Minorities and Communication Division

Factors Constraining Encoding of African-American Life in the News: Mainstream Media Representations of African-American Life as Manifestation of Interethnic or Interacial Communication Behavior • Linus Abraham, Iowa State University • Adopting a critical structural approach, the paper moves the discussion of racial representation beyond manifest content to include contextual factors that empower it. It explores mainstream white-media’s representations of Blacks as a form of inter-ethnic communication behavior, and in the process provides a theoretical foundation for understanding the persistence of predominantly negative representations. In doing so, it also provides a theoretical mechanism for systematically analyzing the media representations, and makes it possible to conduct systematic longitudinal studies of representations of Blacks.

Differences in Media Buying by Online Businesses in Black- and White-Targeted Magazines: The Potential Impact of the Digital Divide on Ad Placement • Osei Appiah and Matthew Wagner, Iowa State University • This study examined differences in ad placement by online companies based on whether the publication targets the general market or the black population. Seventy-two magazines from three different categories were analyzed to ascertain the number of online company ads in each magazine. It was predicted that online businesses would place more ads in general market magazines than they would in magazines targeted to black audiences. The findings clearly support the overall hypothesis. The impact of the digital divide on ad placement is discussed.

The Uses and Gratifications of the Internet among African American College Students • Mahmoud A.M. Braima, Southern University and A&M College • This study developed and empirically tested a model of the uses and gratifications of the Internet among African American college students. The study used structural equations to simultaneously test three gratification needs. Data from a survey of 404 African American college students in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana provided support for the hypothesis that surveillance, entertainment and personal utility are significant gratification dimensions among African American college student users of the Internet.

Time, Media and Acculturation: The Experience of a Southern California Vietnamese American Community • Jeff Brody, Tony Rimmer and Edgar P. Trotter, California State-Fullerton • This study of recent immigrants – the Vietnamese American community in Southern California – examines how media use, namely the decision to read English-language and/or Vietnamese-language newspapers, might play a part in measuring acculturation. Further, the study explores how age at arrival and time in the United States might affect media use and acculturation. Immigrant groups have typically been studied in terms of the differences of assimilation among generations (first, second, third). Vietnamese Americans have lived in this country for at most 25 years, which is about the equivalent of one generation. A problem for this study, then, is whether the assimilation process can be detected within one generation. The analysis draws on data from a 1999 telephone survey in the Orange County, California, Vietnamese American community. The study’s findings indicate that assimilation differences among first generation immigrants – including newspaper language selection – can be delineated by age at arrival, length of residence in the United States, and the proportion of life spent in the United States.

Not like Me: How Minority Youth Distance Themselves From Risk • John R. Chapin, Penn State University • The third-person perceptions hypothesis posits that people believe others are more influenced by media messages than they are. The existing literature consistently documents that individuals make self vs. other distinctions when assessing media effects, but not how such distinctions are made. The current study sought to document the self/other distinction in third-person perception and to assess differences in how minority youth separate their own personal risk from that of others.

Translating ownership into action: A comparison of owner involvement and values at minority- and non-minority-owned broadcast stations • Stephanie Craft, University of Missouri • Research demonstrating that minority ownership of broadcast stations and programming diversity are linked also includes the counter-intuitive finding that owner involvement in station activities is not related to that link. This paper examines two ways owners may affect programming: through staff perceptions of shared values with the owner and through hiring. Results of a survey of minority- and non-minority-owned stations suggest that owner involvement is a significant predictor of perceived similarity, but not hiring.

Effects of Advertising Messages for Breast Cancer on African-American Women 5 Attitudes Toward Early Prevention • Cynthia M. Frisby, University of Missouri-Columbia • The present research examines and analyzes how African American women think and feel about specific communication strategies concerning breast cancer. Using a 2 x 2 experiment, advertising appeal and involvement, results indicated an interaction between involvement and appeal used in the ad. Ads using endorsers and survivors were found to be most effective in changing attitude toward breast cancer prevention for black women who expressed little interest in breast cancer prevention and early detection.

African Americans in the Brownsville (TN) States-Graphic: The Invisible Majority • Cynthia A. Bond Hopson, University of Memphis • During l960-l961, in Haywood County, Tennessee, African Americans got married, worked hard, took care of their children and did many of the same things that Whites did, however, most of their activities were never reported in the Brownsville States-Graphic, the local weekly newspaper. When there was news about African Americans, it was usually about crimes or catastrophe. This content analysis examined news items about African Americans in this small rural newspaper.

WELCOMING A VISITING IN-LAW: RACIAL SOLIDARITY AND PRESIDENT CLINTON’S IMAGE IN THE NIGERIAN PRESS • Minabere Ibelema, University of Alabama-Birmingham • This paper examines President Clinton’s image in the Nigerian press and relates it to the political philosophy of Pan-Africanism. The study draws especially from Nigerian press coverage of President Clinton’s visit to Nigeria in August 2000. The study employs the metaphor of the extended African family to illuminate the dynamics of the visit. The paper concludes that President Clinton’s positive image in the Nigerian press derived from the perception that Clinton was a friend of African Americans.

Racial Stereotyping and Mass Mediated Contact: A Comparative Analysis of African, Anglo, Asian and Latino Americans • Carol M. Liebler, Syracuse University and Richard D. Waters, University of Georgia • This study examines in-group bias, and the extremity-complexity and contact hypotheses in relation to media exposure, and crime and success stereotyping. A cross-sectional survey of African, Anglo, Asian and Latino Americans (n=491) illustrated that not only did stereotyping vary by group, but that interpersonal and mediated communication are both important factors to consider when conceptualizing and operationalizing contact, as is the type of media contact.

When Identities Collide: The African American struggle with dominant culture ideology during World War I and II • Earnest L. Perry, Texas Christian University • In the years leading up to America’s involvement in the war, African Americans had been denied jobs in the defense industry, turned away while attempting to volunteer for military service and when accepted forced to train at camps in the segregated South. During the war they could serve in support service units, such as construction, mechanical and mess duty. However, they were expected to remain loyal to American democracy. This study looks at the conflict between the role the dominant culture wanted African Americans to play during World War I and II, and the resentment it caused. During both wars, the African American press helped the community renegotiate its position within American society, reject the negative aspects of the dominant culture and re-establish relationships with those who supported democracy based on equality for all. This study, using double-consciousness as a theoretical approach and the narrative of African American hesitancy to support the dominant culture during two world wars, attempts to fill the gaps in this neglected area of historical study.

Student Research Papers

Commercials and Race: A Comparative Study of Blacks in Prime Time Advertising in Denmark and the United States • Tiffany Nicole Avery, Elon College. • While scholars in our country have investigated and discussed the impact of American racial stereotyping in the media, little is known about racial stereotyping in other countries. This comparative study examines prime-time television advertising in the United States and Denmark; and the presence of stereotyped images of people with dark skin. Comparing data collected during a study by Entman & Book (2000) with a similar assessment in Denmark, each advertisement was coded and examined.

Between Silence and Condemnation: A Discourse Analysis of Booker T. Washington’s Editorials and Private Writings on Lynching • Wanda Goins Brockington, Howard University • This paper examines the implications and motivation behind the rhetoric of Booker T. Washington and his public and private stance on lynching. Positioned as he was as a chosen leader, he became, in effect, a buffer between the injustices perpetrated against his people and the oppressors themselves. Understanding what is left unsaid is sometimes more revealing than what is actually said. Through the application of critical discourse analysis and employing the framework of strategic silence and cultural studies, the study found there was a marked difference in the public and private rhetoric Booker T. Washington used to discuss lynching.

The Relationship Between Television Exposure and Body Satisfaction Among Black College Women • Rockell A. Brown, Wayne State University • One image that the media exploit with great success is what constitutes beauty or attractiveness in women. By focusing on the relationship of Black women to this phenomenon, the study explores the extent of the relationship that exists between the amount of television exposure and body image among Black college females. Additionally, this investigation attempts to determine to what extent subjects are satisfied with their individual physical appearances, as well as whether subjects perceive Black female television personalities as exemplifying an idealized body image/type, and whether or not Black college students assess their physical appearance in terms of females that appear on television. The framework and research questions for this investigation are based on the social learning and social comparison theory. The design of the study involves survey research with participants being female students at a predominantly African American university.

