Religion and Media Interest Group

Operation Lemonade: Opus Dei’s Public Relations Campaign in Response to the Da Vinci Code • Kirsten Biondich and Michael Mitrook, University of Florida • Through a textual analysis of campaign materials and broadcast media coverage, in addition to in-depth interviews with Opus Dei communications staff, this study works to examine whether Opus Dei’s communication efforts to portray “the real Opus Dei” were successful over the course of The Da Vinci Code crisis. In addition, this study hopes to provide an example to other religious and non-profit organizations on how to potentially combat rumors and establish beneficial relationships with media.

Subsidizing sacred cinema: A presumed media influence model of churchgoers’ enthusiasm for Gibson’s “Passion” • Ken Blake, Middle Tennessee State University and Robert O. Wyatt • Of the people who packed theaters in 2004 to see Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” most were already regular churchgoers. Using data from a Fall 2004 poll of a Southern state’s adult population, this study investigated the merits of explaining this phenomena using a presumed media influence model in which religious individuals chose to see the movie partly because they believed that the movie would promote religious faith and practice among others.

Adolescent Religiosity and Selective Exposure to Television • Piotr Bobkowski, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill • Relying on the Adolescents’ Media Practice Model (Steele & Brown, 1995), and selective exposure theory (Festinger, 1957; Klapper, 1960), this study investigates the hypothesis that religious adolescents watch less mature television programs than their less religious peers. Drawing on the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) Wave 2 survey data, results are based on responses from 1,317 16- to 18-year-olds.

Googling God: Religion and Internet Keyword Advertising • Brad Clark, Tom Dalton and Quint Randle, Brigham Young University • The Internet is increasingly important in people’s search for answers to religious and spiritual questions. Through a basic framework of social identity and realistic group conflict theory, this exploratory study presents a content analysis of the advertising and search keywords on Google associated with the most populous religious dominations in the USA.

From Back to the Future to Mean Girls: Religiosity in Popular Teen Movies from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s • Love Dawn, Jennifer Moore, Tom Robinson, Mark Callister and Quint Randle, Brigham Young University and Rebekah Paredes • Religion is often considered controversial and is thus generally avoided or treated in a superficial manner by the media, but studies have shown that recently the media have been increasingly willing to deal with this previously taboo topic. Also, studies show that religion is important to adults and teens in the U.S. and the overwhelming majority affiliate themselves with a religion and engage in religious practices.

Trademarks and Truths: The parallel processes of identity creation through product acquisition and religious appropriation • Mara Einstein, Queens College • The interaction between religion and marketing is less of a “culture war” than a cultural negotiation – a negotiation about meaning making and identity creation. In this paper I develop a theory of the parallel processes of religious conversion and product acceptance. I demonstrate the similarities in taking on religion and consumer products as part of personal identity using conversion career theory and the relationship marketing curve, which is based on the RM ladder.

In God We Trust: Religiosity as a predictor of perceptions of media trust, factuality and privacy invasion • Guy J Golan, Florida International University and Anita Day • The current study brought together two important areas of scholarship in mass communications: media credibility and religion and the media. While both areas have been widely investigated by scholars, there have not been many empirical investigations that examine the potential impact of religion on individual perceptions of media credibility.

God is Still Speaking, but Networks Aren’t Listening: United Church of Christ “Bouncer Ad” Controversy • Anthony Hatcher, Elon University • The UCC’s “Bouncer Ad” featured gays and minorities being turned away from church, and whites being allowed through a velvet rope. This and other United Church of Christ television ads have been rejected by the three major broadcast networks – ABC, CBS, and NBC – ostensibly for reasons such as violation of network policy concerning issue advocacy and religious advertising.

The Effects of a Gradual or Sudden Born-Again Conversion Experience on Religious Media Use • Barry Hollander, University of Georgia • The conversion experience is among the most studied concepts in the psychology of religion. National survey data is used to explore the role the sudden versus the gradual conversion experience may have on the use of religious mass media. Sudden converts differ significantly from gradual converts in a number of areas, although few differences are found in multivariate analyses on attitudes about the media or use of religious media.

Bridging the gaps virtually: Online interfaith dialogue and religious organizations • Ally Ostrowski, University of Colorado • Over one million religious congregations in the U.S. have established a presence in cyberspace and access to knowledge about other traditions has become much easier. With the diversity of religious traditions in the U.S., tolerance and understanding of different religious traditions is also more important than ever. This paper examines the presence of interfaith dialogue (IFD) resources online and ascertains why certain congregations and religiously oriented organizations use the internet to promote interreligious dialogue goals.

