Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The University Of Nebraska At Omaha's Criss Library Mobile Resources: A Study Of User's Preferences, Teonne A. Wright

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

In March of 2010 the University of Nebraska at Omaha Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library launched mCriss, the library mobile website to support the educational objectives of on-campus and distance students as well as the research goals of UNO faculty and staff. The study investigators conducted an online survey of UNO students, faculty, staff, alumni and UNO Library Friends ages 19 and older. The purpose of this study was to collect data on UNO community member use of mobile devices and UNO Criss Library mobile services, to determine if participants: are aware of the different aspects of the …

The Public Service Role Of The Local Pensacola Mass Media During Hurricane Ivan, Chad D. Morehead

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

During disasters, residents from impacted areas need information to help them respond to and cope with the destruction. The local media play an important role in providing this disaster related information to their community. This is especially true during major disasters which knock out electrical power and information distribution channels and make it difficult for residents to receive mediated information. While the public’s informational needs vary from disaster to disaster, some disasters such as hurricanes provide the media opportunities to provide information that can help the public prepare for the disaster, respond to the disaster, and recover from the disaster. …

Does Trust Really Matter? A Quantitative Study Of College Students' Trust And Use Of News Media, Soo Hui Lee

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

Media polls reveal that trust in news media has been on the decline in recent years and so is the consumption of news. This quantitative study reveals no significant correlation between overall trust and use of news media. It finds that college students have more trust in traditional news sources and view TV as their most important news source. Yet they are more likely to seek out a future news event from online news sources, despite having less trust in them. Results indicate that social media sources, such as Facebook and Twitter, are used as frequent sources for news and …

Floyd Gibbons: A Journalistic Force Of Nature In Early 20th Century America, Andrew J. Nelson

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

“Floyd Gibbons: A Journalistic Force of Nature in Early 20^th Century America” examines some of the key journalistic work of dashing newsman Floyd Gibbons and his status as one of the top reporters to ever file a news story. This thesis will look at the world in which Gibbons inhabited 85 to100 years ago, what made him the man and journalist he was and his work as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune compared to what his competitors at national newspapers wrote.

As a reporter, Gibbons was remarkably aggressive and could be counted upon to get the story, no …

An Iphone In A Haystack: The Uses And Gratifications Behind Farmers Using Twitter, Sarah Van Dalsem

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

The fast-growing social media site, Twitter, is growing in popularity among Americans from all walks of life, including farmers who are using it to share information with other farmers and consumers. This thesis expands on Uses and Gratifications Theory by looking at how farmers are using the social media site to promote agriculture and reach out to others. Based on a qualitative analysis completed on 22 interviews with farmers, four major purposes for using Twitter came to light: (1) Farmers are using Twitter to seek information; (2) they are using it as a tool to lead others within the agricultural …

Why Anonymous Sources Are Used: Inside The Different Situations Calling For Reporter-Source Confidentiality, Erich Eisenach

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

Anonymous sources for years have been a hard thing for editors to figure out. In journalism, they’re the kind of factor that editors can’t live with, and yet they can’t live without. That’s because for years, anonymous sources have been critical to the completion of many major stories. Some of the situations they are used in are obvious, and yet some are not so obvious. In the thesis below, which includes material from two of the most veteran journalists within Nebraska borders, I talk about anonymous sources and why they are used in certain situations. Here, I acknowledge the people …

"The Gifted Pen": The Journalism Career Of Susette La Flesche Tibbles (1854-1903), Erin E. Pedigo

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

This thesis explores the journalism career of Susette La Flesche Tibbles (Bright Eyes), a nineteenth-century Omaha Indian woman. She was the oldest daughter of Joseph La Flesche, Jr. (Iron Eye). Her father was metis, born of a French father and Ponca mother. Joseph La Flesche was the last chief of the Omaha tribe chosen in the traditional manner.

Susette’s work as an Omaha Morning World-Herald reporter during the Ghost Dance trouble and Wounded Knee massacre at Pine Ridge Agency from December 1890 to January 1891, and from 1893-1895 as a writer for both the American Nonconformist and the Lincoln …

News Consumption Habits Of Students At The University Of Nebraska, Ford G. Clark

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

People in America today have many choices when it comes to the media. There are hundreds of channels available on cable or satellite television, hundreds of radio stations across the United States, as well as myriad newspapers. Many of these traditional media outlets have Internet websites available as well. Many studies have been done as well as current ratings, subscription information and website tracking to determine who is consuming news in this country. However, information about college students and news consumption is difficult to find. This study attempts to find out what, if any, news is being consumed, and through …

Commenting On Cannabis: Testing News Fragmentation Using Reader Comments On California's Proposition 19, John D. Beecham

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

This content analysis studies reader comments on news articles pertaining to the issue of California’s Proposition 19—the “Tax Cannabis Initiative” to legalize marijuana. It investigates whether these reader message boards are consistent with news fragmentation theory, by examining whether the distribution of “yes” and “no” opinion on alternative media sites’ message boards is more homogenous than the distribution of opinions on mainstream news sites’ message boards. This study also uses a thematic analysis to investigate whether the mainstream media, as represented by editorial board endorsements by daily California newspapers, influences themes used by reader comments on Proposition 19. Results show …

An Ardent Flame: Witness To Distant Suffering, Human Rights And Unworthy Victims In The Coverage By The New York Times And Two Journals Of The Religious Left Of The 1980s Civil Wars In El Salvador And Nicaragua, Charles A. Flowerday

