AEJMC Plenary — Grade inflation: Does ‘B’ stand for ‘Bad’?

(Article courtesy of AEJMC News, July 2011 issue)

Grade inflation. Now that’s a prickly subject.

Some cite the Vietnam War as the beginning of grade inflation. Students – and professors – were rebelling against the war, and grades were raised so young men could avoid the draft by maintaining their student deferment. Others point to graduate programs where a “C” is a failing grade, a standard which may have passed down to undergraduates.

Every faculty member has a story. There’s the “My parents paid for an A” saga. Really, I had a student say that. My response: “I think you owe your parents a refund.” I was new to teaching and, perhaps, too honest. But that was the mentality at the private university where I was teaching at the time. Now I realize it was a push for grade inflation.

Grade inflation – that upward shift in GPAs without a similar shift in what was learned – seems to be systemic. And wherever the grade inflation debate surfaces, many questions bubble up.

Why are grades inflated? Do we, as faculty, fear poor student evaluations? Or do we have so many spinning plates that we can’t spend the time grading – and giving detailed feedback – to justify lower grades?

Is an “A” the trophy entitled millennials expect for showing up, similar to the trophies they received in elementary school for being on the team, no matter the record?

Is the earned grade worth the harassment from students – and sometimes their helicopter parents? Do you wait until the last minute to post your grades, then bolt from campus before anyone can find you?

Even more basic, does grade inflation exist? Or are reports of grade inflation inflated?

The Standing Committee on Teaching has been kicking the grade inflation topic around and realizes this is an issue for all of us – whether you’re in a public or a private school, a big or a small program. We plan to tackle the grade inflation quagmire in our plenary session titled The Lake Woebegone effect: Are all our students above average?

The session will kick off with Stuart Rojstaczer, a Ph.D. from Stanford and former Duke University professor who is the founder of GradeInflation.com, a website that publishes research on grading. Dr. Rojstaczer has written extensively about higher education, including articles in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

In addition, a panel also will share perspectives on grade inflation – as junior and senior faculty, as an administrator and as a student. Then we’ll open the floor for Q&A so you can join in the discussion.

We hope you’ll learn both the myths and facts associated with grade inflation. For example, do tough teachers receive bad student evaluations? Or higher? Is rigorous grading related to how much our students learn? If students work, and have less time to study, are their grades higher or lower?

And we’ll address other concerns: What will my chair and dean think of me if I’m tough? Will they support me, or cave to student demands? Should we expect more of our students? Should our classes be more rigorous? Will they meet the challenge?

This is especially relevant to those of us in journalism and mass communication programs. What do we teach in journalism? Writing. Above all else, we are writers. And to be a writer you have to be a critical thinker that requires complex reasoning. So we, professors of journalism, have a tough job.

You’ll hear solid advice gleaned from other experts that will point the way to possible solutions. Don’t miss this thought-provoking plenary session at 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, August 11. We anticipate a packed house and hope you’ll join the conversation.

Now for a bit of wisdom from a cartoon that’s taped to the wall of our copy room. The name of the strip is missing, but the message is clear. The setting is the exchange between a young student and a person sweeping the floor.

Student:                “Isn’t the customer always right?”
Reply:                    “Right.”
Student:                “So Mrs. Olsen is always wrong and I’m always right.”
Reply:                    “Wrong.”
Student:                “I’m the student! I’m the customer!”
Reply:                    “Wrong.”
Student:                “I’m the product, aren’t I?”
Reply:                    “Right.”

We want our students – the products of our programs – to be the writers and thinkers for the next generation. We hope this plenary strengthens your understanding of why “tough is good” – leading to stronger “products” for a better future.

By Sheri Broyles, Chair
University of North Texas
AEJMC Teaching Committee

<< Teaching Corner

The Male Gaze and Online Sports Punditry: A Case Study of the Ines Sainz Controversy • Aidan Bryant, Syracuse University; Kenneth Merrill, Syracuse University; Emily Dolan, Syracuse University; Siying Chang, Syracuse University • On September 11th, 2010 Ines Sainz, a sports reporter for TV Azteca (a Spanish language Mexican network), was allegedly harassed by members of the New York Jets. Controversy erupted around the role of women in sports broadcasting and the myriad attendant dimensions involved, including issues of credibility, dominant beauty ideals, and the male gaze, among others. This case study assesses how sports blogs covered the controversy, using a combination of in-depth interviewing and textual analysis of four popular sports blogs. This study examines themes of the male gaze, credibility, the role of women in sports broadcasting, and the political/sexual economy of sports blogs.

