Faculty Research Competition
Acculturation, Pluralism, Empowerment: Cultural Images as Strategic Communication on Hispanic Nonprofit Websites • Melissa Adams; Melissa Johnson, North Carolina State University • This quantitative visual content analysis investigated the use of acculturation, pluralism, empowerment, and resistance-themed messages and images in nonprofit strategic communication and digital intercultural communication. The study analyzed data from 135 U.S.-based Latino nonprofit websites. Based on study findings, the authors argue that these nonprofits may be missing opportunities to strengthen relationships and cultural ties with target publics. This analysis applies acculturation theory to visual communication and extends the literature on digital intercultural public relations.

Racially Framed: A content analysis of media frames in the coverage of the Ferguson controversy • Kris Boyle, Brigham Young University • After the death of Michael Brown in 2014, protests in Ferguson, Missouri, sparked nationwide discussion about race, police use of force, and police militarization. This study analyzes the media’s framing of the events in Ferguson, comparing coverage from local media (The St. Louis Dispatch) with national media (The New York Times). Both framed the events as a conflict between police and protesters. However, the Times used more race-based terms in its coverage than the Post-Dispatch.

‘Sharing Hope and Healing’: A culturally tailored social media campaign serving Native Americans • Rebecca Britt, The University of Alabama; Brian Britt; Jenn Anderson, South Dakota State University; Nancy Fahrenwald; Shana Harming • Social media campaigns designed to promote health can be effective when tailored appropriately and can successfully improve quality of life, including an increased number of living kidney donors among ethnic minorities. In the current manuscript, the authors discuss the results of a social media campaign designed to promote communication and education about living kidney donation and transplantation (LKDT) among Native Americans, who experience a uniquely great need for increased transplantation and suffer from a disproportionate number of related health burdens. Engagement, reach, and impressions were measured within the campaign for its duration via a set of hierarchical linear regressions.  Notable results indicated that success stories about LKDT were statistically significant predictors of campaign engagement, reach, impressions, as well as negative feedback. Implications, limitations, and future directions for partnering with tribal communities, relevant stakeholders, and developing advertising and mass communication efforts are outlined.

Racist Media Representations of Police Shootings: The Problem of Primary Definition • Alfred Cotton, University of Cincinnati • The purpose of this paper is to analyze the narratives of two cases of police-involved shootings of Black men as presented in mass media to show how, if left unchecked, allowing elites and officials (particularly when they are representative of the individuals in the case) to define the narratives of such events can lead to misrepresentation of the narrative of the events.  Only when video evidence disputing the police officers’ version of events did mainstream journalists begin to question the veracity of the officers’ claims their decisions to shoot these men were justified.  The analysis examines the shifting discursive positions of the police, public officials, and media representatives over time and how those evidence a racist system of journalistic practices in American mainstream news media.

Impact of Media Use and Pro-Environmental Orientations on Racial/Ethnic Groups’ Attitudes Towards Ecobranding • Troy Elias, University of Oregon • This research uses national survey data from 1,180 Hispanics, African-American, non-Hispanic White, and Asian-Americans to explore the comparative likelihood of Hispanic, African-American, White, and Asian Americans engaging in pro-environmental behaviors and harboring pro-environmental orientations, in particular attitudes towards eco-branding. The results of the study indicate that Hispanic, African-American, White, and Asian-American respondents did not significantly differ in their attitudes towards eco-branding. Additional results indicate that Asian-Americans and Hispanics, to a relative extent, outpace everyone else in terms of pro-environmental attitudes, behaviors, and attitudes towards green purchasing. These results further disconfirm the notion that ethnic/racial minorities care less about the environment than racial minorities.

More than a Black and White Issue: Racialized Identity Constructs and Support for the Black Lives Matter Movement • Lanier Holt, The Ohio State University; Matthew Sweitzer, The Ohio State University • We examine which factors guide opinions about Black Lives Matter. We find ethnic identity predicts why African Americans’ have positive attitudes towards BLM, but is a poor predictor of Whites’ beliefs. Attitudes about social dominance better predicts which Whites will oppose BLM. However, when Whites discuss racial issues, the impact of social dominance is negated, leading them to more positively evaluate BLM. These processes have implications for communication about racial issues.

How Race, Gender, and American Politics Influenced User  Discourse Surrounding the Jemele Hill Controversy • Guy Harrison, Youngstown State University; Ann Pegoraro, Laurentian University; Miles Romney, Brigham Young University; Kevin Hull, University of South Carolina • On September 11, 2017, ESPN’s Jemele Hill tweeted that United States President Donald Trump was a “white supremacist.” Online reaction was swift and divided. The purpose of this study was to analyze how people were discussing the incident on Facebook using the theoretical lens of framing. Results demonstrate that discussions devolved into stereotypical tropes and uncivil discourse. Ultimately, Hill’s race and gender became as much of a topic of contention as did her comments about Trump.

Media Effects and Marginalized Ideas: Relationships Among Media Consumption and Support for Black Lives Matter • Danielle Kilgo, Indiana University; Rachel Mourao, Michigan State University • Building research analyses of Black Lives Matter media portrayals, this inquiry uses a two-wave panel survey to examine the effects coverage has on the evaluation of the core ideas from the BLM agenda. Results show conservative media use increases negative evaluations; models suggest this relationship works as a multidirectional feedback loop. Mainstream and liberal media consumptions do not lead to more positive views on BLM.

An Examination of Non-White Crime Portrayals in Local Broadcast News • Jeniece Jamison, University of Memphis; Stephanie Madden, Pennsylvania State University • The purpose of this study is to examine trends in the coverage of crime stories in local broadcast television news. Findings showed that while whites may have been underrepresented as criminal actors, non-whites’ representation in crime stories were on par with their representation within the market area. Interviews from newsroom employees revealed newsrooms try to eliminate bias by hiring individuals from a variety of backgrounds, creating open dialogue concerning diversity in the newsroom, and considering the effects of crime on their communities before deciding to air a crime-related story.

Civil Rights and Sports: Jackie Robinson’s Continuing Crusade as a Newspaper Columnist • Raymond McCaffrey, University of Arkansas • This historical study explores the journalistic career of Jackie Robinson, who began writing a newspaper column for the African-American press after retiring from the Brooklyn Dodgers, the team with which he broke Major League Baseball’s so-called “color line” in 1947. Of particular interest is a consideration of Robinson’s use of his column to advance the growing movement of athletes fighting for civil rights on the sports field in the 1960s. This study involves a reading of hundreds of Robinson columns. This examination focused on the period after Robinson’s retirement from baseball in 1957, when the civil-rights trailblazer came to be labeled by some as an “Uncle Tom” because of what was viewed as a too conciliatory approach to race relations. This study suggests that a review of his columns throughout the 1960s reveals that not only did Robinson’s positions on numerous civil-rights issues evolve through the decade. He was strategic in his taking of positions, coming out early in support of key battles to advance civil rights on the sports field. Robinson ultimately came to take almost militant stands on major issues, a revelation considering he had once backed Richard Nixon and had been an outspoken critic of Malcolm X.

Old Stereotypes Made New: A Textual Analysis on the Tragic Mulatto Stereotype in Contemporary Hollywood • Brandale Mills, Norfolk State University • Historically, Black women’s most persistent images on-screen have typically neither been Black nor that of a woman, partly because of media’s love affair with damaging stereotypes such as the Tragic Mulatto, marked by gendered racism (Cartier, 2014; Mask, 2015). Media representations of Black culture, people and their communities have been a major force in shaping their portrayals in popular culture (Barnett & Flynn, 2014) and this has especially been true for fostering an environment of racial (in)tolerance and acceptance. While Black characters have historically shaped audience member’s perceptions, biracial representations in the media have provided a space for discussion and at times the disregard of multicultural politics. This study examined biracial female characters in films directed by Black women, using Black Feminist Thought to assess whether these depiction strayed from the historic portrayals of the tragic mulatto. The study’s finding illustrated evidence of the traditional tragic mulatto with elements of empowerment and liberation.

The Effects of Latino Cultural Identity and Media Use on Political Engagement and Vote Choice in Election 2016 • Maria Len-Rios, The University of Georgia; Patricia Moy • Using a post-2016 U.S. presidential election national Qualtrics panel survey (N = 720), we examined individual, cultural-identity and media variables predicting political knowledge, political participation and vote choice among Latino voters. Findings show acculturation was associated with greater political knowledge. Social dominance orientation decreased both political knowledge and participation. Print news and social media use fostered participation, while TV use eroded it. Spanish-language news negatively predicted knowledge. Gender was strongly associated with vote choice.