Evangelical Christians and the Media: A quantitative Analysis • Tayo Oyedeji; University of Missouri-Columbia • This study explores the similarities and differences between Evangelical Christians and three other distinct groups in society (Adherents of Other Religions (AOR), Non-Evangelical Christians (NEC), and Atheists/Agnostics) in four different areas—demographics/psychographics, media perceptions, media use, and media-related actions. The theoretical frameworks applied are the Hostile Media Effect and Interpretive Community. The “American Evangelicals” dataset was analyzed quantitatively and the implications of the results were discussed.

‘Goodness isn’t news’: The Sheldon Edition and the National Conversation Defining Journalism’s Responsibility to Society • Ronald Rodgers, University of Florida • This paper explores the national conversation in 1900 about press responsibility sparked by the Rev. Charles Sheldon’s week-long stint as editor of the Topeka Daily Capital. This conversation reveals the pulpit’s acknowledgment of its conferral of the role of agent of education and moral uplift to the press – the new arbiter of public opinion.

Not bishops but editors: The Gospel Advocate’s role in the 1906 Disciples of Christ schism • Jessica Smith, University of North Carolina • An American religious movement with autonomous congregations and no denominational authority faced divisive questions in the late nineteenth century. These Christians looked to religious newspapers for information and discussion of issues. One newspaper, the Gospel Advocate of Nashville, Tenn., supported Southern conservative voices within the movement and was a decisive influence when this conservative faction broke off from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and formed the Churches of Christ in 1906.

Correspondents and Correspondence from the “Axis of Evil”: Does Blogging Change News Framing of Religion? • Douglas Underwood, University of Washington/Dept. of Communication • A study of major western news outlets and blogging sites shows that – in the case of the letter from Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to U.S. President George Bush – the well-documented tendency of American news correspondents to frame religious news in political terms and to miss the religious implications of a major political-diplomatic story held true for bloggers as well.

China’s Official Media Portrayal of Religion (1996-2005): Is a Significant Policy Change in an “Unsecularizing” Society Reflected • Qingjiang Yao, University of South Carolina, Daniel Stout, University of Nevada-Las Vegas and Zhaoxi Liu • Previous studies implied the significant policy change toward religion in the “unsecularizing” Mainland China. Content analyzing religious coverage in the People’s Daily in ten years, this study found more positive tone toward religion after 2001 than that before late 2001. Number of articles about religion in the newspaper kept increasing. Underrepresentation of Christianity proposed by previous studies is not found, but certain religions and religions in certain areas were favored in tone over others.

<< 2007 Abstracts

Media and Disability Interest Group

A Sign of Difference: Constructions of Hearing Loss and Deafness on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation • Katherine Foss, University of Minnesota • This study looks at how CSI: Crime Scene Investigation portrays hearing loss and deafness through its main character, CSI Gil Grissom’s experience with otosclerosis, as well as other representations of deaf or hard of hearing people. Findings indicate that CSI suggests hearing loss to be isolating and career damaging. This show offers conflicting portrayals of deafness, presenting deafness as both a disability and a characteristic of the Deaf community.

Is a Woman Still a Woman? A Preliminary Exploration of Media Images of Mastectomy • Nicole Smith, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill • Breast cancer is a serious threat to the health of women, accounting for nearly 1 in 3 cancer diagnoses in women in the United States. In many cases, women with breast cancer are left with only one alternative: mastectomy. If woman is defined by the physical female body-breasts-is that woman still a woman if her breasts are destroyed?

<< 2007 Abstracts

Internships and Careers Interest Group

Journalism and Mass Communication Doctoral Students: Pushed to Publish • Serena Carpenter, affiliation and Russell Leonard-Whitman, Michigan State University • Many graduate students learn that in order to land a job in academia, they should produce research. A content analysis of eight leading journalism and mass communication journals are examined for graduate student productivity trends, the institutions prone to produce graduate student scholars and the professorial ranks that tend to publish with graduate students. The research found that graduate student publication rates have increased; and that assistant and full professors are most likely to collaborate.

The Attributes for Career Success in the Media Industries: An Analysis of Current and Aspiring Professionals • Roger Cooper, Ohio University • This study, developed through established theoretical foundations in psychology and vocational choice, explores which attributes are perceived to be most important for career success in media professions. Forty-two attributes were assessed by upper-level media majors (N=268) and current media professionals (N=1,122). t tests revealed significant differences between students and professionals on 20 of the 42 attributes measured, including nine of the 11 attributes rated highest by media professionals.