Sexual Messages in Black and White: A case study of Essence and Cosmo • Carolyn Byerly, Howard University; Rebecca Reviere, Howard University • The study examined the discourse on women’s sexual freedom as it appeared in the advice columns of two popular American magazines, Essence and Cosmopolitan — the first oriented toward Black women, the second to White women. The study situated its concerns historically by asking whether the discourse in these columns reflected the tenets of second wave feminism, which advanced new tenets of women’s sexual liberation. Next, it sought to learn whether the discourse engaged sexual themes of transgression, pleasing the other and go-getting, as posed by Machin and Thornborrow. Black feminist theory and critical discourse analysis provided the theoretical framework and methodology. Findings revealed that readers of Essence are more likely to see tenets of sexual liberation embedded in advice columns, which give women a wider range of sexual choices than are those of Cosmo. Cosmo readers are more likely to be advised to excite and keep their men and to be more flexible if they stray.

Don’t Call Me That: Examining the Discourse the Precedes the Term “Mommy Blogger” • Gina Masullo Chen, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University • A textual analysis of 29 women’s blog posts and 653 blog comments debating the meaning of the term mommy blogger reveals that these women feel the term reinforces women’s hegemonic normative role as nurturers, thrusting women into a virtual private sphere in the blogosphere. The use of mommy, versus mother, highlights this subjective norm, although some women pointed out the term was useful for marketing and creating a sense of community with other women online.

An Analysis of Attributes Students Use to Describe Good Male and Female Instructors • Katie Clune, Rockhurst University • The purpose of this study was to analyze ways students describe those instructors they consider to be “good” instructors and to assess how well male and female instructors meet the expectations for a good instructor. Male instructors were more frequently described as engaging, focused on student learning, knowledgeable, and ethical. Female instructors were more frequently described as caring, helpful, and friendly than their male counterparts. Results indicate students may have gendered expectations for their instructors.

“Vicious assault shakes Texas town:” The politics of gender violence in The New York Times’ coverage of a schoolgirl’s gang rape • Meenakshi Durham, University of Iowa • This paper analyzes public discourse around The New York Times coverage of the gang rape of a schoolgirl in Cleveland, Texas. After the story broke, bloggers, commentators and editorial writers launched searing critiques of the story’s victim-blaming and sexist perspective. Using critical textual analysis, this study analyzes the ways in which feminist media scholarship formed an implicit framework for the response. The analysis revealed that lay critics examined sourcing, language use, and racial stereotyping to dissect and dissent with The Times’ reportage. The paper reflects on feminist praxis as it is articulated in online media to bring about changes to a rape culture.

Women to Watch speak out: Looking behind the curtain of mentoring, networking and gender • Kali Flewellen, University of North Texas; Sheri Broyles, University of North Texas; Jean Grow, Marquette University • Senior women in advertising from Advertising Age’s 1997 to 2009 Women to Watch lists were asked open-ended questions about the award. A content analysis of responses identified thematic categories pointing to the importance of mentors and networks for women. Parity in the workplace and whether the “Plexiglas” ceiling is still firmly in place are also discussed. Rich verbatim comments give insights to both the past and hope for the future for women in advertising.

Paying Her Dues: The Early Career of Pioneering Broadcaster Pauline Frederick • Marilyn Greenwald, Ohio University • By the time she died in 1990 at 84, Pauline Frederick had been the first women to broadcast news from overseas and the first women to cover the United Nations as a fulltime beat. By the time she was 39, Frederick had extensive newspaper, syndicate and radio experience, but she was still hired only as a stringer in an era and an industry that marginalized women. This paper examines her early career and outlines how she persevered and navigated a male-dominated industry to become a pioneering journalist.

“Ronald Reagan in Heels”: How Tea Party “Mama Grizzlies” Framed Gender and Public Issues in the 2010 U.S. Mid-Term Election • Jaesik Ha, Indiana University • This study examined how, in the 2010 election, female Tea Party candidates frequently attacked both the “femininity” of male candidates and some of President Obama’s policies, such as immigration and health care. It used a discourse analysis of news media interviews with female Tea Party candidates, as well as the candidates’ television debates, campaign advertisements and web-site content during the course of the mid-term election of 2010. One salient tactic by female Tea party candidates was to attack the manhood of their opponents. A second, recurring strategy favored by female tea partiers was to construct a public persona linked to widely known conservative luminaries in order to appeal to voters. They purposefully tried to depict themselves as disciples of Ronald Reagan and of Sarah Palin. By doing so, they framed themselves as determined, strong, and courageous politicians. The tactical choice to align their public personas with Reagan and to become Palinesque “mama grizzlies” came from their judgment that such personas could be advantageous to their campaigns. Also, even though female Tea Party candidates expressed strong opposition to government intervention, they nonetheless advocated the state’s involvement in individuals’ private lives in moral and cultural issues such as abortion and gay rights. This study shows that the campaign by female Tea Party candidates in the 2010 election was driven by not “women’s” issues, but by the economic distress felt by the American public.