Representation of Minorities in Hospitals’ Online Platforms: Manifestation of Diversity in Images and Videos • Taryn Myers; Finie Richardson; Jae Eun Chung, Communication • While hospitals’ health promotion via social media has the potential to be a critical source of health information, research shows racial and ethnic disparities exist in health-related knowledge that may be, in part, related to media representation. The purpose of this study is to examine the racial and ethnic representation of people featured on Washington, D.C. hospitals’ social media platforms to understand how hospitals embed cultural competency into their health communication. By comparing the diversity of images on hospitals’ social media platforms with the demographics of hospitals’ neighboring communities, the researchers intend to highlight opportunities to improve targeted health messaging to underserved communities, particularly Black and Latino communities. Among the 1,305 images coded, the researchers found that Whites and Asians were over-represented while Latinos were severely under-represented in hospitals’ social media representation as compared to the community demographics. Enhancing minority representation on hospitals’ social media-based health promotion may contribute to addressing the disparities in healthcare.

Stuck in the myth of Model Minority: Representation of self in Asian Indian ethnic newspapers • Somava Pande, Washington State University • Extant literature posits that ethnic media play an important role in constructing their readers’ perception and knowledge of race and ethnicity. This study extends scholarship on Asian Indian ethnic media, by demonstrating how in the recontextualization of social constructs like borders, immigration, etc., in the current socio-political scenario Asian Indian ethnic newspapers construct their own group identity. Critical discourse analysis of 289 news articles revealed the presence of ambivalence as they represent their own group.

“To Ferguson, Love Palestine”: Mediating Life Under Occupation • Cristina Mislan; Sara Shaban, University of Missouri • Palestinian activists and Black protesters in Ferguson, MO created a transnational network of solidarity after recognizing their shared experiences of police brutality. The authors focus on both the online and offline politics of #Ferguson through a textual analysis of the digital media discourse and by conducting interviews with community activists. Findings reveal the shared ‘resistance culture’ made visible through digital media, emphasizing the affective expressions of Brown and Black voices resisting the force of militarization.

 

Student Paper
A Conceptual Model on Black Consumer-Brand Identity Congruence and Personal Care Purchase Intentions • Yewande Addie, UF; Brett Ball, University of Florida; Kelsy-Ann Adams, University of Florida • Nielsen reports black buying power is expected to increase nearly $1 trillion by 2021. Thus our research is rooted in offering intellectual support to exploring that economic contribution and filling existing gaps in academic literature on black female consumer relationship with brands. This study offers a conceptual model aimed at analyzing the potential impact of brand-consumer identity congruence between personal care brands and black female consumers and its influence on purchase intentions.

Marketing to One Color: An Analysis of the Emergent Themes in Cancer Television Commercials from 2014-2017. • Aqsa Bashir, University of Florida • There is considerable amount of research available on cancer incidence and mortality; however, the role of the media in framing cancer as a health issue has not been analyzed. This paper uses framing analysis approach to analyze cancer television commercials to better understand how the social marketers are portraying cancer to the masses. Four themes emerged from a framing analysis of the ads: emotional appeal, empowerment, social support and research advancements. Additionally, this study explored whether racial disparities and underrepresentation of racial minorities exist in cancer advertisements. The findings revealed that Blacks in particular are underrepresented in cancer advertisement even though cancer incidence and mortality rates are higher in the Black population. This study provides practical implications for cancer organizations and social marketers by offering insights on the popular themes being applied in cancer advertisements.

Racialized Reporting: Newspaper Coverage of Hurricane Harvey vs. Hurricane Maria • STEFANIE DAVIS, The Pennsylvania State Universtiy • There is little that is natural about natural disasters. Storm impact site to relief efforts are rooted in geographical, social, and racial inequalities. News coverage of natural disasters is subject to these same biases. This study aims to tease out the different news frames used in coverage of Hurricane Harvey (Texas) and Hurricane Maria (Puerto Rico). A content analysis of newspaper articles, supplemented by a qualitative textual analysis, suggests significant differences in framing techniques of each storm. Specifically, Maria was framed more politically than Harvey, and coverage of Harvey included more human interest stories than Maria. Implications on issues of geography, race, and citizenship are discussed.

____ Lives Matter: The Impact Of Exemplar Race and Story Frame on Percieved Issue Severity • Robert Jones, Missouri School of Journalism • Exemplification research on minorities has focused on the relationship between stereotypical portrayal of minorities and stereotypical judgments. Research that observes the interaction between exemplar race and frame in news media is lacking. The study observed the relationship between exemplar race and story frame on perceptions. Results show media that focus on the accounts of common folk are perceived as more credible than those that focus on accounts of police officers.

Immigrant frames and responses to mass media identity positioning • Debra Kelley, University of Minnesota, School of Journalism & Mass Communication • Somali-American women research participants call on discourses from mass media to negotiate social status and sexual identity and explain contradictions they exhibit in different discursive situations. For the immigrants in my study, mediation both enables and constrains representations of themselves. This paper provides a voice to these Somali-Americans, adding to a paucity of literature about the Somalis’ trajectory as one of the largest refugee groups in the United States and cultural conflicts inherent in re-locating.

Media Framing of the Movement for Black Lives: Tone and Changes Over Time • Michelle Perkins, University of Houston • Media attention is a vital factor in a social movement’s struggle against hegemonic norms, thus framing can greatly impact their influence. Frequency of coverage within the initial four years of Movement for Black Lives was compared to social occurrences to determine impacts on coverage. Employing a content analysis, the present study examined coverage about the movement to determine overall tone and changes in coverage over time, with results compared by ideology of the media outlet.

Black Masculine Scripts in Hip-Hop Media • Christin Smith • This paper investigates scripts of the Black masculine sexual body and Hip-Hop music based on Jackson’s Scripting the Black Masculine Body (2006). The scripts are the pimp, thug and roughneck, thug misses, stud, player, and baller scripts (Jackson, 2006). Through a textual analysis of Hip-Hop music videos and a semiotic textual analysis of Hip-Hop lyrics, this paper argues that Black bodies in Hip-Hop media have internalized negative inscriptions of their bodies to be true.

2018 ABSTRACTS

Open Competition
Substitutability and Complementarity of Broadcast Radio and Music Streaming Services: The Millennial Perspective • Sylvia Chan-Olmsted, University of Florida; Rang Wang, University of Florida; Kyung-Ho Hwang, School of Liberal Studies, Kyungnam University • Digital technologies have redefined how audiences use audio media. Faced with great challenges, broadcast radio stations launched mobile apps to compete with music streaming services in engaging the largest generation in the U.S., the Millennial. Guided by the uses and gratifications approach, this study investigated the Millennial’s perceptions of the substitutability and complementarity of broadcast radio, its apps, and music streaming services through a national survey. Strategic implications for broadcast radio were provided. The paper was based on the collaborative work among partners from the academic, radio stations, and the mobile app industry with professional relevance.

The Impact of Organizational Climate on Trauma Suffering in Journalism • Kenna Griffin, Oklahoma City University • This study measures the role of the newsroom organizational climate in preparing journalists for trauma exposure and providing them with support afterward. The 829 respondents reported high levels of trauma exposure at work and intense symptoms as a result. Despite this, few journalists were trained about trauma exposure. This support would help them cope with emotions related to experiencing traumatic events and could help them avoid emotional trauma altogether, creating a more emotionally healthy profession.

Entrepreneurial News Sites as Worthy Causes? Exploring Readers’ Motivations Behind Donating to Latin American Journalism • Summer Harlow, University of Houston • “This study uses surveys with readers of entrepreneurial news startups in seven Latin American countries to examine their motivations for donating to journalism. Using the donor-organization relationship from public relations scholarship as a framework, this study showed content, independent/objective journalism, interactivity, and community as main motivating factors for donating. A lack of priority, techno concerns, and capitalism were reasons why readers did not donate. Professional and theoretical implications are discussed.

