Scholastic Journalism Division

Exploring Approaches to Journalism Education in a Post-Print World • Sara-Ellen Amster, National University; and Sara Kelly, National University • There is little data concerning curriculum reform nationally to meet the changing realities of the journalism business. This is an exploratory study of the current state of journalism education at what may be the most critical time for the field. It paints a tentative picture of a field consumed with fear about the future. At the same time there was frustration that institutions, ever cautious and bureaucratic, are adapting to societal change with painful slowness.

Minorities and Majors: A Survey of High School Journalists’ Plans for College and Careers • Linda Bowen, California State University, Northridge • Few programs exist for the kind of one-on-one relationship building seen by many educators as the most effective way to entice multicultural students to college and university journalism programs. One unique civic engagement model in California, Media Mentors, puts soon-to-graduate university journalism majors in the classrooms with high school students working on their news publications for two hours each week.

Tinkering with Free Expression: Student Rights in the Age of MySpace • Lola Burnham, Eastern Illinois University • Beginning with the Tinker v. Des Moines School District case that guaranteed students’ rights to free expression, this paper looks at how those rights have been chipped away at in such cases as Fraser, Hazelwood, and Morse and argues that the Morse opinion, in particular, can be misinterpreted in lower court decisions in cases involving fake MySpace pages created by students about their school principals. Two such cases with very different outcomes are examined closely.

The Influence of Personality and Motivation on Mass Communication Students’ Choices between News Media and Strategic Communication • Elizabeth Crawford, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh; Vincent Filak, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh; and Glenn Hubbard, University of Texas at Arlington • A study of journalism and mass communication majors (n = 240) revealed differences in regard to personality indices and impetuses for selecting to pursue a degree that emphasized either news media or strategic communication. While showing overall agreement in the importance of openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness, strategic communication students were significantly higher in their ratings of agreeableness, while news media students were significantly higher in their ratings of openness.

Assessing the State of Math Education in ACEJMC Accredited and Non-accredited Undergraduate Journalism Programs • Christine Cusatis, University of Florida; and Renee Martin-Kratzer, University of Florida • Although journalists need basic math skills, little attention has been given to math education in collegiate journalism programs. To assess journalists’ math education, 341 department chairs from both ACEJMC-accredited and non-accredited programs were surveyed. Results indicated that few programs offered math courses specifically for journalism majors. Instead, most relied on general education requirements and segments of core journalism courses to teach math skills. Strategies are proposed for future implementation of math education in journalism programs.

Perceived Journalistic Roles of J-school Students: A Comparative Study of Hong Kong and PRC • Li Deng, Chinese University of Hong Kong; and Wang Wai Ma, City University of Hong Kong • A comparative study was conducted in Mainland China and Hong Kong to show journalism students’ different perceptions of journalistic roles. The six journalistic roles extracted from 24 items are Consonance, Populist mobilizer, Adversarial, Interpretive, Disseminator, and Culture and Entertainment, which represent different professional ideas among students in different social and media environment.

Some Things Never Change: A Retrospective Look at Practitioner Expectations of Journalism and Public Relations Education • Vinita Dhingra, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona • A controversy has been raging for decades about the appropriate curricula for journalism students and the validity of journalism and public relations education. This study presents previously unpublished data from a 1991 study for a retrospective glimpse into the views, expectations and attitudes of journalism and public relations professionals towards journalism education. Results show that the professionals do not place a premium on journalism education and most value strong writing and other practical skills.

Controversy, Job Satisfaction and Self-censorship: A Comparative Analysis of High School and College Media Advisers • Vincent Filak, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh • An analysis of data from 807 high school and college media advisers revealed congruency regarding controversial topics with which they had the most and least comfort seeing published in their school’s paper. However, high school advisers were significantly less comfortable than their college counterparts in publishing on all these topics. Furthermore, high school advisers feared retribution for running such stories more than the college advisers.

Certain Restrictions May Apply: A Comparison of High School Principals’ Attitudes Regarding Free Expression between 2004 and 2009 • Vincent Filak, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh; Warren Watson, Ball State University; and Adam Maksl, Ball State University • Data collected from a sample of high school principals in 2004 and a separate sample collected in 2009 (n=535) reveal improvement in regard to knowledge of free expression law and some improved tolerance toward some acts of free expression. However, the data also suggest principals have a reticence toward certain forms of expression, especially those that might occur within their schools.

Hooked on the News via the Web: Integrating www.newsvine.com into a College Level Journalism Writing Course • James Forsher, Seattle University; Gabrielle Evans, Seattle University; Jamie Wallace, Seattle University; Jamie Richardson, Seattle University; Webster Erica, Seattle University; and Jordan Laine, Seattle University • The paper discusses an instructor and his students experience integrating www.newsvine.com into an intermediate media-writing course at Seattle University. Newsvine’s is an online site that features international news, domestic, local, business, politics, odd news, health and entertainment. Readers can also write news articles or comment on stories they are reading.

The Effects of a Student Press Law on the Content of Student Newspapers • Jennifer Garner, Lakeside High School, Hot Springs, Arkansas; and Bruce Plopper, University of Arkansas at Little Rock • Through content analysis of student newspapers five years before and after implementation of the Arkansas Student Publications Act, this research measured whether the Act had any effects on student newspaper content. Findings showed that controversial news and feature stories declined significantly in newspapers at small, rural schools while they increased significantly at large, urban schools. Adviser training and experience seem to be more important determinants of newspaper content than is a student press law.

Item Response Theory versus Classical Test Theory: Proposing a New Approach in Evaluating Journalism Students’ Achievement • Mugur Geana, School of Journalism and Mass Communications, University of Kansas • The present study provides a practical justification for the use of advanced test development methods in building instruments to measure journalism students’ achievement. Evaluating student performance is a cornerstone of the educational process. Developments in psychology of knowledge combined with advances in statistical reasoning applied to educational testing have opened new fields of research into areas of performance appraisal and test building.

Hooking ‘Em Young: Effects of Forms of Youth Exposure to Newspapers on Later Newspaper Adoption • Geoffrey Graybeal, University of Georgia; and Ann Hollifield, University of Georgia • This study examines how different types of exposures to newspapers in high school and prior to high school are related to decisions by college freshmen to adopt and use their college newspaper. The study draws upon newspaper readership and adoption theory to examine predictors. This survey of college freshmen found that interest in news predicts independent newspaper adoption but exposure to news does not.

Moving Beyond Rules: Codes and Classes Role in Ethical Decision-making by Editors at Campus Dailies • Marie Hardin, Pennsylvania State University; and Kirstie Hettinga, Pennsylvania State University • This research uses interviews with college Editors to explore their ethical decision-making. Findings suggest they value ethics classes but generally fail to connect instruction and codes with their newsroom experience. As they gain experience, they may move beyond a foundational, rules-based approaches to ethics, but they may also be overconfident about their decision-making abilities. Student journalists would benefit from instruction integrated into the newsroom environment that includes a focus on understanding the role of codes.

Copying Right and Copying Wrong with Web 2.0 Tools in the Communications and Teacher Education Classrooms • Ewa McGrail, Georgia State University; and J. Patrick McGrail, Jacksonville State University • Understanding copyright law in online content creation has become important in the Information Age. Student content creators should be educated about their responsibilities as producers of content derived from the intellectual property of others. As educators, we want to prepare our students for responsible participation in this new age. This paper describes an approach that we employ with underclassmen in communication courses and English teacher education students to prepare them to deal with copyright issues.

Journalism Students’ Knowledge About U.S. Politics and Government: Implications for Journalism Education • Uche Onyebadi, Southern Illinois University Carbondale • This research deviates from most studies about knowledge of politics and civic affairs with its specific focus on what journalism students in a US university know about the subject. The survey instrument was used in this study.

Designing a News Web Site To Appeal To Teens • Jessica Otwell, University of Memphis • This study links uses-and-gratification theory and the media choice model to teens’ online news consumption. It applies each of them to the future of news organizations and outreach to teen audiences. A focus group was conducted to determine the needs of teens and what changes need to be made to a citywide high school newspaper to reflect their interests. Research found that participants demand connectivity and new design standards when visiting news sites.

The Effects of the Ideological Congruency/Distance between Journalism and Mass Communication Students and their Professors on the Students’ Learning Experiences • Tayo Oyedeji, University of Georgia; Jennimaria Palomaki, University of Georgia; Uche Onyebadi, Southern Illinois University Carbondale; and Jiran Hou, University of Georgia • This study explores the effects of the ideological congruency/distance between journalism and mass communication students and their professors on the learning experiences of the students. The results show that ideological distance/congruency did not affect students’ perceptions of their overall learning experiences and their class grades but had a statistically significant effect on their participation in class discussions.

<< 2009 Abstracts

Radio Television Journalism Division

Two Parts “Old Media,” One Part “New:” Integrating Social Media and Television News • Thomas Baggerman, Capital University; Cheryl Harrison, Capital University; Brent Small, Capital University; Andrew Newman, Capital University; Stefan Smetanko, Capital University; Jason Kaplan, Capital University; Andrea Klinker, Capital University; Michael Ferko, Capital University; Ruben Fernandez, Capital University; Blaire Ramey, Capital University • This paper examines the academic and industry views on the benefits and challenges of integrating “new” social media like Facebook and Twitter with “old” mainstream news media, particularly television news. The paper reviews national and local exemplar newscasts to assess current levels of integration, and compares these to the stated goals of the newscasts. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the benefits of possible future melding of social media and television news.

As it Plays Out: Network and local news coverage of two Canadian elections • Marsha Barber, Ryerson University • This research paper addresses the issue of media bias on Canadian television during coverage of the 2006 federal election and the 2007 Ontario provincial election. A content analysis suggests network news coverage is balanced for the most part. Findings further suggest that local coverage was usually balanced, but did not always meet the scrupulous standards set by the networks. However, a more subtle and systemic bias was apparent at both the network and local levels.

The Daily Show as Scapegoat: Examining Cynicism Toward Politics and the News Media • Lauren Bratslavsky, University of Oregon • Drawing on survey data and past studies about The Daily Show, this paper seeks to understand the relationship between the “fake news” TV program and cynicism. Some have applauded the program for its satirical perspectives about politics and the news media.

A tale of two sites: Comparing new media use at television news operations and newspapers • Tim Brown, University of Central Florida; Steve Collins, University of Central Florida • This national survey examined the differences between television news operations and newspapers in their use of multimedia to disseminate content. It appears that the “legacy” attitudes of traditional media are carrying over into new media, and that newspapers appear to be falling behind television stations in some key aspects of delivering content over new media.

New Media, Enduring Values: How Three News Organizations Managed Change In An Age Of Uncertainty • Carrie Brown, University of Memphis; Jonathan Groves, Drury University • This study uses theory on organizational culture and leadership to identify factors affecting the implementation of an initiative by three news organizations to bring the core principles of journalism to life on the Web. A newspaper, a local television station, a producer and distributor of public radio, and an academic institution participated in this effort.

Public vs. Commercial Broadcasting News Use: Does News Consumption Orientation Matter? • Q. Lisa Bu, University of Wisconsin-Madison • Can news consumption orientation, defined as people’s general tendency to prefer certain news medium and content, predict public vs. commercial broadcasting news use? The results suggest that (1) news consumption orientation is a 4-factor concept independent of media use gratification; (2) it predicts public and commercial broadcasting news use but cannot predict which source will be used more; and (3) regular use of online news has no effect on either broadcasting news use.

Gonna take you higher! News Blogging in the 21st Century: A quantitative study • Janice Collins, Ohio University • Mainstream journalists and media outlets have not done an effective job in keeping in touch with the needs, concerns and values of the audience. The internet is changing all of that. Cyberjournalism and blogging is forcing main stream journalists to stand up and pay attention to not only the public, but to their craft, as well.

Considering the Source and Messenger in Local TV News • William R. Davie, University of Louisiana at Lafayette • This content analysis of local television news compared hard and soft news variables of gender and ethnicity by anchors and reporters. There was relative balance in gender and racial representation for hard news and soft news story assignments in contrast to the literature. Findings also compared gender and ethnicity with source type (expert/non-expert) and found white male expert sources overrepresented when compared to female and minority expert sources.

