Small Programs Interest Group

Team-teaching in a convergence curriculum: Lessons from one school’s experience • Ann E. Auman, University of Hawai`i • This article employs an interdisciplinary lens to evaluate team-teaching models in four core courses in a new convergence curriculum at a small, undergraduate journalism program. In the models, degrees of faculty collaboration vary depending on course level. Students in first-year journalism classes benefited from a lower level of collaboration than those in second-year classes where advanced cross-platform knowledge was needed.

Grading students in the small program journalism workshop course • Ken Rosenauer, Bob Bergland and Ann Thorne, Missouri Western State University • Evaluation of student work in journalism workshop courses is nearly nonexistent. Our survey of 500 media advisers revealed that the traditional A-B-C-D-F grading rubric is largely preferred, grade-flation is commonplace, smaller schools expect more work of students than larger, advisers typically ask students to complete critiques and self-evaluations, yearbook editors are more likely than newspaper editors to provide grading input, and equally important criteria for grading are meeting deadlines, quality and quantity.

Plagiarism Policies in a Post-Blair World: What Did J-Schools Learn? • Kimberly Wilmot Voss and Lance Speere, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville • While there have been numerous cases of journalistic plagiarism and fabrication in recent years, it was the Jayson Blair scandal that led to several changes in newsrooms. The changes made at newspapers lead to the question of what kind of changes, if any, that journalism and mass communication programs instituted in response to Blair’s actions. This study, based on survey research, looks at what journalism programs are doing in response to several public cases of journalism dishonesty.

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Science Communication Interest Group

Media Use and Procedural Fairness Perceptions in the Context of Local Cancer Cluster Investigations • John Besley, Cornell University • Research on procedural justice argues that individuals often care as much about fair process and they do about fair outcome when it comes to assessing political authorities. Previous media research, however, has failed to consider whether a relationship exists between news media use and fairness perceptions.

Dispensing Information or Propaganda? Appraising Frames in News Coverage of Prescription Drug Advertisements • Cynthia-Lou Coleman and L. David Ritchie, Portland State University • One of the key arguments in favor of prescription drug advertisements has been that they inform and educate consumers. We explore how news stories about direct-to-consumer advertising from 1997 through 2004 qualitatively framed the concept of information, including salient metaphors used to enrich the term. The study is informed by theories of news construction, framing and agenda building in the context of conveying “information.”

Framing Coastal Erosion: A Qualitative Assessment of National Media’s Coverage of Louisiana Coastal Erosion Pre- and Post-Katrina • Jane Dailey and Lisa Lundy, Louisiana State University • This study examined how the media framed the issue of coastal erosion before and after Hurricane Katrina. We examined newspaper coverage of Louisiana’s America’s Wetland campaign and coastal erosion problems in other coastal areas around the country. The results generally show that newspaper coverage of coastal erosion was scant but increased rapidly following Hurricane Katrina.

Reporting on a Potential Pandemic: A Content Analysis of Avian Influenza Newspaper Coverage • Anthony D. Dudo and Michael F. Dahlstrom, University of Wisconsin-Madison • While quality information does not guarantee accurate risk perceptions, it provides the public with the means to perform an informed assessment of a risk. We analyzed four American newspapers to assess the quality of coverage related to avian flu. Quality was conceptualized around five dimensions: risk magnitude, self efficacy, risk comparisons, sensationalism, and thematic and episodic framing. Coverage exhibited high quality only in terms of risk magnitude and risk comparison information.

After the Flood: Anger, Attribution and the Seeking of Information • Robert J. Griffin, Marquette University and Janet Yang, Cornell and Ellen ter Huurne, University of Twente, THE NETHERLANDS and Francesca Boerner and Sherry Ortiz, Marquette University and Sharon Dunwoody, University of Wisconsin-Madison • In an effort to understand what motivates people to attend to information about flood risks, this study applies the Risk Information Seeking and Processing model to explore how local residents responded to damaging river flooding in the Milwaukee area. Anger at managing agencies was associated with the desire for information and active information seeking and processing, as well as with risk judgment, personal efficacy, lower institutional trust, and attributions for the causes of flood losses.