The digital linchpin for mobile startup? Exploring the social media knowledge and managerial skills of mobile entrepreneurs • Gejun Huang, The University of Texas at Austin; Wenhong Chen, The University of Texas at Austin; Bryan Stephens, The University of Texas at Austin • The flourish scene of high-tech entrepreneurship in the U.S has prompted growing academic interests in the relationship between social media and entrepreneurship. However, limited attention has been paid to exploring the degree to which entrepreneurs’ social media knowledge and managerial skills affect their business performances. This paper aims to fill this gap by investigating the variations of mobile entrepreneurs’ social media strategies from the perspectives of technological knowledge and IT managerial skills that derive from resource-based theory. Using qualitative data drawn from 45 semi-structured interviews with mobile entrepreneurs and advocates in the major U.S. tech hubs, we find the formation and implementation of their social media strategies are premised on social media knowledge and managerial skills. The knowledge and skills correspond with mobile entrepreneurs’ understanding of mobile technologies and user practices, their business development needs and network, as well as the broader industry context.

Examining Cord-Cutting Media Consumers: Usage, Perceptions, Motivations, and Segments • Hun KIM; Kyung-Ho Hwang, School of Liberal Studies, Kyungnam University; Sylvia Chan-Olmsted, University of Florida; Byeng-Hee Chang, Sungkyunkwan University • This study investigates factors affecting consumer segments within cord cutting using IDT, U&G theory, the media substitution, channel repertoire and media usage. Theoretically, this study is an early study of consumer segment related to cord cutting and is based on IDT and U&G to analyze perceptions of two services consumer. Practically, this study provides practical insight to cord media and streaming video service industries.

The Economics of State-Run News Media Policy: A Case Study of Vietnam • Huyen Nguyen, Ohio University; Trung Bui • In Western world, government intervention via media policy is supposed to help correct market failures such as the existence of external cost/benefit on third parties, the  lack of public goods, and the abuse of monopoly power (Rolland, 2008; Hoskins, McFayden & Finn, 2004; Picard, 1989). In still communist nations, government intervention is more often viewed as to protect political ideas (Chin-Chuan, Zhou & Yu, 2006; Silverblatt & Zlobin, 2004; Siebert, Peterson & Schramm, 1978). However, in the post-communist era, communist governments have always been steered towards a market economy, leading to their mixed media policy goals. In this study, the analysis of 267 policy tools and seven interviews with media scholars, news leaders and state officials   in Vietnam, a still communist nation, unveil that correcting market failures is an involuntary and secondary goal of Vietnam news media policy. Besides, a survey of 40 news organizations indicates that organizations who perceive policy effectiveness  tend to yield more revenues and commit more to news quality than those who do not.

McClatchy’s “Reinvention” and Socially Responsible Existentialists: An interview-based case study • Mark Poepsel, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville • As the McClatchy news chain introduces a “Reinvention” plan in its newsrooms, some journalists are wary. Questions of autonomy arise when upper-level management hands down checklists and digital engagement targets. Journalists’ concerns must be balanced with the organization’s need to focus on digital revenues. Management’s efforts at financial salvation must be balanced with the need to preserve the social responsibility role of news outlets. This is a case study of a small-city news organization with national investigative journalism chops. This manuscript examines through the normative theoretical frame how journalists, accomplished at balancing their autonomy with social responsibility, respond to “Reinvention.”

Does Geographical Location Matter in Business-to-Business Advertising Expenditure Decisions? Evidence from Manufacturing Firms • Nur Uysal, DePaul University; Juan Mundel, DePaul University • Previous literature on advertising spending typically related advertising to the sales or profitability of the firm or industry. Even though the relationship between advertising and sales has been studied extensively, the results are usually muddied by other marketing mix elements, such as promotion and distribution effect. Although the marketing literature has showed an enduring interest in geographic location, there has been relatively scant research on geographical proximity as a determinant of B2B advertising expenditure in the advertising scholarship. Using Cluster Theory as a framework, this paper tests whether industry cluster affect B2B marketing expenditure decisions. The researcher constructed a study sample of manufacturing firms (with primary three-digit SIC between 200 and 399) with a high percentage of their assets and employees located at the firm’s corporate headquarters (N = 2331 firm-year observations from 651 firms). Results of a t test and a series of multiple regression analysis yielded empirical evidence that geographic proximity to an industry cluster location affects firms’ decisions on B2B advertising expenditure. Implications for media management research and theory are discussed.

Comparing Online and Offline Media Engagement: A Triangular Measurement Approach • Lisa-Charlotte Wolter, University of Florida; Sylvia Chan-Olmsted, University of Florida; Daniel McDuff • Media engagement can serve as a useful approach for cross-platform effectiveness measurement and optimization. Through an industry-academic research partnership between a research university, Google/YouTube, and Microsoft, the study conducted online-offline cross-platform comparisons of YouTube and TV video usage experience using both implicit and explicit measurements. Results from the comprehensive lab-based mixed-methods study shed light on how the two video platforms differ in terms of attention and engagement – measured triangularly (cognitive, affective, behavioral). (Industry Relevance)

Legacy Media Versus Emerging Online Sources of News and Information: A Niche Study of Competition and Coexistence • Mohammad Yousuf • This study applied the Theory of the Niche to examine if the legacy news media competes with institution-generated content, activist-generated content, and user-generated content—three emerging sources of news and information. A survey of online media users (N=1,103) shows each of four content types has a moderate niche on news gratifications. Niche overlap coefficients suggest moderate to strong competition among the content types although the legacy news media maintains competitive superiority over all others.

 

Special Topics
Business Characteristics of a Network Media Agency:  A Case Study Using a Dyadic Perspective of Agency–Client Joint Business Activities • Melanie Herfort, University of Bayreuth, Germany; Reinhard Kunz • This paper studies a media agency’s business characteristics using a dyadic agency–client view to explore the collaborative value of co-creation business activities. The paper applies a qualitative case study method based on a network media agency. We contribute that the knowledge about nonmedia services, such as content and technology, and their clients as business partners play a large role in furthering the business activities of this agency.

Emotional Responses to Online Video Ads: The Differential Effects of Self-Brand Congruity and Ad Duration • Todd Holmes, California State University Northridge • The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of self-brand congruity and ad duration and how these factors impact emotional responses to embedded online video advertisements. To achieve these aims, an online experiment was conducted based on a two (self-brand congruity) X two (ad duration) between-subjects design. Two dependent measures, emotional response to the ad (ERad) and emotional response to the brand (ERb) were used to examine the effectiveness of the ads and three brand personality dimensions (excitement, sophistication, ruggedness) were included in the model as replicates. Self-brand congruity was found to significantly impact respondents’ level of pleasure experienced when they viewed an ad for a brand that was low or high in excitement. Significant differences were found in terms of the pleasure that subjects ascribed to brands deemed to be low or high in sophistication. In addition, an interaction effect was found in the sophistication dimension with respect to arousal.

2018 ABSTRACTS

Carol Burnett Award
Fake News and the Fourth Estate: The Role of Editorial Messaging in Repairing the Journalistic Paradigm • Deborah Dwyer, Student • The White House has weaponized the term “fake news” to brand mainstream media as unethical. Ironically, this presents an opportunity for the Fourth Estate to reestablish credibility at a time when trust in media is frighteningly low. This content analysis explores traditional media’s editorial discourse about fake news to determine if it has sparked efforts to repair the journalistic paradigm—the unwritten and fundamental behaviors and standards media assert to be intrinsic to the profession.

Carol Burnett Award
“This Corporation Cares”: Considering Ethics in Communicating Nonprofit CSR Relationships Online • Virginia Harrison • A qualitative content analysis of corporate social responsibility (CSR) webpages of top-ranked corporations was conducted to determine the ethical nature of online communications surrounding nonprofit partnerships. Evidence shows that website communications often engage in self-promotion rather than genuine support for nonprofit partners. Through corporate branding of CSR activities, advertising through philanthropy stories, and using employee volunteerism and donations as unpaid labor, the balance of CSR relationships tilts heavily in the corporation’s favor.

 

Open Competition
An Ethic of Advocacy: Metajournalistic discourse on the practice of leaks and whistleblowing 2004-2017 • Brett Johnson; Elizabeth Bent, University of Missouri; Caroline Dade, University of Missouri • Leaks are vital to journalism, especially since the early 2000s. This study analyzes the discourse surrounding leaks crafted by online journalism trade publications since 2004 to understand how journalism has shaped itself as an institution vis-à-vis the role of leaks in reporting and the meta-ethical norms surrounding the use of leaks. Findings suggest that journalism has embraced an advocacy role with leaks despite (or perhaps because of) ethical contradictions surrounding their use of leaks.

