Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

T. Hanks For Nostalgia: The Power Of Tom Hanks And Film Branding, Jacob Higgs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In March 2020, Tom Hanks announced he had contracted COVID-19 while shooting the Elvis Presley Biopic in Australia. On Instagram, he encouraged fans to take the disease seriously and be aware of how severe of a disease it was. Character brands and nostalgia have been found to foster trust in products and encourage relationships with those brands. Using the lens of nostalgia and uses and gratification to examine Tom Hanks as a character brand, the researcher analyzed five blockbuster films with Tom Hanks as the lead character. The study used narrative thematic analysis to observe Hanks and the depictions of …

The Disconnected Podcast, Sydney Wright

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Humans are social creatures. Yet when the pandemic forced the world into lockdown, social interaction became limited and more intentional. I explore the forms of communication people turned to during this time through a series of podcast episodes. I interview people who can provide first-hand experiences of how major areas of life changed. The areas I focused on are digital literacy in the elderly, online connections versus in-person ones, telehealth, education, journalism, and social media. The episodes can be listened to on the Disconnected website.

Political Journalists Tweet About The Final 2016 Presidential Debate, Hannah Hopper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Past research shows that journalists are gatekeepers to information the public seeks. Using the gatekeeping and agenda-setting theory, this study used a content analysis of tweets from political journalists during the final 2016 presidential debate to examine social media usage in efforts to convey information to followers and whether social media has allowed for journalists to present a more transparent view of candidates to the public. This study used feminist political theory to further analyze whether the tweets from political journalists portrayed Hillary Clinton, the female candidate, with stereotypical “female” traits, such as more emotional and more trustworthy. Applying these …

A Most Violent Game: A Framing Study On The Media’S Coverage Of Concussions And Injuries In Sports, Theodore P. Schwartz Ii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following is a study on the effects of framing the topic of concussions in the sports media. The study examined the differences between “perceptions of seriousness” of concussions based on two article conditions and how men and women, athletes and non-athletes, sports fans and non-sports fans all viewed the seriousness of concussions. Other variables of analysis included testing participants for their emotional empathy and aggressiveness in relation to their views on concussions. The findings of the study did not confirm most of the hypotheses, but the major hypothesis was supported. For participants who read the “serious” article condition, they …

Media Representation Of Islam And Muslims In Southern Appalachia, Saundra K. Reynolds

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Southern Appalachian attitudes about the religion of Islam and Muslim adherents are influenced largely by mass media's representations. With more than 80% of Appalachia’s population following Protestant Christianity, exposure to Islam in daily life is limited. Media outlets offer the greatest exposure to information about the religion and its adherents. This thesis examined the region's media representation of Islam and Muslims to determine what images are most often portrayed. Research following a twoyear span of reporting in Southern Appalachia studied substance, word frequency, imagery, and editing used in articles that focused on Islam and Muslims. Through the use of content …

Julian Assange: A Content Analysis Of Media Framing In Newspapers Around The World, Meylin K. Menjivar Andrade

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Researcher conducted a content analysis in order to examine how the media framed Julian Assange after the Ecuadorian government granted him political asylum at their embassy in London on August 16, 2012. Researchers compared 380 English and Spanish language newspaper articles from North America, Europe, Australia/New Zealand, Asia, and Latin America to examine regional differences in the way Assange was framed.

This study revealed that generally the tone toward Assange was mostly neutral or positive in all continents. Furthermore, European media gave more attention to Julian Assange than did media from North America or other continents.

Exploratory research revealed that …

Content Analysis: U.S. Newspaper And Social Media Portrayal Of President Obama In Association With The Killing Of Osama Bin Laden During The 2012 Presidential Election Year, Whitney Y. Thomas

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In a broad sense, public relations is the communication between an organization and its audience. Public relations helps create and maintain a relationship between the two. When an organization experiences a success or failure public relations is put into place to help rally public support.

The intent of this thesis aims to determine the tone of President Obama in U.S. newspapers and social media in association with the capturing and killing of terrorist Osama bin Laden.