The Effects of Mr. and Mrs. Reeve on Public Health and Social Issues: Celebrity Identification and Parasocial Interaction • Bumsub Jin, University of Florida • This research assessed whether celebrity identification process affects individual concerns with and attitudes toward public health and socially relevant issues. A survey study indicated that identification with Christopher Reeve led to individual concerns with health insurance coverage, research on spinal cord injuries, and legislation to legalize research on stem cells. An experimental study also revealed that identification with Christopher and Dana Reeve predicted individuals? positive attitude toward supporting quality of life for the disabled.

Genetic Science Information in News about Obesity: Effects on Controllability Attribution of Others’ Obesity and Perceptions about One’s Own Weight Problem • Se-Hoon Jeong, University of Pennsylvania • This study tests the effects of genetic explanations of obesity in news stories with a nationally representative sample. Surprisingly, with regard to one’s own obesity, subjects reported the most negative attitudes toward weight loss (i.e., difficult to lose weight) after reading the strong behavioral news story.

Can a Personality Trait Predict Talk about Science? Sensation Seeking as a Science Communication Targeting Variable • Yoori Hwang and Brian Southwell, University of Minnesota • Sensation seeking, a trait that has been invoked by public health campaign scholars as a targeting variable, also holds promise for informal science education professionals who seek to engage social networks in their promotion efforts. We contend here that sensation seeking should positively predict talk about science, even after controlling for often-cited predictors such as education, perceived understanding of science, and relevant employment.

Where Do Ohioans Get Their Environmental News? • Stephen Lacy, Michigan State University and Daniel Riffe, Ohio University and Miron Varouhakis, Michigan State University • A survey of 971 Ohio residents in February 2005 found a high percentage of people attended to environmental news at all geographic levels, but the percentages declined as the focus of the environmental news got “closer to home.” Newspapers and television news continued to dominate environmental news at all levels, with newspapers edging television as environmental problems become more local.

The Method Had Originally Been the Theory: How the Media Describes Science, Scientific Theories, and Scientific Method • Bruce Lewenstein and Sara Ball, Cornell University • Recent public debates about “intelligent design” have often highlighted definitions of science, scientific theories, and scientific method. We identified 324 newspaper articles in the past year that used the terms; about half referred to “intelligent design.” The data suggest that no single definition is presented in the media. Although there were clear differences between stories that focused on intelligent design and those that didn’t, the diversity was present in both types of stories.

American Newspapers and the Great Meteor Storm of 1833: A Case Study in Science Journalism • Mark Littman, University of Tennessee • On November 13, 1833 Americans witnessed an unprecedented meteor storm. The response of American newspapers was surprising. Papers of this period focused on national politics, were highly partisan, and ignored local happenings and science. Yet confronted with an unexpected celestial spectacle, American newspaper coverage of the 1833 Leonid meteor storm was so accurate, innovative, responsible, and extensive that it quieted fear and superstition and helped to found a new branch of astronomy, meteor science.

Nanotechnology: Constructing the Public and Public Constructions • Susanna Priest and Hillary Fussell, University of South Carolina • Nanotechnology is following in biotechnology’s wake as the next wave of major technoscientific advancement. In the U.S., perhaps because the introduction of biotechnology was rockier than expected, substantial public resources are being invested in public outreach and education efforts for nanotechnology. Risk communication specialists are key players in this effort.

Metaphor Use in Stem Cell Research Coverage: A Comparison of U.S. and South Korean Newspapers • Lulu Rodriguez and Hye Hyun Hong, Iowa State University • A qualitative content analysis of the metaphors applied by two elite newspapers, the Chosun Ilbo of South Korea and the New York Times in the U.S., in their coverage of stem cell research over a five-year period (2001-2005) was conducted to compare their intensity of and differences in metaphor use.

