of likability or credibility. In addition, the results of the present study show that the development of a stronger parasocial relationship between the sports journalist and his audience, as well as professional likability are the best predictors of participants’ intentions to share the encountered content.

Making Sports Exciting: Moment-to-Moment Analysis of Crowd Noise on Audience Perception of Play • Glenn Cummins, Texas Tech University; Zijian Gong, Texas Tech University • Despite its ubiquitous presence in mediated sports, the influence of mediated crowd response on at-home spectators has escaped inquiry. Considerable evidence from both within and beyond the context of sports suggests that a co-spectator’s behavior can generate “intra-audience effects.” In this experiment, mediated spectator response was systematically altered across game play while participants provided moment-to-moment evaluations of game play. Results demonstrate mediated intra-audience effects that yield inflated perceptions of the exiting nature of play as well as a sense of spatial immersion in the mediated environment. The effect was most pronounced when game events were not intrinsically exciting.

Opening the sports closet: Media coverage of the self-outings of Jason Collins and Britney Griner • Tracy Everbach, University of North Texas; Lori Dann, Eastfield College • This study examines coverage of the coming-out revelations of two professional athletes in major sports media. When Brittney Griner of the WNBA and Jason Collins of the NBA made their announcements within two weeks of each other in April 2013, sports media embraced both athletes by praising their courage and calling for tolerance. However, the media coverage adhered to the theory of masculine hegemony by treating Collins’ revelation as big news and Griner’s as routine. Other findings are that Collins’ announcement, which was a first for an active athlete in men’s professional team sports, was controversial to some who oppose homosexuality. Griner joined several high-profile female athletes who had come out as lesbian since the 1970s, and her announcement was given minimal coverage. Griner went on to a promising career in the WNBA while Collins went unsigned for the first four months of the NBA season before being picked up by the Brooklyn Nets on Feb. 23, 2014 and retained for the remainder of the season. Despite these gender-based differences, the study found there has been a significant shift in recent years in the amount and type of media coverage given to gay athletes.

Foul Ball: Audience-held stereotypes of baseball players • Patrick Ferrucci, Bradley University; Edson Tandoc, Nanyang Technological University; Chad Painter, Eastern New Mexico University; David Wolfgang, University of Missouri • This study experimentally tested whether participants held and/or applied stereotypes of baseball players. Participants were asked to rate White, Black and Latino baseball players based on stereotypes consistently identified in previous literature. Participants saw a photo of a player and an anonymous paragraph from a newspaper that highlighted a particular stereotype. They were then asked to rate the author’s credibility. Black players were rated as higher in physical strength and natural ability, consistent with previous literature concerning how athletes were described. However, White and Latin players were not stereotyped. But, participants rated White-consistent descriptions as credible and Latin-consistent descriptions as less credible. These results are interpreted through the prism of social identity theory.

“The Ghost of Len Bias”: Race, Memory, Narrative, and Basketball • Justin Hudson, University of Maryland, College Park • The death of Maryland basketball star Len Bias in June 1986 from a cocaine overdose would quickly become a seminal moment both in the war on drugs and the fight to reform college athletics. This paper demonstrates that even two decades after his death, Bias was deployed in the media as an obstacle on the road to Maryland’s first national championship and as a cautionary tale to justify the continued policing of black athletes.

Marketing a Lemon: Student-Fan Attendance at Home Games of a Losing College Basketball Team • L. Paul Husselbee, Southern Utah University; Whitney Baum, Southern Utah University • Research has identified winning as the most significant factor motivating attendance at collegiate and professional sports events. This study employed factor analysis to identify four significant components — Optimistic Leisure, Shared Experience with Friends, Basketball Enthusiasm, and Team Spirit — that contribute to student-fans’ decisions to attend home games of a college basketball team that had lost 26 consecutive games and was widely considered the worst NCAA Division I team in the nation during the 2013-14 season. It recommends an integrated-marketing campaign using a “Big Idea” with emphasis on social media to reach the target audience.