Hispanic and Asian Presence and Portrayal in Minority Magazine Advertising From 1960s to 1980s • Hwi-Man Chung, North Carolina • This study first attempted to see how other minorities appeared and were portrayed in minority magazine ads, with an emphasis on black-oriented magazines. Previous historical observations and empirical studies about minorities in mass media have found that minorities in ads were less represented and were usually portrayed as less skilled than white models. This study also confirms the results of previous studies. From the 1960s to the 1980s, the frequency of black models in black-oriented magazine ads outnumbered the frequency of white models in main stream magazine ads. However, the blacks were still portrayed stereotypically in terms of occupations. That is, black models are most likely to portrayed as –entertainment-or Ôsports/athletic- figures in the ads. Furthermore, African Americans are usually targeted for alcohol and cigarette products. In terms of other minorities, Hispanics and Asians, both ethnic groups were less represented in black-oriented magazine ads. They were most often used in military recruiting ads and they were never portrayed as consumers in the ads. Instead, they were most often portrayed as below-skilled personnel in the ads, and usually depicted in service positions. Even though the government tried to include minorities in its ads, their occupations are highly skewed to certain types of categories such as mechanic, driver, or maintenance worker.

Terror Masked in Silence: Black Press Coverage of the Reconstruction-Era Ku Klux Klan • Mike Conway, University of Texas at Austin • The 1800-era Black press didnÕt back away from the most volatile issues of the time including slavery, emigration and lynching. But on the subject of the Ku Klux Klan, the editors were mostly silent. This paper strips away the years of revisionist history and looks at African-American owned newspapers’coverage of the original Klan. The paper explores the reasons why the Black press stayed away from coverage of the terrorist group and rarely mentioned it by name.

The Production of Latino As a Social Imaginary in La Raza (1972-1979) • Mirerza Gonazales-Velez • This paper presents the preliminary findings of a case study on La Raza newspaper (1973-1979). Newspapers, as archives of meanings, serve for the mediation, diffusion and re-articulation of discourses that enable people to familiarize with a community unlike their own. This is possible through the emergence of a “social imaginary,” a taken-for-granted truth that gives unity and order to people’s lives and facilitates the continuity of a collective that in Latino’s case is fragmented.

The Effects of Hispanic Model Ethnicity on White Viewers: An Exploratory Study • W. Buzz Hoon, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale • The purpose of this research was to explore the influences of models’ race on white viewers’ attitudes and purchase intentions. Previous research has offered mixed results in white subjects’ evaluations of ads with black models. This experiment manipulated Hispanic and white models in advertisements. Participants evaluated attitude toward the model, attitude toward the ad and purchase intention. Results indicate the use of Hispanics as advertising stimuli is relatively positive for white respondents.

Reaching Multicultural News Coverage Through Neutrality: An Examination of Newspaper Editorial Content on the Elian Gonzalez Custody Case in Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Communities • W. Buzz Hoon and Andy Lynch, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale • The purpose of this research was to examine editorial content on the custody case of Elian Gonzalez in newspapers located in Hispanic and non-Hispanic U. S. communities. Researchers analyzed the positions of 165 editorials on the case. Editorials in non-Hispanic communities’ newspapers were more often in favor of returning Gonzalez to Cuba (68%), while Hispanic newspapers were more neutral (43%). The data suggest that Hispanic newspapers did not present partisan content on the case.

<< 2001 Abstracts

Media Management and Economics Division

Megamedia: A Research Note Examining Communication Industry Concentration • Alan B. Albarran, University of North Texas • Concentration ratios within and across nine different segments of the communication industries were assessed by analyzing data over a five-year time frame. The data indicates most media industry segments are highly concentrated. Cross-industry concentration is also increasing, fueled by a number of mergers and acquisitions involving high-ranking firms. Implications of these findings are reviewed and discussed in the concluding section of the paper.

Market Structure and the Rise of Chains in the United States: A Case Study of the E. W. Scripps Company, 1878-1911 • Gerald J. Baldasty, University of Washington • This paper argues that the market structure of the newspaper industry circa 1900 propelled the emergence of newspaper chains. Only chains could compete against entrenched incumbent publishers. This paper focuses on three key areas: First, the modern industrial firm circa 1900; second, the newspaper industry market structure at that time and, third, the E. W. Scripps Company – the first U.S. newspaper chain-and its competition with older, family-based firms.

Content Differences between Daily Newspapers with Strong and Weak Market Orientations • Randal A. Beam, Indiana University • This paper reports on results of a content analysis of 10 daily newspapers, five that have a relatively strong market orientation and five that have a relatively weak market orientation. The results offer support for both critics and supporters of market-driven journalism. The findings suggest that information about government and public life dominates the content published on the main display pages of all papers. But the findings also suggest that market-driven newspapers publish fewer items about public life and more about so-called lifestyle issues.

Losing Local Owners in Small Markets • Todd Chambers, Texas Tech University • The passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 represented the culmination of the theoretical shift in the philosophy of broadcast ownership regulation. After decades of government regulations maintaining the structure of local broadcast markets, policies of deregulation slowly began to restructure local media markets under a marketplace approach to broadcast regulation. This study explored the consequences of shifting from a managed structure of regulation to an open market structure of deregulation in small media markets. Overall, the statistical analysis suggested that there was a limited impact on the number of local owners when considering the gradual change from regulation to deregulation. However, the data analysis suggested that there has been a negative impact on ownership diversity since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 in the small markets.

Public Ownership and Market Competition Effects on Newspaper CorporationsÕ Financial Performance: A Replication and Challenge • Kuang-Kuo Chang and Geri M. Alumit, Michigan State University • This study confirms conclusions made by Blakenburg and Ozanich in 1993 and Lacy, Shaver and St. Cyr in 1996 that the level of public ownership affects newspaper corporations’ financial performance. High levels of public ownership increased stock returns. This study however, disagrees with Lacy et al.’s finding that market competition affects newspaper corporations’ financial performance. The intensification of mergers, acquisitions and newspaper ownership clustering post-1996 may explain the contrasting results.

Motivating a More Diverse Newsroom: Exploring Different Needs of Women, Older and Married Reporters • Li-Jing Arthur Chang, Nanyang Technological University • This study explores the roles of demographic influences (age, gender, and marital status) in the way intrinsic needs (such as autonomy and sense of achievement), extrinsic needs (such as pay and promotion opportunities), and a neutral factor (i.e., both an intrinsic and extrinsic need) affect newspaper reporters’ job feelings. A total of 365 Texas newspaper reporters are surveyed for the study. Findings showed that special attention is needed to motivate women, older, and married employees.

The Globalization of Telecommunications Services: Alliances, Market Development, and Product Convergence • Sylvia Chan-Olmsted, University of Florida • This study examines the market and product expansion strategies that telecommunications companies have adopted to compete in the growingly integrated global market. Using a database of market activities, the author found that there have been widespread practices of within-industry expansions both domestically and internationally. Strategic alliances, especially mergers and acquisitions, seem to be the prevalent approach for market growth. The European telecom firms have been more interested in finding international allies for geographical market development than their U.S. counterparts. There has been more core business-related expansion as the wire-line telecom companies enter the wireless and Internet product markets. In regard to environmental factors that might impact a telecom firm’s strategic choice, this study found that the external factors of relative health of the economy, legal structure maturity, technological development, more established telecom/information infrastructure, and a slowing growth of demand for traditional wire-line telecom products set the stage for product convergence (i.e., inter-industry expansion). As for the environmental factors for the target company, logically, the degree of economic freedom, in addition to the similar external conditions listed earlier, were found to be significant.