The Symbolic Annihilation of Women in Globalization Discourse: The Same Old Story in U.S. Newsmagazines • Dustin Harp, University of Texas at Austin; Summer Harlow, University of Texas at Austin; Jaime Loke, University of Oklahoma • This quantitative and qualitative analysis of Time and Newsweek explores how women are incorporated into a globalization discourse that often is seen as a masculinized public sphere. Results indicate that while female journalists integrate women into the news more than their male counterparts, females are invisible in globalization coverage. When discussing female empowerment via globalization, it is through an economic lens with an eye to the impact on women’s traditional roles as wives and mothers.

What’s the Problem? Newspapers Explain Global Sex Trafficking • Anne Johnston, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Barbara Friedman, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Autumn Shafer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This study content analyzed all sex trafficking-related stories appearing in major U.S. print news sources in 2009. A total of 281 news articles were analyzed for the differences occurring in stories that focused on the domestic aspect of sex trafficking from those that focused on transnational dimensions of trafficking. Findings indicated that transnational stories were more likely to cover a range of solutions, causes and consequences to sex trafficking than did domestic focused stories.

Feminist pornography as cultural variation: Using Judith Butler to analyze its potential for resistance • Rachael Liberman, University of Colorado at Boulder • The following paper takes up an analysis using the work of feminist philosopher Judith Butler—specifically Gender Trouble (1990), Bodies That Matter (1993), and The Psychic Life of Power (1997)—as a point of entry for analyzing the work of feminist pornography as resistance. Butler’s commitment to the deconstruction of normative assumptions concerning gender and sexuality, as well as her related conceptualizations of subjectivity, performance, and cultural intelligibility offer an alternative to the long-standing argument that feminist pornography is either a “good” or “bad” project for feminism. As feminists have begun to embrace the postmodernist ideas, a trend easily identified in third wave feminism and navigations though identity politics, it should follow that feminist praxis, such as feminist pornography, should be analyzed in a similar fashion. Butler (1993) points out that gender and sexuality as not static conditions of the body, but are rather processes of materialization or intelligibility that are informed by changing cultural conditions (p. 2). The questions therefore become: Where does feminist pornography fit within the “matrix of gender relations?” (p. 7). To what extent does feminist pornography disrupt the process of sexual norm stabilization? And finally, why does feminist pornography matter for feminism? In order to answer these questions as well as provide a general analysis of feminist pornography vis-à-vis Judith Butler’s theories on performance, subjectivity, and materialization, this paper will analyze the work of three feminist pornographers: Candida Royalle, Tristan Taormino, and Joanna Angel.

Gender Stereotypes and Citizen Journalism: Exploring what effect, if any, gender match has on story credibility for citizen journalism and staff written news • Hans Meyer, Ohio University • Researchers have suggested that gender stereotypes help determine the credibility of news stories, but the Internet may help mitigate that effect, especially for citizen journalism. Through an online experiment that manipulates story authorship – either staff or audience – and the author’s gender, this study suggest other cues on the Web have more of an effect than gender for staff written stories. Audience written stories appeal and are more credible to women if they are written by other women. This reflects that citizen journalism sites work as an alternative to traditional media online.

Feminist Media Literacy and Underserved Girls • Micah Carpender; Leigh Moscowitz, College of Charleston • This project reports on the results of a semester-long feminist critical media literacy initiative targeting underserved fourth- and fifth-grade girls at a Title I school in South Carolina. The goal of this project – an after-school club for girls- was to help students think critically about their relationships with and responses to media messages, particularly in terms of race, gender, and class. Specifically, this club aimed to privilege girls’ voices, experiences, and agency by culminating with the girls’ own media production, zines (hand-made, hand-distributed booklets based around the girls’ own interests and experiences). This study assesses this initiative using the scholarly frameworks of media studies, girls’ studies and feminist critical media literacy. Through examining before and after focus group interviews conducted with participants and analyzing the content of their zines, we ascertain what effect the initiative had on girls’ self-image, critical thinking skills, and media relationships. This study thus provides media educators, scholars, and activists with a case study of the effects of feminist media literacy and cultural production on underserved girls of color. Ultimately, our findings both emphasize the need for feminist critical media literacy education and cultural production and articulate its pedagogical challenges. It is our hope that our assessment of this project will function as a starting point, encouraging educators and activists to continue creating and practicing relevant and meaningful forms of critical media pedagogy with girls.