Promoting sports networks’ interests through hybrid messages: A study of Sportscenter and Fox Sports Live • Richard Johnson, Arizona State University; Miles Romney • In sports broadcasting, a dichotomy exists between a network’s financial interests and its journalism responsibilities. Many sports networks spend billions of dollars for the rights to broadcast live sporting events as part of their network programming. Typically, these live events produce high ratings and generate significant profit for the networks. However, this conflict between a sports network’s business and journalistic affairs raises a compelling ethical debate. Working under the theoretical model of hybrid messages—the assumption that news networks include promotional themes in their journalism programming that aren’t easily recognizable to the viewer—this introductory study analyzed 2,015 news packages from the two most prominent nightly sports news programs, SportsCenter and FOX Sports Live, to examine whether sports networks more heavily promote leagues with which they are contractually affiliated. The study found that sports networks self-promote by showing more in-depth coverage of games and leagues with which they have a financial interest while also filling a significant portion of the news program’s most prominent block with programming that serves their interests. However, the relationship that exists between sports networks and sports leagues makes it difficult to ascertain whether the sports networks are employing hybrid messages in their journalism programming or simply following journalistic practices.

The Use of Twitter in Sports Image Repair: A Case Study of Ex-Heisman Reggie Bush • Hannah Mason; Mia Moody-Ramirez, Baylor University • Broadening the application of Benoit’s image repair theory, this case study looks at the image repair tactics of NFL athlete Reggie Bush in three phases following the NCAA sanctions in which he lost the Heisman Trophy. This textual analysis adds a new perspective to IRT literature by analyzing how the athlete presented himself through his Twitter feed and how traditional newspaper articles framed the case. Findings indicate Bush used a variety of image repair tactics in his Twitter posts; however, his scatter-shot approach was ineffective as he rallied back and forth between positive and negative content and perhaps waited too long to demonstrate mortification. Newspaper articles did not mention Bush’s Twitter content. However, self-presentation through social media eliminated the need for a mainstream outlet to cover his preferred themes as he was able disseminate his own messages. Findings indicate Twitter provides a viable platform for athletes to repair a tarnished image; however, they must use positive image repair tactics in a consistent manner.

Going to WAR: Online Sports Media’s Treatment of the Sabermetric Argument in the Race for 2012 American League Most Valuable Player • Joshua Murphy, The University of Iowa • Sabermetric analysis has existed since the 1970s but has recently gained widespread attention in baseball. Despite the empirical process of sabermetrics, several media sources ignore it in favor of traditional methods. This paper uses the Gramscian model of hegemony and Barthes’ work on myth to analyze sports media discussion of the 2012 American League Most Valuable Player race to evaluate the process by which new methods gain media attention and legitimacy against the status quo.

Who is to blame? An examination of American sports journalists’ Lance Armstrong Hero narrative and post-doping confession paradigm repair • Sada Reed, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • When journalism routines, like the practice of covering subjects “objectively” and not becoming personally involved with sources, result in erroneous reporting, journalists often engage in paradigm repair (Berkowitz, 1997). This is done by demonstrating that the written and unwritten rules of the paradigm really are reliable, but because of a particular reason or person, the paradigm’s rules were violated (Berkowitz, 1997). But does paradigm repair happen in the same way in sports journalism, a genre of journalism that traditionally has dual roles as watchdogs and “myth-makers”? This study examines this question in two parts: A content analysis was conducted in order to gather descriptive statistics confirming sports journalists’ reluctance to interrupt Armstrong’s Hero narrative. This analysis was done by examining the number of stories about Armstrong, published in the United States between July 25, 1999, when Armstrong first won the Tour de France, and Jan. 17, 2013, when Armstrong’s televised interview with Oprah aired, that also mention doping. The second part of this study explores the presence or absence of paradigm repair. Ethnographic content analysis was used to examine American sports journalists’ columns and editorials from Oct. 9, 2012, to Jan. 31, 2013, in order to assess how sports journalists responded to Armstrong’s “fall from grace.”

Twitter in the press box: How a new technology affects the gameday routines of print-focused sports journalists • Chris Roberts, University of Alabama; Betsy Emmons, Samford University • Sports journalists’ use of Twitter to cover live events raises questions related to institutional practices, branding of journalists, and the work patterns and work products of journalists on a gameday. Researchers analyzed 2,600 tweets sent by 51 print-focused journalists covering 11 college football games, and interviewed 10 journalists, to discern how beat writers and columnists use Twitter for gameday coverage. Results include a more opinion-based use of Twitter during live reporting.