Facebook and the Virtue of Friendship • Jeffrey Maciejewski, Creighton University • Although social media are used by billions worldwide, they have not received commensurate attention by ethicists. This paper is an attempt to fill this vacancy in the literature by examining Facebook friendship using Aristotelian virtues as a normative lens. Given that Aristotle envisions the highest form of friendship––perfect friendship––as arising from quid pro quo friendships of utility and pleasure, and since self-love, addiction and compulsion are entwined with Facebook use, this paper examines the virtue of friendship as it relates to the nuanced nature of Facebook relationships. Requirements of virtue friendship are analyzed and applied to Facebook friendships, and the complicating influences of asynchronous “frictionless” interactions, sometimes fueled by narcissism, are discussed.

How “activist” ethics at the New York Times overcame the “chilling effects” of libel • Ali Mohamed, UAE University • The civil rights movement of the 1960s serves as context in exploring deployment of ethical principles associated with activist democracy by the New York Times. A content analysis shows that the Times maintained a vigorous challenge to the social order in Alabama even after a series of libel suits were brought by state officials. This suggests that when media cover a story in an activist spirit, the intimidating “chilling effects” of libel can lose effect.

“Ethically Listening” to Different Perspectives : News Fixers’ Thoughts on the Dangers They Face in the Field • Lindsay Palmer, UW-Madison • This paper attempts to answer Stephen J.A. Ward and Herman Wasserman’s call for more “ethical listening” in communications scholarship, most especially where cross-cultural dialogue is concerned (2015). Drawing upon qualitative interviews with 75 news “fixers” in 36 different countries, the paper argues that these locally-based media employees are vital in protecting correspondents in the field. Because news fixers guide correspondents through unfamiliar locations and give them advice on how to navigate dangerous cultural differences, international news organizations depend heavily on fixers to keep their journalists safe on assignment. Yet, these news organizations do not return the favor by protecting news fixers in any systematic way. Because of this, the paper ultimately argues that journalism practitioners and scholars need to engage in more “ethical listening,” actively considering and respecting news fixers’ perspectives on the risks they face in their work. Without news fixers, the work of international reporting simply would not be possible; therefore, international news outlets and the scholars who study them need to take news fixers’ perspectives seriously, relying on these particular perspectives as a guide for how to improve fixers’ safety.

Electoral Reckonings: Press Criticism of Presidential Campaign Coverage, 2000-2016 • Elizabeth Bent, University of Missouri; Kimberly Kelling; Ryan Thomas, University of Missouri • Elections offer the press a relatively predictable cycle to enact its democratic role. The cyclical nature of presidential elections allow a level of self-reflexivity as the press reflect on election coverage. Through a textual analysis of press criticism after presidential elections from 2000-2016, this study explores how themes around routines, norms and values remained relatively steady until the 2016 election creates a hyperactive response and discursive shift as the press moves from public-advocate to self-advocate.

Fair balance or false balance: Accuracy or impartiality in climate change reporting • Kristin Timm, George Mason University; Richard Craig, George Mason University • Despite the scientific consensus that human-caused climate change is occurring, it continues to be presented as a two-sided debate-creating a ‘false balance’ that can distort the audience’s perceptions of the issue. With 52 interviews and a survey of nearly 2000 news media professionals from the U.S., we reveal how frequently an opposing viewpoint is included in climate change stories, why it is included, and how journalists understand and practice objectivity in climate change reporting.

The Discursive (Re)Construction of the Objectivity Norm • Tim Vos, University of Missouri; Ryan Thomas, University of Missouri; Amanda Hinnant; Yong Volz, University of Missouri • While objectivity has long been an ethical anchor for the institution of journalism, it has seemingly been contested in the last two decades. This study examines two decades of journalists’ discourse – what has come to be called metajournalistic discourse – to examine the meaning, state, and legitimacy of objectivity. While we find that the meaning of objectivity has shifted and faces a steady stream of discursive contestation, the objectivity norm or ethic still finds purchase.

Ethics of Authenticity: Travel Influencers and the Production of Sponsored Content • Mariah Wellman, University of Iowa; Ryan Stoldt; Melissa Tully, University of Iowa; Brian Ekdale • This paper argues travel influencers rely on an ethics of authenticity to build credibility when deciding which commercial brands to work with, what content to produce, how to disclose brand relationships to audiences, and whether to omit experiences that might otherwise damage their personal brands. An ethics of authenticity puts the influencers’ brand identity and relationship with their audience at the forefront while also allowing them to profit from content designed to benefit brands and destinations.

Special Call for Advertising and Public Relations Ethics • Still no End to Gender Stereotypes in Advertising: A Content Analytical Comparison of Different Channels. • Kathrin Karsay, University of Vienna; Jörg Matthes, U of Vienna; Valerie Fröhlich • Scholars repeatedly voiced ethical criticism with regards to stereotypical gender role portrayals in television advertisements. The present study analyzed gender stereotypes in a total of N = 1022 advertisements from four Austrian television channels: a public service channel, a commercial channel, and one commercial special interest channel for men and for women respectively. The results showed that well-known stereotypical gender portrayals are prevalent in all four channels. However, significant differences between channels exist.

2018 ABSTRACTS

Moeller Student Competition
Effects of Self-Construal and Environmental consciousness on Green Corporate Social Responsibility perceptions • nandini bhalla, University of South Carolina • “Using a 2 (location of the company: India vs. U.S.) x 2 (location of the CSR: India vs. U.S.) between subjects experimental design, the study examines the citizen’s attitudes, WOM, and purchase intent towards a fictitious company doing green CSR in India and in the U.S. A SEM model is created, and results indicated that the individuals’ self-construal orientation play an important role in perceiving and evaluating corporation’s environmentally-friendly initiatives.”

Nothing but the Facts? Journalistic Objectivity and Media Adjudication of President Trump’s False Claims • Deborah Dwyer, Student • Previous research indicates reporters tend to shy away from formally settling disputed claims when covering political topics. This does not assist readers in determining what is true, damaging their epistemic political efficacy and interest. This content analysis examines the type of adjudication practices journalists use when covering untrue statements made by U.S. President Donald Trump. Adjudication practices by outlets that audiences consider “conservative” or “liberal” are compared to determine if and how they differ.

Open Competition
Examining the Rage Donation Trend: Applying the Anger Activism Model to Explore Communication and Donation Behaviors • Lucinda Austin, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Holly Overton, University of South Carolina; Denise Bortree, Penn State University; Brooke McKeever • A national survey (N = 1275) explored how individuals’ anger and efficacy predict attitudes toward political and social activism, related communication behaviors, and financial support behaviors. Findings revealed partial support for the Anger Activism Model, which was tested in this unique context. Efficacy emerged as a stronger predictor compared to anger, and path analysis suggests that while anger directly predicts attitudes and communication behaviors, it also partially predicts efficacy.

From Reality to Drama: The Role of Entertainment TV Storytelling in Empowering U.S. Hispanic Parents • Caty Borum Chattoo, American University School of Communication and Center for Media & Social Impact; Lauren Feldman, Rutgers University; Amy Henderson Riley, American University School of Communication and Center for Media & Social Impact • In 2017, the Univision network and Too Small to Fail, a prosocial multi-media campaign, produced media content across three television storytelling genres (scripted drama, reality TV, news) in order to entertain and educate Hispanic parents and primary caregivers of children aged 0-5 about early brain development, and consequently, the role of parents and caregivers in the successful development of young children. This experimental study assessed the impact of each TV genre and found significant direct effects on knowledge, attitudes, and behavior; the effects were mediated by perceived entertainment value and positive emotions.