Anorexia on the Internet: A Look at the Pro-Ana Community Through Feminist, Social Comparison, and Uses and Gratifications Theories • Rachelle Pavelko, University of Memphis • “Pro-ana” refers to those who view anorexia nervosa as a “lifestyle choice” rather than a disease, and is a community rooted within social networking. A thorough review of feminist, social comparison, and uses and gratifications theories was conducted and applied to both pro-ana participants and websites. A content analysis was then executed to determine which females are more prone to join the pro-ana community, and what types of information are available through the websites.

Gender and power at the crossroads: Examining the nexus of gender and power in public relations • Katie Place, Saint Louis University • This qualitative study of 45 women public relations practitioners in the United States examined how gender and power intersect in the public relations industry. One research question was posed: What are the intersections of gender and power in public relations for women practitioners? Results suggest that gender and power intersect through gendered appearances, management style, women’s bonding together for power, expectations and stereotypes, and women’s self-realization and choices. This study contributes to the body of public relations and gender scholarship by illustrating that gender and power are inherently intersectional and forged through discourse, socialization and resulting solidified stereotypes, expectations and workplace standards. Ultimately, gender and power exist in a push-pull system of simultaneous empowerment and oppression.

The Gendering of Weight-Loss Advertisements in the Beginning of the Obesity Age • Deanna Pogorelc, Ohio University • A content analysis of more than 400 weight-loss advertisements published in men’s and women’s magazines between 2001 and 2005 revealed that weight-loss advertising demonstrated patterns of gendered stereotypes and may contribute to weight problems in the United States by driving a preoccupation with food and flaunting idealized male and female bodies.

Coverage of Domestic Violence: A Pilot Study • Megan Ward, Therese Lueck and Heather Walter, The University of Akron • Mediated reality that draws on cultural myths for gendered narratives reinforces patriarchy. This study explores the coverage of domestic violence as a culturally constructed journalistic narrative. A research team assessed journalism students’ understanding of domestic violence before and after presentations and workshops. Overall, the students showed a heightened awareness of domestic violence and an ability to discern the quality of journalistic practices in its coverage.

A False Start, a Heavy Burden and Hugs: A Study of the Female “Firsts” in Newspaper Management • Kimberly Voss, University of Central Florida; Lance Speere, University of Central Florida • This is an examination of the promotions and the aftermath for three significant women in newspaper management: Gloria Biggs, Carol Sutton and Janet Chusmir. Their stories are important to understand how progress was made and how it was slowed. It also provides perspectives about the different paths to management for women. To truly understand the time period, this study will also address the intersection of these women’s careers with feminism. Material was drawn from interviews with former colleagues and family members, media coverage of their promotions, archival materials for Biggs and an oral history for Sutton.

From Inept Intruders to Suspicious Sex Vixens: The Problem of Heterosexuality in Sports Information • Erin Whiteside, University of Tennessee • This research expands on the ways sexuality as a discourse can be understood as an expression of power with a specific effect on women through the exploration of what I call the problem of heterosexuality. As deviants in the space of sports, women stand before a constant “panoptical gaze” (Bartky, 1988). Their presence is questioned and their motives are framed as suspect, two concepts explored in this research. In escaping the lesbian stigma, women may earn acceptance from men and freedom from suspicion regarding their sexuality. Yet, that acceptance may result in a cost to their professional credibility in the form of sexual harassment and suspicion regarding their ethics and virtue as SIDs. Ultimately, in proving their heterosexuality, women must also manage it in a way as to not invite unwanted advances or the perception that their presence in sports information is the product of unethical motives in the form of a desire to meet men. I conclude this article by arguing that sexuality discourses are problematic for women in that female SIDs find themselves in a kind of maze with no way out: Their presence raises constant questions about their sexuality that forces women into a constant state of angst about their appearance and public presentation.

