Law Division

Clicking Your Speech Rights Away: The Constitutionality of Gagwrap Licenses • Genelle I. Belmas, California State-Long Beach and Brian M. Larson (attorney at Law) • While the courts have recognized the constitutionality of “shrinkwrap” licenses to protect the rights of software producers, an insidious clause has crept into some of these licenses. Dubbed “gagwrap clauses,” these terms of use may include content-based restrictions on speech that the authors believe are invalid. This paper examines one such clause and subjects it to a combination of contract and First Amendment jurisprudence, providing a possible test for the constitutionality of gagwrap clauses.

Applying First Amendment & Regulatory Constructs To The Internet • Justin Brown, Florida • Varying structural and technological characteristics within mass communication systems provide the basis for courts to interpret the First Amendment differently across media. Congress and the FCC have also invoked similar calculations to promote broader public interest goals and construct specific regulatory classifications for different communication services. The collective effect of the medium-specific application of the First Amendment and the FCC’s regulation of electronic media has established sets of legal constructs that confer varying degrees of editorial rights and access obligations.

Proving Dilution: Survey Evidence in Trademark Dilution Actions • Matthew D. Bunker and James Glen Stovall, Alabama • Trademark dilution is an important new development in federal trademark law. Dilution provides a remedy to owners of famous trademarks when others use their mark in a way that blurs or tarnishes the famous mark. Federal courts have been less than helpful in explaining how dilution can be proved. This paper examines the current state of dilution law and suggests that consumer surveys may be the most useful means of proving dilution.

The Winds of Change and the Power of Students’ Voices: The Student Movement, the Vietnam Era and the Supreme Court Case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District • Jennifer Cioffi, Ohio • In Des Moines, Iowa, in 1964, student protesters wore black armbands to school. They were suspended and they sued the school, leading to the seminal 1969 Supreme Court case called Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District. This study, including an interview with John Tinker, examined the context of the times and legal demands by students for empowerment. Student power is central to this study. The particular facts of this case promoted the final decision.

Hyperlink Proximity: Operationalization of FDA- Mandated Fair Balance on Pharmaceutical Web Sites • Colleen Connolly-Ahern, Florida • U.S. FDA regulations require that pharmaceutical advertisements in traditional media include a “fair balance” of information. This study examined pharmaceutical Web sites to determine what effects the lack of FDA guidance have on site content. The study found FDA-mandated elements were not present on all sites. Using hyperlink proximity as a measure of “fair balance,” the study found that pharmaceutical Web sites are likely to place positive information closer to the Web site’s main homepage than negative information.

Websites and Incitement to Violence: A Case Study of the Application of the Brandenburg Standard to Planned Parenthood v. American Coalition of Life Activists • Juanita J. Covert, North Carolina-Chapel Hill • Can old standards be used for a new medium? This paper examines whether the incitement standard in Brandenburg v. Ohio can be appropriately applied to Planned Parenthood v. ACLA and whether the Nuremberg Files website would have been considered unprotected speech using that standard. Cases citing Brandenburg and findings regarding the nature of the Internet in ACLU v. Reno were considered. It is argued that the Brandenburg standard is applicable and that the website could be considered unprotected.

Victor’s Victory • Sandra Davidson, Missouri-Columbia • This paper covers the unanimous Supreme Court victory of “Victor’s Little Secret” over “Victoria’s Secret.” The bottom line is that unless the plaintiff can prove damage, its trademark dilution case will fail. This case continues the unthawing of puckish creativity of Campbell v. Acuff-Rose. In exploring the changes Victor’s victory makes, past cases are covered, including ones that involve Gucci Goo diaper bags and Lardashe jeans, and appropriation cases such as “Here’s Johnny.”

Stealing Information: Application Of A Criminal Anti-Theft Statute To Leaks Of Conhdential Government Information • Irina Dmttrieva, Florida • The article explores whether the federal government holds a property interest in confidential government information and, if it does, whether that interest is protected by a criminal anti-theft statute, 18 U.S.C. § 641. The article argues that application of Section 641 to leaks of government information might unduly restrict the legitimate speech of government employees and impede media investigations into government misconduct.

Can the Effect of Richmond Newspapers Stretch Even Further? An Analysis of the Right of the Press to Cover Immigration Hearings • Dale L. Edwards, North Carolina-Chapel Hill • Two 2002 district court cases found a right of public access to deportation hearings. On appeal, two appeals courts applied the Richmond Newspapers test to determine whether that First Amendment right existed and arrived at opposite conclusions. This paper suggests a right of access to deportation hearings is reasonable because of the hearings’ similarity to criminal court trials, a history of openness, and lower court decisions extending access to civil and some administrative proceedings.

How Masson v. New Yorker Has Shaped the Legal Landscape of Narrative Journalism • Kathy Roberts Forde, North Carolina-Chapel Hill • Masson v. New Yorker’s interpretation of the actual malice standard has been shaping the legal landscape in which narrative journalism is practiced for over a decade. Of the twenty federal court and state high court defamation cases citing Masson that have involved substantive issues of narrative technique, Masson provided clear victories for defendants in eighteen of the cases. In the two remaining cases, as in Masson itself, disputed questions of material fact sent the cases to juries for resolution.

Kasky v. Nike, Inc.: The End of Constitutionally Protected Corporate Speech? • Karla K. Gower, Alabama • At issue in Kasky v. Nike, Inc. is whether statements made by Nike in response to allegations about its overseas labor practices are commercial or corporate speech. In ruling that the speech was commercial, the California Supreme Court proposed a limited-purpose test that essentially makes all corporate speech commercial speech and subject to strict liability. This paper examines the court’s decision and proposes a test for determining when speech by a corporation should be considered commercial speech.

Let the Record Speak: How the Freedom of Information Act’s Legislative History Debunks the Supreme Court’s “Central Purpose” Doctrine • Martin E. Halstuk, Penn State and Bill F. Chamberlin, Florida • The U.S. Supreme Court defined the “central purpose” of the Freedom of Information Act in Dept. of Justice v. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in 1989. Over the years, this decision has had a profound impact on public access to government-held information, substantially narrowing the scope of the FOIA. An examination of the FOIA’s legislative history strongly suggests that the Court’s “central purpose” test contravenes FOIA’s congressional intent for a broad policy of full disclosure.

The Chickens Have Come Home To Roost: Individualism, Collectivism, And Conflict In Commercial Speech Doctrine • Elizabeth Blanks Hidman, Washington State • Using individualist and collectivist political philosophies, this paper analyzes the Supreme Court’s conception of commercial speech protection since 1980. It concludes that the Court’s commercial speech doctrine has suffered from a fundamental internal conflict arising from the difficulty in choosing one or the other of those political philosophies, and suggests that that conflict will continue-as will the Court’s inability to express a coherent commercial speech doctrine-until the Court makes an overt choice between collectivist and individualist approaches to the protection of commercial speech.

Cross Burning Revisited: What The Supreme Court Should Have Done in Virginia v. Black And Why it Didn’t • W. Wat Hopkins, Virginia Tech • The Supreme Court’s 1992 decision RAV. v. St. Paul holding a cross-burning ordinance to be unconstitutionally discriminatory created as many questions as it answered. By granting certiorari in a cross-burning case out of Virginia, the Court has the opportunity to set things right, holding cross burning to be protected political speech. The Court, however, is likely to err again and hold the Virginia law to be constitutional.

Protecting Kids or Attacking the First Amendment? Video Games, Regulation and Protected Expression • James D. Ivory, North Carolina-Chapel Hill • This paper inspects a recent federal court decision, Interactive Digital Software Association v. St. Louis County, Mo., in which the court ruled that video games did not constitute expression meriting First Amendment protection. Via an examination of the history of similar cases in federal courts, the Interactive Digital ruling is here found to be inconsistent with other rulings; an affirmation of this decision in the U. S. Court of Appeals would prolong an unacceptable contradiction.

The Meikleojohn Model: Reassessing Alexander Meiklejohn’s “Town Meeting” Theory in the Supreme Court’s Corporate Speech Jurisdiction • Robert L. Kerr, Oklahoma • The free-speech paradigm of Alexander Meiklejohn has provided fundamental direction for the Supreme Court’s protection of a free press and democracy since the mid twentieth century. This research examines the body of 27 Supreme Court cases that have drawn on Meiklejohnian reasoning, with particular attention to application of his “town meeting” model. Analysis of the many Court opinions citing Meikeljohn supports that model as a more effective manner for regulating corporate speech in a manner consistent with self governance.

The First Amendment Regime for Direct Satellite Broadcasting (DBS): Satellite Broadcasting & Communications Association v. FCC • Seung-Eun Lee, Florida • This study explored what the First Amendment status of the satellite broadcasting is, particularly as it is compared to other media such as cable and over-the-air-broadcasting. The author examined Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association v. FCC’ that interpreted the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act’s “carry one, carry all” provision. The author argues that the First Amendment regime for satellite broadcasting should be established in relationship with other media such as over-the-air broadcasting and cable.

Defamation and Mental Disorder: The Enduring Stigma • Karen Markin, Rhode Island • Court opinions provide evidence that an allegation of mental disorder continues to be defamatory, despite modern treatments for the condition. This paper traces the history of cases based on “imputations of mental derangement” and identifies several important trends. Generally, contemporary claims are actionable if they are based on a medicalized allegation that affects the plaintiff’s professional status. But courts have been quick to recognize a qualified privilege for employers and physicians to make such allegations.

Faculty Copyright in International Online Distance Education: Case of U.S. and Mexico • Lisa M. Paulin, North Carolina-Chapel Hill • Parallel to current growth in globalization and digitalization of information is the growth of international online distance education. This trend has prompted both education and legal research scholars to ponder copyright ownership of faculty-authored works in this setting. Using Mexico as a case study, this paper examines U.S. copyright law, Mexican copyright law, and the Berne Convention, yet finds that the concerns of many remain unanswered. The clearest answer lies in well-defined university policies.

Critique of Dilution Law: A Re-examination of the Bases of Trademark Protection • Amanda Reid, Florida • Federal trademark dilution law is a subset of trademark law. This paper explores whether dilution law is necessary in light of the expansion and evolution of the traditional “likelihood of confusion” analysis and the law of unfair competition. Dilution seeks to prevent the “whittling away” of a mark’s uniqueness, even when consumers are not confused about the origin of the goods. Hypothetical examples of dilution include Dupont shoes, Buick aspirin, Schlitz varnish, and Kodak pianos.

Privacy Versus Public Access: An Analysis of How Courts Balance These Competing Social Interests When Government Records Are Computerized • Joey Senat, Oklahoma State • Using as its framework the six factors applied by courts when the government records are ink and paper, the study analyzed how computerization of the requested data affected the balancing of privacy and public access. It also examined if judges’ attitude toward technology, as reflected in the language of their written opinions, influenced their decisions, identified problems with the way courts resolve this conflict, and recommends ways to help courts be more consistent, predictable and balanced in weighting these social values.

Personal Jurisdiction Over Media Libel Cases In The Internet Age. • Robert L. Speilman, Miami • When the Internet edition of a newspaper or magazine is published, it is instantly available to a worldwide audience. Potentially it opens the publication to libel suits in any forum. This paper explores the evolving United States law of personal jurisdiction over Internet publishers and journalists in libel actions. Federal appeals court decisions in Young v. New Haven Advocate and Revell v. Lidov are analyzed. The decisions are victories for the press. Nevertheless, some second-guessing of editorial decisions by editors is inevitable.

