Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Will The Real News Reporters Please Stand Up?: A Study Of Bias In The Media, Hannah Claussen

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The goal of my project is to define what news media bias is and examine its history and the effects it currently has on our country and democracy. I will examine its electoral effects as well as how media bias has contributed to lower trust in the news media as a whole.

My project will consist of a general news story on the subject of media bias; a smaller news story focusing on the history of media bias and public perception of the press; an abbreviated research paper on newspaper endorsements and their efficacy in a modern news landscape; and …

I Hear You: The Everyday Struggle Living With Misophonia, Ashton Jones

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The term misophonia is derivated from the Greek words misos, (hate), and phónè, (voice); it translates as hatred of sound. It is the term used to describe people who are irregularly affected by everyday noises. The first scientific observations by Pawel J. Jastreboff regarding misophonia indicate “individuals with misophonia are sensitive to a specific set of trigger sounds, which are usually recognized since childhood.” These types of sounds tend to be trivial noises, such as chewing or crunching, sniffing, breathing, clicking, lip smacking, and tapping. The noises can trigger an onslaught of negative emotions and violent reactions.

This documentary film …

First Past The Poll: A Blog About Political Statistics, Bradley Wascher

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This Capstone Experience project details my efforts to become a political data journalist. I took the first major step in August 2018, starting First Past the Poll, my politics blog. For three semesters, this website was frequently updated with nonpartisan reports on the latest elections, deep dives on long-term polling trends, and commentary on political numbers more broadly. Hoping to buck the trend of the stodgy prose prevalent throughout politics, my stories combined academic rigor with accessible writing.

As I began to find my footing in the field, First Past the Poll put me in the position to become …

The Age Of The Advertorial: Incorporating Sponsored Content Into The Newsroom, Hayley Robb

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

During a time when news is fast, frequent and easier to find than ever, it has become harder for news outlets to not only generate revenue but to establish a need with their readers. Sponsored content pieces, also referred to as native advertising, have offered creative solutions to this problem for student media groups and professional news outlets across the country.

Using WKU’s first-ever content agency, Cherry Creative, as a case study and by analyzing various other news outlets in the U.S., this project aims to develop a series of recommendations for the future of Cherry Creative and student media, …

A Hard Row To Hoe: Suicide Among Kentucky Farmers, Olivia Eiler

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, male farmers die by suicide at nearly twice the rate of the general population. My research focuses on understanding the factors contributing to this trend and identifying potential solutions, with a specific focus on the Commonwealth of Kentucky. I have collected qualitative data through video interviews with political leaders, scholars, and youth who are active in the agriculture community. These individuals have identified several key stressors, including stigma, a lack of healthcare providers in rural areas, financial insecurity, a lack of appreciation from the public, and uncertainty due to decisions made …

The Importance Of Clothing In 1960s Protest Movements, Nicole Ziege

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The 1960s became one of the most tumultuous decades in American history because the decade experienced ideological polarization between the younger and older generations, and there was a mass influx of protests by many from the country’s younger generation in support of political and social changes for the country. Protest movements, including the anti-Vietnam War movement, the women’s liberation movement and the Civil Rights movement, became significant to the political and ideological landscape of the 1960s. Clothing became a central visual tactic to create cohesion between the protesters of these movements in order to make their protests more effective and …

The Picnic: Fancy Farm's Homecoming, Elijah Smith

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The bond of community and the sense of a home are essential to the essence of the human soul. In my documnentary, “The Picnic: Fancy Farm’s Homecoming,” I look to capure that feeling in the community of Fancy Farm, Ky during their biggest fundraising event of the year, the Fancy Farm Picnic. However, there is more to just fundraising when it comes to the Fancy Farm Picnic, there’s also politics, BBQ, and a true feeling of homecoming that is unique to the community of Fancy Farm. The following thesis will double as a production book which is common for the …

Cada Día Por Dios (Every Day For God): A Look Inside La Luz Del Mundo And The Expansion Of Hispanic Evangelicalism, Jennifer King

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

“Cada día por Dios,” which translates to English as “Every Day for God” tells the story of the local congregation of the Hispanic evangelical church Iglesia del Dios Vivo, Columna y Apoyo de la Verdad, La Luz del Mundo. More commonly, the church is referred to as La Luz del Mundo or the Light of the World church. The local congregation of La Luz del Mundo is part of a larger trend of evangelical expansion in the Hispanic population and serves as a microcosm of the international church community.