Explaining the “Racial Contradiction:” An Experimental Examination of the Impact of Sports Media Use and Response Strategy on Racial Bias towards Athlete Transgressors • Kenon Brown, The University of Alabama; Joshua Dickhaus, Bradley University; Ray Harrison, Jefferson State Community College; Stephen Rush, The University of Alabama • Previous studies (Authors, 20XX, Authors, 20XX) have found that minority athletes were perceived more positively than their White counterparts, counterintuitive to previous research. In order to explain this “racial contradiction,” this study analyzes the racial differences in response to criminal accusations based on the response strategy utilized and the amount of sports news consumed by participants. A between-subjects, double blind experiment was conducted among 464 participants to examine how an athlete’s race, an athlete’s chosen response strategy, and participants’ level of sports news consumption affects the perception of athletes accused of criminal allegations. Results show that while low sports news consumers did not differ in their perception of an athlete, whether he was Black or White, high sports news consumers perceived Black athletes more positively than White athletes, supporting the “racial contradiction.” Also, results showed that while participants that were low sports news consumers accepted the White athlete’s use of denial more than the Black athlete, participants that were high sports news consumers accepted the Black athlete’s use of denial more than the White athlete.

Music Use and Genre Choice as Coping Strategies for Emotions • Jewell Davis; Li-jing Chang, Jackson State University • This study used a survey to explore music use and genre choice as coping strategies for emotions. A total of 605 people answered the survey. Results showed a plurality of the respondents use music frequently to help cope with stress, deal with an issue and express emotions. The study also found rock, country, and pop were top genre choices to help cope with specific emotions, and mood maintenance drives more music use than coping needs.

Effects of Scandals and Presidential Debates in the U.S. 2016 Presidential Elections • Esther Thorson, Michigan State; Weiyue Chen, Michigan State University; Leticia Bode • The study investigates the impact of the presidential debates and two political scandals (Trump groping scandal and Comey reopening of the Clinton email case) on attitudes toward Clinton and Trump, and vote intent. The data include 49 days of a rolling cross section sample of 100 U.S. adults. Results show the campaign events have major effects that differ by partisanship, and that candidate attitudes often mediate the effect of events on vote intent.

Individual differences in second-level agenda setting • Renita Coleman; Denis Wu, Boston University • Studies of individual differences in agenda setting focus primarily on the first level, not the second. This study found some individual differences that make people more susceptible to the media’s agenda of issues do not work the same for affect. Education works in the opposite direction, with the highly educated more protected against media influence. Political party affiliation helps inoculate against the media’s affective agenda, but only when it comes to the opposition party’s candidate.

Effects of Race, Attractiveness, and Mental Health Attribution in Mass Shooting News • Tao Deng, Michigan State University; Syed Ali Hussain; Samuel M. Tham, Michigan State University; Saleem Alhabash, Michigan State University • This study explored effects of shooter ethnicity, attractiveness, and mental illness on a Facebook post using a 2 (ethnicity: White-Muslim) x 2 (attractiveness: low-high) x 2 (mental illness: present-absent) between-subject factorial design (N = 699). Findings showed that negative stereotypes against Muslim can be intensified by reading mass shooting news with Muslim perpetrator. Combining Muslim ethnicity and mental illness, participants expressed less favorable attitude toward mental illness. This trend reversed when the perpetrator was White.

Why? Because I like you: Effects of familiarity on perceptions of media trustworthiness • Stephanie Dunn, Missouri Western State University • This paper assesses the role familiarity and parasocial relationships have on perceptions of trustworthiness and credibility, particularly in evaluation of political commentators. Research presented demonstrates how familiarity and PSR allow commentators to overcome retraction messages. Findings suggest increased familiarity and higher PSR generate more positive message evaluations, higher assessments of source credibility, and increased likelihood of persuasion.

PTSD and Depression in Journalists Who Covered Harvey • Gretchen Dworznik • Thirty journalists from some of the most hardest hit cities during Hurricane Harvey were surveyed for symptoms of posttraumatic stress (PTSD) and depression 2 months after the storm. 20% had storm related PTSD and 40% had depression. Though not all met the criteria for diagnosis, 90% were experiencing symptoms of both disorders to varying degrees. Implications for disaster coverage planning and newsroom managers are discussed.

Parents, Children, and Social Media: A Study of Value Congruence • Lee Farquhar, Butler University; Betsy Emmons, Samford University; Nia Johnson • This study examines value congruence, identity stewardship, and parent awareness of child’s behaviors. Participants had typical behavior patterns regarding social media use and concerns for privacy. However, parent monitoring of children’s online behaviors was remarkably low. These same parents were also confident that children were not taking part in behaviors they were not aware of. Lastly, value congruence was associated with open communication and positive behavior modeling, which supports past research.

Hot or Cold: #climatechange Societal Sentiment on Pinterest • Jeanine Guidry, Virginia Commonwealth University; Lucinda Austin, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Linsey Grove, University of South Florida • This study examined visual social media posts focused on climate change through a quantitative content analysis of 500 Pinterest posts. Posts from nonprofit organizations received the least engagement. Inclusion of perceived benefits of addressing climate change and self-efficacy were associated with increased engagement; however, these concepts were mentioned far less frequently than severity of and susceptibility to climate change, which did not drive engagement.

Errors and Corrections in Digital News Content • Kirstie Hettinga, California Lutheran University; Alyssa Appelman, Northern Kentucky University • A between-subjects experiment (N = 386) explores the effects of correction features and reader investment on perceptions of digital news content. Findings suggest that participants paid more attention to the source and the correction when they read from the digital news outlet (Yahoo.com), rather than the legacy news outlet (The New York Times). Findings also suggest that liberal readers cared more than conservative readers about the LGBT-rights-related correction. Recommendations for online corrections practices are discussed.

The Effects of Constructive Television News Reporting on Prosocial Intentions and Behavior in Children • Iris Van Venrooij; Tobias Sachs; Mariska Kleemans • To overcome negative effects of news on young audiences and, instead, foster prosociality, constructive journalism promotes the inclusion of positive emotions and solutions in negative news stories. We experimentally tested whether including constructive elements in a story about a disaster indeed increased prosocial intentions and behaviors among children (N=468; 9-13 y/o). Results showed that solution-based news led to less prosocial behavior than emotion-based and non-constructive news. Negative emotions, but not self-efficacy, served as a mediator.

D.C. media coverage of the District’s Death with Dignity Act • Kimberly Lauffer; Sean Baker, Central Michigan University; Natalee Seely • In 2016, the District of Columbia City Council passed the Death with Dignity Act. Afterward, Congress attempted to block implementation of the law by invoking its power first to overturn the law and then, when unsuccessful in that effort, withhold money from the District. Previous studies examining local media coverage of aid-in-dying legislation have identified several recurrent frames, including fear of abuse, good death vs. bad death, preserving rights/autonomy, and culture war. D.C. media invoked those frames as well as others more specific to the District and the publications within it

Framing and Persuasion: A Frame-building Perspective • Jiawei Liu; Douglas McLeod • Research on framing effects has demonstrated that exposure to frames leads to shifts in readers’ preferences and attitudes. Applying this to message construction, we expect that frames’ persuasive effects will also be reflected in the frame-building process: in order to change preference in a particular direction, the corresponding frame will be selected. Our experimental findings suggest that the link between persuasion and frame-building is strong for emphasis frames but relatively weak for equivalence frames.

“They’re Turning the Frogs Gay!” Credibility and Attributes of Parasocial Relationships with Alex Jones • T. Phillip Madison, University of Louisiana – Lafayette; Emily Covington, University of Louisiana – Lafayette; Kaitlyn Wright, University of Louisiana – Lafayette; Timothy Gaspard, University of Louisiana – Lafayette • Exploitation of Americans’ information diets by foreign powers for the purpose of creating civil unrest is a well-documented practice and relies on “knowing” people whom we will never meet. Much of our responses to fake news, whether we buy into it or not, center around the one-sided relationships we have with people whom we see in the media. Such relationships are called “parasocial relationships,” or PSRs (e.g., Horton & Wohl, 1956) and have a tendency to shape our senses of reality and reactions to those senses of reality. Horton and Wohl (1956) originally identified “para-social relationships” as the one-sided relationships audiences have with mediated personae, namely people we see on television. Parasocial relationships seem to be more powerful than ever, as illustrated by fake news, inflamed divisiveness in the western word, weaponization, and Russia’s countless bots, trolls, and social media pages. According to Westneat (2017), “The information war is real, and we’re losing it.” In this bizzare, new era, fake news occupies all forms of media. In fact, many of today’s societal problems have been blamed on the pervasiveness and influential nature of fake news. This study examines parasocial relationships as well as perceived credibility and viewing frequency of Infowars, hosted by Alex Jones. Through our sample of Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) users (N = 584), we have explored which attributes of PSRs are related to perceived credibility of Alex Jones and viewing propensity. This research highlights the value of parasocial research as scholars navigate this post-2016 American presidential election news cycle. Parasocial relationships have become a large part of our identities and, thus, warrant thoughtful scrutiny.