Managing Internet-Delivered Radio: New Markets, New Revenue, New Operations Issues • Cheryl L. Evans, Northwestern Oklahoma State University and Steven K. Smethers, Oklahoma State University • Recent Arbitron studies show that the audience for Internet-delivered radio stations is reaching nearly one-fourth of the nation’s population. Webcasting has already added a visual component to radio, and promises to develop new markets and revenue streams. This study employs Delphi methodology to survey 50 expert panelists in an effort to ascertain the top operational challenges promulgated by this technology, and offers some recommendations for entrepreneurs seeking to launch Cyber radio enterprises.

The Sony Corporation: A Case Study in Transnational Media Management • Richard A. Gershon, Western Michigan University and Tsutomu Kanayama, Sophia University • The transnational corporation is a nationally based company with overseas operations in two or more countries. What distinguishes the transnational media corporation (TNMC) from other types of TNCs, is that the principle product being sold is information and entertainment. The following paper is a case study analysis of the SONY corporation; a leading TNMC in the production and sale of consumer electronics, music and film entertainment and videogame technology. Part I. of this paper examines the history and development of the Sony corporation. This paper argues that the business strategies and corporate culture of a TNMC are often a direct reflection of the person (or persons) who were responsible for developing the organization and its business mission. Part II. of this paper examines the Sony corporation as a transnational media corporation. Special attention is given to the subject of business strategy. A second argument of this paper is that while Sony is a transnational media corporation, the organization is decidedly Japanese in its business values. The significance of this research lies in its revelations concerning the complex changes facing a company that was once historically Japanese in its origins but is becoming increasingly transnational in scope and operations.

Different Voices, Same Script: How Newsmagazines Cover Media Consolidation Issues • Bryan Greenberg, Syracuse University • The increase in media consolidation over the past 20 years has led to a growing debate over the impact of ever-widening media conglomerates. An important and growing part of this debate revolves around how the media cover themselves. Through a content analysis of three newsmagazines, this study demonstrates that while editorial choices may differ as to story mix, coverage of consolidation is strikingly similar, framed as a battle of personalities, and not a matter of public interest.

B2B Electronic Exchanges in the Advertising Industry: Early Evidence of Impact on Media Buying • Anne M. Hoag, Penn State University • Thousands of electronic marketplaces have launched recently, serving business-to-business (B2B) trade in every industry including advertising. The value proposition is supply chain optimization – eliminating inefficiencies between sellers and buyers. Established practices in media buying are inefficient leading to higher costs. This represents opportunity for B2B exchanges. But is it? Or is it a passing fad? This paper examines the recent profusion of B2B advertising exchanges. Findings imply that while the incentives to eliminate inefficiencies in media buying are great, embeddedness, that is, firmly established social and cultural processes, present barriers to B2B exchange success in the short run. Competitive pressures outside the insular advertising agency sector, however, should prevail in the long run.

Managing in a Converged Environment: Threading Camels through Newly Minted Needles • Kenneth C. Killebrew, University of South Florida • This research examines the complexities of managing journalists ill a new media or converged environment. The article examines traditional management, social psychology and persuasion literature in a discussion of the problems facing convergence managers. It uses recent examples of convergence problems with WFLA-TV, The Tampa Tribune and TBO.com in Tampa, Florida. The paper concludes with actions that should be taken by media managers to ensure their convergence endeavors are successful

The Impact of Competition on Weekly Newspaper Advertising Rates • Stephen Lacy, Michigan State University, David C. Coulson, University of Nevada-Reno, and Hiromi Cho, Ibaraki Christian University • This national study of 432 weekly newspapers found that competition from other weeklies in a county was correlated with a lower cost-per-thousand ad rate. However, when a subsample of 236 weeklies with intense competition was analyzed, this relationship with cost per thousand disappeared. Instead, the data showed that as competition became more intense, a weekly’s open-column-inch ad rates decreased. Also, when market size was control for, ad rates for paid weeklies did not different from free weeklies’ ad rates.

Impact of Context Effects on Evaluation of New Shows in Lead-In/Lead-Out Context • Jack C.C. Li and Jaemin Jung, University of Florida • This study conducted an experiment to explore the impact of context effect on the evaluation of a new show, incorporating lead-in and lead-out scheduling techniques. Results show that contrast effect or assimilation effect occurs, depending on whether the surrounding program is of the same or a different genre. The same context effects occurred regardless whether the target show was viewed first (i.e., lead-out) or after the context show (i.e., lead-in). It was also found that the assimilation effect tended to be the largest in the lead-out/different-genre condition, and contrast effect was the highest in the lead-in/same-genre condition of all experimental conditions. Implications about scheduling strategies in the introduction of new series were discussed.

Remembering the DuMont Network: A Case Study Approach • Walter S. McDowell, Southern Illinois University • The brief ill fated history of the DuMont TV network serves as a useful case study for understanding the interactive effects of untried technology, frustrating regulation and ruthless economics on a new media venture. Unlike prior studies that took a more historical point of view, this paper embraces a business case study approach to demonstrate how contemporary media management lessons still can be learned from studying the fateful decisions surrounding the demise of America’s original fourth TV network

Horizontal Integration in the Cable Television Industry: History and Context • Patrick R. Parsons, Penn State University • This paper offers an historical review and analysis of horizontal integration in the cable television industry. It traces ownership patterns from the inception of the earliest MSOs to the formation of today’s industry behemoths. It is a business history that provides a panoramic view of the slow but steady concentration of holdings in the industry and looks at the contemporaneous forces that either accelerated or retarded such formation at given points in its development.

When Ideas and Reality Collide: A Four-Year Case Study of Editor Cole Campbell’s Organizational Change Initiatives at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch • Earnest Perry, Texas Christian University and Peter Gade, University of Oklahoma • After a tumultuous three-and-a-half years at the helm of the newspaper rich in Pulitzer tradition, Cole C. Campbell resigned as editor in April 2000. Campbell’s tenure had been marked by an ambitious attempt to change the culture of the news organization. This study includes surveys of newsroom employees in 1996 (the week before Campbell began as editor), 1997, 1998 and 2000 (after he resigned). Results show Campbell had some success at changing news values, but reorganization to a team system of reporting has not worked well, the staff did not see a connection between change and better journalism, and morale was low at the time Campbell resigned. organizational theory can be used to help explain the staff’s perceptions about why change initiatives failed.

Audience Economics of European Union Public Service Broadcasters: Assessing the Performance in Competitive Markets • Robert G. Picard, Turku School of Economics and Business Administration • This paper explores the economics of audiences and applies the approaches to public service broadcasters in the European Union. It suggests and applies a method for analyzing the contemporary performance of public broadcasters using market shares. The study funds that, as a whole, public service broadcasters are performing better than statistically expectations, that public service broadcasting is generally maintaining market leadership, and that higher market share performance is associated with less government funding.

RATE-SETTING PROCEDURES FOR PREPRINT ADVERTISING AT NONDAILY NEWSPAPERS • Ken Smith, University of Wyoming • This study examines the procedures used by nondaily publishers in setting their preprint rates and compares them to ROP rate-setting procedures. The findings indicate that target-profit pricing is the main procedure used for setting both preprint and ROP rates but with one important difference. Preprint target pricing includes the cost of distributing the preprints only. ROP target pricing considers all costs in running a newspaper, including the cost of producing news.

Market Structure and Local Signal Carriage Decisions in the Cable Television Industry • Michael Zhaoxu Yan, University of Michigan • Using historical data collected by the General Accounting Office (GAO) in 1990, a time when must-carry rules were not in effect, the paper empirically tested the effects of horizontal concentration, vertical integration and other system-specific variables on cable operators’ carriage decisions regarding local broadcast stations. The results from the Zero-inflated Negative Binomial model (a count model) indicated that horizontal concentration or firm size had negative effect on the carriage of local broadcast stations on cable systems, holding other factors constant. The study, however, did not find any significant effect for vertical integration.