Ten Keys to Launching a Professional Internship Program in a New Department of Advertising: A Case Study • Michael Maynard and Dana Saewitz, Temple University • The case study chronicles the development of a new internship program designed to bring a professional level of performance to the experiential learning for students enrolled in a new Department of Advertising. A review and study of other university internship programs informed and instructed how the new program is structured, administered, monitored and evaluated. Selection and status of the internship director are thought to be most critical to success.

The Organizational Screening of Social Networking Site Profiles: Comparing the Views of Students and Professionals • Richard Waters, University of Florida • Paralleling the growth in the number of young adults using social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, is the number of organizations screening the profiles of potential job candidates before bringing them in for an interview. No longer are organizations reviewing resumes, cover letters, and resumes only. Many hiring decisions are being made after taking a glimpse into the personal lives of potential employees.

On being a “good sport” in the workplace: Women, the glass ceiling and negotiated resignation in sports information • Erin Whiteside and Marie Hardin, Pennsylvania State University • This study, a survey of 187 women SIDs, explores gendered work experiences of women in sports information, including their perceptions of the glass ceiling, their rationalization strategies for dealing with it and the factors contributing to their low numbers in the business. The findings show that women perceive a glass ceiling in sports information, but are hesitant to admit its existence, which is consistent with attitudes toward the glass ceiling among women in the larger public relations sector.

<< 2007 Abstracts

Graduate Education Interest Group

Do Endorsements Make a Difference?: Ohio Gubernatorial Candidate Post-Election Day Newspaper Coverage from 1958-2006 • Erin, Armstrong, Ohio University • This study explored endorsements made by the six largest newspapers in Ohio of gubernatorial candidates from 1958-2006 and the post-day general election coverage these candidates received. It found that Republican gubernatorial candidates were endorsed more often than Democratic candidates, and incumbents were favored by the newspapers for endorsements. Further, endorsed candidates received not only greater content and prominence, but they also received more positive coverage than the non-endorsed candidates on the day after the election.

Developmental news in news media: In the context of NGO-media interaction in Bangladesh • Masudul Biswas, Ohio University • This paper has examined the factors influencing the coverage of developmental issues in news media in the context of NGO-media interaction in Bangladesh employing qualitative interview and thematic analysis method.

Hiring trends in journalism and mass communication: A content analysis of faculty position advertisements with a new media emphasis • Ying Du, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill • Recent years have witnessed the striking growth in the demands of new media faculty. This study is a content analysis of positions advertised by JMC programs that are seeking new media faculty. It reports an overview of the hiring trends in the discipline. It attempts to provide useful indicators of the hiring trends for applicants seeking such positions. Additionally, the results of this study may be useful to JMC programs in search of future faculty.

Human Intention as a Means to Activate Narrative Persuasion Processing over Paradigmatic Processing • Michael Dahlstrom, University of Wisconsin-Madison • Successful narrative persuasion activates a unique cognitive processing pathway, but little is known about message level variables that activate such a pathway. This study analyzed the perception of human intention as a possible variable using a short video with floating geometric shapes. The video processed using human intention was perceived as more interesting, more engaging and resulted in greater total recall than when it was processed without intention.

Colliding Ideologies and Inmate Violence: The Final Chapter in the Life of a Prison Newspaper • Lisa Forster, Ohio University • This study examines the factors that contributed to the death of one of the country’s oldest prison newspapers, the seventy-six-year-old OPNews, which was produced by Ohio Penitentiary inmates. Although inmates struggled to keep the award-winning newspaper alive, it fell victim to repeated outbreaks of violence within the prison walls and an ongoing ideological battle between those advocating a rehabilitative form of corrections and those supporting a disciplinarian system.

Inextricably Intertwined: The Blurring Line Between Constitutional Protection for Political and Commercial Speech in a Democratic Society • Joshua Godwin, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill • This paper contends that, due to its substantial similarity to noncommercial speech and its evolving role in our democratic society, commercial speech has become virtually indistinguishable from other forms of protected expression. As such, the artificial distinction established and perpetuated by the U.S. Supreme Court should be abandoned and replaced with a strict scrutiny standard for evaluating the constitutionality of content-based regulations on all speech.