Newsgathering And The First Amendment: Toward A Progressionist Theory Of Constitutional Interpretation • Erik F. Ugland, Marquette • Despite three decades of litigation, the law of newsgathering remains substantially unsettled. Doctrinal disparities need to be eliminated and essential definitional questions (e.g., who is a journalist?) need to be answered. This requires a comprehensive free press theory that is built upon a clear theory or approach to constitutional interpretation. This paper addresses some of these fundamental questions, and provides at least some preliminary answers, by applying a progressionist approach to interpreting the First Amendment.

A Framework for Access to Court Records in Florida • Roxanne S. Watson and Bill F. Chamberlain, Florida • As federal, and state Courts formulate policies on which court documents should be placed on their websites, a Florida Committee, relying on the experiences of other states, formulated guiding principles for its policy on access to court records in February 2003. This paper examines the effectiveness of the Florida Recommendations and the extent to which Florida built on the State-wide Guidelines and Maryland’s experience to formulate a comprehensive policy.

The Neutral Reportage Doctrine 25 Years After: An Update On The Still “Fledgling” Libel Defense • Kyo Ho Youm, Oregon • The debate about the viability of neutral reportage as a constitutional defense to libel continues. And given the “current limbo” that the neutral reportage doctrine is facing as it enters its 25-year evolution, the constitutional libel defense deserves another in-depth look. This article examines the theoretical underpinnings and judicial interpretations of the neutral reportage doctrine.

<< 2003 Abstracts

International Communication Division

Comparative Critical Analysis of Advertorials and Articles in Nigerian Mass Media During the Fourth Republic • Emmanuel C. Alozie, Governors State • This study uses textual analysis to explore the messages embedded in Nigerian mass media advertorials to determine if their contents agree or contrast with articles dealing with the prevailing economic, social and political conditions in Nigeria. The themes in the selected articles contradict those in the selected advertorials. While the advertorials extol the achievements of the civilian administrators, the articles dispute those claims and blame politicians for their failure to improve the welfare of Nigerians.

Online Journalists in Germany 2002: The First Representative Survey On German Online Journalists • Klaus-Dieter Altmeppen, Thorsten Quandt, Thomas Hanitzsch and Martin Loeffelholz, Technical University Iknenau, Germany • This paper presents the key findings of the first representative survey of online journalists in Germany. It focuses on the most important aspects of online journalism, such as the basic demographics of online journalists, their working conditions, job satisfaction and structural factors (e.g. business models). The findings support the conjecture that online journalists are facing economic and professional pressure. Nevertheless most of the respondents still show some fascination in online journalism.

Hungry For News And Information: Instrumental Use Of Al-Jazeera TV Among Viewers In The Arab World And Arab Diaspora • Mohamed M. Arafa, Georgia DOT, Philip Auter, Louisiana-Lafayette and Khaled Al-Jaber, Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs • Over 5000 Arabic speakers who access Al-Jazeera TV and website responded to a survey of their uses and motivations. Responses were consistent with some predictions regarding instrumental vs. ritualistic use of TV, while others were not upheld. Education was a positively correlated factor in usage, but age was negatively correlated. Implications for understanding how Al-Jazeera fits into the global media mix as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.

Audience Involvement and Its Antecedents: An Analysis of the Electronic Bulletin Board Messages about an Entertainment-Education Drama on Divorce in Korea • Hyuhn-Suhck Bae, Yeungnam University and Byoungkwan Lee, Michigan State • No abstract available.

Media War Between Israelies and Palestinians: Uses of news sources in four mainstream U.S. Newspapers • Kuang-Kuo Chang, Nanyang Technological University-Singapore • No abstract available.

The Analysis of National Images of South Korea and Japan in the News Coverage of The New York Times & Los Angeles Times • Jinbong Choi, Minnesota • The purpose of this research was to examine how two major American daily newspapers, The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, represent South Korea and Japan and what the differences are between South Korean and Japanese national images in these two newspapers. “National image” is socially constructed largely by mass media. In short, mass media affect the audience’s image of countries and their understanding of reality of the countries.

A Functional Analysis Of Online Debates On Political Candidates: An Application Of Functional Theory To Online Forum Messages About 2002 South Korean Presidential Election • Yun Jung Choi, Cheolhan Lee and Jong Hyuk Lee, Missouri-Columbia • This study examined how online users used three functional utterances – acclaim, attack, and defense – in supporting their favorite candidates and criticizing counter-candidates during the 2002 presidential election campaign in Korea. With approval rates of candidates at nine different points, this study observed how online users in favor of a strong candidate and a weak candidate had reacted to approval rate changes of their favorite candidates.

Entertainment East and West: A Comparison of Prime- Time U.S. and Asian TV Content Using the Methodology of the National Television Violence Study • Anne Cooper- Chen, Ohio • The three most TV-saturated countries in the world all have advertising-based, entertainment-heavy TV content: China (370 million receivers); the United States (233 million); and Japan (91 million). This paper compares U.S./China/Japan domestic programming, as well as pan-Asia satellite services, by replicating in Asia the National Television Violence Study. The Hofstede (2001) research on cultural dimensions can elucidate differences in nations’ tolerance for violent TV content.

Preparing For The Future: The Level Of Journalism Skills In South African Media – A Reason For Concern? • Arnold S. de Beer, University of Stellenbosch and Elanie Steyn, Potchefstroom University • This paper draws on results of the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) 2002 journalism skills audit. The research purpose was to conduct a national situation analysis of journalism skills among reporters. The research followed on on-going efforts by Sanef to re-position journalism skills training at tertiary level. Results showed a lack of reporting, writing and accuracy skills among reporters as highlighted both by reporters themselves, and news editors’ evaluation of these skills.

Operation Iraqi Freedom: Interrogating the Objectivity of Objective U.S. Journalism • Mohan J. Dutta-Bergman, Purdue • The ideas of a free press and objective journalism inform the practices of Western media. These ideas are in fact held as ideals for judging the rest of the world and for justification on Western interventions (persuasive or coercive or some combination of both). Using a grounded theory analysis of the coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom, this paper demonstrates the biased frames that are present in American war coverage.

New News For A New South Africa? The Possibilities Of Public Journalism And Development Journalism As Interventionist News Models • Margaretha Geertserna, Texas-Austin • As post-Apartheid South Africa is going through immense change, a necessary debate about the role and function of the press is taking place. Should the press be completely free or should some limitations be in place in terms of its responsibility to nation building and reconciliation? The aim of this paper is to inform this debate from a theoretical perspective and to discuss the possibilities of the interventionist models of public and development journalism in this context.

The Determinants of International News Coverage: A Contextual Approach • Guy Golan, Louisiana State and Ryan Bakker, Florida • The current study investigates key country based determinants of international news coverage. A content analysis of the ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN networks from 1999 reveals a disparity in network coverage of 190 nations. The current study analyzes 190 nations for more than a dozen variables that previous research found to be highly associated with coverage. A generalized linear model that identified several key country based variables as highly associated with television network news coverage.

Thank You Newton, Welcome Prigogine ‘Unthinking’ Old Paradigms And Embracing New Directions • Shelton A. Gunaratne, Minnesota State-Moorhead • The premises and propositions of the Newtonian-Cartesian model associated with classical science-determinism, linearity, reversibility, timelessness, equilibrium, etc.-are applicable primarily to closed systems. Prigogine’s theory of dissipative structures has affirmed that nonlinearity, irreversibility, unpredictability, chaos and far-from-equilibrium conditions characterize interdependent open systems. Because closed systems are rare in nature, the linear findings of empirical studies tied to the presumptions of classical science face potential challenge.

German and American Students’ Perceptions of Social Values as Depicted in Magazine Advertisements: A Copy Testing Approach • Frauke Hachtmann, Nebraska-Lincoln • This study explores, through a copy-testing procedure, American and German consumers’ recognition of social values as depicted in print advertisements. Respondents’ identification with situations depicted in the advertisement with different value content were also explored. Results indicate that both German and American respondents did recognize the social values as depicted in the advertisements, but their identification with the situations shown in the advertisements was complex, indicating both similarities and differences between the two groups.

Media and the Crisis of Democracy in Venezuela • Eliza Tanner Hawkins, Brigham Young • The mass media have been integral players in the conflict dividing Venezuela since Hugo Chavez took power in 1998. This paper explores how the public sphere is shaped by Chavez’s use of the mass media, the government- owned and alternative media, and the increasing politicization of the private media. The paper also highlights the status of press freedom and the challenges facing media organizations with the implications this has for democracy.

Globalization through Global Brands: Purely an American-Made Phenomenon? • Daniel Marshall Haygood, North Carolina-Chapel Hill • Globalization is a highly controversial issue among many in academia, business, and government. It has been faulted for a number of problems afflicting societies and credited for the benefits it bestows upon others. Those opposing globalization usually place blame on America as the primary force behind the phenomenon. This paper looks at global brands, a potent symbol of globalization representing a country’s economic and cultural might, to determine if America is the driving force behind globalization.

On the Eve of Conflict: How Five News Agencies Handled the US-Iraq Story • Beverly Horvit, Texas-Arlington • No abstract available.

What Sustains the Trade Winds? • The Pattern and Determinant Factors of International News Flows • Youchi Ito, Keio University at Shonan Fujisawa • This paper describes the pattern of international news flows and analyzes the determinant factors of flows using the content analysis data provided by 46 country teams, As a result, it was found that the top seven countries that are covered on a worldwide scale are five UN Security Council members and two economic powers, Germany and Japan.

Mexican Presidential Elections and Inaugurations Through the Lens: U.S. Television Coverage 1970-2000 • Melissa A. Johnson, North Carolina State • This qualitative content analysis examines U.S. network coverage of Mexican presidential elections from 1970 through 2000. President-elect characterizations were simplistic and reflected networks’ captivation with election contests. Verbal narratives often didn’t align with visuals. Networks embraced glastnost themes to describe political shifts. While cheerleading for political reforms, networks were quick to suggest that changes could lead to violence. Networks did little to inform U.S. policy makers and other U.S. viewers about Mexican campaign issues.

A Complex National Mind, Contested National Justices: A Frame Analysis Of The Koreans’ Vietnam War Debate In Cyberspace • Nam-Doo Kim, Texas-Austin • South Korean weekly Hankyorch21 ran an apology campaign after it uncovered the Korean army’s alleged civilian killings in the Vietnam War. This paper examines Korean citizens’ Vietnam War online debate during the campaign period. Through a two-level frame analysis, the researcher analyzes how a diverse of pros and cons over the apology campaign were linked to various applications of socio-political values and national identities.

The Demise Of Nicaragua’s Barricada Newspaper: Slipshod Journalism Or Political Sabotage? • Kris Kodrich, Colorado State • Barricada, a daily newspaper in Nicaragua, closed suddenly and without warning in 1998. The editor said his newspaper was a victim of a government policy to pull state advertising from Barricada, which was the official newspaper of the opposition Sandinista political party and had been highly critical of the government. This study examines the role of state advertising as a means of governmental control of the news media in Nicaragua.

Korean Immigrants’ Viewing Patterns of Korean Satellite Television and Its Role in Their Lives • Changho Lee, Texas-Austin • This research is based on in-depth interviews with 10 Korean immigrants who watch Korean satellite television. The paper analyzed their program preferences, viewing time, and the extent of satisfaction in relation to their demographic characteristics. It also examined the role of satellite television in Korean immigrants’ lives. The results showed that Korean satellite television contributed much to the reinforcement of the viewers’ ethnic identity. In addition, satellite television replaced other Korean ethnic media due to its real time news delivery.