Social (Media) Construction of Public Opinion in the Press • Shannon McGregor • A content analysis of election news and in-depth interviews with journalists documents the use of social media to report public opinion, classifying uses along the type of data, well as its function. Journalists used social media posts as sources of vox populi quotes, especially to showcase public reaction to media events. Social media firms marketed their quantitative metrics as public opinion to journalists, who reported these mostly in service of positioning candidates in the horserace.

Younger millennials’ media use: A qualitative gratifications and media repertoires approach • Danielle Myers LaGree, Kansas State University; Margaret Duffy, U of Missouri • The new media landscape has encouraged media multitasking behaviors. This exploratory study sought to understand why younger millennials are motivated to routinely attend to media across multiple sources and devices. An intregated uses and gratifications and media repertoires theoretical approach guided this qualitative study. In-depth interviews (N = 21) revealed that participants were more emotionally connected to their laptops than their cellphones and use media sources and devices to create work and entertainment spaces.

An experimental test of the effects of hurricane news about human behavior on climate-related attitudes • Jessica Myrick, Penn State University; Jeff Conlin • Mass communication about hurricanes–via traditional and online outlets–often features stories about morality. The best of us help others and the worst of us take advantage of the situation. The present study investigated how these types of hurricane news coverage, when displayed online featuring other users’ reactions, impacts climate-change intentions and policy support. A between-subjects online experiment (N = 514) was conducted using a 3 (news content: acts of kindness, acts of cruelty, control) x 3 (Facebook emoticon reactions: mostly love with some anger, mostly anger with some love, equal love and anger). Results reveal that emotional responses are key mediators of message effects.

Expanding Visibility on Twitter: Author and Message Characteristics and Retweeting • Chang Sup Park, University at Albany, SUNY; Barbara Kaye • Using a content analysis of 3,429 tweets about the South Korean Anti-Terrorism Act of 2016, this study finds that the tweets created by civil society, political actors, and mass media/journalists are more likely to be retweeted than the tweets written by ordinary individuals, suggesting the role of heuristic strategy. This study also finds that content factors influence retweeting (systematic strategy). Emotional tweets are more likely to be retweeted, and rationality of tweets moderates the association between author characteristics and retweeting.

Switchers & Seniors: Evaluating technology versus cohort-based changes in TV news consumption, 1984 -2008 • Patrick Parsons, Penn State University; Krishna Jayakar, Penn State University • This study uses cohort analysis and comparative simulation to gain a better understanding of the relative influence of technological displacement versus shifting demographic patterns in television news consumption from 1984 to 2008 with special attention to TV news consumption declines in the early and mid-1990s, prior to expansion of internet-based news. It considers implications of the research for current and near-future news consumption patterns.

The Effects of Flow in Mobile Gaming: Involvement, Spending Practices, and Attitude • Gregory Perreault, Appalachian State University; Samuel M. Tham, Michigan State University • This research studies free-to-play mobile game players in the United States (n=592) regarding their experience of flow, gaming involvement, and attitude towards the game’s financial model. Following Creswell and Clark’s (2007) exploration model of mixed methods, both qualitative and quantitative measures were utilized to identify and examine the variables. Even though participants reported low attitude towards advertising, the more involved participants indicated they would be accept alternative advertising if it led to more in-game currency.

Content Analysis of Music Alcohol-Dependent Women and Controls Associate with ‘Going Out’ versus ‘Staying Home’ • Anastasia Nikoulina, Indiana University; Thomas James, Indiana University; Joshua Sites, Indiana University; Edgar Jamison-Koenig, Indiana University; Glenna Read, Indiana University; Robert Potter, Indiana University • A content analysis of 636 songs was conducted for alcohol content, drug content, sexual content, risk-taking content, and musical tempo. The song corpus was created by female participants in a previous experimental study and represented their favorite titles for ‘going out with friends,’ or ‘staying home by yourself.’ Participants were selected for the experiment from two cohorts: those with self-reported alcohol dependency and controls. Results of the content analysis show that, as predicted by theory, Party Music was more likely to contain lyrical mentions of alcohol, drugs, and sexual behaviors. Party Music was also significantly faster in tempo than Home Music. These main effects did not interact with which cohort provided the titles. In addressing a research question, results show that regardless of cohort,Party Music was more frequently from the Pop and Hip-hop genre while Home Music was more often Rock and Indie.

Who is to blame? Analysis of government and news media frames during the 2014 earthquake in Chile • Magdalena Saldana, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile • This study relies on Entman’s definition of framing to analyze how the Chilean government and news media framed an earthquake occurring in Chile in 2014. Using structural topic modeling, 705 news stories and 174 press releases were content-analyzed to identify under which conditions the media may attribute blame when disasters are framed beyond the realm of accident. Findings are particularly relevant to understand the relationship between political actors and the press when disasters occur.

“What’s racist about deporting criminal illegal ‘Felons’?” Examining the link between emotion and cognition in tweets about immigration • Saif Shahin, American University; Laura Seroka, Bowling Green State University; Md Rezwan Islam, Bowling Green State University • This study examines nearly 4 million tweets about immigration posted during the 2016 U.S. presidential election (July-December). Sentiment analysis reveals Trust, Fear, and Anger to be the most prominent emotions. Topic modeling suggests Trust was on account of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, while Muslims and Mexicans aroused Fear and Anger. We also explain how emotions may produce cognitive connections among seemingly disparate issues and lead to post-hoc rationalization of anti-immigrant tweets.

Field and Ecological Explanations of Data Journalism Innovation: A Focus on the Role of Ancillary Organizations • Wilson Lowrey, University of Alabama; Lindsey Sherrill, University of Alabama; Ryan Broussard, University of Alabama • This study assesses the roles of ancillary organizations in data journalism innovation from the perspectives of both field and ecology paradigms using interviews with actors in the data journalism profession, including working journalists, leaders of foundations and professional associations, and educators. These two meso-level spatial approaches, field theory and ecology theory, are compared to shed light on the relative helpfulness of field approaches vs. ecology approaches in our social understanding of journalism and news construction.

Exploring Mechanisms of Narrative Persuasion in a News Context: The Role of Narrative Structure, Homophily, Stigma, and Affect in Changing Attitudes and Altruistic Behavior • Daniel Tamul, Virginia Tech; Mary Beth Oliver; Jessica Hotter, Virginia Tech • Two exploratory studies demonstrate, for the first time, that narrative persuasion can diminish the stigma attached to social groups featured in journalistic narratives. Study 1 shows narrative format improves attitudes toward Syrian refugees and this effect is mediated by narrative engagement and subsequently stigma, homophily, and meaningful affect. Study 2 replicates these findings against a separate participant pool, an additional story topic, and compares changes in engagement and stigma to a non-narrative fact sheet and a control condition.

What the fake?! How social media users define, spot, and respond to fake news • Edson Tandoc, Nanyang Technological University Singapore; Darren Lim, NTU Singapore • Through dyadic interviews involving 20 social media users in Singapore, where members of each pair are friends both offline and on social media, this study sought to understand how social media users define, spot, and respond to fake news. The study found that the participants define fake news in terms of facticity, intention, and ethics. They verify if news is real or fake based on their own gut-feel, the content itself, through interpersonal checks, and through institutional sources. Finally, whether or not they correct others who post fake news depends on issue relevance, interpersonal relationships, and personal efficacy. While correcting others might be consistent with their need to do what is right, it might also negatively affect their need to maintain social relationships.

Post-Network Television: Motivations, Behaviors, and Satisfaction in the Age of Netflix • Alec Tefertiller, Kansas State University; Kim Sheehan, University of Oregon • Newer video technologies such as smart TVs and web streaming applications have radically altered how audiences consume televised content. Using an online, national survey (N = 790), this study identified five motivational factors for television viewing, most notably relaxing entertainment. In addition, patterns of ritualistic and instrumental viewing were identified. Audience activity facilitated by new technology was strongly associated with satisfaction and affinity for the television medium.