Penchant for Print: Media Strategies and Choices of Agricultural Communication Professionals • Amanda Ruth, College of Charleston • The purpose of this study was to explore the media strategies and choices of agricultural communication professionals in their role as sources of agricultural information for the news media. This applied-exploratory study utilized qualitative methods in order to gather rich data through 12 in-depth interviews and three online asynchronous focus groups from a snowball sample of agricultural communication professionals. Overall, the data suggests a preference for working with trade, print media outlets.

Persuasion Theory: Frame and Source in the Promotion of Regular Physical Activity • Wanda Siu, Chinese University of Hong Kong • This study integrates framing postulate of prospect theory and the source factor to study the promotion of regular physical activity. Results show that a match of frame valence and source valence (gain frame-healthy source, cost frame-unhealthy source) enhanced message evaluation. Also, the effects of a semantic match of frame and source on message evaluation were moderated by enhanced message elaboration.

Stem Cell Research: Visual Framing of the Ethical Debate in Time and Newsweek • Nicole Smith, University of North Carolina• The ethical controversy surrounding stem cell research is fueling increasing debate. Based on the ability of a photograph to provoke emotion that words alone cannot do, the research study examined how newsmagazine photographs frame this ethical debate. Previous scholars have indicated that framing is particularly relevant when the topic is political and/or social, such stem cell research. Qualitative analysis of newsmagazine photos found that four themes emerged as news frames: science, politics, medical, and religion.

Assessing the Impact of Media Literacy Training on Middle School-Aged Children’s Attitudes toward Women in Science, Engineering, and Technology • Jocelyn Steinke, Western Michigan University and Maria Lapinski, Michigan State University and Aletta Zietsman-Thomas, Northwest University in Potchefstroom and Paul Nwulu, Nikki Crocker, Yaschica Williams, Stephanie Higdon and Sarvani Kuchibhotla, Western Michigan University • This study examined the efficacy of media literacy training on middle school-aged children’s recognition of gender stereotypes, perceptions of women in SET, and attitudes toward SET and SET careers. A total of 302 seventh-grade students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: discussion, discussion plus viewing of media images of women, or a control. The implications for future research on media influences on middle school-aged children’s perceptions of gender and science will be addressed.

A Comparison of Media Portrayals of Nano R&D in Major Newspapers in China (PRC), the United States and Europe, 2004-2005 • Lowndes Stephens and Qingjiang Yao, University of South Carolina and Zhao Xi Liu, University of Missouri • We examine news narratives about nanoscale science and technology from 2004-2005 in a sample of major newspapers in the United States (n=150 articles), Europe (n=73 articles) and China (n=143 articles) and compare the breadth of and dominant frames/themes with similar content analytic studies in U.S. and British newspapers. Dominant frames are “finance, intellectual property and PR” in the U.S., “ELSIs” in Europe, and “general commercial or consumer applications” in China.

Trolleys and Other Health Service Targets: Irish Journalists’ Perceptions of their Influence on Health Policy Development • Kim Walsh-Childers, University of Florida • This study examined perceptions news media influence on Irish health policy development among Irish journalists who specialize in covering health issues. In-depth interviews with eight of the most influential Irish health journalists revealed three themes: perceptions of the role of journalism in Irish society; assessments of the quality of and problems with news coverage of health, especially health policy; and perceptions of the influence of news coverage on health policy development.

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Religion and Media Interest Group

Catholicism and Public Opinion: A Study of the Church as a Source of Political Information • J. Connor Best, Louisiana State University • This paper explores the role of the Church as a disseminator of political information through priests and media. Using data gathered from Catholics about where they gather political information this study determined whether the Church is an important influence on political behavior. This study finds that no particular source of information source within the Church dominates. Rather, Catholics use multiple information sources to synthesize their own understanding of what the Church teaches on political issues.

