Communication Technology and New Media Commons^™

The Value Of An Integrated Marketing Campaign To Grow Interest In Visiting The U.S. National Parks, Hermine Granberry

Honors Theses

When the centennial celebration of the National Park Service was approaching in 2016, the National Park Service launched a two-year campaign to only commemorate the last century of NPS, but to also reconnect Americans with the parks. Ten years have passed since the initial creation of the campaign. This thesis researches the value of how another integrated marketing campaign could increase visitation to the U.S. National Parks in the future.

Through evaluating the previous Find Your Park campaign and current trends in travel and vacation, this research investigates not only future campaign ideas but also the use and incorporation of …

Research Over Improved Methods Of Affective Text Analysis, Zachary Shipp

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

An Ipad For Everyone: A Case Study Of The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Digital Transition, Madeline Quon

Honors Theses

In a more technology-driven world, the industry of print journalism has been suffering. It has adapted in the past with the invention of the radio and television for broadcast news, but with the internet and social media, print journalism has been losing ad revenue and readers. Because of the advancements of journalism in the digital aspect, several newspapers have shut down over the past 20 years. Other papers changed their business models to make their content more social media oriented.

One newspaper took a more radical approach to not only stay afloat, but also thrive as a paper. The Arkansas …

Teaching Kids About Media And Digital Literacy, Lauren Schuster

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Monsters In Media: A Textual Analysis Of True Crime In Narrative Journalism, Rachel Sansano

Honors Theses

True crime podcasts are a favorite among listeners everywhere. Their dramatic, intriguing, real-world stories have a way of pulling in people. Once you have been sucked into this community there is no escaping. For armchair detectives everywhere, true crime podcasts are an entertainment staple. These podcasts tell us stories of the worst criminals known to man. But is there more to these episodes than just a surface-level story? What are the deeper messages that these podcasts are sending?

This paper will look at the use of new journalism styles in new media formats. More specifically, this article looks at narrative …

Come Close And Listen: Exploring The Intimacy Of Audio Media, Eleanor Kingwell Sharples Hoover

Honors Theses

This thesis aims to demonstrate the power of the audio medium to connect speaker and listener, as a result of the uniquely intimate nature of the medium. By understanding how speakers and listeners connect through audio, the research reveals that the audio medium is a sustainable media outlet, one that is durable despite changes in culture in the media market, that has transformed over time, all while keeping itself within the principal constraints of its original form, that being sound as conveyed to a listener. Three interviews were conducted with individuals situated in different areas of the audio media landscape; …

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.

The Emergence Of Esports Through The Last Five Years, Jordan Donald

Honors Theses

Esports has been a significant new topic over the past decade but their place in the sports industry has not been specifically defined over the years. The birth of what we know as Esports came upon us in 1972 and has only had exponentially grown in the success it has had over the past fifty years. It all started with a popular little arcade game that is still played to this day, Space Invaders. Space Invaders has evolved over the years, laying the foundation and the blueprint for success for companies to follow. Esports easily had a drastic take off …

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 …

A Tale Of Two Companies: The Importance Of Public Relations Amidst The Shift Towards Corporate Activism, Olivia Schwab

Honors Theses

By comparing the controversies that stemmed from Papa John’s John Schnatter and CrossFit’s Greg Glassman, some obvious public relations strategies stand out, including but not limited to understanding an audience, adapting to a changing environment, establishing a crisis communications plan, and taking controversial stands on issues close to the audience’s hearts. Most importantly though, if companies preach messages of social change, they must follow up on their stances with corrective action to do their best to help facilitate it in society.