“I hate you man!”: Exploring Maladaptive Parasocial Interaction Expressions to College Athletes via Twitter • Jimmy Sanderson, Clemson University; Carrie Truax, Clemson University • There has been an increasing trend of fans attacking college athletes via Twitter after athletic contests. These messages from fans often encompass hostile and vitriolic language that in many cases makes news headlines. The present study explored this behavior through the lens of maladaptive parasocial interaction (Kassing & Sanderson, in press) by investigating tweets sent to University of Alabama placekicker Cade Foster after Alabama lost their rivalry game against Auburn University on November 30, 2013. Using Radian6 software, a total of 939 tweets sent to Foster were analyzed. Analysis revealed that maladaptive parasocial interaction manifested in the following ways: (a) belittling; (b) blaming; (c) mocking; (d) sarcasm; and (e) threats. Interestingly and unexpectedly, a host of supportive comments were expressed to Foster as well. The results suggest that athletic department personnel must provide resources and education for college athletes on coping with these messages to mitigate potentially negative psychological effects. Additionally, the results also reveal that Twitter functions as a venue where fans discuss what it means to be a “true” fan with respect to directing abrasive comments at college athletes.

“Shit got cray cray #mybad”: An Examination of the Image Repair Discourse of Richie Incognito during the Miami Dolphins’ Bullying Scandal • Annelie Schmittel, University of Florida; Kevin Hull, University of Florida • This study examines the image repair discourse of Richie Incognito during the Miami Dolphins’ bullying scandal. Incognito conducted image repair utilizing Twitter and a traditional media outlet. Incognito’s tweets sent throughout the crisis, along with his television interview, were examined using mixed methods content analysis guided by Benoit’s image repair theory. Findings suggest Incognito used competing image repair strategies on the two platforms. We propose three new image repair strategies: blasting critics, context and self-deprecation.

Ignored by Traditional Media, Women Seek Sports Information via Social Media: A Uses and Gratification Analysis • Mary Sheffer, University of Southern Mississippi; Brad Schultz, University of Mississippi • As a follow-up to previous research, this study took a uses and gratification approach to more clearly define sports media consumption patterns among women. Based on survey data from more than 2,500 respondents nationwide, it was found that women use social media differently than men in regards to sports. Specifically, women more often use social media for information-seeking, personal/social reasons, and to access content not available in traditional media. Implications include the need for new approaches to reach a traditionally underserved audience.

Enjoyment in 140 Characters: Examining the Impact of Twitter on the Enjoyment of Football • Lauren Smith, Auburn University; Sally Ann Cruikshank, Auburn University • As sports fans increasingly turn to Twitter to experience events and receive commentary, it is imperative to understand not only why they do, but the effects that come from using social media. Using the theoretical grounding of disposition theory, this study employed a survey of sports fans who use Twitter to measure how the microblogging site influenced their enjoyment of viewing college and professional football, both on television and in person. Results found that the use of Twitter had more of an impact on fans’ enjoyment when watching a game on television than when watching in person. Additionally, variables such as age, gender, and level of Twitter use were found to have an impact on enjoyment levels. Practical and theoretical implications of the study are discussed at length.

I’m going to Instagram it!: An analysis of athlete self-presentation on Instagram • Lauren Smith, Auburn University; Jimmy Sanderson, Clemson University • Using Goffman’s notions of self-presentation and gender displays, the following study examines the Instagram feeds of 27 professional athletes to determine how athletes are using the visual social media site for self-presentation. A mixed methods approach examined the photographs and captions to determine what behaviors and themes emerged. Through content analysis, the self-presentation styles of athletes of both genders, as well as the main differences between them were examined, and significant differences emerged that confirmed the previously established gender norms. Through textual analysis, findings with respect to captions align with previous research on athlete self-presentation on social media. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as directions for future research are discussed.

Tensions in the Press Box: Understanding Relationships between Journalists and Communications Professionals in Intercollegiate Athletics • Welch Suggs, University of Georgia • Recent events suggest that relationships between media organizations and the entities they cover are changing, particularly in the context of sports. This study proposes a neoinstitutional framework for understanding these relationships and tests resulting hypotheses among reporters and communications professionals in American intercollegiate athletics.