<< 2001 Abstracts

Media Ethics Division

Social Dimensions of Ethics Decisions in Newswork: A Comparison Across Ethical Situations • Dan Berkowitz, University of Iowa and Yehiel Limor, Tel-Aviv University • This paper studied decisions about ethical problems in newsgathering through five social dimensions: individual, small group, organizational, professional, and societal. Data were gathered through a mail survey of reporters in one Midwest state. Results found two broad response patterns, one basing decisions chiefly on professional autonomy and public interest, and another pattern that considered all five social dimensions more broadly. These patterns were most clearly distinguished by a reporter’s degree of professional experience.

The Ethics Agenda of the Mass Communication Professoriate • Jay Black, University of South Florida, Bruce Garrison, University of Miami, Fred Fedler, University of Central Florida, and Doug White, University of South Florida • This study reviews a growing body of faculty ethics literature and surveys one-third of the AEJMC membership about its attitudes toward 65 different issues. Forty-eight percent of the 775 people who received the mail questionnaire in late 2000 provided usable responses. They indicated that in many respects journalism and mass communications faculty are very similar to colleagues from other disciplines, but on many items, are far more sensitive to the welfare of students.

History, Hate and Hegemony: What’s a Journalist To Do? • Bonnie Brennen and Lee Wilkins, University of Missouri • This paper focuses on the distribution of a KKK flier in Columbia, Missouri, as a case study through which to explore the responsibility of journalists confronting the issue of hate speech. It draws on Antonio Gramsci’s concept of hegemony, which is contrasted with an ethically-based discussion of the societal impact of hate speech. In an effort to help journalists cover hate without furthering its ends, this paper concludes with some practical advice for journalists that is grounded in communitarian theory and the notion of journalism as a transformational activity.

The Role of Questions in TV News Coverage of the Ethics of Cloning • David A. Craig and Vladan Pantic, University of Oklahoma • This study is a qualitative analysis of how the ethics of cloning was portrayed in 36 network TV news pieces after the cloning of Dolly the sheep in 1997. It focuses on ethical questions, a prominent feature of most of the stories. All but a few questions pointed to issues of ethical duty or consequences, though often only in general terms. Responsible uses of questions are discussed, along with uses that distorted or sensationalized.

Characterizing Plagiarism: An Interdisciplinary Critical Analysis • Victoria Smith Ekstrand, University of North Carolina • This paper presents an interdisciplinary analysis of the literature on plagiarism in an effort to inform the discussion on plagiarism in journalism. It argues that characterizations of journalistic plagiarism as a recent trend work against solving the problem. It identifies three characterizations of plagiarism the behavioral, empirical and structuralist approaches – and argues that industry observers tend to see journalistic plagiarism through the behavioral lens and would benefit from a more comprehensive view.

The Fairness Factor: Exploring the Perception Gap Between Journalists and the Public • Deborah Gump, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Few moral frameworks as formed as early in life as fairness, and few are more difficult to define. While journalists focus on professional values of even-handed and dispassionate reporting as the basis of fairness, readers often include social values of compassion and respect. This paper offers a definition of fairness within the contexts of procedural and distributive justice and uses two surveys to find that journalists and the public hold different values for three of four selected elements of fairness: accuracy, balance, respect, and reporting expertise in a subject area. Journalists and the public are also found to be poor judges of how the other values the four elements.

WHAT WOULD THE EDITOR DO? A THREE-YEAR STUDY OF STUDENT- JOURNALISTS AND THE NAMING OF RAPE VICTIMS IN THE PRESS • Kim E. Karloff, California State University-Northridge • According to recent surveys, 80 percent of Americans say the news media “often invade people’s privacy,” 52 percent say they think the news media abuse the First Amendment, and 82 percent think reporters are insensitive to people’s pain. In the case of whether or not those in the press should name or not name the survivors of rape, journalism students – those who will be making these decisions in the future – have offered even more opinions, newsroom policy suggestions, and optimism. The purpose of this three-year, 140-student study was to examine how these future journalists might write/rewrite newsroom policy on naming names. Their responses include: a call to publish names, but only if the victim asks for or consents to identification; a charge to lessen the impact of the social stigma attached to the crime; and a request for the ethical treatment of rape victims and survivors.

Applying Sociological Theory to Statements on News Principles: Functionalist, Monopolist, and Public Service/Status Claims in Four Recent Journalism Ethics Codes • Susan Keith, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill • This paper examined four recently written or rewritten journalism ethics codes in light of functionalist, monopolist, and public service/status views of professional ethics described in the sociological literature. All three types of theoretical elements were present in the Gannett newspapers, Radio-Television News Directors Association, and Tampa Tribune codes. However, the American Association of Sunday and Features Editors code featured only monopolist elements. As predicted in Andrew Abbott’s work on professional ethics, the elements present in the codes corresponded roughly to the external pressures on the organizations that wrote them.

Impartial Spectator in the Marketplace of Ideas: The Principles of Adam Smith as an Ethical Basis for Regulation of Corporate Speech • Robert L. Kerr, The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill • This integrative essay offers an ethical basis justifying regulation of corporate speech, based on the neglected moral and political theories of Adam Smith. His essential tenets on free markets are applied to the First Amendment marketplace of ideas concept that has been prominent in developing corporate free-speech rights. It is argued that regulation of corporate speech cam actually enable more ideas to flourish in the political marketplace – advancing utilitarian ideals of the common good.

Privacy and the pack: Ethical considerations faced by local papers covering the JFK Jr. plane crash • Mark W. Mulcahy, University of Missouri-Columbia • Local journalists covering the deaths of John F. Kennedy Jr., Carolyn Kennedy and Lauren Bessette primarily dealt with three ethical dilemmas. The first issue was the invasion of the Kennedys’ privacy through photographs. Second, reporters had to consider privacy, accuracy and credibility in their use of unnamed sources. The third issue was how increased competition affected the journalists’ ethical decision-making. This case study examines the link between those dilemmas and local journalists’ behavior.

Leaks: How Do Codes of Ethics Address Them? • Taegyu Son, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This paper is to analyze how journalistic codes of ethics wrestle with the matter of leaks. Leaks are an important means for the government to control the media. In order to maintain their competitiveness, journalists become the government’s managerial tool, often ignoring fundamental precepts of journalism ethics – independence and the fourth estate function. Codes of ethics have been the most widely used mechanism for journalistic accountability. None of the 41 codes analyzed explicitly mentions leaks.

<< 2001 Abstracts

Mass Communication and Society Division

Marginalized Groups in Society: The “Coolie” Barrister: Mahatma Gandhi as a Leader of Racially and Socially Marginalized Groups in South Africa (1888-1914) • Debashis “Deb” Aikat, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill • Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) had an eventful career as a lawyer-turned politician-journalist working for racially and socially marginalized groups in South Africa By identifying the problems of socially marginalized groups, Gandhi fought against systematic oppression, reductions in social services for the needy, and other inequitable social trends. This paper documents the evolution of Gandhi as a journalist in South Africa and his early experience with the press from 1888 to 1914. While exploring the early journalistic career of Gandhi, this historical study focuses upon Gandhi’s introduction to newspapers and earliest writings; the political background of his entry into journalism, especially his struggle against racism m South Africa; his contributions as the guiding spirit of the Indian Opinion, the weekly newspaper he helped launch in South Africa in 1903; and the ethical issues raised by him, the very issues that were to become his primary concerns as an international leader of non-violence and socially marginalized groups.

Believability and Satisfaction: Media Credibility in a Midwestern Community • Christopher E. Beaudoin, Esther Thorson and George Kennedy, University of Missouri-Columbia • The current study explores media credibility in light of declines being experienced by both daily newspapers and television news programs. Credibility is operationalized in terms of media believability and satisfaction. Mass media use is measured, via 27 items, for the four main news media: newspapers, television, Internet, and radio. Contrary to previous research, the study finds few demographic antecedents to media believability and satisfaction. The study does, however, second prior studies by finding strong associations between mass media use and both believability and satisfaction. The study demonstrates that Internet news satisfaction levels are higher than the other media—but lower when it comes to believability. The findings rise from a telephone survey of adults in a Midwestern community.