Culture Changes as Reflected in Portrayals of Women in Chinese Magazines Published in Three Eras • Yue Yin, Iowa State University • This study examines how women’s roles and gender were portrayed in magazines published during three epochs of Chinese history: before, during, and after the Cultural Revolution. A content analysis and discourse analysis of articles that discussed the role of women and gender were conducted to determine and describe the most commonly occurring frames applied over time. The findings suggest more attention to the combined impact of the mainstream culture and sub-cultures on media content.

<< 2011 Abstracts

Expressed, Written Consent: The Broadcast Industry and Sports Anti-Trust Legislation, 1953-1961 • Thomas Corrigan, Penn State • Though NFL Commissioner Rozelle undoubtedly facilitated the Sports Broadcasting Act’s quick passage and signing, these accounts tend to remove the bill from nearly a decade of relevant Congressional, legal and industry context. This paper attempts to shore up some of these gaps by closely examining the interests of and actions by broadcasters in the lead-up to and debate over the legislation. In light of the SBA’s long-term industry implications, the view of broadcasters and the NAB is an important side of the act that—up to this point—has received scant interest.

Can Visual Complexity Impede Appreciation of Mediated Sports? • Glenn Cummins, Texas Tech University College of Mass Communications • Sports telecasts are frequently the showcase and testing ground for innovative broadcast technologies. One particularly novel example of this is ESPN’s coverage of college athletics via its multiscreen or mosaic format. This experiment demonstrates that although this format does not impede appreciation of game play, viewers nonetheless reported a more negative evaluation of this technique compared to a traditional broadcast. However, tentative evidence hints that appreciation of dull game play is enhanced by this format.

The Ochocinco Brand: Social Media’s Impact on the NFL’s Institutional Control • Jacob Dittmer • The National Football League is mockingly dubbed the “No Fun League” by sports fans and critics who view the league’s hyper-regulatory nature as prohibiting expression and limiting player and fan choice. Chad Ochocinco has broken free of the league’s controls by developing a brand persona and identity that embraces his NFL player status and deploys social media in its construction. This paper examines the emergence of the “Ochocinco brand,” its development through mediated platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Reality TV), and its commodity forms (t-shirts, smart phone apps, cereal). By examining the political economy of the NFL institution and aspects of digital culture exemplified in social media, this paper explores the conflicts between old institutions of control and individual brands developed through social media.

“They never do this to men”: College women athletes’ responses to sexualized images of professional female athletes • Tracy Everbach, University of North Texas; Jenny Mumah, University of North Texas • This study examined the reactions of college women athletes to mass media images of nude and scantily clad professional female athletes. Employing a qualitative process, the study sought to find how 18- to 22-year-old female athletes felt about the pressure on women to pose for sexualized photographs. This research is important because of the lack of media coverage of women’s sports and the mass media’s sexualization of women’s bodies. Using a feminist framework, the study found that such photos revealed athletes’ impressions of their own and others’ femininity, sexuality, gender differences and body image. The study found that college female athletes are well aware of the notion that “sex sells” and the commodification of women’s bodies in American society. Many were uncomfortable with this phenomenon and said it is unfair and perpetuates double standards for men and women. Others said sexualized images lead to negative body image and, perhaps, eating disorders. Some college athletes embraced the nude photos, maintaining they empowered women and showed off their femininity.

An Everyday Issue: Examining race in baseball journalism • Patrick Ferrucci, U of Missouri; Melanie Buford, University of Missouri; Ashley Douglas; David Herrera, University of Missouri • Philomena Essed’s theory of everyday racism suggests that racism in America occurs subtly, even unnoticeably, but still affects our society in the same way overt racism does. This experiment examined whether everyday racism exists in baseball journalism. The findings suggest that everyday racism lurks in baseball journalism and that news consumers may not detect its presence or effects.

Gender and Racial Source Bias in Sports Illustrated Kids, 2000-2009 • Ashley Furrow, Ohio University • Most studies of daily news reports have found evidence of substantial source bias, especially in the form of heavy reliance on European male societal elites for information (Brown, Bybee, Wearden, & Straughan, 1987; Hackett, 1985; Lasorsa & Reese, 1990). Source bias refers to the extent that journalists seek information from particular groups, which results in a limited range of perspectives and opinions about the news item or event. Such bias exists when people holding different points of view have limited or no opportunity to express those views or become part of the news process (Gans, 1979; Lee & Solomon, 1990; Sigal, 1973). This study conducted a content analysis of sources in feature articles (N=315) in Sports Illustrated Kids to determine whether the sources reflect actual participation rates in athletic competition based on gender and race. This study found that women continue to be vastly underrepresented within the magazine’s pages as dominant subjects and sources. Articles using men as sources vastly outnumber those using women as sources by a ratio of more than 5 to 1 (84.1% to 15.9%). Only 21.1% of feature articles were stories for which the dominant subject(s) were female athletes or female-specific sports teams, whereas men accounted for 78.9%. As far as a racial difference, only 30.9% of articles featured racial minority athletes as the dominant subject.