Issue Salience Along Party Lines And TV Network News in the 2008 US Presidential Campaign • David Free, University of Texas at Austin • This study examines whether the issues that are recognized as the most important to voter’s who self-identify with either the Republican or Democratic parties and/or the candidates representing those parties and ideologies are reflected in network television news and the stories the networks identify as salient between January 2008 and Election Day on November 4, 2008.

Is AMBER more effective on the air or online? Priming and source effects in missing children alerts • Jennifer Greer, University of Alabama; Po-Lin Pan, University of Alabama; David Flores, University of Nevada • This study examined the effects of the AMBER Alert system, which has become a staple on broadcast outlets nationwide. Using an experimental design, researchers examined priming effects (AMBER label/generic missing child alert) and source credibility (local television news station/social networking site) on citizen responses to alerts. Regardless of source, the AMBER label prompted higher subject involvement with a case and higher ratings of message importance. The source cue only affected message quality ratings.

The 2008 Presidential Campaign: Political cynicism in the age of Facebook, MySpace and YouTube • Gary Hanson, Kent State University; Paul Haridakis, Kent State University; Audrey Wagstaff, Kent State University; Rekha Sharma, Kent State University; J.D. Ponder, Kent State University • We examined the impact of social network media use during the 2008 presidential campaign on political cynicism. Drawing on uses and gratifications theory, we also considered the contribution of user background characteristics and motives. Results suggest males low in self efficacy who elaborated on political information, but tended not to use social networking sites for political information and whose family and friends did not provide strong political socialization influence, were more cynical than their counterparts.

Television News Frames over the Street Girls • Seong Choul Hong, Indiana University • If prostitution is the world’s oldest profession, it is also, arguably, one of the oldest topics in news media coverage. The U.S. media have sensitized, amplified, and constructed prostitutes and their clients as public nuisances and immoral beings. Nonetheless, the question of how news media present the images of prostitutes and their clients has rarely been explored. Even when this is the case, the research has been confined to content analyses of printing media.

User Generated Content and the 2008 Presidential Election: A Content Analysis of Citizens’ Stories on CNN’s iReport • Kirsten Johnson, Elizabethtown College • The 2008 presidential election saw a shift from people as passive consumers of media to active content creators. People went online to post stories using text, pictures, video, and audio. One site that supports user created content is CNN’s iReport.com. A content analysis was performed on 278 stories written about the 2008 presidential election and posted by citizens to iReport.com.

Selective Exposure of American News Consumers to Polarized Cable News Channels • Yung Soo Kim, University of Kentucky; Mina Tsay, University of Kentucky; Deborah Chung, University of Kentucky • Employing a cross-sectional online survey (N = 135), this study examined patterns of selective exposure to two polarized 24-hour cables news channels, Fox and CNN. Specifically, this study investigated the relationship of political orientation and perceived news bias to channel selection (frequency of viewing intention, frequency of reliance on viewing, amount of attention paid, and frequency of actual exposure).

Teasing Out the Promos: An Analysis of Self-Promotion Strategies in Network Newscasts • Joy Chavez Mapaye, University of Oregon, University of Alaska Anchorage; Kathleen M. Ryan, Miami University-Ohio • This study investigates the self-promotion practices of ABC, CBS, and NBC. Using content analysis and categories grounded in vertical integration strategies, this study examines the management and marketing of the network brand identity through teases and various self-promotion strategies. The research found the three major television networks used self-promotion frequently. In all, 1,063 instances of self-promotion were recorded from the sample. For every 30 minutes of news content, there were approximately 4 minutes of self-promotion.

The Community Affiliation Model: The Effects of Ideological Congruency and Community Affiliation on Audiences’ Perceptions of Cable News Outlets • Tayo Oyedeji and Jiran Hou, University of Georgia • This study proposes and tests the community affiliation model—a model that predicts that community affiliation, a measure of the extent to which media audiences believe that a news media outlet cares about their community, will be the key mediating variable in the relationships among ideological congruency, media believability, media use, and audience loyalty to cable news outlets.

The uses, gratifications and political knowledge young adults obtain from watching network newscasts and late night comedy shows • Susu Qin, Iowa State University, Greenlee School of Journalism and Mass Communication • This study examines how college students use and obtain gratifications from two TV news program genres (regular network news and late-night comedy shows), which of these two program types contribute more to political knowledge, and what is the influence of exposure and attention to late-night comedy shows.

EARwitness Testimony: Applying Listener Perspectives to Developing a Working Concept of “Localism” in Broadcast Radio • Gayane Torosyan, SUNY Oneonta • Ever since the introduction of new technologies such as satellite, Internet and cable radio, the concept of “local” has been at the center of a debate in the radio industry. Ownership consolidation has led to concerns about the loss of “local identity.” Broadcast radio news providers are operating under the assumption that the geographical location of the origin of news plays an increasingly smaller role.

Recreatin’ Sarah Palin: Journalists, Tina Fey and the Construction of a Political Persona • Dannagal Young, University of Delaware • Rarely has an impersonation received as much press coverage as Tina Fey’s impersonation of Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Journalists referred to the young comedian as Palin’s “doppelganger,” and her send-up of the Alaska governor as “dead-on” (Wiser, 2008, Chicago Sun-Times). More importantly, perhaps, journalists appear to have embraced Fey’s Palin and integrated this folksy, dim-witted-but-charming version of the governor into their campaign stories.

<< 2009 Abstracts

Public Relations Division

Open Papers
Antagonistic Symbiosis or Interactive Symbiosis: An Analytical Study Of the Relationship between Public Relations Practitioners and Journalists in United Arab Emirates • mai Alkhaja, united Arab emirates university • The goal of study is discover and evaluate the relationship between PR practitioners and journalists at UAE. The important conclusions are : PR practitioners face difficulties in the execution of their roles. Top management have a different view about the free flow of information from that of the practitioner.

PR Goes to the Movies: Public Relations in Selected Films 1996 to 2008 • Carol Ames, California State University, Fullerton • This qualitative analysis of public relations in popular Hollywood films from 1996 to 2008 looks at three questions: First, how is the PR practitioner portrayed in recent films? Second, what kind of public relations activities and models of public relations are depicted? Third, how do other scholars’ results in prior studies apply to the portrayal of public relations in current films?

A Quantitative Review of Crisis Communication Research in Public Relations: 1991-2009 • Elizabeth Avery, University of Tennessee; Ruthann Weaver Lariscy, University of Georgia; Sora Kim, DePaul University; Tatjana Hocke, University of Tennessee • This study quantitatively examines18 years (1991-2009) of data from the crisis communication domain in Public Relations. 66 articles met the selected criteria; each was content analyzed to determine context (corporate, public/government, private, non-profit, other), primary methodology, and numerous contextual elements. Many specific findings are presented, and overall recommendations indicate crisis communication research in public relations may benefit both theoretically and pragmatically through more diverse contextual and methodological applications.

The impact of environmental disclosure on environmental legitimacy and the organization-public relationship • Denise Bortree, Penn State University • Environmental responsibility has become a critical area of focus for corporations. The aim of this research was to examine a key dimension of responsibility by exploring how disclosure of information impacts environmental legitimacy and the quality of the organization-public relationship. Results suggest that disclosure of environmental information leads to a greater perception of legitimacy of an organization and can lead to a stronger relationship with key publics.

New Dimensions in Relationship Management: Exploring Gender and Inclusion in the Nonprofit Organization-Volunteer Relationship • Denise Bortree, Penn State University; richard waters, nc state u • The role of gender in perceptions of the organization-public relations has not been explored. This paper reports on a study of the inclusive behaviors of nonprofit organizations toward teen volunteers. Borrowing from organizational communication literature, the study explores whether greater inclusion by the organization will lead to a higher quality relationship and whether the genders experience different levels of inclusion.

Applied Ethics and Stakeholder Management on Corporate Websites • Shannon Bowen, Syracuse University • A content analysis was conducted using a random interval sample of the 2008 Fortune® 500 list of the largest US corporations to explore their application of ethics and stakeholder management. Seventy-two of the 500 were quantified along the lines of the content of their corporate website related to ethics, communication, stakeholders, relationship measures, community relations, and other qualitative variables.

Increasing publicity and thematic news coverage: The impact of localizing news releases in a state-wide experimental field study • Bonnie Bressers, Kansas State University; joye gordon, kansas state university • In a state-wide experimental field study, Kansas newspapers were sent news releases over a four-month period addressing four children’s health issues. Half of the releases contained state-level data; half contained county-level data. The localized content was published 6-to-1 times more often. Contextual text regarding children’s health was retained. Commercial data and mail-merge software can help publicity efforts by increasing publication and prominence of messages and impacting the rhetorical framing of health topics in newspaper content.

Issues Management and University Alcohol Prevention: Improving Parental Perceptions of Organizational Legitimacy • John Brummette, Radford University • Developed from a strategic issues management and attribution theory approach, the purpose of this study is to assess the parental population to determine any significant relationships between perceptions of university drinking, awareness of alcohol prevention programs and perceptions of organizational legitimacy. A web-based survey (n=173) was conducted in the Spring of 2008 with parents of university students at a state flagship university.

Public Relations Best Practices in Sports Marketing: A Case Study of Aston Villa Football Club • Danielle Coombs, Kent State University; Anne Osborne, Louisiana State University • In some circles, “public relations” is a dirty term and PR practitioners are nothing but shysters. That is what many English football fans seem to think; beyond that, they perceive that those shysters, more often than not, are American. There is one notable exception to this: Randy Lerner, owner of Birmingham, UK’s Aston Villa Football Club. This paper examines the public relations efforts of AVFC through the lenses of relationship management and Grunig’s Excellence theory.

I Love What I Do, But . . . A Relationship Management Survey of Millennial PR Agency Employees • Tiffany Derville Gallicano, University of Oregon; Patricia Curtin, University of Oregon; Kelli Matthews, University of Oregon • Millennials, those born in 1982 and later, represent the largest and most racially diverse generation in history and the fastest growing segment of the workforce. They have also been characterized in the popular press as “coddled,” “entitled,” and lacking a strong work ethic. This survey of Millennial generation agency practitioners uses closed and open-ended questions to determine how they rate their relationships with their employers (on trust, satisfaction, control mutuality, and commitment).

Pretending to Care Regardless of Results: A Critical Examination of Relationship Types and a Revised Framework • Tiffany Derville Gallicano, University of Oregon • In this paper, I describe the conceptualization of relationship types and identify problems with this conceptualization. To fix the problems I identified, I propose a revised conceptualization of relationship types. In addition, I propose quantitative and qualitative measurements for the revised conceptualization.

Annual Earnings Releases: Intermedia Agenda-Setters and Corporate Reputation Influencers • Marcia DiStaso, Penn State University • By exploring corporate earnings releases and local and national coverage of those earnings for 207 companies, this study found that corporations do set the media agenda for annual earnings. Corporate earnings releases were found to have the greatest influence on positive content in local earnings coverage and negative content in national earnings coverage. Reputation was best predicted by the neutrality of the corporate earnings release in combination with the length of local and national coverage.

The Age Paradox: New Media and Public Participation Among Millennials, Generation X, Baby Boomers, and Matures • David Dozier, San Diego State University, School of Journalism and Media Studies; Bey-Ling Sha, San Diego State University; Sandra Wellhausen, Katz & Associates; Kristina Bentson Ray, City of Carlsbad • In a national telephone survey (RDD), relationships were tested among generalized new media usage, public participation using new media, and age. Younger Americans use new media more frequently than their elders. However, older people are more likely to attend public meetings (traditional public participation) because of higher involvement. The significant negative relationship between age and new media public participation reverses to a significant positive relationship, once generalized new media usage is controlled.