Enhancing Inoculation Strategy In The Spiral Of Silence- Public Opinion Changes On Taiwan’s Political Future With The PRC • Wei-Kuo Lin, Fu-Jen Catholic University-Taiwan • This study explored inoculation strategies in the process of spiral of silence, especially focusing on resistance to counter attitudinal attack, willingness to speak out, fear of isolation, and change of attitude. A two-wave survey was employed in a context regarding the issue of Taiwan’s political future with the PRC. Results show that inoculation treatments enhanced people’s resistance to attitude change whereas decreased their fear of isolation. The decreased fear of isolation, furthermore, elevated people’s willingness to speak out in public.

Democratic and Non-Democratic Framing in Foreign News: An Analysis of Effects of International Perceptions • Jensen Moore, Giovanna Dell’Orto, Dong Dong and Adina Giurgiu, Minnesota • This study seeks to join research into media framing with research into image formation and investigates whether, in fact, media frames do affect readers’ images of foreign realities, Does framing of a country as democratic engenders positive readers’ images of that country, its government and its people (and vice versa) Findings show that even a subtle framing in news stories had an effect on readers’ perception of a foreign government and people, though not on the overall evaluation of a country.

Women in Advertisements Across Cultures • Pamela K. Morris, Syracuse • There are few cross-cultural studies that investigate women’s representation in advertisements. As a powerful force, advertising influences women’s identity and relations with others. Cross-cultural comparisons can help identify factors determining depictions of women. Using content analysis, this study reviews magazine advertisements over 24 different countries for the presence of women. It focuses on the visual and on bodies within advertising space. Findings link social system dimensions of individual countries to the presence of women in advertising.

The New World Information and Communication Order, A Sequel: The Many Models of Media Development in Arab Gulf Countries • Orayb Najjar, Northern Illinois • The study reviews some highlights of the NWICO and the “free flow of information” debates to assess how four satellite stations in some Gulf Arab countries have responded to Mustapha al-Masmudi’s call for change in the direction and content of information in the Middle East. The study answers Gardner and Stevenson’s question: “What would a developing nation do if it had the economic and political resources to implement some of the proposals that have emerged from the global debate?

Representation of China: A Longitudinal Analysis of Coverage in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times • Zengjun Peng, Missouri-Columbia • This study examined the coverage of China in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times between 1992-2001. Across time comparison were made both within and between the two newspapers in terms of total number of stories, media frames used and favorability differences. Findings show that coverage on China has increased significantly over time, but the overall tone remained negative. Political frames and ideological frames were more likely to be unfavorable. No significant differences were found between the two newspapers.

Job Satisfaction And Professionalism Among Private Radio Station Employees In Bulgaria • Gregory Pitts, Bradley • The fall of the Berlin Wall resulted in political and economic changes in 28 countries once part of the former Soviet Union. Bulgaria has taken steps to establish democratic governance and a market economy. A quantitative study of employees at private radio stations in Bulgaria found a young, highly educated and generally satisfied workforce. A distinct professional orientation among employees, who place high value on developing professional expertise with less concern about job permanence, is emerging.

Selling the Shortwaves: Commercial Shortwave Broadcasting to Latin America and the Limits of the “American System” • Robert A. Rabe, Wisconsin • This paper examines the development of commercial shortwave to Latin America and the role of propaganda in the 1930s and 1940s. American broadcasters attempted to establish an advertising-supported schedule of programming that had the dual function of generating revenue and promoting the American image and message through the hemisphere in the absence of an official government radio service. As World War II approached, this programming was increasingly viewed as insufficient and the US government gradually assumed control.

Nepalese Journalists: Idealists, Optimists, and Realists • Jyotika Ramaprasad, Southern Illinois-Carbondale • This paper studies Nepalese journalists using a convenience sample from the major cities of Kathmandu and Pokhara, representing all the major newspapers, radio stations and the government television station. Despite reports of the dismal condition of the press in Nepal, Journalists in Nepal appear optimistic about their freedoms and idealistic in the reasons for which they join the profession.

Images of Islam: Exemplification as Elegance in the Post-9/11 Works of Thomas Friedman • Lisa Rodgers, Ohio • This paper provides a close analysis of the exemplars of Arab peoples in Thomas Friedman’s works since the 9/Il Twin Towers attacks. The paper argues that the skill Friedman uses to convey the complexity of the Islamic world directly calls into question many of the basic assumptions and premises behind Dolf Zillmann’s exemplification theory.

Business News Channels In Asia: Strategies And Challenges • Seema Shrikhande, Oglethorpe • This paper examines the strategies adopted by international business channels, Asia Business News and CNBC to enter the Asian market. The analysis focuses on market entry timing, content customization and the role of strategic alliances. I find that audiences prefer regional content, the competitive advantage of being first in the market is difficult to sustain and that strategic alliances are critical. The implications for other content providers and for the audience of these channels are considered.

Punch And Counterpunch: Jurisdiction Over International Libel Suits In The Internet Age • Robert L. Spellman – Southern Illinois-Carbondale • In Berezovsky v. Michael and Gutnick v. Dow Jones, Inc. the high courts of the United Kingdom and Australia have conferred jurisdiction for their courts over American magazines that published stories primarily for American readers. Small numbers of printed copies of the magazines and their Internet editions were available to readers in the United Kingdom and Australia. Application of the common law of libel poses a threat to transnational media.

Location of Foreign Reporting • Denise St. Claire, Paul Hampton, Jessica Miller and Erin Rushmer, Wisconsin-Madison • This paper addresses the need to examine the media’s dedication to foreign correspondents and their commitment to diversified sources and voices. We focused on the Iraq-US conflict in our study of ten international papers from six countries. We then recorded the location of reporting and compared it to the frequency of specific sources in the story. Our analysis showed that reporting from the location of conflict provided more variety of voices and less reliance on US official sources.

Globalization or Alienation?: A Comparative Study of News Coverage Between AP and IFS • Eunjung Sung and Won Yong Jang, State University of New York at Buffalo • This research is to examine how concepts of globalization has developed and changed during the last decade by analyzing news articles that were reported from 1995 to 2000. Within the framework of the ‘World-Systems theory, this study provides who has occupied a central position in the globalization process, and what issues have emerged and facilitated the globalization. The computer-based content analysis, CATPAC, is used for analyzing news articles from The Associated Press (AP) and Inter Press Service (IPS).

Construction of “Supporting” versus “Opposing” War Framings: A Cross-national Analysis of Newspaper Coverage on War with Iraq • Atsushi Tajima, Andrea Falkenhagen, Lam Tao, Eric Bain, Diana Wu and Chelsea Ross, Wisconsin-Madison • By specifically focusing on the recent on-going debate about war with Iraq, this paper analyzes 14 different newspapers across the world to reveal how “supporting” and “opposing” war frames are constructed. It quantitatively analyzes 523 articles over a three-month period to determine the proportions of each frame. It then performs an in-depth textual analysis on 11 articles from 9 different papers covering the same issue to explore how various elements, such as value words, rhetoric, and types of sources quoted, were utilized construct certain frame.

Gen Zeds: Arab Women Speaking With “Still Small Voices” • Timothy N. Walters, Zayed University, Stephen Quinn Ball State, Lynne Masel Walters, Texas A&M • The “Gen Zeds” of the title are female Emirati students in their early twenties at Zayed University who oscillate between the traditional Islamic culture of their families, and the highly mediated global culture they experience at university and on the Internet. In a typical week these women spend as much time on the Internet as they do in the combined activities of reading magazines, newspapers and books. They spend twice as much time on the Internet as they do watching television.

E-Governance And E-Publicanism • Preliminary Perspectives On The Role Of The Internet In South African Democratic Processes • Herman Wassarman, University of Stellenbosh • The role of the internet in democratic processes in sub-Saharan Africa, with a specific focus on South Africa is discussed in terms of the use of the internet (a) for e-governance, and (b) to protest against government policy. To frame the discussion an overview is given of recent trends and developments. The authors conclude that while serious impediments remain, the internet’s potential for democratic purposes in South Africa is being realized.

Acculturation and Media Usage Among the Chinese Students In the US • Cui Yang, Huaiting Wu, and Ma Zhu, Minnesota • The purpose of this study is to extend the Uses-and-Gratifications approach to a cross-cultural context, focusing on the relationship between need for acculturation, the acculturative motives and the media use among Chinese students in the US. Eight-four Chinese students have been chosen as the subjects. The data show’ that need for acculturation is correlated to motives of acculturation in both TV watching and Internet use.

Press Freedom in Asia: New Paradigm Needed in Building Theories • Jiafei Yin, Central Michigan • Four theories of the press are well established in journalism education and research and arguably do a good job of describing media systems in the West. However, it is hard to fit Asian media systems into the existing theories. This paper does a review of the existing press theories and tries to identify the difficulties in using the theories as a guide to understand media systems in Asia.

Cultural Profiles of Global and Local Advertising on Primetime Chinese Television: A Comparative Content Analysis • Yuan Zhang, North Carolina-Chapel Hill • A comparative content analysis explores the cultural profiles of global and local advertising on primetime Chinese television by examining manifest cultural values in advertising themes and cultural symbols and icons in advertising executions. The purpose is to test the explanatory power of three theoretical perspectives on the outcomes of global cultural interactions: globalization, localization, and glocalization.

Who Gets Hurt by Pretty Faces? The Impact of Makeup Ads on Chinese Female College Students From a Social Comparison Perspective • Peiqin Zhou, Alabama • This paper investigated the interaction effect of self-efficacy and exposure o pretty faces in ads in China. Results indicated that the hypothesized negative effects of upward comparison on inefficacious individuals existed. Specifically, exposure to pretty faces increased individuals’ state of depression and decreased their self-esteem. However, the study failed to get the evidences to support the predicted positive effects on efficacious individuals. Neither positive impact nor negative impact was found on efficacious individuals.

Perception of Romanticism and the Ideal Spouse Among Chinese Youth • Shuhua Zhou and He Zhu, Alabama • This exploratory study investigated perceptions of romanticism and the ideal spouse among Chinese youth. Results suggest that gender was strong predictor of romanticism and opposite sex preferences. However, television exposure did not seem to have much impact in shaping these perceptions. But the individualism/collectivism index, when used on the individual, proved to be a reliable predictor of many of the outcome variables. Implications were discussed.

<< 2003 Abstracts

History Division

Working to Avoid War: Scripps-Howard’s Challenges and Efforts With Japan, 1924-1941 • Edward Adams and David Schreindl, Brigham Young • Roy Howard, president of Scripps-Howard, had an intriguing interest in Japan. Between 1924 and 1941 he communicated regularly with Japanese newspaper editors and government officials. He made several trips to Japan in an effort to gain a better understanding of the tensions between U.S. and Japan. Howard lobbied diligently against perceived anti-Japanese legislation and worked tirelessly to avoid war. The Scripps-Howard owned United Press increased their coverage of Asia and battled Japanese censors to publish factual stories.

Federated Press: An Independent Labor News Service • John Bekken, Suffolk • Federated Press was launched in 1919 to serve a diverse U.S. labor press, ranging from internal union newsletters to substantial dailies that articulated a more expansive working-class vision and reached far beyond the ranks of organized labor. For 37 years, Federated Press offered a daily news service committed to providing this labor press with “objective” coverage of the labor movement, before succumbing to the increased bureaucratization of the labor movement and to intensified red-baiting.