Measuring Alumni Perceptions of a Required Media Law Course: A Pilot Study • Joshua Godwin, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill • Researchers surveyed 405 University of North Carolina alumni regarding their attitudes toward a required media law course. The results showed that while more than 70% of respondents reported using the material covered in the class infrequently in their professional careers, nearly 85% believed that the course should continue to be required for all undergraduate and graduate students.

Modern Day Dystopia: Thought police in the Marketplace of Ideas • Sunny Hughes, University of Florida • Since September 11th, the Terrorist Surveillance Program has been used to monitor citizen’s domestic phone conversations without warrants. This has yielded cases filed by citizens who complain that not only their Fourth Amendment right to privacy, but their First Amendment rights to free expression have been violated. This paper establishes a connection between these protections by arguing that privacy has an insulating effect in protecting subversive views in the marketplace of ideas.

Is Measuring U.S. Public Diplomacy Effectiveness Possible? Revisiting the Debate after 9/11 • Foad Izadi, Louisiana State University • Recent reports on U.S. public diplomacy efforts after 9/11 terrorist attacks conclude that government agencies responsible for U.S. public diplomacy do not have a “culture of measurement” to systematically gauge the effectiveness of their programs. This study adds to the body of literature on public diplomacy by examining recent congressional hearings to determine what reasons government officials present for this shortcoming and how members of Congress react to this issue.

Women in Military Broadcasting • Jeanine Kabrich, University of Tennessee-Knoxville • This paper is an introductory study investigating why women become military broadcasters, and finds that many did so paradoxically. While they anticipated being treated as equally as men, they also expected to make unique contributions because they were women. The women in military broadcasting interviewed for the study indicate that very often they were treated equally, and made contributions that were distinctive.

Medicating a Collapsing Empire: Components of the “Public” and the “Opinion” in the Late Qing • Xudong Liu, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale • In the Late Qing, the social crisis presented amiable political circumstances favoring the aggregation of public opinion. Within a different social context, various strata of people accumulated their specific public opinion towards foreigners, the political system, and the approaches to save the country. Through civic or official channels, the emperors obtained public opinion. The Emperor, based on an unstable political situation, evaluated and dealt with these opinions strategically, adopting them in policy-making or suppressing them.

Health Promotion in Media: A Qualitative Analysis of Heart Disease in Prevention Magazine • Jennette Lovejoy, Ohio University • This study is a qualitative analysis of the portrayal of heart disease in one of the most widely read health magazines in the United States, Prevention Magazine. Articles were sampled from the years 1991-2005 and three thematic frames emerged. Results indicate that Prevention’s depiction of heart disease is one that can be mitigated with lifestyle behaviors and emphasized optimism in readers’ abilities to overcome the threat of heart disease.

How Do You Like Your Drugs? A Survey of DTC Drug Advertisements • Amy Martin, Louisiana State University • As spending on direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertisements increases, researchers are studying the comprehension levels of consumers of the information in these ads. This experiment sought to determine if consumers will intend to talk to physicians, based upon seeing an advertisement with an emotional or rational appeal. Results showed that the emotional condition was more likely to display information-seeking intent. Internet was also cited as an effective medium to answer a patient’s additional questions.

Newbery Books and Children: What Worldview Do Protagonists Reveal to Young Readers? • Anthony Nisse, Brigham Young University, Jonice Hubbard and Lois Bauman • Children’s literature plays a significant role in society because it reflects values and attitudes that will be passed to children as they read. One of the most prestigious awards for children’s literature is the John Newbery Medal, which is presented annually by the American Library Association for the most distinguished contribution to literature for children. Newbery books have a large readership, and are consistently among the most requested books in bookstores and libraries.

“Nightly” and “Daily:” How NBC and Jon Stewart Frame the News • Erin Ryan, University of Georgia, Melissa Galin and Karen Hilyard • In the ever-changing world of “youth and news,” it is important to understand the media landscape as defined by students’ news source patterns, and recent research suggests many young Americans are turning to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Thus, moving outside the usual Presidential election cycle research, this study compares such “comedy news” and traditional media during a routine non-election news week, examining how both genres frame the top stories of the day.

Two Sides of Scripps: Reconciling Support for the Workingman with His Life as a Capitalist • Dave Sennerud, Ohio University • E.W. Scripps, the founder of the modern newspaper chain, is a study in contradictions. Although he championed working-class causes, Scripps was not known for treating his own workers with similar regard. By looking primarily at his own writings, this paper attempts to reconcile these two sides of E.W. Scripps. The author concludes that since Scripps’ actions run counter to his professed goals, such attempts were ultimately just excuses for an internally conflicted man.