An Experimental Investigation of the Crisis Response Strategies in Nonprofit Public Relations • Hilary Fussell Sisco, Quinnipiac University; Erik Collins, University of South Carolina • Crisis communications has distinguished itself as a leading area in public relations. However, little attention has been paid to nonprofit organizations (NPOs), one of the largest sectors of public relations practice. In particular, few studies have examined the crisis response strategies NPOs can employ to repair their reputations.

Corporate Communication Competencies and Expectations at Multiple Levels of Professional Maturity (Preliminary Report of a Work in Progress) • Tamara Gillis, Elizabethtown College • This content analysis of current corporate communication position descriptions (from entry-level to senior management) is intended to identifying expectations and competencies at multiple levels of professional maturity. As they advance in their careers, communication professionals are engaged in the strategic management of core communication processes for businesses and organizations.

Organizational Image Construction in a Fragmented Media Environment • Dawn Gilpin, Arizona State University • Organizations seek to influence their reputation through a variety of self-presentation activities, which collectively express the organization’s identity. Whereas news releases once constituted the primary form of self-presentation, online and social media such as blogging and micro-blogging (Twitter) also contribute to image building in today’s media environment. This paper focuses on organizational image as the social dimension of organizational identity, within a larger model of reputation construction.

Wary of the Web: The Underutilization of Web Sites for Public Outreach by State Emergency Management Agencies • David Guth, University of Kansas; Gordon Alloway, University of Kansas Center for Telemedicine and Telehealth • Expanding on prior research, this paper examines how state emergency management agencies (SEMAs) use the Internet for public outreach. Through content analysis and a survey of SEMA public information officers, it was determined that, overall, SEMA Web site content appears to be focused more toward emergency managers and first responders than toward citizens or the news media.

Crisis Communications in 160 Characters and Spaces: Student Responses, Perceptions and Preferences for Emergency Text Message Notifications • Joseph Giordano, Colorado State University; Kirk Hallahan, Colorado State University • In a quasi-experiment participants (n=337) were surveyed about their behavioral intent after reading two text messages. High-risk (versus low-risk) messages generated greater attention, re-reading, and retention (versus deletion) of messages, greater message forwarding and greater information sharing and information seeking. Effects related to gender and three personality traits—attitude toward technology, self-efficacy and risk-taking—also are reported. . Implications for the successful promotion of cell phone-based crisis alert systems are discussed.

In Search of a Standard Scale: Exploring the Dimensions of Perceived Source Credibility • Karen Hilyard, University of Tennessee • Perceived source credibility is a key construct in communication research but there are no standard scales by which to measure it. In a series of one-on-one interviews, this study explores the dimensions of Meyer’s Credibility Index: trust, fairness, openness, accuracy and bias.

The Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility and Customer-Company Identification on Publics’ Dialogic Communication Intentions • Soo Yeon Hong, Virginia Commonwealth University; Hyejoon Rim, Syracuse University • A public’s engagement in dialogic communications with organizations is an important relational behavior that facilitates building of organization-public relationships. To date, most of the research on dialogic communication has focused on the dialogic potential of the Internet as a way to evaluate organizations’ relationship building practices. Relatively less study has been conducted to examine the factors that influence publics’ engagement in dialogic communications.

Expanding the Government Communication Decision Wheel with Four Levels of Government • Suzanne Horsley, University of Utah; Brooke Liu, University of Maryland; Abbey Levenshus, University of Maryland • The authors surveyed 781 government communicators to expand the model of the government communication decision wheel with the four levels of government: city, county, state, and federal. The results revealed that there are similarities and differences among the four levels of government in terms of daily public affairs activities and environmental obstacles and opportunities. The model was expanded to include the unique organizational attributes of each level and to visualize communication practices among government communicators.

Exploring the Value of Organization-public Relationships in Strategic Management: A Resource-based View • Lin-juan Rita Men, Hong Kong Baptist University; Flora Hung, Hong Kong Baptist University • This study combines the relational approach in public relations and the resource based approach in strategic management in exploring the values of public relations for an organization. Qualitative interview data showed that relationships were the organizational resources because relationship cultivation was an organizational capability and relationship outcomes were the intangible assets.

Examination of Scholarly Networks in Public Relations Research (2004-2008) • Sungwook Hwang, Myongji University; Chang Dae Ham, University of Missouri at Columbia • Based on the results of the bibliometric analysis, this study addresses the current status quo of public relations research as an independent discipline. After comparing the results with a previous bibliometric study (Pasadeos et al., 1999), this analysis of citations and co-citations of published works for the last five years (2004-2008) found that Grunig, J. A. and his work was still located at the center of a scholarly network of public relations.

Toward a Publics-Driven, Emotion-Based System in Crisis Communication:Unearthing Dominant Emotions in Multi-Staged Testing of the Integrated Crisis Mapping (ICM) Model • Yan Jin, Virginia Commonwealth University; Augustine Pang, Nanyang Technological University; Glen Cameron, Missouri School of Journalism, University of Missouri-Columbia • To better understand not only the minds, but also the hearts, of key publics, the authors assessed a more systemic approach to understanding the responses audience to crisis situations. The Integrated Crisis Mapping (ICM) model is based on a public-based, emotion-driven perspective where responses to different crises are mapped on two continua, the organization’s engagement in the crisis and primary public’s coping strategy.

Good for Samsung is Good for Korea: Image restoration strategies used by Samsung after a whistle-blowing corruption scandal • Taejin Jung, SUNY Oswego; Ron Graeff, SUNY Oswego; Woomi Shim, Florida State University • This study sought to examine the various image restoration and renewal strategies a prestigious Korean company (Samsung) employed in responding to the allegations of wrongdoing made by the whistler-blower, Mr. Kim Young-chul. Review of official comments and documents found that the organization used defensive strategies (e.g., denial, attack the accuser, transcendence, bolstering) in order to protect its image.

Causal Linkages among Relationship Quality Perception, Attitude, and Behavior Intention in a Membership Organization • Eyun-Jung Ki, The University of Alabama • This study was designed to test two models linking relationship perception, attitude, and behavior-based involvement in a membership organization. For the four relationship quality dimensions used in this study—control mutuality, satisfaction, trust, and commitment—current members’ perceptions of relationship trust and commitment positively influenced their attitudes toward the organization. More importantly, this study demonstrates that the public’s perception of commitment can also directly engender supportive behavior toward the organization among members of a key public.

Expectation Gaps between Stakeholders and Web-based Corporate Public Relations Efforts: Focusing on Fortune 500 Corporate Web Sites • Sora Kim, DePaul University; Jae-Hee Park, University of Tennessee; Emma Wright, East Carolina University • This study primarily investigates how Fortune 500 corporations use corporate-focused website public relations efforts to prioritize their stockholders and trying to meet different expectations of each stakeholder. The study found that shareholder needs are most often addressed by the corporations followed by consumers, community members, government agencies, and lastly activists, implying expectation gaps between stakeholders and corporate PR efforts. The study also found differences in the way various industries target stakeholders with the exception of shareholders.

Agenda Building Effects of Presidential Candidate Public Relations on Global Media Coverage and Public Opinion • JI YOUNG KIM, University of Florida; zheng xiang, University of Florida; Spiro Kiousis, U of Florida • Grounded in first- and second-level agenda-building and agenda-setting, the relationships among public relations, global media, and public opinion were explored in the context of 2008 U.S. presidential election. Two candidates’ speeches, press releases, and foreign media coverage were analyzed and compared with public opinion. Object salience (issue and candidate) was found between public relations and global media; affective attribute (tone) salience was partially supported in the relationships of public relations, global media and public opinion.

A Quantitative Analysis of Governments’ Use of Interactive Media in International Public Relations • JI YOUNG KIM, University of Florida; Juan-Carlos Molleda, University of Florida • Seeking a relationship between contextual variables and global public relations practices, this study examined 118 official websites of national governments in every continent around the world. In particular, it focused on three political and socioeconomic variables-the level of transparency, economic freedom, and the readiness of E-government-and explored their associations with the interactive media use by national governments. Significant associations were found by supporting the regional differences in the interactive media use by governments.

Media Practices in the Urals Federal District of Russia: Examination of the Non-Transparent Practices at Three Levels • Anna Klyueva, University of Oklahoma; Katerina Tsetsura, University of Oklahoma • This study examined non-transparent practices that happen at the interpersonal, intra-organizational, or inter-organizational level in the media of the Urals Federal District of Russia. Findings showed that the most frequent non-transparent practice in the Urals Federal District of Russia happens at the interpersonal level. However, a number of non-transparent practices happen at the inter-organizational level and their frequency significantly differs between local and national media.

No sickness, no need: College student perspectives on health messages • Cheryl Ann Lambert, Boston University • Scholarship indicates a stark contrast between health impediments college students identify and the health information their respective campuses provide, campus health promotions often lacking personal relevance for college students, and health programs that utilize control-based strategies to compel behavior change. The purpose of this study was to explore how female undergraduates perceive health messages to identify implications for public relations scholarship and practice and to facilitate enhanced health communications for college students.

An Extension of the Situational Theory of Publics in Political Context • DooHee Lee, Department of Communication, University of Maryland; Hyehyun Hong, University of Missouri; Jongmin Park, Kyung Hee University; Youngah Lee, University of Missouri • This study attempted to reexamine and extend the situational theory of publics (STP) in the political context by using a national survey with a total of 978 random samples. Interestingly, in the low political knowledge group, the results showed that the greater problems were recognized, the more people were likely to communicate political issues while the relationship between problem recognition and communication activeness was not significant among those with high political knowledge.

The Emergence, Variation, and Evolution of CSR on the Media and Public Agenda, 1980-2004: The exposure of publicly-traded firms to public debate • Sun Young Lee, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Craig Carroll, University of North Carolina • This study examines the emergence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a public issue over 25 years using a content analysis from two national newspapers and seven geographically dispersed newspapers in the U.S. Unlike most other CSR studies, this study adopted a comprehensive definition encompassing all four CSR dimensions: economic, ethical, legal, and philanthropic. We examined newspaper editorials, letters, and columns connecting CSR as a public issue to publicly-traded companies.

Strategic responses to influential external blogs: A model for managing blog-mediated crisis communication • Yan Jin, Virginia Commonwealth University; Brooke Liu, University of Maryland • Practitioners and academics are buzzing about the impact of the blogosphere on public relations practices. Emerging evidence indicates that strategically managing blog-mediated public relations may be especially critical for crisis managers. Yet, no known research provides a comprehensive, theoretically-sound approach indicating how crisis managers should engage with the blogosphere. Therefore, this study proposes a new conceptual model to help public relations practitioners navigate the evolving blogosphere: the strategic responses to influential external blogs model.

Measuring Information Source Usefulness to Differentiate America’s Traveling Public • Lisa Fall, University of Tennessee; Chuck Lubbers, University of South Dakota • This study investigates how publics (travelers) can be differentiated based on information source factors (domains), generational cohorts and residency. Over the course of a year domestic and foreign travelers who were traveling to, from, or through a southeastern state were surveyed; resulting in 1764 participants. Computer mediated communication sources, mass media sources, word-of-mouth, and travel/tourism sources serve as viable predictors. Implications for both practitioners and educators are discussed and recommendations for future research are suggested.

Bridging the Gap: An Exploratory Study of Corporate Social Responsibility among SMEs in Singapore • Mui Hean Lee, Nanyang Technological University; Xiu Wen Lien, Nanyang Technological University; Yan Zhao Poh, Nanyang Technological University; Ai Ling Soh, Nanyang Technological University; Angela Mak, Nanyang Technological University; Augustine Pang, Nanyang Technological University • Corporate social responsibility (CSR) among small-medium enterprises (SME) is an overlooked area. A self-administered web survey was conducted among 113 senior executives from top 500 Singapore SMEs (27.2% response). Key findings include 1) moderate awareness but low comprehension of CSR; 2) engagement relevance to immediate stakeholders; 3) individual values, stakeholder relationships, and governmental influences as main drivers; and 4) lack of various resources as key barriers. A potential framework and future research directions are discussed.