Our People Die Well: Death-Bed Scenes in Methodist Magazines in Eighteenth-Century Britain • Richard Bell, Harvard • John Wesley’s presentation of the death-bed trials of Methodists in his Arminian Magazine between 1778 and 1791 allows us to reconstruct the constitution of the Methodist framework of holy death. A complex interplay between the dying, their biographers, and the magazine editors created scenes/texts designed to provide ready proofs to wavering Methodist readers that they themselves would go to heaven if they followed the example of the holy dying.

1897: American Journalism’s Exceptional Year • W. Joseph Campbell, American • No abstract available.

Exhortation to Action: The Writings of Amy Jacques Garvey, Journalism and Black Nationalist • Jinx Coleman Broussard, Dillard and Louisiana State • This paper provides a textual analysis of themes in the writings of Amy Jacques Garvey, a largely unrecognized black woman journalist who was an associate editor and editorial writer for the Negro World, the official organ of the Garvey movement. Analysis of one hundred fifty editorials Jacques Garvey wrote between 1924 and 1927 found she stressed black productivity, self-reliance, self-determination and repatriation to Africa as a means economic empowerment and independence.

N.J. Frederick, Legendary Editor of a South Carolina Black Weekly, Establishes Legacy as Attorney for Victims of 1926 Triple Lynching • Kenneth Campbell, South Carolina • Attorney Nathaniel Jerome Frederick, the founding editor of The Palmetto Leader (1925-1959), a black weekly in Columbia, S.C., was called “the bravest man in South Carolina” and the NAACP cited his work in 1926 as one of its major accomplishments that year. Frederick convinced the South Carolina Supreme Court to give a new trial to three blacks accused of murdering a sheriff, but as he subsequently defended them they were lynched

The Black Press, The Black Metropolis and the Founding of the Negro Leagues • Brian Carroll, North Carolina • No abstract available.

Monotonous Tale: Legitimacy, Public Relations and the Shooting of a Public Enemy • Matthew Cecil, Oklahoma • On April 6, 1939, FBI agents shot and killed America’s “Public Enemy Number One” as he exited a St. Louis hamburger shop. Confronted by critics who questioned the legitimacy of the shooting, FBI officials in Washington worked with agents on the scene to concoct a version of events more amendable to the heroic media portrayals they preferred. This study explores the bureau’s behind-the-scenes work to legitimize the shooting and its use of the story as a public relations device demonstrating the bureau’s responsibility and utility.

Pricking the National Conscience: The Early Radio Career and Thematic Interests of Charles Kuralt • Johanna Cleary, North Carolina-Chapel Hill • Charles Kuralt is remembered as one of television journalism’s unique voices, but it was radio that launched his broadcasting career. This paper examines Kuralt’s early writing for radio and focuses on commentaries he wrote from 1961 to 1968. While Kuralt’s television work is well-chronicled and documented, his radio scripts offer an important and largely unknown transitional step for one of the country’s preeminent broadcast journalists.

Cattle Barons v. Ink Slingers: The Decline and Fall of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association (1887-1894) • Ross F. Collins, North Dakota State • This article examines the relationship between the Wyoming Stock Growers Association and the press at the end of the Old West Long Drive Era (1867-1890). It considers not only the influence of Wyoming cattlemen on the press, but in particular the influence of the press on the frontier cattle business during the period when “Old West” was moving from frontier reality to American legend.

Freedom in the Age of Propaganda: History of an Idea Within Congress, 1900-1945 • Stacey Cone, Iowa • Debate in Congress over the meaning and significance of propaganda in a democratic society has been an important but undocumented aspect of media history. This paper describes and analyzes the history of the idea of propaganda within Congress in the first half of the twentieth century, documenting how congressional leaders joined in a national debate about propaganda’s compatibility with democratic morality.

Herbert Hoover’s Philosophy of the Public Service Standard in Broadcasting • J.M. Dempsey, North Texas • In the embryonic years of American broadcasting, the Secretary of Commerce under President Warren Harding and, later, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover – of course, later president himself- profoundly affected the development of American broadcasting. In particular, Hoover’s decisions and leadership strongly influenced the concept that broadcasters, receiving licenses to use the public airwaves for commercial purposes, should in return provide a measure of public service. In fact, Hoover was the first to articulate the public-service requirement of U.S. broadcasting.

The Farmer’s Wife (1891-1894): Building a Community of Sentiment in Kansas • Amy DeVault, Kansas State • The Farmer’s Wife, published in Topeka, Kansas, from 1891 to 1894, was a publication by and for women involved with the Farmer’s Alliance. In addition to Alliance and Populist news, The Farmer’s Wife promoted women’s rights, especially the 1894 referendum to amend the Kansas Constitution to allow women to vote in all elections. This study looks at how The Farmer’s Wife promoted women’s rights within the context of Populism and how The Farmer’s Wife created community among its audience.

My Rhodes Scholarship: Fred Friendly as Information Officer in the Second World War • Ralph Engelman, Long Island • This paper examines Fred Friendly’s heady experience as a master sergeant in the Information and Education Section of the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater during the Second World War, a laboratory for his post-war career. The paper focuses on Friendly’s reporting for the army newspaper CBI Roundup and his wire recordings of combat for the fledgling Armed Forces Radio Network. The paper draws upon interviews with wartime associates as well as Friendly’s correspondence with his mother and other material contained in Friendly’s private papers.

Secrets of the Grand Jury: Media Leaks, Prosecutors and Presidential Impeachment • Mark Feldstein, George Washington • In April, 1973, as the Watergate scandal began to implode, syndicated columnist Jack Anderson published verbatim transcripts of the secret grand jury investigating the affair. In response, Judge John Sirica ordered a criminal investigation to locate and prosecute the muckraker’s source. But in a dramatic last-minute showdown, a legal confrontation was avoided when both sides agreed to compromise.

From Discussion Leader to Consumer Guide: A Century of Theater Criticism in Chicago Newspapers • Scott Fosdick, Missouri • Two recent studies by this author examined the influence of theater critics working for Chicago newspapers at the beginning and toward the end of the twentieth century, finding very different critical environments. This study explores how Chicago criticism traversed the historical landscape from point A to point B, and finds a third major stage of development halfway between.

So Vivid a Crossroads: The FCC and Broadcast Allocation, 1934-1939 • James Foust, Bowling Green State • This paper examines the FCC’s evaluation of the broadcast allocation structure from 1934 to 1939. Specifically, it looks at the participation of non-commercial and commercial interest groups. It builds on NcChesney’s examination of how commercial interests “marched in lockstep” against non-commercial interests in broadcasting policy debates from 1928-1935. This study shows that later the commercial interests fractured into competing groups. But they were still able to establish the terms of the policymaking debate, leaving non-commercial interests marginalized.

The Newspaper Reporter as Fiction Writer: The Tale of Franklin W. Dixon • Marilyn Greenwald, Ohio • Canadian newspaperman Leslie McFarlane, like many of his contemporaries in the newsrooms of the mid 1920s, enjoyed his job, but longed for something more: he wanted to become a fulltime writer of adult fiction. One day, McFarlane answered a vague ad in Editor & Publisher for fiction writers. Little did he know that the ad would change his life in a way he could never have expected. McFarlane soon became “Franklin W. Dixon,” the author of the first 20 Hardy Boys books.

Propaganda v. Public Diplomacy: How 9/11 Gave New Life to a Cold War Debate • David Guth, Kansas • This paper explores the public debate over the use of U.S. propaganda during both the Cold War and the War on Terrorism. While there is broad consensus for communicating U.S. policies and values to foreign audiences, differences of opinion in the role, scope and administration of overseas information programs dominate the debate. The role the State Department plays in administering these programs, first raised during the Cold War, remain unresolved.

Margaret Goss: Pioneering Female Sportswriter and Sports Columnist of the 1920s • Dave Kaszuba, Susquehanna • Working for the New York Herald Tribune in 1924 and 1925, Margaret Goss broke down barriers that had generally kept the sports pages off limits to female writers. Most significantly, she contributed her “Women in Sport” column on a weekly – and eventually – daily basis, making her one of the first female sports writers to have her own, regularly appearing, bylined sports column.

The Influence of Coverage of Contemporary Political Environments on Media Coverage of Historical Events • John F. Kirch, Maryland • This paper explores whether news coverage of historical events is influenced by the contemporary political and social environment of the nation. It does this by analyzing newspaper coverage of two national commemorations: the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s journey to America, which was observed in 1992 at a time of renewed interest in the culture and historic suffering of Native Americans, and the upcoming 2000’ anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition, which is being celebrated at a moment when Americans are feeling renewed patriotism following the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Alcoholic Dogs and Glory for All: The Launch of New Communications for National Prohibition, 1913 • Margot Opdycke Lamme, Florida • In 1913, the Anti-Saloon League of America, a Midwestern, church-based, social reforem movement dedicated to the elimination of liquor traffic, declared its intention to pursue national prohibition. Although it continue to adhere to the principles of agitation (its term for the building and mobilizing of public sentiment) and political action, this shift from local and state politics to a national forum required additional communication methods.

Neither Drunkards nor Libertines: Portraying Grover Cleveland as a Threat to the Family in Political Cartoons During the 1885 Campaign • Harlen Makemson, Elon • The purpose of this paper is to examine more broadly cartoons against Grover Cleveland in the 1884 presidential campaign, exploring how artists attempted to portray the candidate and his personal and private behavior as scandalous. The paper will focus on cartoons in three anti-Cleveland publications: The Judge, which in 1884 established itself as a pro-Republican comic weekly to rival the Democratic-leaning Puck, Munsey’s Illustrated Weekly, a short-lived pro-GOP campaign magazine published by a young Frank Munsey; and The Wasp, a San Francisco satirical magazine that chose to support Blame in the campaign.

Woman as Machine: Representation of Female Clerical Workers in Interwar Magazines • Jane Marcellus, Oregon • This critical, qualitative paper looks at depictions of female clerical workers and telephone operators in magazines during the interwar period-an important time for employed women and expanding media influence. It seeks to identify common images and patterns of representation, exploring how femininity and machinery were interconnected in three mainstream magazines-The American Magazine, Ladies’ Home Journal and Forbes. It uses critical textual and visual analysis, plus historical research, to explore editorial copy and advertisements.

Making Room for Cultural History: A Historiographic Exploration of U.S. Radio History • Melissa Meade, Washington • The examination of social and cultural histories of U.S. radio is a growing area of research within communication studies. Indeed, scholars are looking at the historical meanings of the practice of radio, considerations of radio and social relationships, and radio culture itself. Our ways of teaching and discussing radio, however, have remained firmly within the traditional narratives of institutional and technological development; cultural histories remain ancillary to many curricula and general radio histories.

The Johnstown Tribune’s Coverage of the Johnstown Flood of 1889 • Patty Wharton Michael, Pennsylvania State • This paper reviews the first year of the Johnstown Tribune’s coverage of the Johnstown Flood of 1889. The paper examines the Tribune’s editor, George T. Swank, and how he used his paper to serve as a vital medium that not only reported the incident of the flood and its cause, but that continued on by informing the public of the information, resources, and procedures needed to assist Johnstown in becoming a prosperous city once again.

Keep and Use It for the Nation’s War Policy: The Office of Facts and Figures and Its Uses of the Japanese-Language Press From Pearl Harbor to Mass Internment • Takeya Mizuno, Bunkyo University, Japan • This study examines how the United States government treated the Japanese “enemy language” press during World War II by focusing on the policy of the Office of Facts and Figures (OFF), a federal agency that took responsibility for the management and mobilization of the domestic foreign language press during the first six months after Pearl Harbor. The OFF took a distinctively liberal but realistic approach.