Ugly for Life: Exposure to Sports Coverage of the Olympic Games, Sports Participation and Body Image Distortion in Women 18-75 • Kimberly L. Bissell, University of Alabama • Many studies offer clear evidence that exposure to TDP (thinness depicting and promoting) media leads to distorted body image perceptions in school-age females and college women. This study examined the relationship between sports media exposure during the Olympic Games and sports participation to body image attitudes in women between 18-75. Women in this age group were used in this study because most studies of this nature typically look at effects on college women or young girls. Age was directly related to sports participation and sports exposure, and more importantly, it was found that many older women were as unhappy with their body shape as younger women. Both sports media exposure and sports participation were predictors of body image attitudes, with exposure and participation in lean sports leading to more negative attitudes.

Web and Traditional Media Use in the 2000 Presidential Election • Thomas P. Boyle, Susquehanna University • This study focuses on the web and traditional media sources during the 2000 presidential campaign. A random telephone survey of Pennsylvania state residents (N=392) in the month before the general election indicated the televised debates and a visit to a candidate web site lead to greater knowledge about candidate issue positions. Visiting candidate web sites and attention to traditional sources were predictors of campaign interest while attention to radio increased likelihood to vote.

Media Participation: A Legitimizing Mechanism of Mass Democracy • Erik P. Bucy and Kimberly S. Gregson, Indiana University-Bloomington • This paper reconsiders civic involvement and citizen empowerment in light of interactive media and elaborates the concept of media participation. Departing from conventional notions of political activity that downplay the participatory opportunities inherent in communication media, we argue that new media/formats have, since 1992, made accessible to citizens a political system that had become highly orchestrated, professionalized, and exclusionary. A typology of active, passive, and inactive political involvement is presented to accurately distinguish civic involvement from political disengagement and to categorize the types of empowerment and rewards—both material and symbolic—that different modes of civic activity afford. Even if only symbolically empowering, civic engagement through new media serves as an important legitimizing mechanism of mass democracy.

Bridging the Gap Between Perception and Behavior: Psychological Distance in First-Person Perception • John Chapin, Penn State University • The third-person perception hypothesis posits that people believe others are more influenced by media messages than they are. The existing literature consistently documents that individuals make self vs. other distinctions when assessing media effects, but not how such distinctions are made. The current study sought to document the self/other distinction in third-person perception and to assess differences in how individuals separate their own personal risk from that of others. Findings of a survey of 180 urban minority youth conform the presence of third-person perception and significant self/other distinctions in media effects. A clear split between cognitive and social predictors emerged when assessing differences in self/other distinctions. Participants relied on cognitive factors when assessing their own risk, while relying more heavily on self-esteem when assessing the relative risk of others. Liking and trust of the media was the only shared correlate of self/other distinctions in third-person perception.

A Structural Analysis of the Mediated Civic Participation on Human Rights Issues: Comparing the Mainstream with the Alternative Newspapers in Korea • Bum Soo Chon, State University of New York at Buffalo, Yun Sook Song, Korean Press Foundation and Won Yong Jang, State University of New York at Buffalo • Using the network analysis, this paper examines how two newspapers, the mainstream and alternative, have represented interactions between civic organizations and various under-represented issues such as human rights in the news coverage. The results suggest that although most human rights issues and organizations were clustered at peripheral positions for the mainstream newspaper, they formed a dense cluster for the alternative newspaper. Simply, the alternative newspaper’s coverage of civic participation oil human rights issues represents the various discourses of civil society in a more connected way, while the mainstream newspaper tended to cover them separately.

Sports Exposure, Identification and Viewer Aggression • Steve Collins, University of Texas-Arlington • Survey data (n=624) were used to test the relationship between exposure to televised sports and viewer aggression. The results indicate there is a correlation between exposure to certain sports and viewer aggression. For example, professional wrestling exposure correlated with physical aggression for the entire sample and predicted verbal aggression among men. Consistent with social cognitive theory, one’s level of identification with athletes on television is among the strongest predictors of physical and verbal aggression.

Misrepresentations of the Race of Juvenile Criminals on Local Television News • Travis L. Dixon and Cristina Azocar, University of Michigan • A content analysis of a random sample of local television news programming in Los Angeles and Orange counties was conducted to assess representations of Black, Latino and White juvenile law-breakers. “Intergroup” comparisons of perpetrators (Black and Latino vs. white) revealed that Black and Latino juveniles are significantly more likely than White juveniles to be portrayed as law-breakers on television news. “Inter-reality” comparisons of law breakers (television news vs. crime reports from the California Department of Justice) revealed that Black juveniles are overrepresented, Latino juveniles are underrepresented and White juveniles were neither over- nor underrepresented as perpetrators on television news. Society’s understanding of public issues changes over time. Here, we use media indexes to systematically and reliably account for such change and to measure social context. We systematically represent the classification systems and subject headings the Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature uses to archive media coverage of poverty from 1929 – 1998 and test whether these representations replicate the findings of social historians regarding the development of American poverty policy and discourse. We believe this measure has value for scholars interested in agenda-setting, framing, the dynamics of public and media discourse, and public opinion.

In Search of the Zeitgeist: A Systematic Approach to Measuring Social Context• Jill A. Edy, Middle Tennessee State University, and Regina G. Lawrence, Portland State University • Society’s understanding of public issues changes over time. Here, we use media indexes to systematically and reliably account for such change and to measure social context. We systematically represent the classificiation systems and subject headings the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature uses to archive media coverage of poverty from 1929 to 1998 and test whether these representations replicate the findings of social historians regarding the development of American poverty policy and discourse. We believe this measure has value for scholars interested in agenda-setting, framing, the dynamics of public and media discourse, and public opinion.

Assessing Causality: A Panel Study of Motivations, Information Processing and Learning During Campaign 2000 • William P. Eveland, Jr., Ohio State University, Dhavan V. Shah, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Nojin Kwak, University of Michigan • This two-wave panel study was designed to test the causal claims of the cognitive mediation model. The data indicate strong support for these claims. Motivations influenced information processing, information processing influenced knowledge, and motivations influenced knowledge only indirectly through information processing. Additional analyses demonstrated that our theoretical variables are not related in a simple unidirectional causal pattern. Future research should consider the reciprocal nature of relationships between information processing and knowledge.

Learning from the News in Campaign 2000: An Experimental Comparison of TV News, Newspapers, and Online News • William P. Eveland, Jr., Mihye Seo and Krisztina Marton, Ohio State University • This study contributes to research on learning differences across media by extending television news versus newspaper comparisons to include online news and seeking to produce a more ecologically valid result from experimental findings. Results suggest that medium has only a limited direct impact on the amount of learning. Attention, however, is significantly influenced by characteristics of the medium and the experimental stimulus, and this in turn influences learning.

Media Ownership and ‘Bias:’ A Case Study of News Magazine Coverage of the 2000 Presidential Election Campaign • Craig Flournoy, Danielle Sarver and Nicole Smith, Louisiana State University • The hypothesis of this paper is that a publicly held media property-such as Newsweek or Time-will be more likely to display objectivity in its news coverage than a privately held media company such as U.S. News and World Report. To test this, the authors conducted a content analysis of the three major news magazines’ coverage of the 2000 presidential campaign. The results of the content analysis of the three magazines support the hypothesis.

Violence vs. Sex: Differences in Rap Lyrics by Male and Female Artists • Rhonda Gibson and Joe Bob Hester, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill • Popular rap songs were coded for artist gender, genre, female images, and violent themes. Female artists were more likely to perform “booty” rap, while male artists primarily performed “gangsta” rap. Lyrics often contained references to women as sex objects; however, female artists were more likely to refer to women as strong. Female artists were less likely to use violent themes. Gangsta rap was more likely than booty rap to contain violent themes. The authors argue that it is unwise to lump all rap artists together when criticizing lyrics for violent, sexual, and misogynous themes.