High School Guidance Counselor Preferences of College Web sites • Sheila McAllister-Spooner, Monmouth University • A survey of 69 U.S.-based high school guidance and admissions counselors suggests that college Web sites are the main source used to review colleges and universities. Of Kent and Taylor’s five dialogic features, the ease of interface and useful information features that conserve visit time and generate return visits are perceived as the most important. The dialogic feedback features were not strong indicators that would increase the likelihood of submitting an application.

Enhancing Social Capital between Journalists and Public Relations Practitioners? The Social Media Release Uncovered • Sara Portoghese, Elon University; Barbara Miller, Elon University • This study examines perceptions of the social media release (SMR), an evolution of the traditional news release that incorporates various social media tools. In-depth interviews with journalists and public relations professionals suggest the SMR addresses many of the concerns of the 24-hour news cycle by making story research faster and more convenient for journalists. The SMR may be particularly beneficial in enhancing relationships between reporters and public relations practitioners, particularly online journalists and bloggers.

Not Ready to Play Nice: An Analysis of Negativity in the News Releases of 2007 Presidential Primary • Mia Moody, Baylor University; Joseph Brown, Baylor University • Using competitive candidate position and policy prioritization frameworks, this study investigates negative campaigning and issue preferences as reflected in news releases posted to the Internet sites of candidates and tracking polls leading up to the 2007-2008 presidential primaries. Findings indicated that underdog candidates were more likely than frontrunners to engage in issue-oriented negative campaigning. Conversely, frontrunners were less likely to employ such tactics.

More Words, Less Action: A Framing Analysis of FEMA Public Relations Communications During Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav • Seth Oyer, Bowling Green State University; J. Keith Saliba, Jacksonville University; Franklin Yartey, Bowling Green State University • This study comparatively analyzes the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s crisis public relations communication leading up to and during hurricanes Katrina and Gustav to determine what, if any, changes FEMA made to its communication strategy. Employing framing analysis, the authors discovered that, aside from an increase of more than double the number of words devoted to its Gustav crisis communication, the action statements withing FEMA’s crisis rhetoric had actually decreased since that before and during Katrina.

Effects of interactive online media type and crisis type on public trust during organizational crisis • Seth Oyer, Bowling Green State University; Michael Mitrook, University of Florida • This 2 x 3 experimental design tests the effects of interactive online media type (specifically blog and streaming video) and crisis type (accident, intentional or victim) on public trust during organizational crisis. Coombs’ (1997) Situational Crisis Communication Theory formed the foundation for the crisis type independent variable. Hon and Grunig’s (1999) trust dimension measures from Relationship Theory were used as the basis for the dependent variables.

Extension of Symbolic Convergence Theory: “About us” Web Page Analysis of Fortune Top 100 Corporations • Jongmin Park, Kyung Hee University; Hyunmin Lee, University of Missouri • This study extended the mainly qualitative analysis of Symbolic Convergence Theory (SCT) by conducting a quantitative content analysis of the “About us” Web pages of Fortune top 100 corporations. The findings revealed that, the fantasy type of superiority and the rhetorical vision of economic corporate management appeared the most frequently with related public (dramatic personae), competent and superior corporation (plot line), a person (scene), and economic corporate management (master analogue) as the structural terms of SCT.

Associations among Relationship Maintenance Strategies, Organization-Public Relationships, and Support for Organizations: An Exploratory Study of the Korean Non-Profit Sector • Hanna Park, University of Florida; Yunna Rhee, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies • In this study, the associations among relationship maintenance strategies, organization-public relationships, and support for the organization were examined. In particular, the focus is on non-profit organizations, which has seldom been subject to the public relations relationship management research in Korea. Support for organization was conceptualized and measured as intention to donate and volunteer as non-profit organizations heavily rely on these two types of public support.

From a Journalist’s Perspective: The Opinions and Attitudes Toward Dialogic Components of Corporate Websites • Justin Pettigrew, University of Georgia; Bryan Reber, University of Georgia • This study examines the attitudes and opinions of journalists regarding the use of dialogic components by Fortune 500 company Web sites designed for press use. Print journalists, via interviews, identified what components of online press rooms they found most valuable and desirable. Journalists appreciate the growing presence of dialogic components of corporate Web sites, but a level of distrust and sense of manipulation remains. Suggestions are made for re-examination of online dialogic communications typologies.

Political information source influence on perceptions of organization-public relationships with political parties • Trent Seltzer, Texas Tech University; Weiwu Zhang, Texas Tech University • Using Hallahan’s (2001) model of integrated public relations media planning as a conceptual framework, 508 voters were surveyed during the 2008 presidential general election to examine the relative influence of three sources of information on perceptions of organization-public relationships with political parties: media coverage, interpersonal political discussion, and parties’ strategic communication efforts. Strategic communication exerted the greatest influence on relationship perceptions. The findings extend research on strategic communication planning, public relations effectiveness, and relationship management.

Leading Up: Public Relations Beyond Managerial Roles • Marianne Sison, RMIT University • Public relations literature has often defined practitioners either as managers or technicians, or both. Public relations literature on leadership tend to refer to practitioners as working for or working with leaders, rather than being one of the leaders. By distinguishing between managers and leaders, this paper explores practitioner eligibility to become leaders by analyzing their exercise of influence and their perceptions of themselves as leaders.

Corporate compassion in a time of downsizing: The role of public relations in cultivating and maintaining corporate alumni social networks • Kevin Stoker, Texas Tech University; Susan Walton, Brigham Young University • This paper contends that corporate alumni networks serve a public relations purpose more than they do a human resource purpose. Through interviews with two developers of corporate social networks and a former employee who started an alumni network, the paper shows that these networks represent an opportunity and a moral imperative for public relations.

Perceptions of journalists and sources regarding time, accuracy and panic potential in an emergency • Christopher Swindell, Marshall University; James Hertog, University of Kentucky • The paper presents partial findings from a survey of journalists and official sources including public relations practitioners regarding emergency messages following a hypothetical terror attack. The coorientation model is used to assess both groups’ views. Journalists and official sources exhibit somewhat similar beliefs with regard to accuracy, timeliness, and audience panic but vary widely with regard to their understanding of the other’s views.

Anticipatory Socialization in the Use of Social Media in Public Relations: A Content Analysis of PRSA’s PR Tactics • Maureen Taylor, University of Oklahoma; Michael L. Kent, University of Oklahoma • This paper examines how public relations students are socialized in their understanding of the value and power of social media in the practice of public relations. It explores the public relations academic research about social media as well as the professional claims that state that social media is a valuable public relations tactic. The researchers content analyzed 59 articles and columns appearing in PR Tactics from April 2008 to March 2009.

Images of the U.S. and consumer politics in the Chinese marketplace • jay wang, university of southern California; lifeng deng, tsinghua university • This study addresses the issue of anti-American sentiments in the domain of consumer behavior in China. The central question is under what conditions American brands will become casualties of U.S. foreign policy towards China. We situate the analysis within the concept of “consumer nationalism” and approach the study from the perspectives of Chinese youth through focus group discussions in Beijing.

The Mediating Roles of Perceived Importance of and Attitude toward Corporate Social Responsibility in Consumer Response to Corporate Social Responsibility Communications • Alex Wang, University of Connecticut-Stamford; Ron Anderson, University of Texas at Austin • Despite the increasing importance of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) communications as effective reputation management, there has been limited understanding about variables and processes involved in consumer response to CSR communications. The current study proposes a three-stage model and investigates the mediating roles of perceived importance of CSR communications and attitude toward CSR communications in consumer response to CSR communications.

Crisis Managers in Crisis: Are PR Professionals Losing Control of the Message? • Shelley Wigley, University of Texas at Arlington; Maria Fontenot, Texas Tech University • This pilot study examined the role citizen generated content plays in the coverage of crisis situations and discusses implications for public relations practitioners who must respond to this type of coverage. By using a content analysis of newspapers and the websites of cable and broadcast news networks, the authors explored the use of both official versus non-official sources and the use of citizen generated content during coverage of the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings.

Exploring Cultural Influences on Public Relations Practices in Indonesia • Ming-Yi Wu, Western Illinois University; Michael Putrawenas, Public Relations Society of Indonesia • This study explores cultural influences on public relations practices in Indonesia. Through the use of a survey instrument, this paper reports data collected from Indonesian public relations practitioners (n=54) and describes work-related cultural values as well as the practices of public relations models in Indonesia. The results suggest that the two-way symmetrical, personal influence, and cultural interpreter models are the most frequently practiced models.

Can You Break Up with Your Utility Company? Effects of the Relational Gap Between Experiential and Expected Outcomes on Company Attitudes and Switch Intention • Minjeong Kang, Syracuse University; Sung-Un Yang, Syracuse University • A monopolistic relationship between utilities and their customers creates a unique relational context in which the basic assumption of one’s ability to terminate a relationship with an unsatisfactory relationship partner is violated. The current study examined when competition becomes viable in the market, how this change in utility market would result in customers’ assessment of their attitudes toward their currently monopolistic utility company and their intention to switch to an alternative provider.

A Blog-mediated Crisis Communication Model: Effects of Engagement on Post-Crisis Outcomes • Sung-Un Yang, Syracuse University; Minjeong Kang, Syracuse University; Philip Johnson, Syracuse University; Eric Duncan, Syracuse University • Blogs are an essential tool to present narratives. This study focused on the individual blog reader’s interpretation of crisis communication information and aimed to examine how a blog can be optimally utilized for effective crisis communication. An experimental study (N = 281) was conducted, simulating audience experience with a blog.

Teaching Papers
Integrating Teaching and Research in Public Relations • Sun Young Lee, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Many attempts have been made to account for the relation between teaching and research, and a great deal of attention has been focused on “what” are the nature of the relationships: positive, negative, or zero. Yet, more productive and meaningful way to discuss the topic will be focusing on “how” to better perform the two roles together.

Current Direction of U. S. Undergraduate Public Relations Programs: A Pedagogical Struggle • Karen Freberg, University of Tennessee; Michael Palenchar, University of Tennessee • While there is some agreement among educators and professionals about what undergraduate public relations students should learn, the literature still reflects a struggle among competing interests and perspectives, as well as a disconnect between what public relations practitioners believe they want from universities and what academics actually deliver.

Measuring Student Outcomes: An Assessment of Service-Learning in the Public Relations Capstone Course • Kelly Werder, University of South Florida • This study assesses the effectiveness of service-learning in the public relations capstone course by measuring perceived student learning outcomes. An assessment instrument is proposed and tested via a longitudinal survey of students (N=135) enrolled in the public relations capstone course at a large southeastern university. Results support a general service-learning assessment instrument for public relations education that includes measures of practical skills, interpersonal skills, citizenship, and personal responsibility, and discipline-specific functional, creative, and research skills.

Student Papers
Beijing Olympics: Public relations under an international spotlight • Jacqueline Alvarez, Pepperdine University • The Beijing Olympics held an unprecedented importance for the Chinese nation. This importance, paired with the international skepticism and criticism received upon the announcement that China would be hosting the 2008 Summer Games, called for an extensive and comprehensive public relations plan.

“Media Can Anger People” vs. “Organizations Can Reduce Anger” in a Crisis: Based on the Morality News Frame and the Organizational Crisis Response Strategy • Seon-Kyoung An, The University of Alabama • This study examined how crisis response strategies and news frame can be used to reduce people’s anger and blame in an internal crisis. College students participated in the 2 (individual vs. organizational responsibility) x 2 (immorality vs. non-immorality frame) between-subject factorial design. The result showed that individual level of responsibility strategy and the immorality frame can make people angry and blame more the organization. Significant interaction effects between the two factors on blame were found.

Using Dialogic Website Design to Build Effective Grantor-Grantee Relationships • Giselle A. Auger, University of Florida • The purpose of this study was to examine the paradoxical relationship that occurs between grantors and grantees in the grant making process and to discuss how this paradox may be alleviated through adoption of transparent communication features in website design. Through analysis of 106 independent foundation websites, the study examined features that correspond to the five elements of dialogic communication.

