Communication Commons^™

Forward Myth: Military Public Relations And The Domestic Base Newspaper 1941-1981, Willie R. Tubbs

Dissertations

This dissertation explores the evolution of domestic military base newspapers from 1941-1981, a timeframe that encapsulates the Second World War, Korean War, and Vietnam War, as well as interwar and postwar years. While called “newspapers,” the United States military designed these publications to be a hybrid of traditional news and public relations. This dissertation focuses on three primary aspects of these newspapers: the evolution of the format, style, and function of these papers; the messages editors and writers crafted for and about the “common” soldier and American; and the messages for and about members of the non-majority group.

Sometimes printed …

Jimmy Carter’S Post-Presidential Rhetoric: Faith-Based Rhetoric And Human Rights Foreign Policy, Daniel Eric Schabot

Dissertations

Former President James Earl Carter is well known for his rhetorical efforts to promote human rights. Carter’s human rights advocacy is motivated and sustained by his belief that God duty-bounds him to assist those less fortunate than himself. Scholars generally concede, however, that as president, Jimmy Carter’s human rights accomplishments were minimal and that he failed to develop or institute consistent policies. This dissertation compares and contrasts Carter’s presidency and postpresidency with respect to human rights accomplishments, arguing that he was better able to serve an advocacy role when out of office. Carter, free of separation of church and state …

Full Court Press: How Mississippi Newspapers Helped Keep State College Basketball Segregated, 1955-1973, Jason Ashley Peterson

Dissertations

During the civil rights era, Mississippi was cloaked in the hateful embrace of the Closed Society, historian James Silver’s description of the white caste systems that used State’s Rights to enforce segregation and promote the subservient treatment of blacks. Surprisingly, challenges from Mississippi’s college basketball courts brought into question the validity of the Closed Society and its unwritten law, a gentleman’s agreement that prevented college teams in the Magnolia State from playing against integrated foes. Led by Mississippi State University’s (MSU) basketball team, which won four Southeastern Conference championships in a five-year span, the newspapers in Mississippi often debated the …

Libel In Mississippi, 1798-1832, Muriel Ann Everton

Dissertations

The Mississippi Territory officially became part of the United States in 1798. The territory was to be governed under the rules of the Northwest Ordinance, but those who went to govern the area found a culture that required the use of common law to settle the disputes arising from prior governments under other nations. With no precedents on which to rely, disputes led, at first, to dueling and then to libel cases. Both common law and common sense prevailed while many of the disagreements were aired publicly in newspapers. Mississippi’s first printer, Andrew Marschalk, using his First Amendment rights, wrote …