Media Industries and the Sport Scandal: Deadspin, Sports Illustrated, ESPN and the Manti Te’o Hoax • Travis Vogan, University of Iowa; Benjamin Burroughs, University of Iowa • The increasing body of scholarship on the sport scandal focuses principally on how media cover these incidents, how scandalized parties disrupt constructed expectations and work to repair their images, and the circumstances under which punishment and forgiveness are doled out. Building upon this work, this essay uses the hoax surrounding former Notre Dame University football player Manti Te’o to consider the institutional and industrial priorities that inform media coverage of sport scandals. Focusing on the website Deadspin, the legacy magazine Sports Illustrated, and the multiplatform sports media outlet ESPN, it argues that media outlets use sport scandals to craft their institutional identities, critique their competition, and to vie for market share. This approach to analyzing media coverage of the sport scandal, we argue, demonstrates the intimate relationship between the cultural meanings media representations of sport create and the institutional and industrial factors that govern the organizations that manufacture these powerful depictions.

Building Relationships with Fans: How Sports Organizations Use Social Media • Yuan Wang, University of Alabama; Shuhua Zhou; Yonghwan Kim, University of Alabama • Social media have been increasingly used by sports organizations to establish relationships with the public. This study explored the Twitter using practices of NBA clubs (N = 30) in the United States in building relationships with their publics. Specifically, it focused on how these clubs used Twitter as a communication tool to build professional, personal, and community relationships through a content analysis of 5561 tweets on their official Twitter sites. The results demonstrated that sports organizations tended to use social media to develop professional relationships with fans via sharing information and promoting products. They utilized several communication tools such as retweets, public messages, hyperlinks, and hashtags, among which hashtags were most frequently used. There was a significant relationship between relationship dimensions and the use of communication tools.

The Star-Ledger vs. Julie Hermann? Examining the Power of Media Campaigning • Amy Wu, University of Maryland; Pallavi Guha, Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland; Jenny Glick, University of Maryland; Carole Lee, University of Maryland; Linda Steiner, University of Maryland • This study examines the impact of coverage by a major newspaper of Rutgers University’s hiring of Julie Hermann as athletic director in the spring of 2013. After the bullying charges surfaced against Julie Hermann, the prospective Athletic Director of Rutgers, The Star-Ledger took the initiative to lead the coverage demanding Hermann’s dismissal. A textual analysis of print and online news articles, editorials and columns, placed in the theoretical context of framing, suggested that the newspaper’s editorial team shifted its target from Hermann at initial stages to the university and the power brokers within the university. A time-analysis revealed that Hermann was only part of the larger target in the later stages of coverage.

The Not-So Neutral Zone: ESPN, Agenda Setting, and the National Hockey League • Jeremy Saks, Ohio University; Molly Yanity, Quinnipiac University • Given the lucrative partnerships involved with securing the rights to televise live events, ESPN is ripe for conflicts of interest as it has the potential to set the news agenda by showcasing highlights and reporting to emphasize the events for which it has exclusive deals. This is important because ESPN can determine what are considered the “most important games, athletes, and highlights for ESPN viewers” and it can use “its gate-keeping function to codify what historic achievements, displays of brilliance, and athletic renown are worthy of consideration” (Gamache, 2010, p. 166). This study will use the agenda-setting theory to explore ESPN’s gate-keeping measures in regards to the National Hockey League. A content analysis will be performed to explore if and how ESPN ranks highlights from the NHL within the “Top 10 Plays” segment in comparison to other major sports leagues.

2014 Abstracts

Small Programs 2014 Abstracts

June 11, 2014 by Kyshia

Pedagogical Approaches to Student Run Firms Using Experiential Learning: A Case Study for Small Programs • Carolyn Kim, Biola University • Experiential learning in public relations programs often come through the launching of a public relations student-run agency. This study focuses on a strong example of a student-run PR agency that was launched in a small program on a private university campus in Southern California. Findings from this case study suggest that student-run agencies can effectively be launched, even with limited resources, to strategically meet program learning outcomes. Additionally, benefits of student-run agencies include increased prominence of the program within the community, which can provide more internship and networking opportunities for students, as well as strong pre-professional preparation for students who participate in student-run agencies.

2014 Abstracts

Religion and Media 2014 Abstracts

June 11, 2014 by Kyshia

Us and Them: A meta-analysis of research on media representation of Muslims and Islam from 2000 to 2013 • Saifuddin Ahmed, Nanyang Technological University; Joerg Matthes • This meta-analytical study provides an overview of the academic research on the portrayals of Muslims and Islam in the media worldwide from 2000 – 2013. Through an analysis of 207 studies we identify research patterns involving geographical focus, methods, theories, authorship, citations, media types, and time frame of studies. Based on our systematic evaluation we classify and discuss eight common themes explored when this topic is researched. Findings point to key directions for future research.