Framing the concussion issue in the NFL: A content analysis of New York Times Coverage from 2001 to 2010 • Vernon Harrison, University of Alabama; Kenon A. Brown, The University of Alabama • The increase of concussions in the NFL has become a serious issue for not only the league, but for college and youth football programs as well. Using framing theory as the theoretical lens, this paper will examine the framing of the concussion issue in NFL. A content analysis was conducted of New York Times coverage of the issue from May 2001 until October 2010. Results show that the increase of concussions in the NFL has been identified, and possible causes and solutions have been given in the last two years. Results also show that the issue is being framed increasingly more as an organizational issue that needs to be addressed.

Baseball’s digital disconnect: Trust, media credentialing, and the independent blogger • Avery Holton, University of Texas-Austin • Non-media affiliated sports blogs represent the largest contingent of sports blogs today, yet bloggers continue to face accessibility problems when it comes to coverage. Most professional sports teams employ media relations personnel who serve as gatekeepers, deciding who receives access and who does not. Such choices are often based on the abstract concept of trust, which this study focused on. The survey results from 126 professional baseball gatekeepers reinforce the fact that accessibility is most likely to restricted for bloggers, especially those not connected with a media outlet. However, this study sought to determine the differences, if any, between the levels of trust gatekeepers place in traditional news media and bloggers as well as how such disparities might impact accessibility.

Antapologia on Steroids: How Newspapers Covered Andy Pettitte’s Apology and Roger Clemens’ Denials, 2007-2008 • Paul Husselbee, Southern Utah University; Kyle B. Heuett • This paper analyzes newspaper antapologia and valence in response to Andy Pettitte’s apology and Roger Clemens’ denials after both New York Yankees pitchers were accused of using performance-enhancing drugs in the 2007 Mitchell Report. Findings suggest that newspapers were more favorable or neutral toward Pettitte after his apology, but they were more unfavorable toward Clemens throughout his repeated denials. Thus, Pettitte’s strategy of mortification was more successful than Clemens’ strategy of defeasibility and blame-shifting.

“What’s Wrong With Baseball?”: The Press and the Beginning of the Campaign to Desegregate Baseball” • Chris Lamb, College of Charleston • On February 5, 1933, columnist Heywood Broun of the New York World-Telegram called for the end of baseball’s color line in a speech at the annual meeting of the all-white New York Baseball Writers’ Association. This article examines newspaper coverage of Broun’s speech in black and white newspapers. The response to Broun in the black press is significant because it provides what is perhaps the beginning of the campaign to desegregate baseball. The Pittsburgh Courier, which published a series of articles on the issue of the color line in the weeks following Broun’s speech, became ground zero in the campaign to desegregate baseball. The newspaper’s interest in baseball was part of a larger crusade for racial equality in America. Behind the leadership of editor Robert L. Vann, the newspaper achieved prominence by condeming racial discrimination and reporting hate crimes against blacks. Vann’s formula, according to historian Roland Wolseley, was to confront racial discrimination whenever and wherever it appeared. “These campaigns were against Jim Crowism and discrimination against blacks in major league baseball,” Wolseley wrote, “two of the classic targets of papers out to fight for black rights.” Between 1933 and 1945, the newspaper’s circulation increased from 46,000 to more than 260,000–more than a hundred thousand over its nearest rival, the Chicago Defender”

Marion Jones and Michael Vick: Press Coverage on Their Journey of Redemption and Renewal • Pamela Laucella, IU School of Journalism; Kathryn Shea • Michael Vick and Marion Jones were elite football and track athletes at the pinnacles of their sports. Both lost reputations and respect and served prison time, before restoring their tarnished images and athletic careers. This research studies press coverage of both, beginning with Vick’s dogfighting charges and Jones’ charges for lying to federal prosecutors about doping and knowledge of a check-fraud scheme. It offers a longitudinal and comparative analysis with their comebacks in the NFL and WNBA, and elucidates the scandals and the intersecting worlds of sport, media, race, and gender. This research adds to work on the cultural impact of media and sport, reinforces the criminal-athlete discourse, and examines journalists’ use of master myths in describing athletes and events.