This thesis examines a variety of U.S. newspapers by region and social media. Newspaper articles related to the topic were retrieved from six regional …

Amanda Knox: A Content Analysis Of Media Framing In Newspapers Around The World, Deidre Freyenberger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Newspaper coverage can have a positive or negative impact on the image of an individual. This study examined the framing of Amanda Knox in newspapers published worldwide during the 4 years Knox was imprisoned in Italy. An American foreign exchange student, Knox was studying in Italy when her roommate was murdered. A content analysis of 500 major world newspapers was conducted. The study’s purpose was to determine the tone, story placement, and page placement of each mention of Amanda Knox. Newspaper articles associated with the topic were retrieved from the LexisNexis database and analyzed. The results showed that mentions of …

The Effect Of Political Advertising On Perceived Bias And Credibility Of Online News Stories, Salma M. Ayad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was an investigation of the effect of political advertising on readers’ perceived bias and credibility of an online news article based on participants’ political leanings. Media priming and the hostile media effect were the theoretical underpinnings. Participants were asked to read an unbiased news article placed alongside 3 advertisements. Participants were put into 1 of 3 conditions — right-leaning advertisements, left-leaning advertisements, or neutral advertisements. They then answered questions about the perceived bias and credibility of the article and their own political affiliation. The researchers hypothesized that left-leaning individuals would perceive the article with right-leaning advertisements as biased …

“We Have To Record The Downfall Of Tyranny”: The London Times Perspective On Napoleon Bonaparte’S Invasion Of Russia, Julia Dittrich

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"We Have to Record the Downfall of Tyranny": The London Times Perspective on Napoleon Bonaparte's Invasion of Russia aims to illustrate how The London Times interpreted and reported on Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia. This thesis explains how England feared its grip on Europe was slipping away due to a French takeover of the continent. This work details the English struggle in order to provide a broader analysis through a newspaper of how nations indirectly involved in the Napoleonic wars understood the conflict.

A Community Of Modern Nations: The Mexican Herald At The Height Of The Porfiriato 1895-1910., Joshua Salyers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Mexican Herald, an English language newspaper in Mexico City during the authoritative rule of Porfirio Díaz (1895-1910), sought to introduce a vision of Mexico's development that would influence how Mexicans conceived of their country's political and cultural place within a community that transcended national boundaries. As Mexicans experienced rapid modernization led partially by foreign investors, the Herald represented the imaginings of its editors and their efforts to influence how Mexicans conceptualized their national identity and place in the world. The newspaper's editors idealized a Mexico that would follow the international model of the United States and embrace Pan-Americanism. …

Aruba And Natalee Holloway: A Content Analysis Of Four Years Of Newspaper Coverage Surrounding The Incident., Brittany Parks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Negative media coverage can have a significant impact on the image of a country and can be detrimental to tourism-dependent areas. This study examined the newspaper coverage of Aruba 2 years before and after American tourist Natalee Holloway disappeared while vacationing with fellow classmates on a class trip. A content analysis of 400 major world newspapers was conducted. The study's purpose was to uncover the amount of publicity (both good and bad) from the incident as well as to unearth the overall tone towards Aruba.

The study revealed the Holloway incident did have a visible effect on the world news …

Through The Eyes Of The Post: American Media Coverage Of The Armenian Genocide., Jessica L. Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many historians refer to the Armenian Genocide of 1915 as the first genocide of the twentieth century. In the context of the first global war, the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire were systematically persecuted and many eliminated while the world watched. Yet today, American memory and conception of the Armenian Genocide is remarkably different from similar historical events such as the Holocaust. The Armenian Genocide and America's reaction to it is a forgotten event in American memory.

In an attempt to better understand this process of forgetting, this thesis analyzes the Washington Post's news coverage of the Armenian Genocide. By …

Exploring Changes In Nascar-Related Titles In The New York Times And The Johnson City Press., Wesley Michael Ramey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

NASCAR has become one of America's fastest growing spectator sports, and corporate sponsors have played an important part in this upsurge in popularity. Race teams, drivers, and sanctioning bodies use the income that sponsors provide to operate at NASCAR events. This study provides an analysis of how corporate sponsorships have changed the way that NASCAR is presented in print journalism. Using Burke's method of indexing, NASCAR-related titles in the New York Times and the Johnson City Press from 1950 to present day are analyzed. The analysis reveals not only a steady increase in the number of NASCAR-related titles, but 4 …

A Study Of How Four Black Newspapers Covered The U.S. Masters Tournament 1994 Through 2001., Mark James Sharman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this thesis is to discuss the manner in which four black newspapers covered the U.S. Masters Tournament, hosted annually at the Augusta National Golf Club, Georgia, from 1994 through 2001. The four black newspapers include two from the North, the New Pittsburgh Courier and the Chicago Defender, and two from the South, the Atlanta Voice and the Birmingham Times. It is my contention that U.S. Masters coverage in the aforementioned black papers is dependent upon the presence of Tiger Woods. Without Woods' participation at the Masters, coverage of the event would be diminished in the …