Just Add a Verse from the Quran: Effects of Religious Rhetoric in Gain- and Loss-Framed Anti-Alcohol Messages with a Palestinian Sample • Saleem Alhabash, Michigan State University; Nasser Almutairi, Michigan State University; Mohammed Abu Rub, Birzeit University • An experiment investigated the effects of message frame (gain vs. loss) and religious rhetoric (religious vs. non-religious) on the expression of anti-alcohol civic intentions with a sample (N = 80) of Palestinian young adults. Results showed that the main effects of message frame (gain > loss) and religious rhetoric (non-religious > religious) on anti-alcohol civic intentions were significant. Furthermore, the study showed that viral behavioral intentions were strongly and significantly associated with expressing anti-alcohol civic intentions, with larger explanatory power for gain-framed messages that used a religious rhetoric. Findings are discussed within the framework of persuasion models.

Does Inner Peace Correlate with Giving a Piece of Your Mind? Religiosity, Media Exposure and Tolerance for Disagreement about Religion • Mariam Alkazemi, University of Florida • The current study applies the spiral of silence effect to explore the role of media exposure on tolerance for disagreement about religion. Survey data were collected from students at a large Southeastern university in February 2014. Participants self-reported data that were used to measure religiosity, media exposure and tolerance for disagreement about religion. The results show there are three underlying measures in the tolerance for disagreement about religion scale, which relate to comfort, escalation and intellect. Further, the results suggest that exposure to internet correlates negatively with the intellectual component of tolerance for disagreement about religion, while exposure to radio correlates positively with the escalation component of tolerance for disagreement about religion.

Night and day: An illustration of framing using moral foundations to examine public opinion about the 2010 Oklahoma sharia ban • Brian J. Bowe, Michigan State University; Jennifer Hoewe, The Pennsylvania State University • This study examines the moral foundations identifiable through the lens of framing theory with particular regard to illustrations of public opinion in the news media. Using Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) to discern one component of the framing process – moral evaluations – this paper examines the discourse present in letters to the editor in two Oklahoma newspapers during the 2010 debate over a constitutional amendment to ban the Islamic moral code often called “sharia law” in the state constitution. This study used cluster and content analysis to identify three frames in the discourse, which emphasized themes of patriotism, heritage, and the golden rule. Each of these frames was related to the moral foundations identified by MFT, particularly as they are predicted to align with political ideology. Moreover, an examination of the moral foundations as 10 distinct items rather than as five continuums based on semantic differential pairs revealed the individual items function differently when allowed to independently vary.

Facebook and revival in Appalachia: Some quantitative analyses of attitudes toward serpent-handling • Julia Duin, University of Memphis • Serpent-handling among Appalachian Pentecostals has undergone a media blitz. From The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post to Buzzfeed.com, reporters have dissected the movement more than any other time in its 104-year-old history. This paper researches how the use of Facebook, with its many personal anecdotes, posts and photos of serpent handlers, has humanized the practice. The author’s recent surveys show how Facebook has led to much softening of public attitudes towards snake handling.

Newspaper Coverage of Christianity in South Korea, 1996-2005 • Taisik Hwang, University of Georgia • This study content analyzes a sample of 2,614 news articles dealing with religions published in Chosun Ilbo from 1996 to 2005, focusing on how this major newspaper covered Christianity in terms of its tone and frames. The results show that this religion was portrayed in a neutral or positive manner, and that both Protestants and megachurches were mostly considered providers of social work services. These findings have implications for academic, media, and religious sectors.

Magazine Iconography: Portrayals of Religion on Magazine Covers • Joy Jenkins, University of Missouri; Mimi Perreault, University of Missouri; Gregory Perreault • Religious themes have continually been popular topics for magazines. These topics are occasionally referenced explicitly on magazine covers, but more often, they are depicted implicitly through the use of religious imagery. Imagery may take the form of well-known narratives from religious texts or the use of religious symbols or icons. This study applied narrative theory to assess religious imagery present on magazine covers from the last 48 years as selected and recognized by the American Society of Magazine Editors. Using fantasy theme analysis, the study revealed three themes evident among the covers: the use of religious symbols to address technological anxiety, particularly the influence of Apple products; ironic or subverted presentations of female religious figures to address contemporary lifestyle topics; and the use of religion to make meaning from crises or disasters. The findings showed that religious imagery fulfilled strategic aims for magazines, highlighting implicit and explicit religious narratives through which magazines could sell products or enhance the salience of topics.

