Communication Commons^™

Breaking The Silence Surrounding Hepatitis C By Promoting Self-Efficacy: A Study Of Hepatitis C Public Service Announcements, Jean Grow, Stephanie Christopher

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Hepatitis C (HCV) is the most common chronic blood borne virus in the United States. Despite this fact, there is a startling lack of awareness about HCV among individuals who may have contracted the virus. This study, grounded in self-efficacy theory, analyzes public service announcements (PSAs) for HCV. Using focus groups to contextualize the responses of individuals living with HCV, the authors conclude that stigma and structural barriers pose the greatest challenges for health communicators trying to reach at-risk populations. The findings suggest that expanded use of celebrity appeals, realistic drug portrayals, more extensive use of social networking in tandem …

"Selling Sin" In A Hostile Environment: A Comparison Of Ukrainian And American Tobacco Advertising Strategies In Magazines, Olesya Venger, Joyce M. Wolburg

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Given that “sin” products must navigate different regulatory environments, it is important to compare cigarette advertising across cultures. Using text analysis, this study examined the message strategies and the ideological beliefs in cigarette advertising in American and Ukrainian magazines within the context of their different regulatory environments. The messages across the two countries differed in their use of creative appeals to ego, social needs, and sensory pleasure as well as their adherence to regulation. Many of the Ukrainian campaigns were reminiscent of earlier American campaigns and offer unique comparisons of cultures that are at different places historically, economically, and ideologically.

Work In Progress: Labor And The Press In 1908, Bonnie Brennen

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of A Companion To Media Studies, Edited By A. Valdivia, Sumana Chattopadhyay

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

The Legitimacy And Moral Authority Of The National News Council (Usa), Erik Ugland

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

As an institution designed to resolve disputes between the public and the American news media and to assess the ethical standards of the mainstream media, the National News Council (1973-84) was, at least in the USA, a ground-breaking institution. This study suggests, however, that the Council's work was anything but revolutionary, and that it probably did more to entrench the received tenets of American journalism than to either validate or refashion them. By applying a conventional set of ethical standards in its resolution of disputes, by repeatedly emphasizing the First Amendment rights of the media respondents, by violating its by-laws …

The Social Reality Of Depression: Dtc Advertising Of Antidepressants And Perceptions Of The Prevalence And Lifetime Risk Of Depression, Jin Seong Park, Jean M. Grow

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

This study is rooted in the research traditions of cultivation theory, construct accessibility, and availability heuristic. Based on a survey with 221 subjects, this study finds that familiarity with direct-to-consumer (DTC) print advertisements for antidepressant brands is associated with inflated perceptions of the prevalence and lifetime risk of depression. The study concludes that DTC advertising potentially has significant effects on perceptions of depression prevalence and risk. Interpersonal experiences with depression coupled with DTC advertising appear to significantly predict individuals' perceived lifetime risk of depression. The study ultimately demonstrates that DTC advertising may play a role in constructing social reality of …

Examining The Scope Of Channel Expansion: A Test Of Channel Expansion Theory With New And Traditional Communication Media, Scott C. D'Urso, Stephen A. Rains

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

This article draws on channel expansion theory to explore the selection and use of communication media by organizational members. Channel expansion theory scholars posit that media richness perceptions are dependent on experiences with communication partners, the message topic, and the communication media utilized. This study tests channel expansion theory in the context of new and traditional communication media. Respondents (N = 269) completed questionnaires regarding their use and perceptions of face-to-face, telephone, e-mail, or instant-messaging interactions. Results indicate that experience with channel, topic, partner, and social influence are all significant predictors of richness perceptions, when controlling for age and …

Preschool Children And The Media, William J. Thorn

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Condoms, Cigarettes, And Cell Phones: Does Brand Advertising Increase Generic Demand?, Joyce M. Wolburg

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose:

This article aims to stimulate discussion of how the advertising of brands affects the product category by creating generic demand.