Consecrating the Bully Pulpit: A Presumed Media Influence Model of Evangelical Christians’ Attitudes Toward President George W. Bush • Ken Blake and Robert O. Wyatt, Middle Tennessee State University • Based on telephone polls in 2005 and 2006 of random adults in a Southern state with a high concentration of evangelical Christians, this study applied logistic regression and the presumed media influence model to explain evangelicals’ approval of President George W. Bush. Findings robustly linked evangelicals’ approval of Bush to their presumption that he would both enact religiously conservative policies and influence people to take religious faith more seriously. The model behaved rationally over time.

Building the Pure Land on Earth: Ciji’s media cultural discourse • Chiung Hwang Chen, Brigham Young University • With its resourceful media practice and insistence on a neo-Buddhist this-worldly theology, the Buddhist Compassion Relief Foundation (Tzu Chi or Ciji) has constructed a unique cultural discourse, one that competes against the mainstream media culture in Taiwan. This paper employs a cultural studies approach to analyze Ciji’s media cultural discourse.

The Missing Link: A Content Study of Religion as a Navigational Element on the Home Pages of U.S. Daily Newspapers • Mary Carmen Cupito, Northern Kentucky University • A content study of every U.S. daily general circulation newspaper with a website indicated that 14 percent or 187 of the 1,355 newspaper home pages had direct links or sublinks to news about faith or spirituality. Among these newspapers, few included multimedia or interactive dimensions. A regional analysis showed that more southern papers had home page links or sublinks to religion content than elsewhere in the country.

The 3R’s of El Salvador’s Civil War Revolution, Religion, and Radio • Juanita Darling, California State University • In the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country of El Salvador, Church leaders were often quoted and one priest regularly spoke on rebel radio, supporting the insurgency. This collaboration lasted throughout a twelve-year struggle that ended in 1992. This paper examines that collaboration based on oral history interviews, memoirs, and analysis of tapes of the broadcasts. It also posits that the alliance contributed to expanding the public sphere and laying a foundation for democratic decision-making.

The Second Text: Missionary Publishing and Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress • David N. Dixon, Malone College • With surprising regularity, missionaries in the l9th and early 20th centuries choose The Pilgrim’s Progress as one of the first texts to translate. This paper seeks to explore why a then 200-year-old allegory was held in such high esteem by the missionaries that they considered it second only to the Bible as a necessary work. It suggests that the book embodied a complex, sometimes paradoxical missionary ideology that still affects Africa today.

Jihad and Crusade in International Media Discourse • Mark Hungerford, University of Washington • A content analysis was conducted on newspapers in four countries to determine how media discourse interpreted and framed the terms jihad and crusade. While newspapers across the different countries interpreted jihad in similar ways (violent, committed by Muslims, without historical context), there was greater diversity between English-language and non-English language newspapers on usage of the term crusade. Overall, each newspapers used these terms to depict a violent other waging violence upon the national self.

Priests And Public Opinion: Assessing The Effects Of Framing The Catholic Church’s Sexual Abuse Scandal • Ally Ostrowski, University of Colorado • Since the early 90s, news media have brought stories of sexual transgressions by Catholic clergy into the public eye. This study examined the framing of the Catholic priest sexual abuse scandals to ascertain how audiences were potentially affected by the presentations they are shown.

The Effects of Religious Outdoor Advertising: An Experimental Study • Jefferson Spurlock, Troy University • This study examines the effectiveness of outdoor religious messages. In other words, does exposure to roadside advertisements displaying religious messages, particular church services or prayer, increase one’s intent to attend church services or to engage in active prayer? Three hundred thirty-five undergraduate and graduate students from a large southern university took part in the study’s experiment (Seventeen students did not complete the experiment so their responses were eliminated).