The Decline of Live Radio Performance: A Case Study Perspective • Stephen D. Perry, Illinois State • The use of live entertainers for radio programming is well documented for networks, but not for local stations, especially those in rural America. This study examines the period of decline in the use of live entertainers starting in 1940, the pinnacle of live performance on WDZ, a rural independent broadcaster and the oldest continuously operated station in Illinois.

Sex and Censorship on Postwar American Television • Bob Pondillo, Middle Tennessee State • This research explores some of the major sexual programming discourses on postwar television. Considered, among others, are questions of how network censors negotiated representations of homosexuals, the female bosom, and “dirty dancing” on nascent American TV. The paper concludes that viewers of the era expected-even demanded-”protection” by network imposed censorship from an array of secular evils they claimed they witnessed on television.

The Atomic Bomb, the ‘Official Narrative’ and American Newspapers, 1945 • Robert A. Rabe, Wisconsin-Madison • This paper examines newspaper coverage of the atomic bombings of Japan at the end of World War Two. It compares the “official narrative,” a collection of press releases and documents issued by the government, with actual newspaper content and argues that the atomic bomb story, although shaped by government information, was not one dimensional. Given the circumstances, reporters and editors handled the story well.

Moral Guardians and the Origins of the Right of Privacy • Jeff Smith, Wisconsin-Milwaukee • Samuel D. Warren and Louis D. Brandeis are habitually credited with creating the concept of a legal right of privacy. In 1890 the Harvard Law Review published their much-acclaimed article advocating tort liability for invasions of privacy by journalists. How original was their work? Writing in prestigious periodicals during the 1870s and 1880s, a number of the era’s public intellectuals dramatized a need for protecting people from the prying of the press.

A Stunt Journalist’s Last Hurrah: Nellie Bly Goes Ringside to Report on Jack Dempsey Winning the Heavyweight Boxing Championship • Mike Sowell, Oklahoma State • More than two decades after her departure from the newspaper business at the height of her career, Nellie Bly, the famous “stunt journalist” of the nineteenth century, attempted a comeback as a reporter for the New York Evening Journal in 1919. Bly’s second newspaper career lasted only three years, and she came nowhere near recapturing the glory of her youth.

Late Nineteenth-Century Discourse of Independence in Three Independent Partisan Newspapers • Dafnah Strauss, Haifa University, Israel • The paper explores the discourse of independence in American journalism during the Gilded Age as primarily a political discourse. The themes and metaphors of this discourse are analyzed by examining references to independence, neutrality and partisanship in four Midwestern newspapers dating between 1869 and 1888, with particular emphasis on three “independent-Republican” papers. The ways in which their editors sought to balance between an ideology of partisanship, professional journalistic standards and claims of independence within an environment of harsh competition will be pointed out.

The Pulitzer and the Klan: Horace Carter, The Pulitzer and How a Weekly Editor Stood up to the Klan and Won • Thomas T. Terry, North Carolina-Chapel Hill • A line of 29 cars, filled with 100 armed men all cloaked in the white robes and hoods of the Ku Klux Klan, snaked through the unpaved streets of Tabor City, North Carolina, one warm, July evening in 1950, winding toward “the bottom” where the black citizens lived. Stunned residents lined the streets in silence, including twenty-nine-year-old Horace Carter of the Tabor City Tribune. A reign of terror ensued throughout Horry County, South Carolina, and Columbus County, North Carolina.

The Communication Crisis During the Cold War: The Right to Know Movement • Kiyul Uhm, Daegu University , Korea • This paper has tried to examine the history of the right to know movement that started at the onset of the Cold War. Seeing the movement as an organized reaction against the Cold War culture of secrecy, this paper attempts to address the questions of how and why the movement was organized and initiated, and what implications and lessons can be drawn from the history of the movement and also doing a research on it.

Movie Ratings: New Technology, Research on Media Violence and the MPAA, 1968-1984 • Stephen Vaughn, Wisconsin-Madison • This paper uses new primary sources to examine how the American motion picture industry rates violence. Between the 1968 and 1984, a series of violent movies provoked a crisis in the Classification and Rating Administration (CARA) and forced the president of the Motion Pictures Association of America “AA), Jack Valenti, to create a new rating category known as PG-13. These films included The Exorcist (1973), Halloween (1978), Friday the 13” (1980), Dressed to Kill (1980), Blade Runner (1982), Poltergeist (1982), and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).

They Had a Satellite and The Knew How to Use It: How Women Harnessed the Skies to Communicate Without the Media • Danna Walker, Maryland • In January 1975, Donna Allen, founder of the Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press, became one of the architects of the wording regarding media of the final recommendations by the National Commission on the Observance of International Women’s Year. As editor of the publication Media Report to Women, she may have known better than anyone the lengths women activists had gone to in challenging the existing media system and its misleading representation of women, as confirmed by the national commission.

The American Press Goes to War: The Drive for Patriotism by Mainstream and Black Newspapers in World War II • Mei-ling Yang, Utah • No abstract available.

The International Sources of Section 12 of the Radio Act of 1927 • Rita Zajacz, Indiana University • Situating the origins of foreign ownership regulations in their historical context allows us to connect them to radiotelegraphy rather than broadcasting. As a means of strategic international communications, point-to-point uses of radio technology were as important as broadcasting in this period. The analysis of the legislative history provided in this paper prompts us to reinterpret the Radio Act of 1927 as a hybrid legislation designed to address two different uses of the same technology.

Going Public Through Writing: Women Journalists and Gendered Journalistic Space in Early 20th Century China • Yong Zhang, Minnesota • The entry of women into public life and discourse is an important feature of modernity. This paper examines the emergence of women journalists in early twentieth-century China. It argues that the rise and the social acceptance of women journalists in China was tied more to nationalism than feminism. However, it was not a simple story of male intellectuals’ inclusion of women in their construction of modernity; women themselves were also historical subjects of the nationalist movement.

<< 2003 Abstracts

Cultural and Critical Studies Division

Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better!” Representing Gender in the Talk Show ¡Qué Mujeres! • Carolina Acosta-Alzuru, Georgia • Talk shows have become a “hot” topic, eliciting discussion in both the public and academic arenas. Drawing on feminist media studies and cultural studies, I examine ¡Qué Mujeres!, a show produced in Venezuela and broadcast in the U.S. on Univision, uncovering the ways in which gendered representations are immersed in the “conversation and confrontation” present in the show. ¡Qué Mujeres! is one battleground among many in which the struggle over the definition of “Venezuelan woman” is endlessly played.

Privatization of Radio and Media Hegemony in Turkey • Ece Algan, Iowa • This study analyzes media hegemony and the impact of media globalization and privatization on national-cultural identities in Turkey. Globalization is viewed as a complex process of global/local interaction where many contrasting elements, such as nationalism, ethnicity, regionalism, diversity, homogenization, imperialism, and domination are constantly contested and redefined. Using Turkish media as a case study with a special emphasis on radio and music, this study draws on the concept of hegemony to identify the ways in which the global is conceived, experienced, negotiated and transformed by the local.

Saying They’re Sorry: News Media Apologia Strategies •James Aucoin and Melva Kearney, South Alabama • Six prominent news media apologies offered between 1981 and 1998 are examined to determine strategies used. The apologiae are criticized using rhetorical theory. Reactions to each apologia are assessed. Sincerely admitting mistakes, showing regret for them, and correcting them because it is the right thing to do, and announcing long-term corrective actions to prevent reoccurrences are basic requirements for successful media apologia.

Competing for the Public Interest, 1920-1922: Amateurs and ‘Citizen Radio’ • Misook Baek, Iowa • The language of “the public interest” was first introduced in broadcasting by Herbert Hoover when the “broadcast boom” swept the nation. This paper examines the contestation over the meaning of the public interest between the government, radio corporations, and amateurs, with focus on the amateurs’ vision of “Citizen Radio.” This paper appreciates Citizen Radio as an actual process of developing the meaning of the public interest, while revealing how the project failed and corporate interests took over its meaning.

From Tin to Tourism: Nature for Sale in Phuket, Thailand • Margaret Duffy, Missouri • This research examines media coverage of the economic and environmental transitions from tin mining to tourism at Phuket Island, Thailand. The analysis focuses on two areas: 1) A discussion of the dominant news theme, a narrative that utilized the “goose that laid the golden egg” analogy both explicitly and implicitly. 2) An analysis of how news narratives reinforced assumptions that economic development and environmental protection can be achieved with the proper control of authorities accompanied by technological development.

Toward a Phenomenology of Media Reading: Theorizing the Embodied Subject, and the Text • Meenakshi Gigi Durham, Iowa • This paper offers a theory of media reading that uses phenomenology to reconcile Althusser’s concept of media “interpellations” of readers with psychoanalytic concepts of the subject. Using Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology of subjectivity, in which identity stems from embodied experience, this paper theorizes the dialectical relationship of reader and text in a way that moves away from top-down “effects” models as well as valorizations of the “active audience” to posit a more complex and reiterative notion of identity formation and decoding.

Theoretical Approaches to International Health Communication Campaigns: A Critical Viewpoint from a Marginalized Space • Mohan J. Dutta-Bergman, Purdue • Based on the fundamental argument that silencing and marginalization of third-world voices lie at the core of miscommunication in international health campaigns, this paper offers a critical lens to inform the current scholarship and praxis of health campaigns. Questioning the ulterior motives situated behind the Western enterprise of health campaigns, it argues that international health campaigns seek to create docile bodies that would offer themselves to the support of the imperial powers of the developed world.

Triangulation: Layering Methods to Uncover Layers of Meaning • Heidi Hatfield Edwards, Pennsylvania State • This paper illustrates how the use of multiple qualitative methods enriches the study of social phenomenon by providing multidimensional perspectives of complex situations. It details the intricate case study design employed in a study investigating the audience role in shaping corporate involvement in social issues. The study is theoretically grounded in a rhetorical view of public relations and significantly influenced by a cultural studies tradition. The qualitative methodology reflects these perspectives.

From Information Highway to Commercial Highway: The Corporate Strategy to Wire America’s Schools • Bettina Fabos, Northern Iowa • The Internet was quietly privatized in 1995. That same year, the Clinton Administration and corporate America launched a campaign called the “Educational Challenge” which aimed to wire America’s schools by the year 2000. The intense PR blitz, lasting between 1995-1998 was accompanied by many slick ads, all loftily illustrating the internet’s learning potential. By 1998 most schools were wired and the Internet was, almost overnight, commercially viable. This paper examines how the “information highway” was cast as a commercial highway all along.

Popularizing Evangelicalism: Cultural Implications of Contemporary Christian Music • Eric Gormly, North Texas • American society has witnessed a dramatic growth in a musical genre known as Contemporary Christian Music. Ostensibly, the genre’s purpose is to evangelize to an emerging Evangelical youth culture through broader appeal. Evangelicals historically have used the media of popular culture and secular commercial practices for evangelizing vehicles. Using a range of cultural theory, however, the author argues that the movement toward religious messages in the form of popular music enables the subculture of Evangelical Christians to resist against a dominant secular society by taking possession of a cultural form and redefining it as their own, empowering them to effect an influential voice in the cultural discourse of American society.

‘Eat. Sleep. Watch Dawson’s Creek.’ Consuming Dawson’s Creek’s Teenage Experience • Amanda S. Hall, Georgia • Drawing on cultural studies, especially consumption, this study examines how a sample of the audience of Dawson’s Creek, a Warner Brothers’ Television show, interpret and relate to the show and whether they incorporate these meanings into their lives. Ten in-depth interviews were conducted with females aged 15- to 20-years-old. Findings suggest the way participants interpret the show establishes a way of life for them, serving a crucial role of support during the teenage years.