Design/methodology/approach:

The article outlines the author's personal viewpoint.

Findings:

Although greater emphasis has been given to generic advertising's effect on brands, there is evidence that brand advertising can stimulate generic demand.

Practical implications:

The article takes the discussion of the issue to a different level.

Originality/value:

The article not only explores ways of increasing generic demand, it also provides theoretical explanations for how it can occur.

Smoking Cessation: Why Do Smokers Fail?, Joyce M. Wolburg

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose:

The purpose of this article is to probe three explanations for the difficulty that cigarette smokers have in quitting: the addictive nature of the product; the failure to deliver messages with effective quit strategies; and the resistance to enacting smoking bans in bars and restaurants. It aims to argue that the latter two issues result in misplaced marketing.

Design/methodology/approach:

This article examines data from published research, interviews with smokers who have successfully quit, and government statistics to have a clearer picture of the issues.

Findings:

Smokers are exposed to anti‐smoking messages created to discourage youth from starting to smoke, …

Larry Sabato, Sumana Chattopadhyay

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Bowling Alone, Sumana Chattopadhyay

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Demarcating The Right To Gather News: A Sequential Interpretation Of The First Amendment, Erik Ugland

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

The recent spate of cases in which reporters have been subpoenaed, fined, jailed, or otherwise disciplined has laid bare the divisions among the courts over the existence and scope of the “reporter’s privilege.” The cases have also exposed the doctrinal, historical, and theoretical infirmities of the broader law of newsgathering, which encompasses not only source relationships, but also rights of access to places and records, protections against civil and criminal liability for torts and crimes committed in the pursuit of news, and protections against government searches of newsrooms and phone records, among other things. Resolving these conflicts has grown more …

Seeing The World While Staying At Home: Slapstick, Modernity And American-Ness, Amanda R. Keeler

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

From Religiosity To Consumerism: Press Coverage Of Thanksgiving, 1905-2005, Bonnie Brennen

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

This research looks at the coverage of Thanksgiving during the past 100 years on 11 daily urban newspapers published in the United States in an effort to assess journalistic practices related to the coverage of routine news stories and to understand how through its coverage newspapers represent and interpret social, political, and economic change. The Thanksgiving holiday was chosen because it has been a traditional news story consistently covered each year in the press and an analysis of the coverage provides insights into the basic routines of journalism including news conventions, journalistic values, and norms over the past 100 years.

Reporters Without Borders, Sumana Chattopadhyay

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Community Renegades: Micro-Radio And The Unlicensed Radio Movement, Lawrence Soley

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Creative Women In Advertising Agencies: Why So Few “Babes In Boyland”?, Sheri L. Broyles, Jean M. Grow

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore reasons why there are so few women in creative departments of advertising agencies and to discuss what impact that might have on the work environment of those creative departments and advertising messages they create.

Design/methodology/approach – Provides a review of published research and plus opinions of professionals who cover the advertising industry or work in agency creative departments. Personal observations from the authors’ time working in the advertising industry are also included.

Findings – Themes gleaned from the literature look at the gender gap, the creative department of advertising agencies …

Communication And The Knowable Community, Bonnie Brennen

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

This essay draws on Raymond Williams's concept of a knowable community in an effort to understand the myriad of connections that exist between individuals and society. Williams, who sees communication and community as synonymous, suggests that a knowable community may ultimately emerge through the process of communication and that in the discovery of connections between individuals and society, an understanding of historically specific patterns may be shown. This essay also discusses an oral history project with journalists who worked for Gannett in the 1960s as an example of an emerging knowable community that questioned traditional notions of community and challenged …

Barriers To Providing Mtms, Robert N. Yale, Natalie Litera, Jeremy P. Fyke, Corinne Corbett

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Task Force Report On The Ethical Responsibilities Of Presidential Rhetoric, Steven R. Goldzwig, Karrin Vasby Anderson, Frederick J. Antczak, Thomas W. Benson, Rita Kirk Whillock

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.