The doctrine of the Light of the World church hearkens back …

Journalism And Human Rights: From The Abolition Of The British Slave Trade, The Aids Crisis, And Injustices Beyond And In-Between, Andrew Henderson

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The conception of human rights is one that is enshrined within the shared, collective history of humanity. Encompassing secular traditions, Asian religions and traditions, and monotheistic religions and perspectives as a base for what would come to evolve into universal human rights. Throughout history these traditions and religions have all played a role in shaping where we are at today in terms of human rights. Yet the road which led to a universal declaration of rights was not paved with ease. From the onset of Aristotle, Plato, Hammurabi, other secular authors, and culminating to the end of the French Revolution …

Written In Stone, Michelle Day

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

John Peter Zenger, Elijah Lovejoy, Gordon Parks, Walter Winchell and Katherine Graham were five famous journalists who impacted the industry in enduring ways. Whether writers, publishers or a photographer, these storytellers have had their stories told countless times over many years. This project seeks to combine journalistic research with a personal experiment in creative writing. Each chapter consists of story about one of the journalists, told either from their own perspective or someone else’s. Each piece should be considered historical fiction — not nonfiction — but the overall message and basic facts are true. Each story is different but reflects …

Changes In Newspaper Portrayals Of Women, 1900-1960, Laurel Wilson

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This thesis will show how mainstream newspapers depicted women in the first half of the twentieth century, and how these portrayals changed alongside society’s view of women during this time. In addition, it will look at how coverage of women and the transformations occurring during these fifty years may have influenced and affected each other, as well as how media treatment of women contributed to the beginnings of the second wave of feminism that started in the second half of the century.

Discovering Cristina: A Study Of Cristina Peri Rossi's Life And Literary Works And Marketing Them To Worldwide Audiences, Dunja Zdero

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

As one of the leading female authors of the Latin American literature, Cristina Peri Rossi has produced a large collection of works including more than 40 published novels, essays, and short story and poetry collections. Her literature is known for addressing various topics such as political and social injustices, love, passion, feminism, sexuality, and gender studies. As an exile in Spain, Peri Rossi also offers an interesting blend of the two Spanish-speaking worlds. Although many other authors speak of the same issues, Peri Rossi provides a very unique insight into both cultures that cannot be seen elsewhere: an insight of …

Raising A Ghost Town, Bethany Truax

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This video documents the town of Oakwood Acres in McKee, KY. Oakwood Acres is a 1920's era town built completely by eighty-eight year old McKee resident, Travis Sparks. With no blue-print, Sparks created the entire town by hand. Currently there are twenty-two buildings on site, including a farm house, blacksmith shop, general store, school house, doctor's office, service station, and a church. Raising a Ghost Town looks at the motivation behind Oakwood Acres and how it continues to grow. In three segments the video moves from an over view of the town, to Sparks tour guide, to the future Oakwood …

Los Immigrantes: In-Depth Reporting And Anonymous Source Analysis, Ashley Belcher

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This Capstone Experience/Thesis is an in-depth reporting project on Hispanic immigration in Bowling Green, Kentucky. With a journalistic approach, this project identifies key issues in the immigrant community, including issues concerning illegal immigrants. The purpose of this project is to identify and document the stories of these immigrants. Because some sources interviewed were illegal, anonymity was upheld throughout the project. This CE/T also analyzes the use of anonymous sources in journalism. Specifically, this project analyzes the balance of the field of journalism’s requirement to inform its public and the requirement to not harm any source.

Designing Excellence: Creation Of A Production System And Visual Identity For Areté, The Honors College Newsletter, Kathryn Wilson

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In this writeup, I describe the process and results of redesigning the Honors newsletter and creating a production system to guide its staff in efficient and consistent publications. My redesign included researching what other publications are doing; choosing fonts, colors, and a layout scheme; and creating templates and style guides. The production system includes an ideal schedule, staff member job descriptions, and a flowchart of how the system should work. I also created and included a writing style guide, which (along with the design style guide) is meant to be updated as needed.

The Faces Of Persuastion [Sic], Melissa Dawn Vincent

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Following the terrorist activities of September 11, 2001, the United States began weapons inspections in Iraq on November 18, 2002. This decision sparked interest throughout the world, including in France and the United States. By looking at Le Monde and The New York Times and focusing on the first war-related editorial each week from six weeks before and SLX weeks after the bcginning of weapons inspections, one can easily identify the opinions of the editorialists. These two papers are sister publications in France and the United States, respectively, with similarly wide ranges of audiences. Both papers were examined in their …

Nightline: Network News Or Newsbuffs' Oprah, Julia Nienaber

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

No abstract provided.