Asymmetric communication is not always a sin • Vanessa Bravo, Ph.D. Student • This article tries to apply the Information Asymmetry and Information Symmetry concepts -as defined and used in the field of Economics—in the Public Relations´ field, specifically in relation to the two-way model of symmetrical communication used in the theory of the Principles of Excellence in Public Relations and in the theory of the Generic/Specific Principles of Excellence in International Public Relations.

Effective Emergency Preparedness: Applying Agenda-Building and Framing to the American Red Cross’ Communication Practice • Rowena Briones, University of Maryland • This qualitative study explores agenda-building and framing within the American Red Cross’ emergency preparedness messages. Findings revealed that there is an interactive and reciprocal relationship between the American Red Cross, the media, and outside organizations, calling for a combination of rational and emotional appeals as well as the use of various framing devices to disseminate messages.

Unveiling Types of Relationship between Corporate Donors and Charitable Organizations Based on the Coorientation Model • Moonhee Cho, University of Florida • By utilizing the coorientation model, the study aims to examine the views of leading U.S. corporations and charitable organizations about types of relationship between two organizations. The expert survey results show that both corporate giving officers and senior fundraisers of charitable organizations perceive the relationship as more communal than either one-way patronizing or exchange.

A crisis changes news release?:A content analysis of news release and online press rooms of bailout companies • Daejoong Kim, University At Buffalo; Heasun Chun, University At Buffalo; Hyunjung Kim, University At Buffalo • The study examined how the amount and contents of news released in the press rooms of 25 American financial companies’ websites have changed among before, during, and after the bailout crisis. This study first selected 25 American financial companies which received exceeding 10 billion dollars as a bailout money from the list of bailout companies as of December 31, 2008.

Talking about Our Reputation: An Analysis of How Public Relations Firms Communicate Their Reputation Attributes • Maria De Moya, University of Florida; Jooyun Hwang, U. of Florida • Despite public relations’ role in reputation management, the reputation of public relations firms is unexplored. This study analyzed salient reputation attributes in firms’ releases and newspaper stories, and used Agenda-Building theory to measure correlations between attribute salience in firm and media news. Findings detailed the topics and reputation attributes salient in news releases and news stories, but showed no correlation in attribute salience. Implications for managing firms’ reputations and future research are discussed.

Whistleblowing in public relations: Call for a research agenda • Cary Greenwood, University of Oregon • This essay calls for a new research agenda in public relations to address the recent phenomenon of whistleblowing. Management literature has explored whistleblowing extensively since the first whistleblowing research in the 1980s, but public relations has only touched on the topic and not research on whistleblowing exclusively has been conducted in public relations.

Can Public Relations Professionals Help Span the Boundaries Between Scientists and Journalists, and Does This Function Help Increase Accuracy of News Articles About Public Health? • Emily Gresham Wherle, University of Missouri • A function of public relations professionals at public health agencies is to perform a boundary-spanning role. The research examined the role of PR professionals in the communication process, and to determine whether the involvement of a PR professional leads to improved news article accuracy. This study asked news sources to analyze news articles about health departments to determine the accuracy of the articles and the role of public relations professionals working in health departments.

Extent to Which the Federalist Papers Can be Viewed as an American Public Relations Campaign • Sara Hall, University of Florida • This research performed a qualitative content analysis of the Federalist Papers and personal letters to and from Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay in order determine to the role the Federalist Papers played in public relations’ history. A survey of public relations textbooks reveals confused and contradictory conclusions regarding the role of the Papers. This research comes to a determinative answer using the contemporary public relations process model, ROPES, and modern persuasive theories.

Audiences’ Perception of Product-, Corporate-, and Country- Image in a Product-harm Crisis: A Case Study of Sanlu Milk Powder Event in Mainland China • Guanxiong Huang, School of Journalism & Communication, The Chinese University of Hong Kong • Sanlu milk powder event is one of the most disastrous product-harm crises in mainland China recent years. This study investigates the influences of a single crisis at product-, corporate-, and country-level from an audience’s perspective, finding that government response and corporate response are significant predictors of country-of-origin effect of Chinese products, Chinese-based corporate image, and country image.

Either You Got it or You Don’t: Internship Availability at Public Relations Agencies • Christal Johnson, University of Oklahoma • This pilot study examined the relationship between public relations agencies and their internship availability. The study used a content analysis to examine internship opportunities on public relations firms’ Web sites and to determine if company size had an impact on internship availability. Data revealed that a little more than half of the companies offered internships, and companies with a smaller number of employees offered less internships than companies with more employees.

Korean Newspapers’ Framing Oil Spill news • Hyunmee Kang, Louisiana State University • This study examines news stories covering the oil spill accident in South Korea on December 17, 2007, in order to compare news frames presented in the three newspapers, two conservative newspapers, Chosun-Ilbo and JoongAng-Ilbo, and one progressive newspaper, The HanKyoreh, based on theoretical base of media framing and characteristics of media relations in Korea.

The Influence of Organizational Conditions on Public Relations Practitioners’ Dissent • Jin-Ae Kang, University of Alabama; Bruce Berger, University of Alabama • This study was designed to examine the ways in which organizational environment affects public relations practitioners’ dissent over organizations’ unethical decisions. The results of a survey of PRSA members reaffirmed that assertive confrontation is the most frequently adopted tactic for resisting organizations’ unethical decisions. Practitioners were more likely to confront management in an organization where top management did not support ethical behavior.

Anger as a Predictor of Active Public Protest: Extended Application of the Situational Theory of Publics to a Health Crisis • Jin-Ae Kang, University of Alabama; Seon-Kyoung An, The University of Alabama; Kyung Yoon Kwak, Sogang University • This study applies the situational theory of publics to a health crisis by exploring the effect of anger on public behavior. The results of a survey administered on the case of the candlelight rallies on the U.S. beef imports in South Korea demonstrated that involvement, problem recognition, and constraint recognition predict communication behaviors as well as various issue-related online and offline behaviors.

Product Categories Matter?: The Effects of Crisis Type and Involvement on Emotions • Jeesun Kim, University of Missouri • Although crisis communication scholars have examined the impact of perceived crisis responsibility and crisis type on emotions a crisis situation may generate, less attention has been devoted to emotion-related research. Taking two emotions from attribution theory, the present study aims to empirically investigate the interplay of crisis type and involvement on anger and empathy for crisis victims.

How Corporate Social Responsibility Contributes to the Relationship Management across Countries: The U.S. and South Korea • Daewook Kim, University of Florida; Myungil Choi, assistant professor • The purpose of this study was to explore how publics characterize the nature of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and organization-public relationships (OPR). The study also examined how CSR practices influence OPR between the U.S. and South Korea publics. The study found that U.S. publics have higher perceptions of CSR practices and OPR dimensions than the Korean publics. Relational CSR practices serve as the fundamental dimension in increasing the level of OPR.

Messages of the people, by the people, and for the people • Nam Young Kim, Louisiana State University; Kiwon Seo, Pennsylvania State University • A candidate’s PR team creates news releases to convince voters that their candidate is more desirable than the opponents. These news releases are important because they can influence the voters’ political information as well as opinion about the candidates. The advance of new media allows candidates to update an unlimited number of campaign messages on their Web sites.

International Corporations’ Interactive, Dialogic Relationship Building on the Web: A Four-Dimensional Approach to Mapping Web Utilization State and Pattern • Hyung Min Lee, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities; Kevin Wang, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities; Soyoen Cho, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities; Soyoon Kim, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities • A useful analytic tool based on a four-dimensional approach was proposed in this study to comprehensively understand the current state and pattern of international corporations’ interactive communication and dialogic relationship building strategies on the Web. In addition, the relationships between international corporations’ Web utilization and their internal/external factors were statistically tested. The findings confirmed the evolution of corporate Web interactivity and dialogic relationship building strategies.

Seeing is Believing: Assessment of Motion Media on Audience Judgments of Believability and Source Credibility • Hyunmin Lee, University of Missouri; Sun-A Park, University of Missouri; Youngah Lee, University of Missouri • The radical shift by news audiences away from newspaper to motion media (video stories on TV, web, cell phones, handhelds) prompted our assessment of media modality (text, text+picture, video) and source (PR, News, User-Created Content [UCC]) effects on credibility, as well as impact of messages. We found the motion media modality significantly enhances believability judgments and perceived veridicality, independent of source cue, in which News source garnered no greater credibility than PR or UCC source.

Maximizing the Internet’s Relationship-building Potential: Obama Campaign’s Strategic Management of its Internet-integrated Grassroots Strategy • Abbey Levenshus, University of Maryland • This case study examines the Obama presidential campaign’s use of the Internet to manage its grassroots campaign. Grounded in relationship-management theory, the study analyzed interviews with campaign staff, its Website, and news articles. Eight themes emerged regarding the campaign’s integration of the Internet and grassroots strategy; six themes surfaced regarding the campaign’s Internet use to manage relationships. Recommendations are made for extending relationship management theory focusing on its intersection with the Internet and political campaigns.

Perceptions vs. Practice: Testing the “Adversarial” Practitioner-Journalist Relationship • Christopher McCollough, Louisiana State University • Scholarship in public relations literature suggests an antagonistic relationship between journalists and public relations literature. This study attempts to account for emergent trends in the media environment, as well as to determine if long-standing trends remain. A series of frequency analyses and linear regressions yielded minimal support or answers for the hypotheses and research questions posed.

Spreading News or Let it Die: A comparative study of news diffusion in online and offline settings • Xiaoyan Pan, Universtiy of Maryland • This study examines the factors that influence individuals’ likelihood to diffuse news in offline and online communications. Individuals’ demographic characteristics, media use and interpersonal communication, as well as perceived news attributes, are included as potential predictors of news diffusion likelihood. Four hundred and thirty three respondents evaluated a news story and reported their likelihood to spread the news through online and offline channels.

Exploring How Corporate Social Responsibility Can Enhance Publics’ Attitudes, Purchase Intentions, and Supportive Behaviors • Hyojung Park, University of Missouri; Soo-Yeon Kim, University of Florida • This study examined the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on attitudes, purchase intentions, and supportive behaviors toward an organization using a 2 (corporate ability: good vs. poor) × 2 (CSR: good vs. poor) between-subjects experimental design. The MANCOVA results suggest that CSR initiatives positively influence the intended outcomes and that the effect of CSR becomes more powerful when a company lacks corporate ability.

Agenda-Building and Agenda-Setting in the Corporate Sphere: Analyzing Influence in the 2008 Yahoo-Icahn Proxy Contest • Matthew Ragas, U of Florida; Jinsoo Kim, University of Florida; Hyun Ji Lim, U of Florida • This study extends agenda-building theory into the corporate sphere. This investigation tested for first- and second-level agenda-building and agenda-setting relationships between the public relations efforts of competing corporate candidates, financial media coverage and investor opinion during the 2008 Yahoo!-Icahn proxy contest. Strong support was found for first-level effects, while evidence of second-level effects was mixed. Cross-lagged correlation analyses revealed that Yahoo!’s information subsidies enjoyed some success in influencing media coverage, while Icahn’s subsidies did not.

How Publicly Traded Companies are Using the World Wide Web: Building Dialogic Relationships • Amy Reitz, Colorado State University • This study examined publicly traded companies’ websites to determine how they use websites to build relationships with their investors. The content of systematic random sample of 25 publicly traded companies from the Standard and Poor’s 500 Stock Index list was analyzed to determine the extent to which publicly traded companies’ websites were employing dialogic communication as well as the significance of responsive and non-responsive companies. The findings indicated that publicly traded companies’ websites appeared to encompass some of the characteristics of dialogic communication.

The Right Words to Say: Implications of Regulation FD on Corporate Spokespersons • David Remund, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This research investigates enforcement actions taken by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) since the issuance of Regulation FD in 2000. Regulation FD prohibits public companies and their employees from selectively disclosing material, non-public information. The SEC’s lack of clarity relative to materiality standards, though, has proven challenging in recent years for those who work in investor relations and corporate communications.