Mobilizing Information in Newspaper Editorial Pages: An Endangered Species? • Gary Gray and William F. Griswold, The University of Georgia • This study analyzes newspaper editorial pages from three newspapers in 1959, 1969, 1979, 1989 and 1999 to determine how much mobilizing information was offered to readers of these pages at different times. Results indicate that the level of mobilizing information in these pages, after rising from 1959 to 1969, has declined steadily since then. The authors suggest that this trend may be one factor contributing to a decline in civic participation in the United States.

Video Games and the Elusive Search for their Effects on Children: An Assessment of Twenty Years of Research • James D. Ivory, University of Wyoming • This paper assesses 20 years of research into the effects of video games on children. Studies reveal dispute over effects, with findings of negative effects disputed by other research. Further complicating the issue is the fact that the medium has rapidly evolved technologically, making problematic any comparisons of video game studies over time. The author concludes that a workable or precise model of video game effects on children seems unlikely in the near future.

DO NEWSPAPERS KEEP AUTONOMY IN TIMES OF NATIONAL CRISIS? : A CASE STUDY OF THE IMF CRISIS IN KOREA 1997-1999 • Irkwon Jeong, Ohio State University • This study investigated whether newspapers keep autonomy in times of national crises based on content analysis. Toward this, it examined the editorials concerning the IMF crisis in Korea that lasted from Nov. 1997 to Oct. 1999 in two Korean newspapers with different ideological positions. The content difference between the newspapers in the editorials relevant to the IMF crisis was in accordance with their ideological stance, which infers that newspapers keep autonomy in times of national crises.

Redefining homelessness: How Tucson recyclers resist the media’s stereotyping • Deborah Kaplan, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill • This paper is an ethnographic case study of how five homeless recyclers in Tucson experience, and possibly challenge or resist, the dominant discourse on homelessness. The study found that the informants struggled daily, both in their discourse and dumpster-diving routines, to redefine the terms that stigmatize them as the market’s “failures.” They redefined themselves in the process as self-sufficient, self-determining workers. As “survivors,” in a word.

A Web for All Reasons: Uses and Gratifications of Internet Resources for Political Information • Barbara K. Kaye, University of Tennessee and Thomas J. Johnson, Southern Illinois University • This study surveyed politically interested Internet users online during the 2000 presidential election to examine their motives for using Web, bulletin boards/electronic mailing lists and chat forums for political information and to determine whether political attitudes, Internet experience and personal characteristics predict Internet use motivations. The findings indicate that each Internet resource satisfies slightly different needs, which can be predicted by certain variables. Additionally, results from this study are compared to findings from an earlier study of politically interested Web users during the 1996 presidential election.

Internet Technology Empowers Marginalized Labor Movements in South Korea: A Case Study • Tae-hyun Kim, Washington State University • This study employed Resource Mobilization (RM) theory to study how the Internet provided a marginalized South Korean social movement organization (SMO) with a means to mobilize resources. The study found that unique transmission properties of the Internet, particularly with the World Wide Web feature, allowed an SMO to publish, contact, and interact with external audience at a reduced cost. In-depth interviews were conducted to provide accounts about how an SMO actually used the Internet to carry out strike activities and mobilize support from sympathetic international non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Better Informed, No Say: Internet News Use and Political Efficacy • Young Mie Kim, University of Illinois-Urbana, Champaign • At the apogee of the democracy, the decline of political efficacy is regarded as one of the most prominent problems. Given that the essence of democracy is citizens’ autonomous control over political decision making and trust in representative government, restoration of political efficacy is an urgent concern to both policymakers and academic researchers. Embracing normative concern, many scholars pay attention to the Internet as a new form of news media, expecting the Internet news use to play a role in restoring political efficacy. Yet, few studies have tapped the relationship between Internet use and political efficacy with earnest theory and method. By differentiating the sub-concepts of political efficacy, that is, internal and external political efficacy, and by looking at the distinctive features of the Internet as a new form of news media, the present paper explored the relationship between Internet news use and political efficacy. Using a survey data, the present study examined whether the Internet news use enhanced the internal and the external political efficacy. The study found that Internet news use uniquely contributed to increase of internal political efficacy, even after controlling for basic possible explanatory variables including tradition news media use. However, Internet use did not make a contribution to increase of external political efficacy. Implications of the results were discussed.

Agenda Setting & Attitudes: An Exploration of Political Figures During the 1996 Presidential Election • Spiro Kiousis, Iowa State University • The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudinal consequences of agenda setting on political figures during the 1996 presidential election. In particular, the analysis probes the relationships among media coverage, public salience, and the strength of public attitudes towards a set of 11 political figures. Using literature from agenda setting, attitude strength, and the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion, we explore such relationships. Findings indicate that increased media attention to political figures is correlated with higher levels of public salience and attitude strength. Further, the data suggest that these linkages vary according to levels of audience motivation. Finally, the implications of the results are discussed.

Media and Democracy: News Media’s Political Alienation Effect in Both Election and Non-Election Settings • Tien-tsung Lee, Washington State University • Many studies about news media’s alienation effects are limited to an election framework. One may wonder whether the news media politically alienate the general public during non-election times. Also, most political alienation studies rely on a relatively small local sample. In order to go beyond the limited paradigm of elections, as well as to provide a more representative sample, this study analyzes both a national political survey and a national consumer research data set. Contrary to what many other studies have suggested, our findings suggest that the news media do not lead to political alienation in either settings.

Exploring the Digital Divide: Internet Connectedness and Age • William E. Loges and Joo-Young Jung, University of Southern California • “Digital divide” is usually defined as access or lack of access to the Internet. This study demonstrates differences in Internet connectedness, a multi-dimensional concept that includes the scope and intensity of people’s Internet use. Age is shown to be significantly associated not just with access, but with a narrower range of personal goals and a smaller range of places for connecting to the Internet. Nonetheless, older respondents evaluate the Internet to be as central to their lives as younger people do.

Word People vs. Picture People: Normative Differences and Strategies for Control Over Work among Newsroom Subgroups • Wilson Lowrey, Mississippi State University • Tensions between “word journalists” and “picture journalists” support the notion that journalism is not a singular, monolithic occupation, but instead is subdivided into occupational subgroups, representing different areas of expertise. This study asks a number of questions: Which norms do members of occupational subgroups involved with news presentation observe and to what degree? By what strategies do subgroups attempt to gain greater legitimacy and control over their work? Interview findings suggest news workers follow three sets of norms in news presentation work: integrative norms, which represent the values of internal consistency and efficiency, journalistic norms and artistic norms.

Setting the Stage for the Hutchins Commission: Pre-1947 Government Restrictions on Free Expression • Jane S. McConnell, University of Oklahoma • This paper examines press criticism and First Amendment law in the first half of the twentieth century as significant parts of the cultural backdrop for the Hutchins Commission’s conclusion in 1947 that government control might be necessary to ensure press responsibility. It also demonstrates that government restrictions on free expression may have been an important influence on the way Americans – and the commission members in particular -viewed journalistic autonomy in a democracy.

The Effects of Campaign Advertising Coverage on Candidate Evaluation, Candidate Preference, and the Likelihood of Voting An Experimental Analysis • Young Min, University of Texas-Austin • Attending to the increase in campaign ad coverage, the present experimental study examines the joint effects of advertising and campaign news. More specifically, this study investigates the impacts of the tone of the ad under review and the tone of the news analysis of the ad in ad-watch reports on individuals’ candidate evaluations, their candidate preferences, and their likelihood of turning out to vote. Findings indicate that both advertising tone and news-analysis tone have significant effects on individuals’ evaluations of candidate credibility; the subjects exposed to a negative ad or a deflating tone of news analysis perceived the candidate sponsoring the ad as less honest and less believable than did those exposed to a positive ad or a reinforcing tone of news analysis. More importantly, the tone of the news analysis did significantly swing individuals’ likelihood of voting for the sponsoring candidate; a deflating tone of journalistic comments on a campaign ad substantially decreased the audiences’ preferences toward the sponsor. Furthermore, the data do not support an across-the-board “negativity-demobilizing” hypothesis; neither negative advertising nor deflating news analyses significantly depressed individuals’ participatory intentions.