Dual Influences of Media Figures on Young Undergraduates’ Life Values: The Role of Wishful Identification • Caixie TU; Stella Chia • This study examined media and social influences of media figures and proposed a theoretical framework wherein two influences exert effects on undergraduates’ values. This study also adopted a psychological mechanism of wishful identification to investigate how it mediated such two influences. The whole framework was tested by survey data. Results showed media consumption was directly associated with value endorsement. The indirect associations were mediated by interpersonal discussion about media figures and wishful identification with figures.

Don’t Believe the Next Tweet: Designing and Testing News Media Literacy Interventions for Social Media • Melissa Tully, University of Iowa; Emily Vraga; Leticia Bode • Scholars have called for media literacy interventions as a response to the spread of misinformation online. This study examines the effectiveness of “news media literacy” (NML) messages for Twitter. Using two experimental designs, this study tests NML tweets designed to mitigate the impact of exposure to misinformation and to boost people’s perceptions of their own media literacy and its democratic value. Findings suggest it is difficult to craft messages that achieve these goals simultaneously.

Creating Agents of Change through Civic Media Production, Critical Media Literacy and Experiential Learning • Cindy Vincent, Salem State University; Jennifer Jeffrey, Salem State University • This study applies the civic media model within a media literacy course to examine how the convergence of critical media literacy, civic education and experiential learning help college students understand themselves as engaged community members. Interviews with college students collected over three semesters is qualitatively analyzed to understand how civic media production and experiential learning build a sense of civic agency within college students as collaborators of voice, dialogue and critical consciousness.

Can Inspiration Cross Party Lines? How News Framing of Morality and Partisan Cues Influence Elevation, Disgust, and Moral Judgments of Political Actors • T. Franklin Waddell, College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida • Do partisans judge political actors based on the consistency of their moral behavior, or does partisan affiliation override moral evaluation? An online experiment (N = 710) revealed that participants exposed to acts of altruism or redemption reported higher levels of elevation relative to control, while acts of transgression or falls from grace elicited higher levels of disgust relative to control. No evidence of moderation by partisanship was revealed. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Do Press Releases about Digital Game Research Influence Presumed Effects? How Comparisons to Real World Violence and Methodological Details Affect the Anticipated Influence of Violent Video Games • T. Franklin Waddell, College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida • Do comparisons to real world violence or details about how aggression is measured in the laboratory affect the presumed influence of violent video games? An online experiment (N = 505) examined this question using a 2 (comparison to violence: present vs. absent) x 2 (measurement details: present vs. absent) between-subjects design. Results reveal that comparisons to violence elicit differential effects on presumed influence contingent on the presence of methodological details and respondent sex.

Is the Grass Greener on the Other Side of the Geofence? • Kearston Wesner • Geofencing technology enables companies to obtain users’ physical location and deliver customized communications, including political messages. But to accomplish this, some businesses transmit user data to third parties without consent. The privacy tort of intrusion and Federal Trade Commission actions target unfair or deceptive practices, but these avenues are inadequate. Users’ privacy should be safeguarded by creating a federal privacy statute that requires opt-in notification and periodic reminders of data collection, usage, and transmission practices.

Depictions of Asperger’s Syndrome on Prime-Time Television: An Intergroup Contact and Social Cognitive Theory Approach • Stephanie Whitenack, Louisiana State University; David Hamilton; Meghan Sanders • Certain depictions of Asperger’s syndrome (AS) on prime-time television can affect how individuals perceive the disorder (Holton, 2013). Learning and relational differences among those who view onscreen portrayals of AS can affect audiences’ understanding, perceptions, and behavioral intentions of the out-group. An experiment was conducted with a total of 130 participants. Results reveal that people identify with more explicit portrayals on screen, however this may produce greater intergroup anxiety when thinking about real-life interpersonal contact.

Conceptualization of the public health model of reporting through application: The case of the Cincinnati Enquirer’s heroin beat • Erin Willis, University of Colorado Boulder; Chad Painter, University of Dayton • This case study seeks to demonstrate the Cincinnati Enquirer’s use of the public health model of reporting and public health news frames. The Enquirer created the first newspaper heroin beat in January 2016. Enquirer reporters framed the heroin epidemic as a public health issue, focusing on solutions, contextualizing the issue through societal determinants of health, and incorporating the voices of constituent groups. Findings are discussed using news framing and the public health model of reporting.

Big Data and Journalism Transformations: Evaluating Automation as a New Entrant to the Journalistic Field • Shangyuan Wu, Nanyang Technological University; Edson Tandoc, Nanyang Technological University Singapore; Charles Salmon • As information circulates in unprecedented amounts, contemporary newsrooms are turning to automation to manage the data deluge. Amid falling revenues and newsroom closures, this study uses field theory and in-depth interviews to investigate how automation, as a new entrant, is transforming the journalistic field, including its impact on the field’s governing principles, the types of capital that journalists must acquire to remain competitive, and journalist attitudes towards the transformation and/or preservation of the field.

Undesirable Issue Indeed, but No Censorship Please! The Third Person Effect in Fake News on Social Media • Fan Yang, University at Albany, SUNY; Michael Horning, Virginia Tech University • An online survey (N =335) was conducted to examine the third person effect (TPE) in fake news and suggested that individuals indeed perceived a greater influence of fake news on others than on themselves. Although they evaluated fake news on social media as socially undesirable, they were also unsupportive of censorship as a remedy. Instead, individuals reported to be less willing to share the news they read on social media either online or offline.

Digital inequalities or personality differences? A longitudinal analysis of social media usage divides in China • Yiyan Zhang, Boston University; Lei Guo, Boston University; Homero Gil de Zúñiga, University of Vienna • This study contributes to the digital divide literature by better explicating a usage divide and by adding a China’s context based on a longitudinal analysis of varied social media uses among a national representative sample collected in mainland China. The results showed age and income significantly predicted many aspects of the usage divide, moderated by individuals’ personality traits. The study also demonstrated that the age- and income-generated usage divide were not significantly widened over time.

Student Competition
Stuck on Social Media: Predicting Young Adults’ Intentions to Limit Social Media Use • Nick Boehm • Health concerns of social media overuse (e.g., depression, anxiety, social isolation, etc.) warrant examinations of factors influencing the use of these technologies. While studies have characterized people’s adoption and use of social media, none have examined factors that would drive individuals to limit their social media use. This study found that an extended theory of planned behavior model significantly predicted intentions to limit daily social media use and behavior surrounding social capital maintenance and growth.

Colorism and Love for Fair Skin: Exploring Digitization’s Effect on India’s Arranged Marriage Matrimonial Ads • Dhiman Chattopadhyay, Bowling Green State University; Sriya Chattopadhyay, Bowling Green State University • Previous studies have found the presence of colorism, especially a bias toward fair-skinned women, in India’s newspaper matrimonial advertisements, where fair complexion is equated with beauty among Indian women. Historically matrimonial advertisements in newspapers are posted by family elders, such as parents of prospective brides. This study explores if the advent of online matrimonial portals has empowered marginalized members of families such as prospective brides greater access to and control over posting matrimonial ads, and if this in turn has changed the way women are depicted in matrimonial ads. Textual analysis of 150 online matrimonial ads indicated that younger women such as would-be brides posted more ads in online media, compared to older family members such as parents; that while there was less overt focus on physical attributes of women such as fairness of skin, colorism was present in more subtle forms; and that while online ads described women’s skills, and desires, they were unable to break free from shackles of socially constructed patriarchal norms where women’s physical attributes such as fair skin were considered critical qualities. Findings were consistent with the tenets of Critical Race Theory that colorism is an ingrained feature of social systems and is constantly negotiated based on a group’s own social interests. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Asian International Students’ Mass Media Use and Acculturation Strategies: Considering the Effects of Remote Acculturation • Lin Li; Shao Chengyuan • Surveying Asian international students in two U.S. universities about their mass media use and acculturation strategies, this study found that American news media use before relocation was positively related to assimilation and negatively related to separation, whereas American TV use after relocation had positive effects on assimilation, integration, and marginalization through increased cultural knowledge. Asian TV use was found to be positively related to separation and negatively related to assimilation and integration across time periods.