While examining the history of corporate activism, it is clear why and how some corporations become the victims of …

Controversy, Coverage And Cancel Culture: The Daily Mississippian's Reporting Of The 2018 Ed Meek Controversy, And Related Findings, Mason Thomas Scioneaux

Honors Theses

As this thesis reflects a body of work completed by a journalism student near the conclusion of a journalism education at the University of Mississippi, I approached research and writing in that way. I interviewed three people, for an hour each, and the things I learned in those interviews greatly affected the conclusions I reached with this thesis. My full transcripts from those interviews are located in Appendices A-C. I also did a lot of scouring through articles of The Daily Mississippian from fall 2018 and otherwise; I looked at every single edition of the paper from that semester, both …

Connecting Charities With Creatives: Bridging The Gap Between Local Nonprofit Organizations And University Of Mississippi Students, Natalie Pruitt

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the need for marketing resources among North Mississippi nonprofit organizations and apply the findings to develop and launch a website based on primary and secondary research that connects local North Mississippi nonprofit organizations with University of Mississippi graphic design, marketing, bachelor of fine arts and integrated marketing communication (IMC) students seeking experience to complete various marketing and graphic design- related tasks and develop and implement an integrated marketing plan to promote and raise awareness for the website.

Nonprofits face the challenge of allocating funds from donations to create functional and creative communications …

‘The Robinhood Effect’ - Digital Technology In Global Financial Markets And Its Effects On Investor Decision Making, Ben Steib

Honors Theses

We are currently experiencing a revolution that is larger, arguably, than the industrial revolution, it’s the Internet, also known as the World Wide Web. The Internet has transformed how we live — how we talk, how we work, how we go about our daily business, and how we manage our finances on a global and individual level. In the late 1990s, an investor would search the World Wide Web and, within seconds, find 3,372 websites with the term "investment,” today, the same search for “investment” yields 1,860,000,000 results. Today, as proven with GameStop and other popular ‘meme stocks,’ social media, …

An Analysis Of The Skill Sets Needed To Be Successful In Nonprofit Public Relations, Hannah Williamson

Honors Theses

The public relations industry is ever-changing, as it evolves to adapt to societal changes. Technological advancements and social media have largely contributed to changes in the way public relations professionals attempt to reach their target publics. In fact, research shows many public relations professionals do not think the term “public relations” will accurately define the work they will be doing in the near future. As the industry changes, the job duties of public relations professionals adapt as well.

This study researched the public relations industry to understand what skill sets professionals should possess in order to be successful. The study’s …

The Future’S So Bright: A Business Plan And Market Research Analysis Of Fraze, Elizabeth Lanford

Honors Theses

This thesis is an overview of the creation and operation of Lindy and Liz, LLC dba Fraze. Fraze is an online boutique specializing in custom, beaded sunglasses. This thesis contains details of the founding, operation, and future of the business. The following business plan will give insights to marketing strategies, target audience demographics, and sourcing procedures.

Accompanying this business plan is market research relevant to the target market of Fraze. Part I details secondary research about the effects of social media on this target market and their consumption habits. It also contains insights about the products and marketing techniques most …

An Outside Gaze On The Relationship Between Indigenous Groups And The Media, Nicole Daoust

Honors Theses

Indigenous groups around the world faced similar challenges. Many of these issues stem from stereotypes, one-sided stories, and overall lack of representation in the media. Without a voice or ally, they are often treated as second class citizens. For my research, I analyzed how the media affected public perception of indigenous people. I specifically focus on four groups: The Aboriginals of Canada, the Māori, Native Americans, and the uncontacted tribes of the Amazon.

Women Trailblazers In The Local Oxford Community: Real And Relevant Stories Of Six Unique Paths To Success, Karsyn S. King

Honors Theses

Women Trailblazers In The Local Oxford Community is a collection of six women’s stories in six different fields and their unique paths to success, all showcased through written and visual elements in a multi-modal website. The goal of the project was to have a diverse compilation of women from a variety of backgrounds, ages, careers, and experiences. The trailblazers represented include a woman in the STEM field (science, technology, engineering, math) who is the only female on the biomedical engineering staff, a first generation college student who now holds the second highest position in higher education academia, a local woman …

Self Vs. Other Perception Of Personality Through Facebook, Marianna Williams

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Secular Sells: How Secular Lifestyle Influences Religiosity, Elyse Clark

Honors Theses

This study examines the relationship between secular behaviors and religious behaviors among youth in the United States. While there is no doubt that these two things are intrinsically linked, the nature of that relationship has been predominantly studied in the direction of religion affecting secular behavior. However, in today’s society with secularization and the prevalence of the mass media, it makes more sense to examine the relationship the opposite way and see how secular behavior affects religiosity. Using the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) dataset and change in change modeling, causality can be established showing how behaviors such …