These Will Not Inherit the Kingdom of Reality TV: Media Elites’ Views on Religion and the Paradigm of Corporate Media • Rick Moore, Boise State University • This study examines the controversy surrounding religious comments made by Phil Robertson, a key figure in the reality television show Duck Dynasty. Scholars have long argued that journalism has a paradigm for determining how the profession should operate . Given the conflict resulting from Robertson’s views, the intent was to understand how journalists proposed this newer genre might deal with issues related to religion and tolerance. In studying how editorial writers and columnists wrestled with the issues of the imbroglio, I found that the elites from the papers had several complaints about Robertson and reality TV, and only a few recommendations on how the genre might deal with similar clashes in the future.

Bishop Richard R. Wright Jr., The Christian Recorder and Social Responsibility • Robbie Morganfield, University of Maryland • Many of America’s first black newspapers were edited by Christian ministers who practiced principles that came to be associated with social responsibility theory. However, their work is overlooked in histories and discussions about the theory’s development. This paper questions that pattern and examines some of the work of the African Methodist Episcopal Church’s Christian Recorder, the nation’s oldest continuously published black newspaper, and Bishop Richard Robert Wright Jr., its longest serving editor.

Pop Music and the Search for the Numinous: Exploring The Emergence of the “Secular Hymn” In Post-Modern Culture • Steve Thomsen; Quint Randle, BYU; Matthew J. Lewis, Brigham Young University • A growing body of research suggests traditional religious institutions are failing to meet the spiritual needs of their adherents, who are now in search of new gods and new religious myths. This paper defines and explores the phenomenon of the “secular hymn.” While non-religious in nature or intent, the secular hymn is a pop song that allows the listener to experience the numinous by creating an affective state that parallels a spiritual or religious state of mind. This paper outlines the phenomenon of the secular hymn in pop culture, defines its characteristics and then tests several pop songs against these criteria. And while some secular hymns may be used in some church settings, the overall trend may exemplify the continuing erosion of traditional religion and the use of explicitly religious music in both public and private settings.

The New Scroll: Digital Devices in Bible Study and Worship • Kathy Richardson, Berry College; Carol Pardun, University of South Carolina • This study, using data collected from an online survey of 234 respondents, investigated the prevalence of digital tools for Bible study, religious reading and corporate and individual worship among those who described themselves as “religious” or “very religious.” Respondents were older than previous studies (59.4% over the age of 50). They were also more new technology savvy than previous research has indicated. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents used newer technology to read their Bibles at home and while traveling. Bible study and Sunday school teachers were more inclined to use newer technologies to study and for corporate church worship than were non-teachers.

Mediatization of Religion: How the Indonesian Muslim Diasporas Mediatized Islamic Practices • Yearry Setianto, Ohio University • This study explores the process of mediatization of religion in the context of how Indonesian Muslim diasporas in the United States are using media to mediatize Islamic practices. Using ethnographic observation of the Indonesia Muslim Society in America (IMSA) and their media activities, this study found Islamic practices are mediatized to deal with physical boundaries. Dependency on media for religious practice does not turn this community into secular, but makes them more religious.

The Religious and Moral Beliefs of University Leaders and the Beginnings of American Journalism Education • Jeffery Smith, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee • Journalism education programs began appearing in the United States from the Gilded Age through the Progressive Era. Administrators who launched formal instruction in the field were responding to criticism of the press and, in many cases, were evidently motivated by personal religious and moral convictions. They sought to improve the profession with spiritual perspectives at both private and public institutions.

Do You Want to Feel the Love of Christ? There’s an App For That: Understanding Tablet Media as the New Electronic Church • Jim Trammell, High Point University • As mass media evolves from broadcasting to digital media, so is the electronic church evolving from religious programs to religious apps. This manuscript addresses how mass media technologies affect Christian programming. Informed by technological determinist and mediatization frameworks, it analyzes how broadcast technologies influenced Christian broadcasting in the 1970s and 1980s, and explores how tablet medium generates new themes in the electronic church. The manuscript also considers how these themes influence twentieth-century American Christianity.

2014 Abstracts