‘Trailer-Park Trash’: News, Ideology & Depictions of the American Underclass • Joseph C. Harry, Slippery Rock • A textual analysis, using social-semiotic and Marxist theoretical perspectives, of newspaper articles was conducted to analyze how class is depicted in stories about life in “trailer parks.” The analysis finds that class perspectives conflict, as higher-class journalists routinely depict a “lower class” segment as “white trash.” In this way, class functions as an invisible meta-sign, providing journalists an ironic, stereotypical means of ridiculing and, in some ways, celebrating “white trash” as a cultural marker, while sustaining economic class differences.

The Columbine Tragedy and Collective Identity: Local Reactions and a Sense of ‘Us’ • Lee Hood, Colorado • The shootings at Columbine High School in 1999 put Columbine and the suburb of Littleton, Colorado, into a glaring international spotlight. But in the Denver area, the story was a local tragedy. Using in-depth interviews, this study examines how a sense of collective local identity emerged around the event. The research is situated within cultural studies, as well as sense of place literature, both from media studies and from other areas such as sociology and cultural geography.

The Contemporary Korean Film Industry: State Cultural Policy under Neoliberal Globalization, 1988-2002 • Dal Yong Jin, Illinois • This paper draws systematic attention to the reconfiguration of the Korean film industry. It attempts to clarify the cause of the changes and discusses the Korean film industry with a special focus on state cultural policy toward cinema. The paper, in particular, examines the main role of the Korean government in the film industry’s decline until the mid-1990s, as well as its rise in recent years.

The Political Economy of the Reagan-era Prime Time Soap Opera • Chris Jordan, Pennsylvania State • Prime time soap operas of the 1980s arose from an intensification of television production’s historically oligopolistic structure under Reaganomics and deregulation. While regulatory reforms undertaken on behalf of the public interest broadened access to prime time television for independent producers during the 1970s, Reagan’s implementation of tax reforms and deregulatory initiatives concentrated control over prime time television in the hands of Hollywood’s largest producers and syndicators during the1980s. The one-hour evening soap opera facilitated these companies’ domination of prime time network access and foreign syndication sales by allowing them to use access to a nationwide audience to engage economies of scale in television production.

American Journalism Goes to War, 1898-2001: A Manifesto on Media and Empire • Richard Kaplan, California-Santa Barbara • Considers the role that the “imagined community” of the nation plays in the organization of journalism – in its narratives, in its professional ideals, and as an institution. Three theoretical maneuvers help explicate this centrality of nation to journalism. First, journalism’s narratives must be largely understood as a rite of the community. In its plots, the press thematizes the life and values of the group. Second, this community has, since 1776, been defined as the democratic nation.

Civilization, Christianity, and Cherokeeness: The Three Layers of Elitism in the Writings of Cherokee Editor Elias Boudinot • Kevin R. Kemper, Missouri-Columbia • Cherokee Elias Boudinot was the first Native American editor of the first Native American newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix. An ideological critique examines Boudinot’s writings and considers literature from other disciplines to reveal Boudinot as an elitist who saw himself as a civilized, Christian Cherokee. The complex journalist saw others as lost or saved, white or Cherokee, ignorant or educated. That elitism may have led to his support of removal of the Cherokee from ancestral lands.

The Agency: Naturalizing Terrorism • Sue Lawrence, Marist College • CBS’ The Agency is coded to exert a powerful effect on the perceptions of the audience around a discourse on terrorism. Episodes depicting depict foreign attacks on US soil naturalize terrorism, making terrorist acts on the US seem common, horrifying and inevitable. The Agency reflects the ideology of the US government at a time when the country is engaged in a war on terrorism, embracing stereotypes and underlining the need for a strong intelligence agency.

War and Its Metaphors: News Language and the Prelude to War in Iraq, 2003 • Jack Lule, Lehigh • Metaphors can kill, said George Lakoff in response to official justifications for war in the Persian Gulf. This paper studies metaphor in news coverage during the prelude to the 2003 war with Iraq. The paper outlines a methodology for study of metaphor and applies the method to six weeks of coverage by NBC Nightly News, the top-rated U.S. evening newscast. The paper identifies metaphors in NBC coverage, examines implications of those metaphors, and finally considers the role of metaphor and news language in the conception and construction of war.

Examining Diversity in Cable Television: A Proposal for Linking Diversity of Content to Diversity of Ownership • Siho Nam, Pennsylvania State • Originally developed as a means of retransmitting and boosting broadcast signals, cable television has grown as a main component of contemporary media culture. In view of that, this paper first seeks to examine various conceptions of and views toward diversity, proceeds to argue for the need to consider diversity of content in connection with diversity of ownership, and then finally discusses implications of diversity in cable TV with respect to both political and cultural democracy.

The ‘Devil’s Bargain’: A Natural History of a Prison Newspaper • Eleanor Novek, Monmouth • A free press is necessary for a healthy democracy, but how can an imprisoned journalist speak the truth to power? This paper traces the development of an inmate newspaper at a state prison for women, contrasting the routines of prison journalism with those of the commercial press. A prison newspaper is a paradoxical “devil’s bargain” – on one hand, a control mechanism employed by prison administrators, and on the other, a potentially empowering aspect of prison culture for inmates.

Labor of Love? Media, Myth, and the Political Economy of Marriage in Wendt v. Wendt • Sarah Burke Odland, Iowa • This paper explores how the news discourse surrounding the high-profile divorce trial of Gary and Lorna Wendt—a high-paid executive and his homemaker wife—interpreted and constructed cultural conceptions of gender roles within the institution of marriage. Drawing on theories of gender identity, political economy, and myth, the analysis demonstrates how the news discourses functioned as a myth-maker, naturalizing and normalizing the devaluation of domestic work.

The Story of Depression: An Investigation into the Discourse of Depression as Constructed in Direct-to-Consumer Antidepressants Advertising • JinSeong Park, Marquette • This paper discusses how direct-to-consumer (DTC) antidepressant advertising frames depression and depicts men and women. The findings suggest that DTC advertising bio-chemically frames depression and depicts men as more stable and women as more vulnerable. The social implication of the findings is that by naturalizing the view that depression is a female problem, DTC advertising may reinforce social stereotypes of women and hide the socio-cultural conditions that possibly induce female depression.

Political Regulation on Cinema in Korea • Seung Hyun Park and Jinman Han, Hallyum University & Kangwon National University • Political regulation on cinema has been the greatest barrier to the development of Korean cinema since its inception in the early twentieth century. Especially in the period from 1961 to 1979, authoritarian rule, which often involved martial law and emergency measures to silence diverse voices in basic human rights of the Korean people, elaborately designed the film industry to follow the official aesthetic doctrine defined by state agencies.

Global Queens, National Celebrities: Tales of Feminine Triumph in the Textual Imagery • Radhika Parameswaran, Indiana • Joining the tide of ethnic multiculturalism in global popular culture, a parade of Indian beauty queens’ conquests at Miss World and Miss Universe contests over the past decade have begun to pose a serious challenge to Latin America’s record of victories at these contests. Using textual analysis, this article examines media narratives on six Indian global beauty queens to reveal the complex ways in which hegemonic constructions of gender, nation, and class structure popular representations of the modern Indian woman’s agency.

Television News and Gender-relevant Visual Frames: How Election Stories Both Empower and Exclude Women Viewers • Kimmerly S. Piper-Aiken, Michigan State • This study involved the analysis of 30 news stories focused on “the importance or value of the women’s vote” or “the gender gap” from the 1996, 1992, 1988, and 1984 elections. This study found dramatic evidence of gender-relevant framing in television news video in three categories: visual imaging, visual clichés, and visual stereotypes. In terms of women’s involvement in politics, there was evidence that television news messages have been both empowering and exclusionary.

Ted Turner as Postmodern Legend: From Mouth of the South to Maverick on a Mission • Jimmie Reeves, Texas Tech • Like the “great man” narratives of other prominent figures in mass media history, the legend of Robert Edward (Ted) Turner III has been carefully cultivated and is largely the product of self-promotion. In exploring the continuities, contradictions, and contrivances of the Ted Turner story, this paper focuses on a period that begins in 1963 with Turner taking control of the family business and ends in 1991 with Turner being named Time Magazine’s “Man of the Year.”

The Road to War: Breaking the Code • Denise St. Clair and Atsushi Takjima, Wisconsin-Madison • This paper evaluates six newspaper articles from six newspapers around the world to assess through the use of framing analysis whether the coverage of President Bush’s September 13, 2002 speech to the United Nations urging the world to go to war with Iraq represents the dominant ideology of the country in which the paper is produced. This study builds on Entman’s work on framing, specifically in regard to the reliance on official sources.

‘Tama Mesquakies Battle to Save the School’; Hegemony and Change at a Community Newspaper • Sara Struckman and Frank D. Durham, Iowa • This study interprets newspaper coverage involving a conflict between the Mesquakie tribe of Iowa and the local white community over the proposed closing of the Native Americans’ school in 1968-69. The focus is the interaction of the two newspapers, the regional Des Moines Register and the local Tama News-Herald. As a result of the textual analysis, we have understood more about the nature of media hegemony and social change.

Undisciplined Reading: An Ethnographic Study of Social-Silent Readers in a Mega-Bookstore Cafe • K. D. Trager, Indiana • This article explores the ways that the “social-silent” readers in may case study established rules for themselves and others that tamed the “undisciplined” atmosphere of one Borders bookstore café in the Midwest. Their actions are read as a “mild protest” against the forms of sociability constructed by the store and the deprivatization the store offers. This paper also examines the quiet struggle between the different types of readers to define the café reading space.

Feeding the Public’s Hunger for Sensation: Discourses on Dog-eating • Christopher Vaughan, Rutgers • The consumption of dog has served as a cultural dividing line in Western discourses demarcating civilized and “uncivilized” societies. The case of Igorot tribes in the northern Philippines, whose canine repasts generated much sensationalist journalism and popular cultural comment, served in the early 20th century to provide a false case for the unsuitability for self-government of Filipinos writ large. The journalistic tradition continues in coverage of such minority practices in the Philippines and South Korea.

Are the Opinion Pages a Forum for Public Participation? A Comparison of Danish and British Models • Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, Cardiff University • This paper compares the potential for public participation in the opinion pages of Danish and British quality newspapers, which have radically different models for these pages. The paper is based on an examination of op-ed and editorial pages in the three largest circulation Danish dailies, as well as in the British papers, The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Times, during a randomly selected two-week period in the autumn of 2002. The paper draws on deliberative democratic theory as its normative framework.

<< 2003 Abstracts

Communication Theory and Methodology Divisions

Similarities and Differences in College-Age Men’s and Women’s Responses to Alcohol Advertisements in Men’s and Women’s Magazines • Erica Weintraub Austin, Autumn Miller, Ryan Sain, Kenneth Andersen, Alina Ryabovolova, Lynne Barber, Angela Johnson, Katie Severance, Toby Beal and Cicely Clinkenbeard, Washington State • A receiver-oriented content analysis (N=321) explored the perceptions of men and women regarding advertisements for alcohol contained in the most popular men’s and women’s magazines. Each individual rated four randomly selected ads (2 from men’s magazines and 2 from women’s magazines), with a total of 32 ads rated by participants. Men found the ads targeting them more appealing while women reported the ads in men’s magazines as more offensive.

