Communication Commons^™

Nebraska Politics And The Environment: Framing Political Communication In The State Of Nebraska In Comparison To National Level Discourse, Samuel Taylor

Honors Theses

Environmental public policy has seen little change on the national level in recent decades due to Congressional gridlock. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have entrenched their opposing viewpoints, and their communication on the topic utilizes issue frames to help sway the public to see their side. On the Republican side, these issue frames take the form of the “scientific uncertainty” and “economic consequences” frames. This study, based on issue framing, surveys the communication of Nebraska’s Republican State Senators to determine if they utilize the same issue frames or if they diverge from their national counterparts. By analyzing recent …

Is France Having A Populist Moment?, Emma Gilmore

Honors Theses

The word populism is often thrown around in news media and academic scholarship, but there is a lack of understanding of what it actually means as a political theory. In France, the two presidential candidates that made it to the second round in 2017, Emmanuel Macron and Marine le Pen, were both called populist, despite having vastly different campaign strategies and messages. This study used a computer-based method to analyze Campaign books from 24 candidates beginning in 1981 that determined that Populist language is on the rise, but not as aggressively as news media suggests.

Unpacking Political Identity In First-Time Voting Christian Women: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Mary Grace Golden

Honors Theses

As political science tends to focus on polling and statistical analysis to examine individuals’ voting behaviors, the reasoning behind constituents’ decision-making process is often left in the dark. This is particularly true in first-time voting women who come from religious backgrounds that uphold complementarian gender values. This study focuses on the following research questions: How do women experience their political identity in relation to their gender identity? How do women experience their political identity in relation to their religious or faith identity? How do women experience their political identity in relation to voting for the first time? I answer these …

Digital Pulpit: A Thematic Analysis Of Evangelical Leaders’ Statements On Twitter In The Two Weeks Following The January 6 Capitol Riot, Everett Belle Kirkman

Honors Theses

White evangelicals overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. According to the Pew Research Center, 81% voted for him. That support baffled pundits at first but held up throughout his presidency. By the time the 2020 election season was ramping up, White evangelicals who supported Trump held more tightly to their beliefs, many taking to social media to convey their opinions. Since the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, over 600 outspoken Trump supporters have been arrested and charged for inciting violence in dispute of election results. This research is a thematic content analysis of the statements …

Perilous Place: Personal Stories Point To Possible Solutions To Widespread Flooding In The Mississippi Delta, Jared Poland

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and create journalistic stories highlighting the Yazoo Backwater Pumps Projects relationship to climate change while utilizing narrative storytelling techniques. Before explaining the methodology used for conducting research and interviews, the researcher describes the influence that innovations of mass communication channels have had on the way humans form groups and persuasively advocate for their positions. The researcher describes their historical perspective of mass media innovations that were vital considerations during their discovery and investigation of this politically divisive issue. The researcher more specifically focuses on the innovations that have occurred since the digital …

Free To Hate: Hate Crimes' Intertwinement With The Evolution Of Free Speech In The United States, Lee F. Paulson

Honors Theses

In response to the growing tension between civil liberties and civil rights, this research investigates the relationship between the relative expansiveness of free speech and a the nationwide propensity for hate crimes. I argue that government’s legal limitations of speech influence the development of linguistic and hierarchical norms in a national culture. Given structural inequality’s association to violence and crimes of intimidation, I hypothesize that as the government expands the legal bounds of free speech, the national propensity for hate crimes decreases. Text analyses of 50 influential freedom of expression rulings in the United States (U.S.) Supreme Court from 1919-2019 …

Implications Of Information: An Analysis Of How State Secrecy Prevails Over The Rights Of Free People, Cassandra Kostal

Honors Theses

This thesis is an analysis of the withholding of information at the hands of the federal government and the subsequent creation of a culture of secrecy that threatens the freedom of information. The primary research question was: How does the government keep information classified in the age of information and how does this penchant for secrecy and nondisclosure undermine the public’s faith in their leadership? Research into this question was conducted through two means: printed and online publications. The printed publications were books recommended to me by Dr. John Bender and the online publications were sources found through searches using …

Social Media's Link With Individualism And The Dangers That Follow, Veronica Prytko

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Breaking Down Breaking News: Television's Institutional Failures And Today's Ramifications, Emma Stein

Honors Theses

Media coverage of the 2016 campaign has been widely condemned for being horserace focused and light on issues. The media narrative, it can be argued, helped propel Donald Trump — a non-politician, celebrity candidate — to the White House. And scholars and citizens have been very critical of this role. Today, pundits, networks and CEO’s need to take time to look at what went wrong and decide how best to move forward. However, Trump’s attacks on the media, his allegations of mainstream media bias against his campaign, and his obsession with labeling legitimate news sources as fake news has the …

Knowing Where The Votes Are: Using The 2015 Louisiana Gubernatorial Race To Locate Key Democratic Precincts, Jacques A. Petit

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Missed Connection: A Case Study Of Social Media, The Youth Vote And The 2015 Louisiana Gubernatorial Race, Valencia Richardson

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Rethinking Gender And Image Politics On Social Media In The 2016 Presidential Election: A Case Study Of Hillary Clinton’S And Carly Fiorina’S Twitter Accounts, Kira A. Schuette

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Social Medias Impact On The Arab Spring, Elyse Van Pelt

Honors Theses

Revolutions have occurred since the beginning of organized society. People have been deprived of certain essential rights, have collaborated about their grievances and formed coalitions to rise against the government. Knowing how previous rebellions have succeeded or failed can allow one to predict the success of another revolution. Today through the increased communication levels between countries around the world, more information is available to the average person and political ideologies of people can be changed through media. No longer are citizens content to be complacent and sit by while their leaders engage in corrupt actions that make those around them …

The Role And Growth Of Celebritization In Presidential Campaign Coverage, Johnathan Bradford Long

Honors Theses

The thesis covers the growing role of entertainment and celebrity-style news in the domain of hard presidential campaign television news coverage. Having done prior research on such entertainment news outlets as E! News, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, among others, I found that I was seeing the same treatment of celebrities as hard news programs were giving to presidential candidates. In light of this thought, the study covers what has been written about the evolution of presidential campaigns and the integration of celebrity news elements into campaigns. This study also performs a media analysis on the network news …

Life And The Death Penalty: Passing Life Without Parole Legislation In Texas, Future Implications, And An Examination Of Texas’ Death Row, Adam Chase Parker

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Mahatma Gandhi And Winston Churchill: Journalistic Motivations And Political Aspirations, Sonja Clinesmith

Honors Theses

Within most societies there exists an adversary relationship between political leaders and the press. This situation results from the often conflicting roles of politicians and journalists. Politicians take an oath to lead individuals and direct affairs of state for the general welfare. Journalists are responsible for presenting information from which the public can form ideas and make intelligent decisions in choosing political leaders. In practice, however, the press acts as a watch dog against corruption and inefficiency in politics. Thus, an adversary relationship has inevitably evolved.

But, there are exceptions to this adversary relationship between politicians and journalists. In some …