Perception vs. Reality: Comparing actual newspaper coverage of lesbian and gay issues with readers’ impressions • Sheila T. Murphy and Leroy Aarons, University of Southern California • The present research used both surveys and focus groups to assess readers’ perceptions of the coverage of gay and lesbian-related issues by four major newspapers – The Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Los Angeles Times, The Saint Louis Post Dispatch, and The New York Times. In general, both gay and straight readers felt that coverage of gays and lesbians was extremely sparse, event-driven, conflictual in nature, did not provide a sufficient local context and, consequently, did not reflect their own lives. These reader perceptions were then contrasted against the results of a month-long content analysis of these same newspapers.

Newspapers & the Internet: A Comparative Assessment of News Credibility • Gregg A. Payne, David M. Dozier and Afsheen J. Nomai, San Diego State University • An experiment examined differences in credibility assigned to news stories read in paper form and an identical story read on a web site. Randomly assigned control and test groups exposed to six identical news stories assessed the credibility of the articles they using an established, reliable credibility index. News appearing on a web site was evaluated as less credible for all three categories of news, when compared to paper distribution. However, only two were statistically significant. Credibility judgments differed as a function of news topics.

Can Using Qualifiers Initiate Active Processing of Exemplars? • Stephen D. Perry, John Beesley, Dave Jorgensen, Dave Novak and Kari Catuara, Illinois State University • Studies of exemplification effects have regularly found that the distribution of exemplars can alter perceptions of opinion in news coverage. This study attempts to negate the impact of exemplars through using qualifying statements that suggest that either exemplars are non-representative, or that they represent things that are happening more and more. Results indicate that the impact of the distribution of exemplars is too strong to be overcome by using such statements.

From Wall Street to Main Street: An Analysis of Stock Market Recommendations on TV Business News Programs • Bruce L. Plopper and Anne F. Conaway, University of Arkansas-Little Rock • Mass media business news coverage grew significantly in the last 20 years, American stock ownership proliferated in the 1990s, and stock analysts’ recommendations in 2000 were overwhelmingly positive. Based on these facts, this study analyzed experts’ stock recommendations as presented on four highly popular and easily accessible TV business news programs during the last quarter of 2000. Although results showed differences among programs, an overall positive bias existed when programs were viewed as a whole.

The Importance of Receiver Interpretation Variables In Media Effects Experiments • W. James Potter and Tami K. Tomasello, Florida State University • In this study, we argue that conventional media effects experiments exhibit a major limitation that prevents their findings from being more useful. This limitation involves the disregard of receiver interpretation variables. We hypothesize that viewer judgments about violent program content will be explained less by the treatment condition and receiver attribute variables than by individual interpretations of the contextual factors in the presentations. Results from an experiment designed to include receiver interpretation variables support this hypothesis.

Raising another voice: Framing the civil rights movement through ads in The New York Times • Susan D. Ross, Washington State University • Framing and social movement theories and research find that news coverage critical to movement success tends to ignore, marginalize, or undermine social movements. This study examines twenty-six ads sponsored by civil rights groups in The New York Times between 1954 and 1970 to analyze advertising as a means of positive self-framing by the movement. Findings suggest the benefits of advertising framing may be limited by factionalism within the movement or deceptive advertising by movement opponents.

When no news is not good news, ignorance is not bliss, and your mama may not have told you: Female adolescent information holding and seeking about sexually transmitted diseases • Donna Rouner and Rebecca Lindsey, Colorado State University • Health researchers acknowledge a limited understanding of the social context of adolescents regarding their decision-making behaviors about serious health issues, such as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and pregnancy prevention, as well as other concerns. Communication research suggests inadequate knowledge about interpersonal and mediated communication patterns of adolescents, particularly on matters related to sexual decision making. This study looks at one adolescent subgroup, 18-year-old females, and explores their perceptions of themselves regarding their ability to make sound health decisions, their information holding and use about STDs, media and interpersonal communication channel use, their knowledge and perceived knowledge levels. Fifteen first-year college students from a Western university engaged in depth interviews. Findings suggested strong confidence, but weakly developed self-concepts relative to this subject area; low amounts and inaccurate information holding, difficulty finding information from mediated sources and limited interpersonal communication. Suggestions for pursuing this line of research are included.

“A Tale of Two Presidents”: Media Effects and Divergent Trends in Mass Evaluations of Clinton • Dhavan V. Shah, University of Wisconsin-Madison, David Domke, University of Washington and David P. Fan, University of Minnesota • Public opinion about Bill Clinton as President, particularly during his second term in office, was notable for two markedly divergent time trends: (a) remarkably high approval of his job performance, and (b) remarkably low evaluations of his honesty and trustworthiness. With these differing public opinion trends in mind, several pollsters, pundits, and scholars have argued that news coverage of the President must have been largely irrelevant, or influential in ways that are incongruent with traditional political communication models. We disagree. Specifically, we advance a theory that argues that citizens’ political preferences are influenced substantially by heuristics, particularly “cues” and “frames” provided by news media. To test our ideas, we draw upon two types of data: (a) a longitudinal content analysis of major news media January 1993 to January 2001, and (b) corresponding time-trends of opinion polls on the President’s job approval and his honesty. Analyses reveal that over-time news media emphasis upon and framing of certain issue domains coverage of the economy, presidential character, and the Monica Lewinsky scandal can explain changes in mass evaluations of Clinton’s approval and honesty throughout his presidency, including the marked divergence in these trends during the “Lewinsky period.”

The Effects of Warning Labels on Cellular Phones in Korea • Sung Wook Shim, University of Florida, and Jongmin Park, Pusan National University • The present study sought to determine the effectiveness of warning labels about cellular phones in different conditions. This study found a difference between high-credibility source and low-credibility source of the warning label. However, there were no significant differences between high-fear appeal and low-fear appeal and use time (low, medium, high). Even though there is no significant difference between high fear appeal and low fear appeal, high fear appeal might have an impact on the perception of subjects about warning labels in terms of mean score. Finally, source might be an important factor to make warning labels on the cellular phones in Korea. Also, using high credible source might have a positive impact on warning labels.

A Two-Way Interaction Channel with Voters or A New Political Marketing Tool?-The Role of Candidates’ Campaigning Websites in Taiwan’s 2000 Presidential Election • Tai-Li Wang, Shih-Hsin University • This study intended to understand how the presidential candidates used their campaign websites to communicate with their voters in Taiwan’s 2000 presidential election. An eight-week content analysis of the candidates’ websites, a series of in-depth interviews with the campaign managers, and an e-mail survey of the campaign website users, all together, helped to understand whether or not two-way interactive campaigns were undertook in this historical election. Results showed that the “interactivity” between presidential candidates and voters was more of an illusion in Taiwan’s 2000 campaign than a reality. Both the candidates and the voters seemed not ready for an “interactive communication model” promoted by advocates of “electronic democracy”. Discussions are offered to explain the findings, and suggestions are made for future studies.

Modern Gladiators: A Content Analysis of Televised Wrestling • Hyung-Jin Woo and Yeora Kim, University of Georgia • The purpose of this study is to explore how antisocial factors on televised wrestling are represented in match/non-match time and in the three different television time zones such as prime time, after midnight time, and weekend morning time. Based on previous violence studies, the antisocial factors (aggressive acts, desensitization of violated rules, and glamorization of violence) that need to evaluate televised wrestling are selected. The results indicate that the major and popular televised wrestling programs (WWF, WCW, and ECW) are more frequently showing antisocial factors than local-oriented ones (NWA & IWU). The antisocial factors are also frequently represented in non-match time as well as match times. There is no significant difference of frequency of antisocial representation among prime time, after midnight time, and weekend morning time zones so that this study infers that children might be exposed the similar amount of antisocial behaviors regardless of different time zones.