Criticism or Praise? The Impact Of Verbal Versus Text-Only Computer Feedback On Social Presence, Intrinsic Motivation, And Recall • Cheryl Campanella Bracken, Leo W. Jeffres, and Kimberly A. Neuendorf, Cleveland State • The Computers are Social Actors (CASA) paradigm asserts that human computer users interact socially with computers, and has provided extensive evidence that this is the case. In this experiment, (N= 134) participants received either praise or criticism from a computer. Independent variables were the feedback (praise or criticism), and voice (verbal or text-only). Dependent variables measured via a computer-based questionnaire were recall, perceived ability, intrinsic motivation, and perceptions of the computer as a social entity.

Processing AIDS/HIV Prevention Messages: Arousing Content, Production Pacing, and Sexual Experience • Samuel D. Bradley, James R. Angelini, Zheng Wang, and Annie Lang, Indiana • Designing effective public service announcements promoting safe-sex behavior is a challenging task. Due to the arousing, risky nature of sex, research suggests that viewers are likely to process these messages differently than other messages. An experiment was conducted wherein 75 college students were shown AIDS/HIV prevention messages. Results suggest that, as with other messages, fast production pacing increased valence. Rather than increasing self-reported arousal, however, pacing decreased the self-reported arousal.

Democratic Realism, Neoconservativism, and the Normative Underpinnings of Political Communication Research • Erik P. Bucy, Indiana and Paul D’Angelo, Albany • This paper traces the development and diffusion of four basic, normative assumptions in the political communication literature identified by Chaffee and Hochheimer (1985). We first examine how these assumptions were brought into the field by Paul Lazarsfeld and his Columbia school colleagues under the guiding principles of democratic realism, and then analyze how they continue to operate in the literature today.

Coefficient of Co-Termination • Li Cai, Ohio State • The assessment of intercoder agreement in the unitizing phase of content analyses has long been overlooked. In particular, little attention has been paid to the issue of co-termination. Although multiple-coder kappa can be used for the purpose of summarizing the agreement of co-termination, its conservativeness often results in gross underestimates. A new family of coefficients based on Multi-response Randomized Blocks Permutation procedure is presented here and numerical examples are given.

Community Level Determinants of Knowledge and Participation: Extending Knowledge Gap to Participation Gap • Jaeho Cho and Douglas M. McLeod, Wisconsin-Madison • This paper investigates the relationships between community characteristics and knowledge and participation levels examined at both the individual and community levels. This research extends knowledge gap to a parallel phenomenon, participation gag. Results from the Social Capital Benchmark Survey 2000 showed that community density, education, and cohesion were significant positive predictors of knowledge but less consistent predictors of participation at the individual level. At the community level, relationships were even stronger, though inconsistent in direction.

Pacing and Arousing Content Effects on Personal Impact, Third Person Effects and Reverse Third Person Effects of Anti-Smoking PSAs for Smokers and Non-Smokers • T. Makana Chock, Julia R. Fox, James R. Angelini, Seungjo Lee and Annie Lang, Indiana • This study found third-person effects of anti-smoking radio PSAs for smokers but reverse third-person effects for non-smokers. For smokers and non-smokers, these effects diminished with increased message pacing, as both rated others more similar to themselves in response to fast-paced PSAs compared to slow-paced PSAs. Increased message pacing resulted in greater perceived effects on self for smokers and non-smokers, although this effect was more pronounced for smokers. Fast-paced, arousing messages had the greatest personal impact.

News Values of Sports Coverage: A test of the Newsworthiness Model on the World Cup Coverage • Yun Jung Choi, Jong Hyuk Lee and Cheolhan Lee, Missouri at Columbia • The purpose of this study is to test the international newsworthiness model of Shoemaker, Danielian, and Brendlinger (1991) in sports coverage. The World Cup held in Korea and Japan was selected as the topic. To test the hypothesis, significance and deviance points of the World Cup matches were operationally defined based on the FIFA ranking points, William Hill betting points, and CNN power ranking, and then these statistics were compared with the coverage.

Using Computerized Content Analysis to Measure Affective Tone: An Amplification of “Sensationalism” by Comparing the Tonal Values of the New York Times to the New York Post Using Whissell’s Dictionary of Affect in Language • Paul Crandon and John Lombardi, North Alabama • This study introduces an innovation content analysis method that incorporates both computerized database processing and traditional semantic differential scaling. The researchers looked for evidence of sensationalism by examining headlines and leads from the New York Times and the New York Post. The two newspapers were compared using Whissell’s Dictionary of Affect in Language and an accompanying software system. Results found significant differences between the two sources, establishing further validation of the instrument itself.

Completeness, Web Use Motivation, and Credibility • Mohan J. Dutta-Bergman, Purdue • Recent articles on the quality of health information on the Internet reveal two critical criteria: completeness and credibility. This paper investigates the effect of web use motivation on the relationship between completeness and credibility. Based on a 2×3 experiment conducted with 246 respondents, the paper demonstrates that the extent of completeness of health information on the Internet impacts consumer assessment of source and website credibility.

Understanding the Relationship Between News Use and Political Knowledge: A Model-Comparison Approach Using Panel Data • William P. Eveland, Jr., Ohio State; Andrew F. Hayes; Dhavan V. Shah, Wisconsin-Madison and Nojin Kwak, Michigan • The purpose of this study was to examine more closely the assumptions of causality in research on learning from news. We collected panel data on a national sample in June and November 2000. We employed a model comparison approach to identify the best fitting model among alternatives that included models of unidirectional and reciprocal causality. The data are most consistent with a model of causality that is unidirectional running from T2 news use to T2 political knowledge.

Minority TV Portrayals, Regional Factors & Opinions on Affirmative Actions: An Affective Model of Policy Reasoning • Yuki Fujioka, Georgia State and Alexis S. Tan, Washington State • The self-administered survey of 360 white respondents in South East (n=360) and 237 white respondents in North West examined (a) regional differences in racial attitudes; and (b) influence of news media on African American stereotypes and opinions on affirmative action. Based upon the power-threat hypothesis and contact hypothesis, the study hypothesized and found that whites in South had more negative racial attitudes than whites in North West.

Cognitive Access to New and Traditional Media: Evidence from Different Strata or the Social Order • Maria Elizabeth Grabe, Indiana • The study reported here experimentally investigated the cognitive access and emotional responses of news consumers across demographic (low and high education groups) and media channel (newspaper, television, and the Web) variables. Contrary to what most channel studies have reported, television, not newspapers, emerged as the most user-friendly medium with the highest probability of providing cognitive access to news information, particularly to subjects in the lower education group.

Responding to Banner Animation: An Application of the Visual Search Paradigm • Nokon Heo, Central Arkansas • This study investigates the effect of banner animation on search-reaction time. All subjects (N = 29) in a 2 (Animation Type) x 3 (Banner Type) x 4 (Distractor Number) within-subjects factorial experiment were participated in a Web banner search task. Each subject completed a total of 72 trials. In each trial, the subject was shown a target banner and asked to search the target in the mist of distractors that were arrayed in a subsequent display.

Inside or Outside of Democracy? Political Socialization of Adolescents Within The Culture of Poverty • Edward M. Horowitz, Johan Wanstrom and Kimberly Parker, Oklahoma • This study investigates political socialization among adolescents in poor inner city communities. These adolescents live in a distinct culture different from the politically dominant upper and middle class cultures. Results indicate that these adolescents are dependent on the educational level of their parents (which often is low) and what they learn from the official school curriculum. The specific environment gives these adolescents few opportunities to learn the cultural capital necessary to understand and function in the political process.

Community and Civic Values, Communication, and Social Capital “Bowling Alone” as a Product of Values and Communication • Leo W. Jeffres, Jae-won Lee, Kimberly Neuendorf and David Atkin, Cleveland State • When Putman (1995) focused attention on a decline in organizational involvement, he renewed interest in community activities and their consequences for civic life. Since civic involvement occurs at the most “local” level, the community and neighborhood have emerged as contexts for examining “social capita” and processes involved in its decline or direction. This paper examines relationships between civic and community values, communication variables and community variable that include social capital, community attachment and identity, using data from a survey conducted in a Midwest metro area in the summer of 2001.

Perceived Interactivity and Cognitive Involvement: A Protocol Analysis of User Experience on A Web Portal with Multimedia Features • Yan Jin and Glen T. Cameron, Missouri-Columbia • This protocol analysis investigates how the most recent developed conceptualization and dimensional definition of perceived interactivity may move beyond advertising effectiveness and fit into Web portal with multimedia features. Portal users’ thoughts on active control, two-way communication, synchronicity as well as vividness were observed and categorized into different cognitive involvement levels. As a result, synchronicity turned out to be the most weighted dimensions, followed by vividness and active control. Two-way communication seemed not a strong indicator of portal interactivity.

The World Wide Web of Sports: A Path Model Examining How Online Gratifications and Reliance Predict Credibility of Online Sports Information • Thomas J. Johnson, Southern Illinois and Barbara K. Kaye, Tennessee • This study surveyed sports enthusiasts online to examine the impact of Internet gratifications and other factors on judgments of online credibility. Being motivated to go online for information and for entertainment were the strongest predictors of credibility of online sports sources. Reliance on traditional media and age were the only other consistent predictors of online credibility, with young, heavy media users rating the Internet as a credible source of sports information.

Gateways, Billboards, Communities, Niches, or Brands: A Concept Explication of Web Portals for Communication Research • Sriram Kalyanaraman and S.Shyam Sundar, Penn State • Web portals are increasing in their presence as well as importance, yet suffer from lack of conceptual clarity. In explicating the concept of portals from a number of disciplinary frameworks, this paper discovers five different, but inter-related, metaphorical conceptions—gateways, billboards, communities, niches, and brands—which, in turn, suggest five dominant features of portal sites — customization, content, control, community, and commerce—for empirical examination as variables in future research on uses and effects of portals.

News Framing of Civic Liberties Restrictions: Conditional Effects on Security Concerns and Tolerance Judgments • Heejo Keum, Elliott Hillback, Hernando Rojas, Tom Hove, Homero Gil de Zuniga, Abhiyan Humane, Mark Heather, Dhavan V. Shah and Douglas M. McLeod, Wisconsin-Madison • We examine framing effects on political tolerance. Using an online survey experiment, we presented alternative versions of a news story concerning government restrictions on an activist group. We manipulated whether the activists backed a cause supported or opposed by the respondent and whether the story framed civil liberties restrictions at the individual or group level. We find individual story frames polarize responses, leading to less support for least-liked groups and more support for most-liked groups.

Deindividuated Individuals?: Ethnographic Study of A Virtual Community • Junghyun Kim, Michigan State • This is a study about how two unique characteristics of virtual communities – the lack of social context cues and group environments – may affect the individuals’ interpersonal interaction as well as collective behaviors in virtual communities. From an ethnographic study, this paper found out that individuals in virtual communities behaved in congruent with their unique community norms with extreme loyalty toward their communities, and that they had hyperpersonal interactions with ingroup members.

Thrilling News, Factors Generating Suspense During News Exposure • Silvia Knobloch, Dmitri Williams, Michigan and Caterina Keplinger, Dresden University of Technology • Hypotheses on reactions to news were derived from Zillmann’s model of fictional drama. German participants read news stories manipulated for affective disposition toward actors and likelihood of negative outcome. Measures of suspense, reading appreciation, lingering interest, information evaluation, and mood were collected. A positive disposition toward protagonists and a perceived high likelihood of a negative outcome increased suspense while attending to news. A positive disposition led to higher reading appreciation, more interest, and better information evaluations.

