Digital Commons Network^™

The Cnn Effect And State Violence Against Muslim Ethnic Minorities, Sydni Resnick

International Political Economy Theses

The emergence of new technology and mass social media has become a dominant tool for the propaganda machine which cycles baseless fringe opinions through unfettered and relentless iterations providing a false legitimacy to an alternative set of baseless facts that ultimately drives official policies. Specifically, the media is important as it molds public perception and brings global attention to international crises. International crises, such as ethnic cleansings or genocides, are widespread throughout the globe. Throughout history, genocides have been possible by the production of false narratives against specific religious or ethnic minorities. These narratives were promoted and reiterated by national …

Media Impact On Public Opinion: Lgbtq Issues, Gabriel M. Galvan

Theses and Dissertations

This study’s research question asks what impact “new media” has on public opinion regarding LGBTQ issues. This study uses a survey conducted at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on the student body on campus. Using an ordered logistic regression analysis to test for a variety of independent variables, this paper finds that the type of media has a minor impact in public opinion on LGBTQ issues. Other control variables include religiosity, race and ethnicity, perceived economic class, and political ideology. This research is grounded on the theory that media can have an impact on the political positions of …

The Relationship Between Education Levels And Public Opinion Before The Iraq War, Damion Steele

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have found that higher education is known to stabilize political opinions and thought to enhance critical thinking skills. The role that an individual's level of education plays in shaping public opinion during a foreign affairs crisis, within the context of repetitious and uniform news media coverage, has yet to be determined. The theoretical foundation of agenda-setting explains how salience is created by emphasizing certain messages and influencing public opinion and may bypass education and political knowledge. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between education level and public opinion immediately before the Iraq War. The …

Real Fake News: The Colbert Report And Affective Polarization, Jeffrey J. Skoroda

Senior Independent Study Theses

This Independent Study examines the relationship between political satire and affective polarization. Affective polarization is a newly growing form of political polarization wherein partisans are polarized based on mutual dislike for opposing partisans rather than ideological disagreements. Political news has been linked to this recent trend in polarization. Over the past two decades, political scientists have taken an interest in investigating the impact of political satire programs like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report through the same lens as traditional political news. These satirical news programs implement satire, a more complex form of comedy that can require more cognitive …

Framing Genetically-Modified Foods Communication In China: A Content Analysis Of News Coverage Of People’S Daily And Southern Metropolis, Linqi Lu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Grounded in framing theory, this thesis presents a qualitative content analysis of newspaper coverage of genetically modified foods by two Chinese newspapers- People’s Daily and Southern Metropolis, in 2000-2017. The political, economic, public opinion and legal implications involved have made the reports of genetically modified (GM) foods present different framing, themes, and positions between People’s Daily and Southern Metropolis. This study aims to examine the various frames used in the coverage of GM foods in two major Chinese newspapers that operate within different media frameworks.

Results of the content analysis illustrated that significant differences existed in the newspapers in …

The Role Of Media In Promoting Good Governance And Building Public Perception About Governance: A Comparison Of China And The United States, Juan Liu

Wayne State University Dissertations

The media plays three key roles in promoting good governance: watchdog, civic forum and agenda-setter. Despite decades of scholarship, there is little systematic effort to examine the empirical relationship between the media and governance. Moreover, scholars conceptualized governance with their interests and scope of work. Regardless of political system, this dissertation puts forth a new definition of good governance, and explores how controversies or issues framed by the media can be employed to initiate debates among citizens to enhance their own understanding of the political process, in particular the performance of the government.

The first study utilized framing theory to …

Planned Parenthood In Crisis: Social Media Strategies And Frames, Lauren Hudel Goodman

LSU Master's Theses

Planned Parenthood entered crisis mode in the summer of 2015 with the release of videos alleging sales of fetal tissue by the Center for Medical Progress. Its crisis communication strategy was implemented to manage its reputation and influence public opinion regarding the organization and potential defunding by Congress. Through the use of women’s health and abortion framing, Planned Parenthood was able to prime its public’s attitudes towards the organization and potential negative outcomes of removing federal funding from the organization. As discovered through a content analysis, Planned Parenthood specifically addressed the crisis in its press releases, allowing the organization to …

Russian Anti-Americanism, Public Opinion And The Impact Of The State-Controlled Mass Media, Natalie Manaeva Rice

Doctoral Dissertations

From 2011 to 2015, a rise in anti-Americanism was strongly reflected in Russian public opinion during President Vladimir Putin’s third term. The study examined the phenomenon of anti-Americanism in Russia and the role of state-controlled mass media in promoting anti-American attitudes. Statistical analysis of polls conducted in Russia by the Pew Research Center in 2012 demonstrated that anti-Americanism in Russian society should not be treated as a monolithic phenomenon. A segment of the Russian populace held a strong and deep-seated anti-American ideological bias that affected its perception of everything related to the United States. Other sentiments, however, fit a more …

The Unattainable Ideal: Walter Lippmann And The Limits Of The Press And Public Opinion, Amy Solomon Whitehead

LSU Master's Theses

Walter Lippmann’s classic work, Public Opinion, crystallized thinking about the dynamic relationship between the press and public opinion, and clarified the role of each in democracy. Evaluations of that book, however, tend to be one-dimensional. Public Opinion captured just one iteration of his thinking on the subject, not his final statement on the matter. A comprehensive survey of his writing reveals Lippmann’s views on the press and public opinion were not static, yet the attention Public Opinion receives continues to overshadow his other works; his evolving views on the press and public opinion are rarely mentioned. Although his views shifted …

Approval Of George W. Bush: Economic And Media Impacts, Gino Tozzi Jr.

Wayne State University Dissertations

George W. Bush's approval rate had its shares of ups and downs. In this time series study I analyze the empirical evidence of the media's and economy's impact on his approval rate from 2001-2009. People tend to hold the president responsible for the country's economic performance and the media influences people's opinions of the president through agenda setting and priming. I operationalize the media influence on people into an independent variable. My economic independent variables are the monthly percent change in inflation rate, unemployment rate, and personal income. The dependent variable is the president's approval rate. This study seeks to …

The Loud Public : The Case Of User Comments In Online News Media, Naama Nagar

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In the pre-internet era most members of the public did not have the ability to express their opinions on political issues via the mass media. This dissertation illustrates how the internet changed that by providing average citizens with endless opportunities to be heard. In particular, I analyze user comments on mainstream news sites as a vehicle that enables individuals to have a voice.