Selling Sports Culture: A Narrative Analysis of Nike’s “Just Do It” Campaigns in the United States and China • Bethany Ray, University of Alaska Anchorage; Joy Chavez Mapaye, University of Alaska Anchorage • The advent of globalization, advancements in technology and mass communication, and an influx of consumerism have revolutionized strategic marketing and corporate communications. Consequentially, corporations face the challenge of adapting general branding messages to specific cultures and societies. This study explores elements of consumer psychology by applying a comparative narrative analysis to selected advertisements from Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign that aired in the United States and China during the last 5 years. Nike’s campaign employed hybridization tactics to integrate its corporate brand with cultural traits. The study found that by altering narrative structure and components, Nike was able to successfully market the “Just Do It” to both audiences, thus selling sports culture.

I’m a Big Fan: Studying Media Dependency Among Fantasy Football, Baseball, and Basketball Owners • Greg Armfield, New Mexico State University; John McGuire, Oklahoma State University • This research study examined media dependency among fantasy sports owners (n=333) involving three popular U.S. professional sports (football, basketball and baseball). Results showed that fantasy football and fantasy baseball owners that desired to be successful (i.e., win their league) were found to have a high level of media dependency. Another finding showed that media dependency was high among fantasy football owners who wanted their own team to win even more than their favorite NFL team.

Sports Department vs. News Department: Editorial Control in Television Newsrooms • Ray Murray, Oklahoma State University; Stan Ketterer; Mike Sowell, Oklahoma State University • This exploratory research study examined the attitudes of television sports directors (n=108) concerning editorial judgments made in covering local sports and how such judgments are supported by or come into conflict with other newsroom personnel. Findings included sports directors (a) believed their editorial judgments on stories were frequently questioned, and (b) had sports stories regularly reassigned to news personnel.

John L. Griffith and the Commercialization of College Football Broadcasts in the Depression Era • Kathleen O’Toole, Pennsylvania State University • This study found that John L. Griffith, the first full-time commissioner of the Big Ten Conference, played a pivotal role in the expansion, commercialization and commodification of intercollegiate athletics in the Depression era. Echoing the “American Way” rhetoric of the radio industry in its battle to control broadcasting, Griffith positioned college football as a bulwark of capitalism and the antithesis of the emerging social welfare policies of the New Deal. Once the commercial radio industry successfully squeezed from the airwaves the educational broadcasters that had carried their own sports coverage, Griffith sought to forge a lucrative partnership between his conference and a national network. In aligning football’s interests and ideals with the competitive corporate ethos rather than the public service mission of public universities, Griffith helped to justify the commercialization of college football into the television age. In doing so, he also sowed the seeds for 21st century corporate/academic partnerships such as the Big Ten Network.

Exploring Perception of Online Sport Commentary: An Affective Disposition Approach • Po-Lin Pan, Arkansas State University • This study aimed at examining whether exposure to the positive/negative comments on the win/loss of their favorite team would activate readers’ dispositions toward their favorite team and whether such disposition effects would dominate reader’s perceptions of online sport commentary. A two (the win of favorite team versus the loss of favorite team) by two (the positive commentary versus the negative commentary) within-subjects repeated measures experiment was designed to examine readers’ perceptions in terms of quality, credibility, representativeness. Results showed that the positive/negative commentaries on readers’ favorite team would be a stronger factor that impacted readers’ quality and credibility perceptions than the win/loss of readers’ favorite team. However, the positive/negative commentaries and the win/loss of the favorite team both did not lead readers’ representativeness perceptions.

Public Relations Responsibility within NCAA Division I Athletics Departments: Understandings of Athletics Directors • Angela Pratt, Bradley University • The purpose of this paper is to address intercollegiate athletics directors’ understandings of responsibility for public relations within their departments. For this study, a qualitative approach was used: Twelve NCAA Division I ADs were interviewed, and their transcripts were analyzed using comparative analysis procedures. The findings show that the overall understanding of public relations to the participants is integrated impression management. Their overall understanding of public relations translated into a range of responsibility within their organizations for public relations.

American News Magazine Framing of China and the 2008 Beijing Olympics • Sean Sadri, University of Florida • A content analysis was conducted to examine the coverage and framing of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in two news magazines, Time and Newsweek. Athlete/team profiles and the impact on China were the most common story topics. However, articles about the impact on China or its government were much more negative in tone. Additionally, articles with an American agenda frame were predominantly positive in tone, while articles that framed China were primarily negative.