Crisis Management on Social Media: Inoculation Strategy and Organizational Interactivity • Pratiti Diddi, PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY; Lewen Wei, Pennsylvania State University • In this study we conducted a three-phase online experiment to examine the efficacy of the inoculation strategy and organizational interactivity in bolstering attitudes in crisis management on social media. With exposure to crisis of selected issues, if not preempted, users’ threat levels went up; if preempted, on the other hand, low response rate to negative comments led to undesirable perceptions of the organization. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Discussing Vulcans, Hermione, Khaleesi, and the Winchesters: An evaluation of parasocial interactions in online fandom forums • Sara Erlichman, Penn State • As parasocial interactions (PSI) are increasingly becoming observable in online settings and associated with fandom, it brings to question the role of parasocial relationships (PSR) in fandom communities. By conducting a content analysis, this study analyzes whether PSIs were present in online fandom forums (i.e. Star Trek, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and Supernatural), as a possible indicator of fans actively maintaining their PSRs. The presence of parasocial interactions was supported in this study demonstrating the overlap of participatory fandom and fans’ relationship maintenance for fictional characters.

Social Media as an Emerging Institution: Expectations and Norms Online at the U.S. State House • Meredith Metzler • This paper draws on Polsby’s (1968) classic piece to ask: is social media an emerging political institution? Social media is a differentiated communication medium, but state legislative offices find it difficult to navigate. The perceived behavioral norms of the site—speed, confrontation, and boundary-less communication—conflicted with the legislators’ norms of “civil” interpersonal communication primarily with constituents. As social media emerges as an algorithmic communication institution, the conflicting norms will need to be reconciled.

Fake News Correction: How USDA Corrects Fake News about Organic Foods on Social Media • Keonyoung Park, Syracuse University; Jun Zhang, Newhouse School of Syracuse University; Laura Canuelas-Torres; Zheng Li • Building on the Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion, we explored the effects of different social media sources (i.e. government, nonprofit organizations, news corporations, and businesses) in correcting misinformation from fake news about organic foods. We conducted an online experiment, using a Mturk sample of US adults (N=264). Government (i.e., USDA) was the only source with significant impact on leading individual’s efforts to correct previous knowledge. Users seem to activate the central processing during this activity.

Local to global via social media: Using social media for news could make you global-minded • Aditi Rao, University of Connecticut • Contemporary society is becoming increasingly global. This globalization is often referred to in the context of businesses, tourism, trade, education, etc. However, globalization of individuals, i.e., having a global mindset, especially in the context of social media is not often heard of. The current study aimed to investigate whether using social media for news correlated with global-mindedness. A cross-sectional survey administered online asked college students (N = 324) to indicate their news-seeking habits on the four social media platforms—Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat. A Global-Mindedness Scale was also included in the same survey to measure global-mindedness and its five dimensions (responsibility, cultural pluralism, efficacy, globalcentrism, and interconnectedness). Results showed a positive correlation between social media use for news and global-mindedness and its dimensions, except for globalcentrism. With regard to using social media for seeking news, Facebook and Twitter were found to be used the most. However, Snapchat and Instagram were the most used social media platforms. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Finding A Voice: Newspaper Editors and The Effect of Sexual Assault and Rape News • Susan Tebben, Ohio University • A qualitative study on newspaper editors in northern and southern Ohio. Using in-depth interviews, the study focuses on personal experiences and training and its effect on victim-naming policies, word choice in stories of sexual assault and rape, and the effect of an editor’s particular training and/or experience on how the topic is covered in newsrooms. Journalistic standards are consistent among the editors interviewed, but editorial decisions depend on the particular editor’s experience and training.

Underlying Effects of Endorser Identity and Bodily Addressing in Public Service Announcements • Lewen Wei, Pennsylvania State University; Arienne Ferchaud; Bingjie Liu • This study conducted a 2 x 2 between-subjects online experiment (N = 423) to explore audience reactions towards public service announcements (PSA) varying in the identities of message endorsers (peer vs. celebrity) and their bodily addressing styles (front vs. side), and the underlying psychological mechanisms. Findings suggest that on selected issues (anti-smoking and anti-sexual-abuse), celebrity endorsers with a frontal bodily addressing style induced more positive reactions to PSA via parasocial interaction experience with the endorser, whereas peer endorsers with a side bodily addressing rendered more message effectiveness via elicited empathy towards the endorser. Implications and limitations are discussed.

2018 ABSTRACTS

Satiric magazines in Latin America as Hybrid Alternative Media • Paul Alonso, Georgia Tech • This article explores the cases of two satirical publications—The Clinic (Chile) and Barcelona (Argentina). Through critical humor, visual subversions, and parody, these independent magazines challenged mainstream journalism and official political discourse, offering alternative interpretations about the ruling class and society after traumatic periods—the Pinochet’s military dictatorship in Chile and the 2001 economic crisis in Argentina. This article examines how these satirical publications responded to their respective national contexts by questioning the functioning of power on several levels of society. Through interviews with the editors and content analysis, this study also analyzes the patterns of production and the evolution of the magazines after they became popular and examines how they negotiated their space within the national mediascape. Finally, it suggests the notion of “hybrid alternative media” to describe these publications, which had become part of a liberating process of collective healing. Initially perceived in opposition to mainstream media in contexts when the press’ credibility had decreased, they filled gaps in their society’s political communication.

Selling Yoga ‘Off the Mat’: A 10-year Analysis of Lifestyle Advertorials in Yoga Journal Magazine • nandini bhalla, University of South Carolina; Leigh Moscowitz, University of South Carolina; Jane O’Boyle, Elon University • This content analysis of advertorials from 10 years of Yoga Journal suggests that Health supplements, herbal remedies and lifestyle products such as clothes, shoes were most often featured between 2008 and 2017. The most common format was a regular feature, entitled “Off the Mat,” which promotes yoga lifestyle products identified by the magazine as “our partners.” Implications about the commodification of yoga and the role of advertorials in print magazines are discussed.

So they claim: A content analysis of magazine food advertising techniques and branding. • Clay Craig, Texas State University; Mark Flynn, Emmanuel College; Andrea Bergstrom, Coastal Carolina University • This study addressed a gap in the current literature on food advertising in U.S. magazines. A content analysis of food advertisements from fifteen magazine across five genres (men’s, women’s, health, fashion, and food) was conducted to determine the different tactics (product category, claims, endorsements, and product interaction) used by advertisers. Some key findings suggest: foods high in fat/sugar was the most frequently advertised food category; consumer-focused claims were most common; seals and/or celebrity endorsements were not used often; and more than 15% of ads featured individuals interacting with the food product being advertised. Also, magazine genre and season-based differences were present in the types of food products advertised. The paper concludes with managerial, theoretical, and ethical implications for advertisers when using magazines to promote food-oriented products.

Slam Dunk: An Examination of How Magazines Can Create Loyal Readers • Kevin Hull, University of South Carolina; Joon Kyoung Kim, University of South Carolina; Daniel Haun, University of South Carolina; Matthew Stilwell • As various sports magazines have eliminated print issues, the basketball magazine Slam continues to have a strong and loyal following. Using impression management and social identity theory as a guide, both visual and textual analyses was used to examine the magazine’s covers. Results demonstrate that Slam’s covers were designed for a demographic that is familiar with the players, interested in being on the cutting edge of information, and passionate about the sport of basketball.

Understanding the Process of Construction of Masculinity in Indian Editions of Global Men’s Lifestyle Magazines • Suman Mishra, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville • This case study explores the process through which Indian editions of American and British men’s lifestyle magazines are produced. It shows connections between global strategies and local production of content. It highlights commercial logic, global strategies, formal and informal structures, and power dynamics within which local producers operate and negotiate to create local editions and construct assimilatory hybrid models of masculinity.

Traditional Journalists on Gaming Journalism: Metajournalistic discourse on the rise of lifestyle journalism • Gregory Perreault, Appalachian State University; Tim Vos, University of Missouri • Gaming journalism, which finds its origins in public relations-oriented gaming magazines, attached itself discursively to traditional journalism in the wake of the GamerGate controversy. Yet it is unclear where a journalistic niche like gaming journalism fits within the ecology of journalism. The present study examines metajournalistic discourse regarding gaming journalism from 2010-2018 and analyzes 53 discrete articles about gaming journalism from that period in order to understand how the broader journalistic field conceptualized gaming journalism’s place within it. This study argues that gaming journalism is consigned to a lower and marginal form of journalism due to differences in paradigmatic professional values and journalistic savviness.

2018 ABSTRACTS