The View from within: Internal Publics and Corporate Social Responsibility • Ganga Sasidharan, National University of Singapore • This study explored the significance of corporate social responsibility as a predictor of organizational commitment for internal publics. The study has been conducted through a web based survey among a sample of employees in the managerial cadre, with around ten years of experience of working in private sector organizations across the world.

Beyond Activist Publics: Toward a Public Relations Typology of Activist Organizations • Erich Sommerfeldt, University of Oklahoma • This paper furthers public relations’ understanding of activist groups through arguing the importance of creating an activist public typology. From the extant literature on public relations and activism, the paper extracts four factors public relations scholars have used to define and characterize activist groups: organizational structure; access to resources; tactics; and goals/issue interest. The paper proposes how these factors might be used in the development of a typology and offers suggestions for future research.

Finding (and Defining) Corporate Social Responsibility in Sin City • Jessalynn Strauss, University of Oregon • This textual analysis looks at the Web sites of MGM Mirage and Harrah’s Entertainment, examining the ways in which these two corporations portray corporate social responsibility and their commitment to their local community. This research finds that the two corporations have fundamentally different attitudes toward corporate social responsibility as an extension of business practices and discusses the implications of this distinction, especially in a turbulent economy for the industry.

Public relations in Japan: A case study of historical significance and current problems • Koichi Yamamura, University of Miami • This paper takes a case study approach and looks at the historical development of public relations practice in Japan, the problems it faces today, and its potential for the future. It has been said that modern public relations practice was introduced to Japan by the post-World War II Allied Occupation Forces. However, recent studies reveal that the practice of modern public relations can be traced back further.

<< 2009 Abstracts

Media Management and Economics Division

Divestiture Restructuring in the Media Industries: A Financial Market Case Analysis • Alison Alexander, University of Georgia; James Owers, Georgia State University • Much attention has been paid to restructuring in the media industries. Most of this attention has been directed at mergers and acquisitions and the associated increase in industry concentration. What has been largely overlooked is the extent of restructuring that reduces the size of media firms – divestitures. This paper examines several cases of major media divestitures and calibrates the impact of these sell-off and spin-off restructuring events on the value of divesting firms.

Corporate Restructuring in the Media Industries: Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestitures • James Owers, Georgia State University; Alison Alexander, University of Georgia • There has been extensive restructuring in the media industries in recent times. Motivations for these restructurings vary. In some cases firms are seeking to become larger by acquisitions while other firms seek to reduce their size by divestitures. While there is discussion of the effects of restructuring on media concentration, one of the major goals of top management is to make publically traded firms worth as much as they can.

Dimensions of News Media Brand Personality • Tae Hyun Baek, University of Georgia; Jooyoung Kim, University of Georgia; Hugh J. Martin, University of Georgia • This study explores the structure of news media brand personality across multiple media outlets including television network news, newspapers, and news magazines. Through a series of rigorous exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis procedures with an initial set of 229 personality traits that were reduced to the final set of 48 items, we found five brand personality dimensions that can be applicable to news media: Trustworthiness, Dynamism, Sincerity, Sophistication, and Toughness.

TV Reporters Perceptions of Organizational Influences on News Content and Coverage Decisions • Rita Colistra, West Virginia University • This study examined reporter perceptions of organizational-level influence on news content based on an original data from a national Web-based survey of TV reporters. More specifically, this study asks how, how often, and under what conditions do organizational forces attempt to influence television media and their coverage, and to what effect are they successful at doing so? The project also attempts to develop the little-studied area of agenda cutting.

A Discriminant Analysis of High-Definition Television Owners and Non-owners • Michel Dupagne, University of Miami; Paul Driscoll, University of Miami • A national random telephone survey was conducted to profile high-definition television owners based on demographics, media use, interpersonal communication, social participation, cosmopoliteness, perceived innovation attributes of new communication technologies, and ownership of communication technologies. Three of the nine adoption hypotheses were supported. HDTV owners were found to be younger, perceive higher relative advantage, compatibility, observability, and resources of new communication technologies, perceive lower complexity of new communication technologies, and own more communication technologies than non-owners.

A Growth Sector in a Mature and Troubled Industry: U.S. Free Daily Newspapers and their Content • Peter Gade, University of Oklahoma; Christopher Krug, University of Oklahoma • This study describes the journalism content, design, advertising, in-paper marketing and interactive elements in 10 U.S. free daily newspapers. Results indicate the stories are short, with nearly as many briefs as stories. Sports, entertainment, culture and lifestyles get frequent coverage. Most content is national in scope and provided by wires. The advertising hole is surprisingly small, and advertisers are generally local enterprises.

Exploring the Influence of Strategic Entrepreneurship on Alliances in Web-based New Media Companies: A Case Analysis of Google and Yahoo • Fangfang Gao, University of Florida • This study conducted a case analysis of Google and Yahoo, the two prominent and representative Web-based new media companies that have expanded their business through series of alliances, exploring the influence of entrepreneurial mindset and strategic management of resources as the two important dimensions of strategic entrepreneurship (SE) on building alliances, gaining competitive advantages and achieving business success in new media companies. A new model of SE and alliance was proposed based on the findings.

The Determinants of Web Traffic in the Online News Industry: A Resource-based View • J. Sonia Huang, Department of Communication and Technology, National Chiao Tung University • The online news industry faces a fundamental challenge in whether it can produce enough quality content that generates revenue and profit at a level comparable to traditional media. This study operationally defines and tests the resource-based view of the firm in a national survey of the online news industry.

A Cross-Country Analysis of Fixed Broadband Deployment: Examination of Adoption Factors and Network Effect • Sangwon Lee, Jamestown College; Justin Brown, Winthrop University • Broadband infrastructure is a key component of the knowledge economy. Employing the largest secondary data set, this study examines adoption factors of fixed broadband. The result of nonlinear and linear regression analysis suggests local loop unbundling policy, platform completion between different broadband technologies and other diverse industry, ICT, and demographic factors influence fixed broadband diffusion. This empirical study also suggests that network effects and the effects of platform competition co-exist in many countries.

“Korean Wave”: the Structure and Issues of the Korean Online Game Industry •Eun-A Park, University of New Haven • Korean games are now under a new spotlight, expanding their markets from Asia to countries in Europe and the Americas and becoming a new engine for “Korean Wave” that refers to the influence of Korean cultural enterprises on foreign countries. South Korea has been a unique model in the world by achieving the rapid growth of broadband infrastructures and part of this success has been attributed to ever-flourishing demands for interactive entertainment network games.

Business, Managerial, and Market Challenges and their Effects on the Foundations of U.S. Broadcasting Policy • Robert Picard, Jonkoping International Business School • This paper argues that the origins of U.S. radio policy, and the reasons for the differences with European nations, were driven by general industrial development policies, by previous decisions involving communications industries, by national financial and economic conditions, and by business and geographic challenges. These factors combined to create a policy environment in which the interests of private enterprises became predominant in developing radio and radio policy.

Burnout in an Online World: Measuring the Effects of New Media Tasks on Journalists • Ramona Wheeler, Brigham Young University; Caroline Christiansen, Brigham Young University; Austin Cameron, Brigham Young University; Todd Hollingshead, Brigham Young University; Brad Rawlins, Brigham Young University • A national online survey was administered to a sample of journalists to learn more about how new media tasks are impacting their jobs and if they are contributing to workplace burnout. Findings indicate that journalists are suffering from moderate levels of exhaustion and cynicism while maintaining fairly high levels of professional efficacy. The perception of new media tasks adding to workload is a contributing factor to journalists’ burnout.

Kansas City Star newsroom layoff survivors aggressively cope with organizational change in an effort to maintain journalistic quality • Scott Reinardy, University of Kansas • In 15 months, the Kansas City Star newsroom has experienced five staff cuts that have reduced the newsroom from 290 to 149. Utilizing organizational development theory, this pilot study examined how Kansas City Star layoff survivors are coping with job security, organizational trust, organizational morale, job commitment and journalistic quality. Results indicate that the layoff survivors’ control coping strategies – a take charge, aggressive approach – is positively associated with organizational trust, morale and organizational commitment.

Examining the Effects of Board Structure of Media Companies on Their Performance: A Stakeholder Perspective • Guosong Shao, University of Alabama • In the stakeholder context, this paper examines the effects of board structure of media companies on their performance. Results show that both the level of board interlocks and the proportion of non-independent directors on the board are positively associated with the financial performance of media companies, as measured by return on assets and return on equities. Results also show that the adoption of staggered boards has a positive effect on return on assets in media companies.

Thinking about Stakeholders: Compensation Arrangements of Media Companies and Their Performance • Guosong Shao, University of Alabama • Nowadays media companies are closely tying executive and director compensation to firm performance. Through regression analyses of the relationship between compensation structure of media firms and their performance, however, this paper found that adopting fixed compensation for CEOs and directors led to better financial and organizational performance. This thus offers support for stakeholder theory which posits that the fixed compensation system, essentially stakeholder-oriented, can better enhance the value of the firm.

Not-For-Profit Journalism: Emerging Business Models • Dan Shaver, Jönköping International Business School/MMTC • The economic problems facing the newspaper industry have stimulated a great deal of interest and debate regarding whether not-for-profit news organizations can address the problem of shrinking local news coverage due to diminished newsroom resources in for-profit newsrooms. Based on an analysis of current non-profit news organizations, this study identifies three not-for-profit business models and evaluates their sustainability and suitability as sources of quality local news.

The demand dynamics of online video markets: Informational cascades in the viewership of online videos • Clarice Sim, Nanyang Technological University; Wayne Fu, Nanyang Technological University • Despite the popularity of online user-created videos on platforms like YouTube, little is known about the factors which influence users’ consumption decisions. The viewing of online videos is hypothesized to be influenced by word-of-mouth communication which triggers informational cascades. An empirical model is schemed and tested with data from the Internet Archive’s moving images section. Results confirm the presence of informational cascades and that its effect is a function of quality uncertainty associated with videos.

Converging Competitors?: Board Interlocks in the Changing Media Landscape • Charlene Simmons, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga • Today many media corporations are linked together through interlocking boards of directors. Are these interlocks legal, especially in an ever-converging media environment? This study of interlocks finds that over 40% of leading media corporations are interlocked with another leading media company. The majority of these interlocks are legal under current media conditions, but that may change as media formats converge. Additionally, the legality of two board interlocks is questioned and discussed.

Weaving a Web within the Web: Corporate Consolidation of the Web, 1999-2008 • Charlene Simmons, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga • This study examines Web site ownership trends over a period of ten years to determine what whether corporate consolidation has occurred among popular Web properties. The study finds that the number of companies controlling the Web has decreased, while the number of properties operated by these companies has increased. Additionally, traditional media corporations have consolidated their influence over the Web through the acquisition of a number of popular Web properties.

Aligning media organizations with environmental changes: The role of strategic action as a managerial competency in South Africa’s mainstream media newsrooms • Elanie Steyn, Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Oklahoma; Derik Steyn, School Business • This paper outlines dimensions of strategic action as a managerial competency in South Africa’s mainstream media. It highlights differences on the importance and implementation of this competency, given media management transformation in a post-apartheid society. Moderately and practically significant effect sizes were calculated between reporters’ and first-line managers’ experiences on all dimensions of this competency. Results emphasized the need to improve first-line news managers’ strategic action skills to better align media organizations with societal changes.

Has Media Convergence Impacted the Merger and Acquisition Activity of Large Media Companies? • Dan Sullivan, University of Minnesota; Yuening Jiang, University of Minnesota • This study develops an analytical framework which helps explain how media convergence can lead changes in ownership decisions. It then uses empirical studies to examine trends in the evolution of media ownership with regards to media convergence and what impact, if any, the Internet and media convergence have had on M&A activity. The study finds that how a firm conceptualizes the Internet relative to its existing business has a significant impact on M&A activity.