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

Scholars have investigated witness to distant suffering (WTDS) almost entirely in visual media. This study examines it in print. This form of reporting will be examined in two publications of the religious left as contrasted with the New York Times. The thesis is that, more than any technology, WTDS consists of the journalist’s moral commitment and narrative skills and the audience’s analytical resources and trust. In the religious journals, liberation theology provides the moral commitment, the writers and editors the narrative skills and trust and the special vision of the newly empowered poor the analytical foundation. In bearing witness to …

Edward R. Murrow: His Life, Legacy And Ethical Influence, Howard Lester Rose

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

EDWARD R. MURROW: LIFE, LEGACY AND BROADCAST ETHICS TODAY Howard Lester Rose, M.A. University of Nebraska, 2010 Adviser: Nancy Mitchell This study researched the life and legacy of Edward R. Murrow and examined broadcast ethics today. Murrow invented radio news, as we know it and was the standard-bearer of journalism, ethics, and reporting. Many consider him the father of broadcast journalism.

This study covers ethics in broadcast journalism today, with remarks by veteran journalists (and one student) and journalism educators. These experts comment on where TV news stands today based on the ethical standards that Murrow set five decades ago. …

Female Undergraduate Students' Perceptions Of The Portrayal Of Women In Advertising, Virginia M. Johnson

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

This study examined how twelve undergraduate female students at a university in Alabama perceive and react to the way women are portrayed in advertising. Using a purposive sample and qualitative copy testing techniques, the study was designed to investigate the reactions of these undergraduate students to seven images of women, each portraying a different role, that are similar to images currently used in print advertising. Several themes emerged from the participants’ responses to questions in the qualitative interviews. Themes about the participants wanting to have a family occurred within the responses to several of the questions. In addition, a theme …

The Wired World: A Primer On Electronic Research, Wikipedia, Social Networking Sites, And Web Journalism, Ryan F. Love

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

THE WIRED WORLD: A PRIMER ON ELECTRONIC RESEARCH, WIKIPEDIA, SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES, AND WEB JOURNALISM

Ryan F. Love, M.A.

University of Nebraska, 2010

Adviser: Mary Kay Quinlan

The Internet initiated profound changes that are difficult to contextualize. Having grown up with the Internet, young people are particularly likely to perceive the wired world as a given condition, rather than the result of a developmental process. To understand and shape our society, people must see how the Internet has transformed it. After an introduction, this thesis contains three more chapters, focusing on electronic research and Wikipedia, social networking sites, and journalism. …

Study Of Convergence In Nebraska Newspapers, Kathryn L. Schindler

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

This thesis studies Nebraska newspapers and their efforts to converge with Web, multimedia, radio, or television entities. It also studies the efforts by Nebraska newspapers to converge reporter roles and organizational roles. Paper surveys were sent and in-person interviews were conducted in Nebraska during the 2009-2010 academic year. The results showed more examples of multimedia convergence than role or organizational convergence. Nebraska publishers and editors say they do not want to attempt convergence or multimedia products just to be trendy. They say convergence has to make sense, be useful, and be profitable for their individual businesses, staff, and communities.
Advisor: …

Student Perceptions Of Digital Textbooks In A College Nursing Program, Alan D. Eno

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

The purpose of this research was to study the use of digital textbooks in a small liberal arts college. The research was a mixed methods descriptive study using a pre and post survey to determine student perceptions of the technology. Findings indicated that students needed training in the installation and use of digital textbooks. Findings also indicated the need for further research into what students understand about using digital textbooks. Recommendations are for the college to institute training sessions to teach students how to use the digital textbooks.

User Motivation: Likability And Usability Of An Agricultural Web Site, Vishal Singh

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

Web communications has become a critical component of mass communications and media today. Web sites must be user-friendly if they are to communicate effectively. This study examines the relationship between user motivation and the likability and usability of web sites. Web designers, stakeholders, and web site owners need to pay close attention to the likability and usability of a web site since these are key components of its credibility.

A key finding of this study indicates there is not a direct relationship between likability of a web site and its usability. Often, web designers and web site owners judge web …

Communicating Ethnicity: A Phenomenological Analysis Of Constructed Identity, Laura L. Pierson

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

This dissertation uses phenomenology, along with a constructionist framework, to explore the ways an ethnic community in central Texas constructs and communicates its cultural identity. The first goal of this study (RQ1) was to describe how the people of Norse, Texas experience ethnicity. The second goal of this study (RQ2) was to discover how this ethnicity was communicatively constructed and maintained. The third goal of this study (RQ3) was to learn how the relationship between ethnic identity and communication contributes to the creation of shared meanings within the community. The fourth goal (RQ4) of this study was to describe the …

The Ignored Disease: The Aids Epidemic 1981-1987, Heather L. Graff, Heather Graff Bloom

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

Less than six months after Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as the 40th president of the United States, the federal Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta reported pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, in five gay men. In the United States, AIDS was first diagnosed among gay men in New York City and San Francisco. There were several media trends for AIDS coverage in the 1980s. In the early 1980s, AIDS was mainly thought of as a gay-related disease. In the mid- l 980s, AIDS cases were found in hemophiliacs, intravenous drug users and "celebrities." Coverage in the late 1980s focused on heterosexuals and …