Broadening the debate: An analysis of emerging models for a national broadband network • Gwen Shaffer, Temple University • With just 49% of U.S. adults reporting high-speed Internet access at home, more than half of the residents in the wealthiest nation on Earth lack access to technology that is now necessary for activities ranging from filling out job applications to accessing government services to completing school work.

<< 2007 Abstracts

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Interest Group

Television and Gay Marriage: A Cultivation Analysis • Sara Netzley, Bradley University • Because of the national debate occurring over the legalization of gay marriage, this study examined whether television viewing had a relationship with a person’s attitude toward gay marriage using cultivation theory. No such relationship was found, but this study revealed that attitude toward gay marriage was influenced by a person’s attitude toward gays, gender roles, and sexuality, and by his or her political ideology, authoritarianism, age, religiosity, and gay friends and family.

Whose Voices are Heard? Gender, Sexual Orientation and Newspaper Sources • Joseph Schwartz, University of Iowa • This study examined the use of sources in newspaper articles about same-sex marriage, paying particular attention to gender and sexual orientation. Overall, the results show that male sources outnumbered female sources, but that the distribution of distribution of gay male and lesbian sources seemed to vary according to a region’s climate of public opinion surrounding same-sex marriage. Additionally, female sources were found to be more likely than male sources to support same-sex marriage.

A New Gay Man in Town • Rodger Streitmatter, American University • This paper looks at three highly popular and financially successful major motion pictures that were released in 1996 and 1997. It argues that these films–The Birdcage, In & Out, and My Best Friend’s Wedding — offered American moviegoers a set of new gay stereotypes that were unremittingly positive. The messages sent by the films included that gay men are affable, physically attractive, and highly successful in both their careers and their personal lives.

Invisible in a visible profession: Lesbian public relations professionals and their roles, responsibilities, and functions in organizations and public relations • Natalie Tindall, University of Oklahoma • Diversity is one of the 14 characteristics of public relations excellence (L. A. Grunig, J. E. Grunig, & Dozier, 2002; Dozier, L. A. Grunig, & J. E, Grunig, 1995; L. A. Grunig, J. E. Grunig, & Ehling, 1992). Although diversity has been important to the Excellence Theory and the practice of public relations, there are limitations regarding the Excellence study’s conceptualization of diversity. Diversity has been limited to racioethnicity and gender.Television and Gay Marriage: A Cultivation Analysis • Sara Netzley, Bradley University • Because of the national debate occurring over the legalization of gay marriage, this study examined whether television viewing had a relationship with a person’s attitude toward gay marriage using cultivation theory. No such relationship was found, but this study revealed that attitude toward gay marriage was influenced by a person’s attitude toward gays, gender roles, and sexuality, and by his or her political ideology, authoritarianism, age, religiosity, and gay friends and family.

Whose Voices are Heard? Gender, Sexual Orientation and Newspaper Sources • Joseph Schwartz, University of Iowa • This study examined the use of sources in newspaper articles about same-sex marriage, paying particular attention to gender and sexual orientation. Overall, the results show that male sources outnumbered female sources, but that the distribution of distribution of gay male and lesbian sources seemed to vary according to a region’s climate of public opinion surrounding same-sex marriage. Additionally, female sources were found to be more likely than male sources to support same-sex marriage.

A New Gay Man in Town • Rodger Streitmatter, American University • This paper looks at three highly popular and financially successful major motion pictures that were released in 1996 and 1997. It argues that these films–The Birdcage, In & Out, and My Best Friend’s Wedding — offered American moviegoers a set of new gay stereotypes that were unremittingly positive. The messages sent by the films included that gay men are affable, physically attractive, and highly successful in both their careers and their personal lives.

Invisible in a visible profession: Lesbian public relations professionals and their roles, responsibilities, and functions in organizations and public relations • Natalie Tindall, University of Oklahoma • Diversity is one of the 14 characteristics of public relations excellence (L. A. Grunig, J. E. Grunig, & Dozier, 2002; Dozier, L. A. Grunig, & J. E, Grunig, 1995; L. A. Grunig, J. E. Grunig, & Ehling, 1992). Although diversity has been important to the Excellence Theory and the practice of public relations, there are limitations regarding the Excellence study’s conceptualization of diversity. Diversity has been limited to racioethnicity and gender.

<< 2007 Abstracts