Ambivalence on the front lines? Attitudes toward Title IX and women’s sports among Division I sports information directors • Marie Hardin, Penn State University; Erin Whiteside, University of Tennessee; Erin Ash, Penn State University • In light of the continued research assessing how dominant ideology is communicated via mediated sport, this study assess the attitudes of sports information directors (SIDs), arguably initial “gatekeepers” and thus critical players in shaping sports media messages. A random sample of Division I SIDs was surveyed on questions clustered around gender and sexuality issues. The results showed that Division I SIDs are likely to help gay athletes stay in the closet, although they express more progressive attitudes toward sexuality than sports journalists, who were similarly surveyed in 2009. The results also showed mixed support for women’s sports and Title IX, and strong support for a gendered division of labor that could be problematic for the future prospects of women in the profession. The authors use the survey to question assumptions that female SIDs will advocate on behalf of women’s sports, Title IX and other related issues.

<< 2011 Abstracts

Assessing Outcomes Using E-portfolios in Communication Courses: What Student Reflections in a Pilot Program Teach Us About Teaching • Steve Hill; Chang Wan Woo, University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point; Rhonda Sprague; Mark Tolstedt • This study investigated whether student reflections that were part of an e-portfolio pilot project could help assess deeper learning. Qualitative analysis of 56 reflection papers from two communication courses revealed that students did appear to meet learning outcomes, but were unable to indicate learning in sufficiently detailed, articulate ways. The authors were able to use data from these reflections to reassess their own teaching and suggest instructional improvements that would lead to better long-term assessment of learning outcomes.

Assessing the Teaching of Media Ethics in Small Programs • John Williams, Principia College • Higher education in American is under attack and one of the forms of the attack is the growing threat of the federal government to participate more fully in institutional accreditation. In response to the threat, regional accrediting bodies have been pushing for institutional self-assessment for the purpose of institutional improvement. The assessment movement, including outcomes-based assessment and performance assessment, is filtering down to the individual instructor and course level. This paper is an exploration of one instructor’s attempt to design an assessment process, by which he can assess student change using an experimental method. The subject of the assessment is a course in media ethics. Assessing students over a seven year period, using his other classes as control groups, the instructor found that the course does cause changes in his students. However, the study raises troubling questions for the instructor, including, “Are these the changes that should happen?” Finally, the paper argues that journalism and mass communication educators must be prepared for assessment, both because it will be required and because it is integral to good teaching.

Blogs as learning tools in journalism education • Amy DeVault, Wichita State University; Les Anderson, Wichita State University • This exploratory study looks at the use of class blogs in two college journalism classes. Attitudes on the use of the blog and usefulness of the blog from both instructors’ perspectives and students’ perspectives are discussed. Qualitative assessment of the data suggests the instructors and students found the blogs useful for collaboration, extending discussions beyond the classroom and improving the quality of work.

Twitter’s effects on student learning and social presence perceptions • Lakshmi N Tirumala, Texas Tech University; Jessica Smith, Texas Tech University • Social presence, the concept that individuals have a sense of others as “real people” in mediated communication, is a pivotal concept in online interaction and learning. Social presence theory suggests that social media tools, such as Twitter, should build community among groups such as students. This could affect how much students learn. In this study, participants in a quasi-experiment (N=76) completed supplemental class exercises either by conversing with classmates on Twitter or by individually writing essays. Participants who used Twitter had more positive perceptions of Twitter as a classroom tool, and these students had greater social comfort with their classmates. Twitter use for class discussion did not correlate with higher scores on objective questions testing students’ memory of class content.

What is needed vs. what is taught: A national survey of online journalism course instructors • Ying Roselyn Du, Hong Kong Baptist University; Ryan Thornburg • This study is a national survey of online journalism course instructors. It reports an overview of what is taught in online journalism classrooms and what instructors perceive important for students to prepare for online newsrooms. Attention was paid to journalism skills, duties, and concepts. Results show an online journalism education that is tied to traditional journalism in many ways, but is not merely a more technologically focused version of traditional journalism. Overall, the current online journalism education is training future journalists who must be well-versed in multi aspects of journalism and technology, rather than being specialized in one or two types of tasks. For online journalism educators and journalism program administrators, this report may help in developing the appropriate curriculum to prepare students to work in the field. For future online journalists, it will give an idea of which skills are most needed, which duties are most performed, and which concepts are most valued in the current online journalism profession.

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