Who Competes with Online Newspapers? An Empirical Analysis of Intra- and Inter-media Competition in Local and Long-distance Markets • Mengchieh Jacie Yang, University of Texas at Austin; Iris Chyi, University of Texas at Austin • Applying a media economics framework and based on the dual-geographic market definition, this study employed empirical data collected from users of 28 U.S. newspaper sites to explore the competitive relationships between online newspapers and other offline/online news sources. The results show that in both local and long-distance markets, online newspapers compete with portal news sites and print newspapers.

Measuring attention on the web: a model of attention dimensions of news and information sites • Nan Zheng, University of Texas at Austin • This study proposes a model for measuring attention on the web on three dimensions: popularity (unique audience), frequency (sessions per person), and length (time spent per person). An empirical analysis of news and information Web site traffic reports examines specifically how different attention dimensions relate to one another and what distinct attention patterns characterize different types of websites.

<< 2009 Abstracts

Newspaper Division

Open Competition
Losing Ground: The New York Times and Washington Post News Coverage of the May 2000 Israeli Withdrawal from Lebanon • Abhinav Aima, Penn State New Kensington • This content analysis of the May 2000 coverage of Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon, when compared with a previous study of coverage of Israel’s 1996 attacks on Lebanon, shows distinct indicators of the presence of a “Late Breaking Foreign Policy” effect that Warren P. Strobel cites in his work, wherein the media tend to break free of traditional reliance of government sources and allies in times of crises when government is caught unprepared.

Framing them in order to hang them? Content analysis of the reporting of Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans in Botswana Print Media • Eno Akpabio, University of Botswana • The aim of the study was to find where news stories on Zimbabweans fall and to determine if the reports are objectivist or advocacy framed. The findings indicate that stories on Zimbabweans are advocacy framed as opposed to objectivist framed. Also, there are more stories on Zimbabweans involvement in crime. Flowing from the one sided reports, we call for consideration of another aspect to the framing debate – frame up.

Too Old to Run?: Age, Race, and Gender in the 2008 Presidential Campaign • Ashley Kirzinger, Louisiana State University; Matthew Barnidge, Louisiana State University; Benjamin Jenkins, Louisiana State University; David Kurpius, Louisiana State University • This paper examines the newspaper coverage of four candidates during their campaigns in the 2008 presidential election: Palin, Clinton, Obama, and McCain. Using previous research on journalistic norms and routines, this study investigates not only how five different newspapers covered each of the candidates, but also how the newspapers covered specific age, race, and gender issues.

A Journalistic Ethics Scale: Measuring Constraints On Journalists • Jenn Burleson Mackay, Virginia Tech • This study builds off existing research to introduce a new journalistic ethics scale. The instrument measures the degree to which journalists tend to make acceptable ethical decisions when they face professional, organizational, and social influences. Journalists and scholars assisted in the development of the scale. Journalists working for metropolitan newspapers, community newspapers and television stations were administered the instrument. Community newspaper journalists tended to score higher on the scale than the other groups of journalists.

The Bay of Pigs-New York Times suppression myth • WJoseph Campbell, American University • The often-told anecdote of the New York Times censoring itself in advance of the Bay of Pigs invasion is, this paper finds, a media-driven myth. The paper presents compelling evidence demonstrating the Times reported closely on preparations for the CIA-backed invasion of Cuba in April 1961. The news Times’ reports were detailed and displayed on the front page in the days before the ill-fated assault.

Narrative News Frames in the Changing Times: New York Times Coverage of Space Disasters in Three Eras • Jeffrey Cannon, Indiana University – Bloomington • The present study examined New York Times coverage of the three major U.S. space program disasters, the 1967 loss of Apollo 1 and the 1986 and 2003 losses of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, all of which occurred during the same week of a non-election year. Overall overage increased threefold from 1967 to 1986 and 2003.

Interactive News Presentation and its Effects on Evaluative Perception: Is Being “Closer” to the News Better? • Deborah Chung, University of Kentucky; Mina Tsay, University of Kentucky • The current study investigates the effects of different online newspaper presentation styles on the evaluative perceptions of news audiences. An experiment (N = 251) was conducted to examine the influence of relevance and five interactive formats on site engagement, coherence, credibility, and intention to visit the site, along with content clarity, credibility, and objectivity.

U.S. Online Newspapers’ Performance in Local Markets: A Struggle of Inter- and Intra-Media Competition • Iris Chyi, University of Texas at Austin; Seth Lewis, University of Texas at Austin • To portray a realistic picture of the competitive landscape online for local newspapers, this study examined 68 local papers and their performance in both inter- and intra-media competition contexts—i.e., how they competed vis-à-vis their print counterparts and other Web sites for the attention of local audiences.

The Internet is a Dangerous Place: Newspaper Portrayal of the Internet Between 1988 and 1995 • Sabryna Cornish, Northern Illinois University • This paper examines the way the internet was portrayed by mainstream media when it first began to take hold in conventional society and offers insights into the social construction of the technology. This study looks for patterns in the type of information available to the public about the internet through a content analysis of newspapers. Established frames are then examined to determine the patterns that exist in the newspaper coverage of the new technology.

Narrating the Bloodbath: How U.S. and Finnish Newspapers Framed the Virginia Tech and Kauhajoki Shootings • Ruth DeFoster, SJMC, University of Minnesota; Meagan Manning, SJMC, University of Minnesota; Teemu Palokangas, SJMC, University of Minnesota • This study compares how the New York Times and the Helsingin Sanomat of Finland framed coverage of high-profile school shootings in each country. A content analysis examined sourcing trends in each newspaper. The Sanomat relied more on societal-level sources, while the Times used more individual-level sources. There was also a striking disparity in coverage of victims—the Sanomat included almost no coverage of victims, while 20% of the Times articles prominently featured victim coverage.

Framing legislative debate: Measuring bias in coverage of opposing ideological issues in the objective and conservative press • Matt Duffy, Georgia State University • A content analysis looks for assertion bias in the coverage of two issues in two newspapers. The researcher examined the New York Times as an example of the objective press and the Washington Times as an avowedly conservative paper. The two issues—welfare reform and campaign finance reform—curried favor with opposite ideological camps. The study finds a conservative bias in the Washington Times and a mirror-opposite liberal bias in the New York Times.

Adoption of Digital Photographic Archives by U.S. Newspapers and Potential Effects on the Historical Record • Keith Greenwood, University of Missouri • U.S. daily newspapers were surveyed (N = 105) to determine how digital photographic archives were created. The results affirm diffusion and organizational change suggestions that organizational characteristics such as size influence the decisions that are made and that innovations that fit well within the established routines of the organization are likely to be successfully adopted.

Did Enterprise Reporting Challenge Access Reporting and the Administration’s Line on WMDs?: Comparing Newspaper Sourcing in the Run-up to the Iraq War • Patricia Hart, University of Idaho; Kenton Bird, Univeristy of Idaho • This study examines newspaper reporting of three major U.S. news organizations between 911 and the Iraq invasion in light of subsequent criticism that reporters were uncritical in their use of government-supplied information supporting invasion of Iraq. The study asks whether the New York Times, which published an apology for providing uncritical reporting, was more or less balanced than the Washington Post or Knight Ridder papers in sourcing, including citing more varied, international, and nongovernment authorities.

It’s an Old Story: Cautionary Work Tales That Journalists Use to Connect to Ethics • Mary Hill-Wagner, affiliation • This study examines how reporters use workplace or newsroom narratives as guides for correct action in making ethical decisions. This analysis, based on in-depth interviews, employs the theory of narrative inquiry from the field of communication. The study shows that these narratives can lead to discussions on broader ethical matters.

Obituaries online: New connections with the living — and the dead • Janice Hume, University of Georgia; Bonnie Bressers, Kansas State University • This study examines online obituary pages at nine major U.S. daily newspapers seeking to understand how these sites use new technologies, and how they publicly portray people’s lives and deaths. These mainstream dailies provide a forum, and potentially large audiences, for mourners who send messages to the dead, express emotion, and tell stories. They also facilitate connections between readers and build new kinds of virtual communities. This represents a departure from traditional obituary content.

National Survey Finds Health Journalists Are Earnest about Their Educator Roles, Especially Newspaper Journalists • JiYeon Jeong, University of Missouri; María Len-Ríos, University of Missouri; Amanda Hinnant, University of Missouri • A national survey (N=774) of health journalists reveals that newspaper health journalists ascribe more importance to their professional roles than do health journalists working for other news delivery channels or newspaper journalists. Overall, health journalists earnestly strive to an educator role. This is critical considering the high stakes for translating scientific/medical details to help people lead more healthful lives. Personal characteristics, motivations, and workplace attributes are also examined as they relate to role conceptions.

News Framing of HIV/AIDS in Uganda: Comparative content analysis of government owned and private press • James Kiwanuka-Tondo, North Carolina State University; Fay Payton, North Carolina State University; Kelly Albada, North Carolina State University • Though new frames for HIV/AIDS have been examined in developed nations, research that has investigated the presentation of AIDS by African press is sparse. Moreover, what little research exists has examined news frames over a limited time frame (e.g., one year), and has failed to consider the impact of media ownership on these news frames.

Issues, Candidate Characteristics and the Horse Race: Newspaper Coverage of the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election • Dominic Lasorsa, University of Texas at Austin • An analysis of New York Times and Cleveland Plain Dealer coverage of the 2008 U.S. presidential election found that both policy issues and candidate characteristics received more attention than the horse race. Obama received more coverage and more favorable coverage than McCain. McCain and his supporters served as sources more than did Obama and his supporters. The study also found differences between the newspapers, including that Times coverage was more negative than Dealer coverage.

“It’s All About the Web Hits Here:” How and Why Journalists Create Audio Slideshows • Jonathan Lillie, Loyola College • Most newspapers now produce multimedia in an attempt to increase profits from online editions. Since only a handful of studies address aspects of multimedia news production, additional research is needed, which can hopefully help newspaper journalists successfully change, and save, their industry during this period of profit loss and mass layoffs.

Mapping local news: A research methodology • April Lindgren, Ryerson University • This paper introduces a methodology that applies traditional content analysis and computer-based geovisualization to journalism research so that investigators can map and visually explore patterns of local news coverage in an urban setting. The exploratory power of this information visualization approach is illustrated in a case study that investigates the Toronto Star (print edition) newspaper’s coverage of 13 geographically defined pockets of social need and poverty in Toronto, Ontario.

The Use of Anonymous and Transparent Sources in International News • Renee Martin-Kratzer, University of Florida • This study focuses on the use of anonymous sources in newspapers and found that international stories included these sources in 28% of stories compared to 5% of domestic stories. In addition, international stories that related to the U.S. were more likely to include anonymous sources. However, the use of anonymous sources did not vary according to story origination, length or placement.

Using Equity-based Performance Measures to Build a Community-based Brand • Dan Sullivan, University of Minnesota; Rachel Davis Mersey, Northwestern University • Despite competition, newspapers still have a potential competitive advantage as a community resource and leader. Therefore, if newspapers want to succeed, they need to position themselves as “community assets.” This research establishes the current measures of circulation and penetration as weak indicators of community service, and presents a simple and straightforward measure of how well a given newspaper serves its entire community using a summary statistical measure of inequality, the Gini coefficient.

Use of Infographics in Understanding an Environmental Health Risk • Barbara Miller, Elon University; Brooke Barnett, Elon University • A between participants factorial experiment tested the impact of graphic versus textual presentation of an environmental health risk. Results show the inclusion of the infographic did not lead to enhanced understanding of the probability of the health risk. However, participants who saw the map alone were less likely to believe that industries might release chemicals in their community and less likely to report a sense of internal control regarding the risk posed in the story.

Ideology of internationalism gives a significance to English-language newspapers in Japan • Hiroko Minami, University of Oregon • This paper discusses the raison d’être of English-language newspapers in Japan where English is not the native language. This study argues that the ideology of Japanese internationalism (manifested by publishing English-language newspapers) substantially contributes to their sustainability. The patriarchal Japanese industrial system, keiretsu, also keeps English-language newspapers running. The prevalence of these cultural institutions does not necessarily mean, however, that English-language newspapers in Japan are immune from the influence of the neo-liberal global economy.