Talking Politics and Engaging Politics: An Examination of The Interactive Relationships Between Structural Features of Political Talk and Discussion Engagement • Nojin Kwak, Ann Williams, Xiaoru Wang, Hoon Lee, Michigan • This study takes a process-oriented approach to understand the current status of political discussion research and identifies discussion engagement-discussion attention and integrative discussion-as an unexplored, but important, facet of political discussion. We find that discussion engagement enhances the impact that interpersonal talk has on politics, beyond what frequently employed measures of structural features of discussion network-size, frequency, and heterogeneity-yield.

Relationship between Sensation Seeking Tendency and Substance Use: Refining the Measure of Rebelliousness for Substance Use Research • Moon J. Lee, Washington State • This study reviewed a history of developing a theoretical framework of sensation-seeking tendency and addressed the critical issues involved in substance use research in regard to the sensation-seeking scale (SSS). An attempt was made to examine the existing sensation-seeking scale to better capture Disinhibition, one of the four factors in SSS that exhibit a high correlation with substance use. An exploratory factor analysis of the existing items with newly added items indicates one factor solution.

Interaction As A Unit Of Analysis For Interactive Media Research: A Conceptualization • Joo-Hyun Lee and Hairong Li, Michigan State • This conceptual paper proposes interaction as a unit of analysis in interactive media research. Ambiguity of interactivity as a core concept has been identified. With a delineation of the similarities and differences among interactivity, reaction, and interaction, this paper presents a new definition of interaction. The superiority of the interaction concept over interactivity is explained, along with the antecedents and consequences. Research propositions and hypotheses are proposed for use of interaction in future interactive media research.

Population Validity and Subject Selection Bias in Eight Marketing and Mass Communication Journals: A Critical Review • Dennis T. Lowry and Katherine H. Sundararaman, Southern Illinois Carbondale • A probability sample of 508 empirical articles from four prestigious marketing journals and four prestigious mass communication journals from 1991 through 2000 were evaluated to determine the population validity and subject selection bias of the studies. Both disciplines used a preponderance (59.3%) of non-probability samples, and one-third of the articles did not report sufficient sampling procedures to permit replication. A majority of studies did not report sampling completion rates; only 3.4% of the studies reported margin of error information.

How General Principles of Organization Theory Explain Gatekeeping Decisions About News: A Revised View of the Field• Hugh J. Martin, Georgia • Mass communication hypotheses about gatekeeping do not provide a coherent explanation of organizational influences. General theories define organizations as collections of individuals working toward a common goal. This view focuses on the processes that organizations develop, and the internal and external variables that influence the outcome of those processes. These principles are used to develop alternative models of news selection. New propositions about news selection are derived from these models.

Self-Esteem, Self-Affirmation And Threats To Self-Worth: Testing A Motivational Explanation For The Third-Person Effect • Patrick C. Meirick, Oklahoma • The self-enhancement explanation for third-person effects argues that perceiving oneself as resistant to media messages enhances one’s self-esteem. The need to self-enhance can be increased by threats to self-worth or reduced by self-affirmation (Steele, 1988). In Study One, third-person effects did not vary by threat condition or by self-esteem, although those high in self-esteem perceived smaller effects on themselves and others. In Study Two, third-person effects were smaller among those whose self-worth was affirmed.

Understanding Consumer Intention to Shop Online: A Comparison of Three Intention-Based Models • Jae-Jin Park and Glen T. Cameron, Missouri-Columbia • By using a sample of 733 consumers, this study employed path analysis to compare three intention-based models (i.e., the theory of reasoned action, the theory of planned behavior, and the technology acceptance model) in terms of the extent to which each can be used to predict and understand the consumer’s online-shopping intention. This study found that the theory of planned behavior provides a more robust theoretical basis for the study of online shopping than does the theory of reasoned action.

A Cross-Nationally Comparative Look At Agenda-Setting-The Occurrence Of Agenda-Setting Depends On The Nature Of Elite Opinion • Jochen Peter, Amsterdam • Agenda-setting research has rarely studied less frequently covered issues and seldom taken a cross-nationally comparative perspective. Focusing on the issue of European integration, this study investigated whether the amount of EU coverage in television news affected the extent to which EU citizens perceived European integration to be important. More importantly, it was studied whether the nature of elite opinion about European integration moderated the occurrence of agenda-setting effects.

None of the Above: Creating Mass Deliberation Without Discussion • Ray Pingree, Wisconsin-Madison • Deliberative democracy has been plagued by questions of implementation, due to a failure to distinguish between discussion and the more general concept of many-to-many communication. To demonstrate that this theoretical distinction is both possible and important, this paper introduces an example of an Internet-based many-to-many communication system designed to achieve deliberation’s outcomes without discussion. A broader deliberative theory is proposed, to encompass the concept of non-conversational deliberation as part of a more attainable public sphere.

Towards a Network Approach of Human Action, Theoretical concepts and empirical observations in media organizations • Thorsten Quandt, Technical University Ilmenau, Germany • This paper argues that network approaches can be helpful in describing phenomena in the media. It presents data from an empirical observation study in the newsrooms of German online media. We found surprising similarities in the coded material from this observation. This leads us to the conclusion that there are associations and sequences in human action which can be analyzed on the basis of network theory. We therefore develop a relational theory of human action.

Two Suggestions for Better Mass Communication Measurement: Remember Unidimensionality, Forget Little Jiffy • John D. Richardson and Frederick Fico, Michigan State • A review of leading mass communication journals indicates that studies introducing measures of latent constructs rarely considered unidimensionality, a critical element of construct validity. Drawing on psychometric literature, it is demonstrated that procedures commonly used to assess/develop mass communication measures, particularly Cronbach’s alpha and exploratory factor analysis, do not examine whether a measure is unidimensional. Moreover, the review of prior studies also suggests widespread use of Kaiser’s “Little Jiffy,” a contraindicated combination of exploratory factor analytic techniques.

Are People Still Learning from the Media? A Review of Social Learning Theory in Mass Communication Research, 1990-2001 • Jennifer A. Robinson, Alabama • This state of the art review analyzed mass media research which utilized social learning concepts for a theoretical base. Four major research categories were revealed: direct media effects, mediators of vicarious learning, social diffusion (indirect effects), and media oriented theoretical developments. Although health campaigns and media portrayals dominate the research, there are relatively unexplored opportunities for mass media researchers to investigate mediating variables and develop new models utilizing key social cognitive theory concepts.

Emotional Intelligence, Communication, and Civic Engagement: Exploring Possibilities for Civic Renewal • Hernando Rojas, Wisconsin-Madison • This paper integrates emotional intelligence (EI), an ability to recognize and regulate emotions, in a model that predicts civic engagement, both directly and indirectly through various communication variables. In particular, the relationship of EI with media use, interpersonal discussion, and political efficacy are explored. Hypotheses where examined across two studies. Findings suggest that EI is positively related with civic engagement, news use, discussion network size, and political efficacy.

Is Herpes Entertaining? An Application Of Entertainment-Education To Text Information Processing Concerning STDs Among Adolescents • Donna Rouner and Ralf Kracke-Berndorff, Colorado State • This study examined the impact of entertainment-education strategies on audience’s (N=137) information processing regarding sexual health. The hypothesis, that higher involved audience members exposed to a statistical message would show a higher message evaluation than those exposed to an anecdotal message, was partially supported. Also, “framing” the same anecdotal message as either intended for promotion or entertainment purposes, controlling for involvement, found higher message evaluation by respondents exposed to the entertainment message.

Comparison of Computerized and Traditional Content Analysis Techniques: A Case Study of the Texas Democratic Gubernatorial Primary • Cindy Royal, Texas at Austin • In Spring 2002, a graduate seminar at a large southwestern university embarked on a project to analyze the images of political candidates in the Texas Democratic Gubernatorial Primary as found in the Austin American-Statesman. While part of the class used traditional coding techniques, other students utilized the computerized content analysis tool VBPro to analyze the same series of data. This provided a unique opportunity to compare and contrast strategies and results.

News framing of Arctic drilling and its impact on attributes salience and issue attitudes • Fuyuan Shen, Penn State • This paper explores whether news framing can alter the salience of issue attributes, and opinions. Participants were exposed to newspaper articles framing the issue of oil drilling by emphasizing its environmental consequences or economic benefits. Results indicated that news frames had a significant impact on the perceived salience of frame relevant issue attributes. Subjects reported more frame relevant thoughts and perceived frame relevant issue attributes more important.

Modeling Micro And Macro: A Multilevel Model To Predict Memory For Television Content • Brian G. Southwell, Minnesota • Whenever a study engages an array of variables that should involve different units of analysis, the risk of misleading results lurks. Questions about memory for media content, for example, invite investigation of not only variables describing individuals, but also (relatively speaking) macro-level constructs concerning content. This paper uses multilevel modeling techniques to avoid basic pitfalls and predict memory for electronic media content using data from U.S. adolescents and data regarding nationally available health campaign advertisements.

The Need For Cognition As A Moderator In The Association Between News Media Skepticism • Yariv Tsfati, University of Haifa, Israel and Joseph N. Cappella, Pennsylvania • Prior research has found only modest associations between news media trust and exposure. Many news skeptics report moderate to high levels of mainstream news exposure, despite their mistrust of mainstream news. Why do people watch news they do not trust? This study investigates the moderating role played by the psychological construct of “the need for cognition” in this association. A need for cognition by media skepticism interaction is hypothesized and tested on survey data (n = 424).

Attributions of Advertising Influence and Negative Stereotypes Among First-and Third –Person Perceptions • Don Umphery and Tom Robinson, Southern Methodist • Recent high school graduates and university seniors both judged the influence of four magazine advertisements aimed at different age groups on each other, on people in their mid-40s, and on people in their 70s. Both samples demonstrated first-person findings with advertisements for products aimed at younger people and third-person perceptions for people in their mid-40s and 70s with advertisements for products aimed at older individuals.

The Automatic Activation of Drug Attitudes: Anti-Drug Ad Viewing Styles and Strength of Association • Carson B Wagner, Texas at Austin and S. Shyam Sundar, Pennsylvania State • Strength of association (SOA) measures convey the likelihood that attitudes will activate automatically to guide behavior. Prior anti-drug ad research has shown the difficulty in demonstrating effects on SOA, but theory suggests consuming drug ads passively as opposed to scrutinizing them may result in stronger negative associations. Herein, a between-participants experiment (N = 57) explores this possibility and indicates that viewing ads less actively yields significantly more negative SOA as compared to watching effortfully.

Message Framing and Measuring Emotional Response to Islam and Terrorism: A Comparison Between Christians, Jews and Muslims • Robert H. Wicks, Arkansas • Religion, like politics and economics, has an enormous impact on the evolution of peoples, societies and nations. This study considers how members of different religions perceive and respond emotionally to televised news reports about Islam and terrorism that the media frame in various ways. The study employs emotional response procedures that are similar to Mehrabian scaling techniques. The results indicate news reports with high relevancy to members of various faiths produce feelings of hostility, anger and outrage.

Agenda-Setting Effects in the Digital Age- Refining “Need for Orientation” with “Effort Required to Attend to the Message” • Chan Yun Yoo and Gunho Lee, Texas at Austin • This study attempted (1) to examine the agenda-setting function in the new media environment, (2) to redefine the concept of need for orientation, and (3) to empirically investigate the effects of need for orientation in the agenda-setting process. By conducting an experimental study, the authors revealed that all three new sub-dimensions of need for orientation – personal involvement, knowledge, and effort required to attend to the message – played a significant role in the agenda-setting process, and especially, individual’s effort required to attend to the message moderated the agenda-setting effects.

<< 2003 Abstracts