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 …

Net Neutrality: Policy And Stock Market Implications, Ian Bennett

Honors Theses

From 2011 to 2015 the Telecommunications Industry faced changing FCC regulations that impacted daily business operations and stock price changes due to Net Neutrality. These changing regulations stemmed from rapidly morphing technology. The three types of firms in this study are Internet Service Providers (ISP's) Content Providers (CP's) who provide video streaming services and those who do not (ISP's CP's streaming and CP's not streaming). During this era the FCC went through two different regulation regimes of the Preserving the Open Internet order and the Open Internet: Bright Line Rules with two key court hearings in between. These key events …

A Child's World: How Electronics Influence Children's Language, Physical, And Social-Emotional Development, Santina Marinelli

Honors Theses

The present study examines how parents view the role that electronics play in their children’s language, physical, and social-emotional development. Children are growing up in a world where technology is incorporated into many aspects of daily life. It has become an element in how children are parented/raised and it is believed to have an impact on children's development. An instrument was developed to survey parents about their perceptions of the role of technology in their children’s lives. The survey was distributed to 120 participants. The participants comprised a convenience sample of parents from a New England childcare center with children …

A Graph Based Departmental Spoken Dialogue System, Julia Isaac

Honors Theses

Spoken dialogue systems are automatic, computer based systems that are a great way for people to receive important information. In this project, I created a spoken dialogue system that people can use to learn about the Computer Science Department at Union College. The system was built by populating an open source dialogue system using a graph based dialogue manager. I improved upon a previous working dialogue system by making the conversations sound more natural, improving the flexibility of the system and making the system more robust. To help with this process a corpus was created using about 200 different dialogues …

News In Virtual Reality, Samantha Macy

Honors Theses

Virtual reality (VR) is the next frontier of news media, but we know little about the impact is has on viewers. The goal of this experiment is to gain a better understanding of the social presence and information retained by watching news in VR. Participants will either consumer news in a VR setting, a highly interactive online format, or print. Then, using a survey, social presence and information retention were assessed. Research participants were undergraduate students at a large Midwestern university. It is expected that VR news will result in higher social presence and information retention than news in highly …

The Comparison Of Effectiveness Between Print Media & Electronic Media In Terms Of Promotion And Recruitment, Katherine Dayton

Honors Theses

This research project’s objective was to determine whether print media such as brochures and booklets are more or less effective than electronic media such as e-mails and webpage advertisements in attracting consumers. A special interest was taken in higher education recruitment and the research was completed by advertising to high school students who are in the process of choosing a school for their higher education experience. The research featured an advertising campaign launched through both print and electronic platforms, directing the consumers to an online survey they were able to take to provide feedback about the experience. This project led …

Exposure To Video Media And Its Effects On Attitudes Towards Law Enforcement, Amante Gonzalez

Honors Theses

This study examined how exposure to video media (specifically media geared toward a social media platform) depicting either negative or positive police interactions with individuals will influence perception of law enforcement officials. Using a modified version of the Building a Relationship of Trust Community Perception Survey (BRTCPS) subjects (N=43) responses were analyzed using a two way ANOVA. Results indicated a strong main effect for exposure to both the negative and positive police interaction videos in regards to attitudes towards law enforcement. These findings support the thesis that the videos emotional valence is extremely successful in altering individual’s attitudes towards law …

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 …

Radio's Influence On Music From 1919 To 1926, Aaron Hawley

Honors Theses

Advances in technology have dramatically changed the lives of Americans throughout the twentieth century. Many of these advancements have become commonplace. For instance, the words "airplane," "computer," "radio," and "television" were not common a hundred years ago. Today, even small children know the definitions of these words. In addition, as new technologies develop, methods of accomplishing tasks change. These changes are then incorporated into our normal way of life. This gradual development causes many people to fail to consider the true implications of the technology on their way of life. Aspects of American's lives that used to be considered luxuries …