Media and Religion: The Promise of Cultural Biography • Daniel A. Stout, University of South Carolina • This paper argues that cultural biography is an important method for the developing subfield of media and religion. Based on examinations of biographies of mass communication theorists, it is concluded that religious thought often plays a strong role in secular theoretical development about media. The cultural biographies studied also revealed rigor and effectiveness as an exploratory method.

Jesus Christ, Movie Star: Exploring the Power Embedded in Evangelical Responses to The Last Temptation of Christ and The Passion of the Christ • James Y. Trammell, St. John Fisher College • This paper compares the evangelical Christian use and interpretation of The Last Temptation of Christ and The Passion of the Christ in order to explore how evangelicals use mainstream movies as a means to secure social power. Through Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of social power embedded in the use and interpretation of media texts, this paper interprets how evangelicals create dominant meanings of the movies, and use film releases as a call to defend evangelicalism.

Coverage of Faith-based Activism: The ADL, MPAC, and CAIR in the News • James Christian Zvonec • California State University-Northridge • This study examined newspaper coverage of faith-based activism, looking at how the ADL, MPAC, and CAIR were portrayed over a five-year time period. The newspapers constructed three main identities for the Jewish group (watchdog, defender of Jews, and expert source) and the two Islamic groups (watchdog, terrorism apologist, and voice of American Muslims), leading to the conclusion that the newspapers were working from a secularized Judeo-Christian ideology.

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Media and Disability Interest Group

Advocacy oriented behavior and health care access: A conceptual model of health communication used in coordinating care for children with juvenile arthritis • Michael Grinfeld, Brian Hensel and Robin Hoecker, Missouri • JAHelp, a Web site development project (www.JAHelp.org), funded through a grant from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, hypothesized that by providing parents, caregivers and others with the information they needed to advocate for children’s access to health care, self-efficacy and associated health outcomes would improve. This paper describes a conceptual model that argues that advocacy oriented access behavior can be encouraged through new media and constitutes a form of health care communication.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s silent campaign: Public communication regarding disability issues in the early 1990s • Julie Lellis, North Carolina • This paper describes the nature of a university’s efforts to communicate about the importance of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in relation to the disability civil rights movement. Research was designed to review internal communication practices and news coverage at UNC Chapel Hill. Analysis indicates that a campaign to acknowledge not only the impact of the ADA in the early 1990s, but the importance of civil rights for the disability community, did not exist.

From invisibility to national symbol: Contrasts in Paralympic coverage around the world during 2004 • Nan Yu and Marie Hardin, Penn State • Previous research on newspaper coverage of the Paralympic Games has revealed framing that diminishes the sporting accomplishments of Paralympians and has instead presented them as pitiful in relation to able-bodied athletes. Further, analysis of (non)coverage of the Paralympics in the U.S. press has suggested that athletes with a disability are invisible in U.S. culture.

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Internship and Careers Interest Group

Preparing Students for Convergent Journalism: A Nationwide Survey of Medium and Small Market TV Producers and Reporters • Andrea Tanner and Laura Smith, University of South Carolina • This nationwide survey studies the impact of convergence on reporters and producers in small and medium-sized local television markets. It examines the practices of news workers in DMAs 50 and below – markets in which journalism students usually obtain their first job. Data revealed nearly 70 percent of respondents personally perform convergent tasks and found significant differences between workers in medium versus small market newsrooms. Findings are interpreted in light of training expectations for educators.

Supervisors Speak Out: What They Think of Interns • Mary Jean Land and Valerie Andrews, Georgia College & State University • This study examines the on-site supervisors’ evaluations of mass communication interns over a five-year period. Evaluations were found to be very positive. Supervisors rate interns highly on academic preparedness and performance factors. Female interns receive higher evaluations than male interns. Supervisors report interns are strongest in their ability to work independently, enthusiasm, and ability to learn quickly. They report that interns need improvement in the amount of experience the intern has had, their writing ability, and the intern’s level of assertiveness.

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