Source Diversity within Hyperlocal Reporting • Paul Niwa, Emerson College • Hyperlocal is an emerging strategy for newspapers. This study compares source diversity in Asian Pacific American neighborhood coverage with another study of regional reporting. It finds that sourcing of non-elites is enhanced by proximity and by a reporter’s racial in-group. This shows the potential journalistic benefit of both hyperlocal coverage and newsroom diversity. Newsrooms that terminate workers based on seniority may be eliminating reporters who can best implement the hyperlocal strategy in ethnic neighborhoods.

Website Format or Media Experience Driven? A Test of Perceptions of Online Messages • Jennifer Greer, University of Alabama; Po-Lin Pan, University of Alabama; Kelly Frank, University of Nevada; Paula Lee Hobson, University of Nevada; Crystal Soderman, University of Nevada • By manipulating branded editorial, branded blog, and non-branded blog in a between-subjects experiment, this study examined perceptions of online message credibility, quality, preference and persuasiveness. The study was designed to examine whether online website format and personal experience with mass media would come into play when media users evaluated the news and information of branded and non-branded websites.

Information Recall of Internet News: Does Design Make a Difference? A Pilot Study • Val Pipps, The University of Akron; Heather Walter, The University of Akron; Kathleen Endres, University of Akron; Patrick Tabatcher, The University of Akron • This study looked at the effect of the design of online news presentation on content recall. One of four versions of a story were read online. Results of a post-test showed that recall was significantly higher after students read the text only or abbreviated text with photos and captions options over photos with captions and videos or animated graphics.

Bad bugs: U.S. newspaper coverage of antibiotic resistant staph bacteria, 1998-2007 • Paula Rausch, University of Florida; Debbie Treise, University of Florida; Heather Edwards, University of Florida College of Journalism & Communications; Eli Perencevich, University of Maryland School of Medicine • This study examines U.S. newspaper coverage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus using Social Representation Theory to understand how these media portrayals may have affected public perception about this potential threat. Large majorities of articles discussed both hospital-acquired MRSA, and the much less common community-acquired MRSA, with this trend changing over time. MRSA was often described using potentially threatening language, with risk the most common topic of discussion, occurring more often than prevention, transmission, symptoms, and treatment.

When is a lead not really a lead? Sampling Error During the 2008 Presidential Election • Matthew Reavy, University of Scranton • This study examines how three prestige newspapers reported polling data during the 2008 presidential election. Of special note is their handling “marginal differences” that fell within sampling error. The study confirms hypotheses suggesting that the newspapers would overemphasize differences that could be explained by sampling error alone. Additional hypotheses testing suggestions from previous research that the New York Times would perform better than the other two newspapers were also confirmed.

The New Dynamic in Corporate Media Relations: Are Fortune 500 Virtual Press Rooms Useful to Journalists? • Justin Pettigrew, University of Georgia; Bryan Reber, University of Georgia • This study examines the use of dialogic components of Fortune 500 Company Web site press rooms. A content analysis of all Fortune 500 company press sites examined site content. Results showed that corporations have increased their Web presence, and that dialogic components on the Web are improving for journalists’ use. This study also suggests that operationalized elements of dialogic theory as it applies to the Web should be continually revisited as technology develops.

Weathering the storm: How newspaper sports editors have adapted during changing times • Jesse Temple, University of Kansas; Scott Reinardy, University of Kansas; Max Utsler, University of Kansas • This study examined how newspaper sports editors at some of the nation’s top daily sports sections from the Associated Press Sports Editors 2007 judging contest have coped with budget cuts as the industry struggles through difficult economic times. Through interviews and a survey, sports editors said staff reductions and Internet demands have created more work for their staffs with less time to do a good job.

Is Not-For-Profit Journalism the Key to the Future of News? • Dan Shaver, Jönköping International Business School/MMTC • Bankruptcy filings and newspaper closings have intensified the debate about whether not-for-profit newspapers can fill the gap in local news coverage created by shrinking newsroom resources at for-profit newspapers. This study examines the two major not-for-profit newspaper models and assesses their potential for sustainability and quality local coverage. It identifies opportunities and potential difficulties.

Are Blogs Changing the News Values of Newspaper Reporters? • Mary Lou Sheffer, University of Southern Mississippi; Brad Schultz, University of Mississippi • Traditional news outlets such as newspapers are incorporating blogs as part of their content in an effort to reach new audiences. Because blogs are typically opinionated and personal how newspapers present their blogs could indicate a shift from traditional journalism values. This content analysis sought to investigate several categories (news, sports, politics and entertainment) of newspaper blogs in terms of personal opinion/commentary, attribution and transparency.

The Impact of Newsroom Cutbacks on Newspaper Revenue: An Empirical Financial Analysis • Shrihari Sridhar, University of Missouri, Trulaske College of Business; Esther Thorson, University of Missouri; Murali Mantrala, University of Missouri, Trulaske College of Business • The newspaper industry is faced with troubled times. Executives continue to find ways to withstand the onslaught of various economic forces. However, an empirically observed phenomenon is that a) they have been resorting to cost-cutting measures and b) these cost-cutting measures are more pronounced in the newsroom departments. Scholars disagree with these cutbacks, arguing they constitute a myopic attempt to preserve high profit-margins which ignores the erosion of newspaper revenue.

Newspapers and Urban Growth: How an old Medium Responds to a Growing Trend • Gordon Van Owen, University of Florida • This study examines the impact of urban growth on The Orlando Sentinel and staff perceptions of that change. By analyzing in-depth interviews conducted with staff members from the editorial, circulation, and advertising departments, this study reveals trends that may be occurring on a larger scale at other newspapers across the state and country.

Dynamic Content in American Online Newspapers: Life and Updates in Lead News • Jin Xu, Winona State University • This research examines the life and update of lead news stories on newspaper sites and how they differ concerning newspaper size and story’s geographic focus. The sample includes 59 large, medium and small newspapers. By monitoring their lead news, it has documented the story life, update count, update interval, update immediacy and update clustering. It concludes that timeliness is a distinct hallmark but its degree is determined by newspaper size, not by story’s geographic focus.

Student Papers
Effects of a trend: The influence of user comments on readers’ perceptions of online newspapers • Erin Ash, Pennsylvania State University; Kirstie Hettinga, Penn State; Daniel Halpern, Pennsylvania State University    Online newspapers provide comment forums to generate a sense of community for audiences • This research investigates the relationship between the presence or absence of user-generated comments and perceived journalistic quality. A 2×2 between subjects experiment (N = 96) showed when comments were present, individuals perceived lower levels of reporting quality, yet liked the articles more. Also, sense of online community moderated the relationship between comments and story liking. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Attribute Agenda-Setting and Changing: A Comparative Analysis of U.S. and Korean Media Coverage of The Virginia Tech Shootings • Kanghui Baek, The University of Texas at Austin; Kangkyung Baek, Michigan State University • This study compares U.S. and Korean newspapers’ coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings for the month following the event. By applying attribute agenda-setting theory, this study shows how the Washington Post focused more on “societal” and “anecdotal” levels of attribute agendas, while the Chosun Ilbo focused more on “international” and “individual” levels. Furthermore, this study examines the differences in the two newspapers’ patterns of attribute agenda-setting across the four agenda levels throughout the event’s life span.

Framing a war and a people: The words portraying Iraqi violence • Jacob Dittmer, University of Oregon • This study explores what words are selected in portraying Iraqis and the violence that has plagued the country since the U.S. invasion. Through a content analysis of two newspapers’ stories on Iraq over the course of two years, this study examined the prevalence of certain words compared with others. This study also explored what sources were used in connection with certain frames and how they were attributed.

Change to Believe In? • Jeff Lemberg, University of Maryland • News media trade publications often use critiques and criticisms in an effort to shame the press into better serving their audiences. This analysis of coverage in the trade press about USA Today, from its founding in September 1982 through September 1987, revealed significant tensions over the relationship between traditional journalistic values and organizational change in the newspaper industry.

Attracting the Newspaper Reader in a New Domain: Dimensions of User Interest in News Content Online • Seth Lewis, University of Texas at Austin; Mengchieh Jacie Yang, University of Texas at Austin • To enhance our understanding of online news consumption, this study went beyond analyses of medium preference to explore issues of content interest: (1) identifying clusters of interest among online newspaper readers, and (2) comparing those dimensions across differences in users’ demographics, frequency of news-seeking, and offline relationship with the newspaper. Through an analysis of reader survey data (N=25,964), we found nine reliable classifications of content interest and distinct user types that were associated with them.

When Reporters Blog: Gatekeeping in mainstream newspapers’ blog coverage of ongoing and breaking news events • Bartosz Wojdynski, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This exploratory study sought to analyze whether news event blogs that are published by mainstream newspapers adhere to conventional journalistic norms with regard to sources both cited and referenced in links. Analysis of 416 blog posts from four separate ongoing and breaking news blogs show support for the extension of mainstream media’s traditional gatekeeping function to news blogs, in addition to newer functions such media criticism and rapid information dissemination.

Community Newspaper Reading Fosters a Sense of Social Cohesion • Masahiro Yamamoto, Washington State University • A long tradition of research in sociology and mass communication suggests that community newspapers serve community social organization by disseminating a pattern of content that promotes common community values and goals. Building on past community newspaper research, this study tests whether community newspaper reading has a direct positive effect on an individual’s sense of social cohesion.

Special Call for Newspaper Industry Research Papers
One Product, Three Markets: How Market Segmentation Informs Newspapers about their Online Readership • Iris Chyi, University of Texas at Austin; Mengchieh Jacie Yang, University of Texas at Austin; George Sylvie, University of Texas at Austin; Seth Lewis, University of Texas at Austin; Nan Zheng, University of Texas at Austin • This study proposes a market segmentation approach for analyzing online newspaper readership. The model first distinguishes long-distance users from local users (based on geographic proximity) and then differentiates between two classes of local users—hybrid and online-only readers (based on the use of multiple product formats). Analysis of online reader survey data from 28 U.S. newspaper Web sites outlines each of the three market segments. Marketing and advertising implications are discussed.

Perceived Differences in Credibility of Traditional News Channels Compared to Online News Channels • Audrey Post, Florida State University; jonathan adams, The Florida State University; Juliann Cortese, Florida State University; Gary Heald, Florida State University; John DuBard, The Florida State University • Much of the research measuring credibility of news across platforms over the past 10 years has been limited to newspapers, television and a broad category called “online.” This study narrowed the focus by comparing the perceived credibility of traditional media with the perceived credibility of their online counterparts, as well as with online-only news sites. It also compared the perceptions of college students and older adults.

Kansas City Star journalists cope with stress and self-affirmation following layoffs • Scott Reinardy, University of Kansas • Steele’s (1988) self-affirmation theory posits that when faced with a threat, self-esteem, self-identity and personal control are affected. For layoff survivors, there are threats to job security, job quality and job satisfaction. In 15 months, the Kansas City Star newsroom was downsized by nearly half. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the self-affirmation of Kansas City Star layoff survivors and their job security, job quality, job satisfaction and coping strategies.

Role Call: 2008 Campaign and Election Coverage on the Websites of Leading U.S. Newspapers • Jane B. Singer, University of Central Lancashire / University of Iowa • This study, based on a survey of online editors, explores how websites affiliated with leading U.S. newspapers covered the 2008 campaign and election. As the third in a series, it traces changes over a decade in which the internet moved from the periphery to the center of political, public, and media attention. Although the 2004 study suggested online editors were rethinking their function as information gatekeepers, this version indicates a reassertion of traditional journalistic roles.

Experimenting with Interactive Media: Negotiating the Role of Digital Media in News Organizations • Matthew Weber, University of Southern California • This research presents a case study of the evolving nature of the news media industry, from both a micro- and macro-level perspective. After reviewing currents industry trends, as well as previous theoretical work, this study then illustrates the variance in organizational patterns in the news media industry, from traditional hierarchies to network-based modified organizational patterns.

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