<< 2001 Abstracts

Magazine Division

UNION MAGAZINES’ COVERAGE OF THE NAFTA CONTROVERSY BEFORE CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL • Eric Freedman, Michigan State University • The 1993 congressional consideration of NAFTA drew intense labor lobbying. Simultaneously, union magazines served as advocacy tools, attacking the pact and urging members to take political action. Coverage focused on job-related critiques, especially predictions of a job drain to Mexico and potentially lower wages for U.S. workers. Much less attention went to environmental and other perceived flaws of NAFTA. Language in those articles was frequently more heated, even inflammatory, than in the mainstream media.

Mirroring Mediated Images of Women: The Influence of Media Images of Thin Women on Their Eating Disorder-Related Behaviors and Body Image • J. Robyn Goodman, University of Florida • This paper used an experiment to investigate whether images of excessively thin women in the media have negative effects on women. It was hypothesized that varying amounts of thin and “plus-size” models in women’s magazines might influence body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, and difference between perceived and actual body size. The experiment revealed a significant main effect and significant group differences for drive for thinness only. The mostly thin model group had the lowest drive for thinness followed by the all thin model group and the few thin model group.

Hot Flashes, Mood Swings, and Miracle Babies: Magazine Framing of Menopause • Stacy J.T. Hust and Julie L. Andsager, Washington State University • Women over the age of 40 are largely absent from media imagery This study examined how magazines have framed menopause over the past two decades, as an increasing number of women have entered the phase. Using two content-analysis methods, we analyzed author and source gender, topics, frames, and photographs in menopause articles in seven news and women’s magazines. Women’s magazines provided a broad range of topics, focusing on helping women prepare and cope; news magazines reported scientific developments, particularly in fertility. More frames, including more graphic descriptions of symptoms and effects, occurred in women’s magazines. Female authors included menopausal women as sources, males did not. White women were pictured as subjects in photos, but photos of menopausal women appeared in a small portion of articles. Though some findings of this study are consistent with coverage of other women’s issues, menopause appears to differ somewhat, perhaps due to stereotypes of menopause.

Getting Personal: A Framing Analysis of Microcomputers in Magazines, 1969-1981 • Jean P. Kelly, Ohio University • Using both framing and diffusion theory, this study considers at how magazines defined the characteristics of microcomputers that aided the technology’s diffusion soon after its introduction, from 1969 to 1981. Among the findings was that a once-threatening war-time technology was reframed into a “personal” medium of expression and social autonomy. Later a “computer literacy” frame prompted parents to buy computers for children. No longer were computers threatening when controlling the machine and controlling one’s life became entwined.

U.S. Magazine Coverage of Forest Conservation, 1901-1909 • Jan Knight, Ohio University • This study explores how popular magazines covered forest conservation during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency. Roosevelt appreciated forests for their aesthetic as well as economic values, but his administration – which included Gifford Pinchot, the “father of U.S. forestry” – took a solidly utilitarian approach to forest resources. This study shows that magazines largely parroted the federal line, but they also struggled with the topic, presenting forests as places where individuals could find solace as well as places where the United States could demonstrate its technological prowess. It concludes that magazines sometimes blurred the lines between the preservation and conservation philosophies that emerged before and during the Progressive era, perhaps as a result of Roosevelt’s own waffling on the topic as well as a result of the nation reflecting with shock and perhaps some sadness at the rampant use and destruction of U.S. forest resources during the 1800s.

Racial Cover-up 1996-2000: Who Is the Face on Today’s Fashion Magazine? • Lindsey Kressin, Trinity University • The covers of three popular fashion magazines were examined to determine whether strides have been made in eradicating racial stereotypes of the past. Every issue of Glamour, Cosmopolitan and Vogue from 1996 through 2000 was studied to determine the ethnicity of women depicted on the cover. Of 180 magazine covers studied, 87.5% of the covers featured one white model. Hispanics were featured on 6.6% of the covers, blacks 3.6%, and the racial identity of the model was unidentifiable 2.4% of the time. No Asians were featured on the covers studied.

The Heroic Leader and The Hapless Counselor: Were Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and William Rogers Really the Men News Magazines Reported Them to Be? • Carolyn Ringer Lepre, California State University-Chico • During Richard Nixon’s term of office, he had two very different men as his primary advisers on foreign policy. In this study, news magazine articles covering Rogers and Kissinger were examined, in an effort to determine whether an inequality of coverage may exist, what effect this has on current day perceptions of these two men, and how we can learn from the past to be critical media consumers regarding press coverage of current and future politicians.

The Visual Representation of Quantitative Data In Two U.S. News Magazines • Matthew M. Reavy, University of Scranton • This paper examines the use of graphics in two major U.S. news magazines. Two research questions, drawn from literature in the field, are addressed: 1) are graphical errors widespread in the nation’s two largest news magazines; and 2) if errors exist, do they tend to exaggerate rather than minimize differences in the data. The study found that errors were indeed pervasive in both Time and Newsweek. However, many of the errors fell into the study’s two most controversial categories. With regard to the question of whether or not magazine graphics tended to exaggerate differences, the results were mixed.

Art, Ideology and Americanization in post-war Dutch Journalism •Hans Renders, University of Groningen, Netherlands • In post-war Netherlands the aim was to restore politics in art criticism. The authoritative US publication The New Yorker functioned as a fig leaf. I intend to test whether this aim was achieved by embarking on a case study of Mandril, an opinion-shaping monthly magazine that was edited from the Netherlands between 1948 and 1953. It also projected a modern transparency in its political commentary. At the same time, however, the editors seemed to reject artistic renewal.

Reporter at Large: Morris Markey’s Literary Journalism in The New Yorker • Les Sillars, University of Texas-Austin • Although frequently mentioned in histories of The New Yorker, Morris Markey (1899-1950) has not received due credit for his work in maintaining a tradition of literary journalism in the U.S. in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Markey, who started at The New Yorker a few months after its 1925 founding, foreshadowed the New Journalism of the 1960s with his literary techniques, his tone, voice, and choice of topics.

Sixty-Four Years of Life: What did its 2,128 Covers cover? • David Sumner, Ball State University • The purpose of this research is to analyze the 2,128 cover images of Life between its first Nov. 23, 1936, issue and its last May 2000 issue to determine whether the magazine’s editors viewed its cover as a “cultural artifact” or a “marketing tool.” The cultural artifact model, which looks at magazines as a reflection of cultural demography, measures how accurately they reflect gender, racial and other social norms. The marketing tool model assumes that covers are simply a marketing decision and are chosen on the basis of what editors believe will sell the most copies. Cover content was analyzed according to type and theme of image. Seven hypotheses related to cover type and theme were tested to determine whether Life followed the cultural artifact or marketing tool model. The study concludes that Life covers reflected the marketing tool model during its early years between 1936 and 1959. After 1960, they were more likely to mirror cultural norms than before, but these results were mixed. The most surprising finding was that Life had more covers with women than men on them prior to 1960, but more covers with men on them after 1960. Covers with African-Americans on them were rare except during the 1960s.

The Very Fabric of Modern Life: Social and Political Issues in Scientific American in the 1960s • Mary Carol Zuegner, Creighton University • The publisher and editor of Scientific American ventured into social science to publish what they called socio-political articles in the 1960s because of their belief that science was “the very fabric of modern life.” Using science and the authority of science to explain non-scientific problems or to offer an analysis of a political problem with its roots in science enabled them to add credibility and scientific resonance to essential issues. An examination of each monthly issue of Scientific American in the 1960s and oral histories with publisher Gerard Piel and editor Dennis Flanagan reveal a wide scope with stories on race, poverty, LSD, war and environmental issues.

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