Communication Technology and New Media Commons^™

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 …

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; …

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 …

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 …

Journalism Through Learning Design, Geoff Decker

Capstones

Abstract

At its core, journalism is a civic enterprise with a mission to help citizens better understand their world and communities. Fulfilling this lofty mission in today’s digital media landscape poses new and evolving challenges, but it also presents a unique opportunity to reexamine the relationship between storytellers and their audiences. Advancements in the learning sciences in recent decades offer important insights into how the mind works. In teaching and learning, pedagogical experts and practitioners increasingly utilize these insights to refine and implement instructional strategies that increase student engagement, motivation, and learning. This capstone project aims to establish a framework …

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 …

Sustainable Journalism Education: A Curriculum Review And Revision Of The Winona State Journalism Program, Doug Westerman

Leadership Education Capstones

This report seeks to understand the current state of the journalism program at Winona State University (WSU). Through faculty interviews, a survey of students, and a review of journalism curriculums throughout the country, the report concludes with curriculum recommendations, in the hope of assuring, maintaining and sustaining the WSU journalism program in the ever-changing news ecosystem.

Niche Journalism: Successful Steps In A Saturated, Modern Market, Arianna L. Smith

Honors College Theses

“How-to” articles make up the bulk of an average Google search when initiating research on a new venture—the subject of self-publishing and propagating journalistic content is no exception. In this day and age, self-started publications are almost guaranteed to be niche in nature. With the intent to create a more academic and objectively reliable guide, this literature review takes into account the observations and conclusions of multiple communications professionals, long-and-short standing news organizations of varying success and notoriety, and studies concerned with the trends relating to audience engagement and technology integration to answer the main research questions thus: what is …

Social Media, Journalism And Crisis: Twitter Representation Of #Syrianrefugees In Western News Media, Ahmad Khaled Alshallal

Dissertations

Generally, there have been conflicts in the world regarding media coverage especially on #SyrianRefugees in Western media. It is undebatable that the Western states have political stability and peace; thus, they remain better hosts for asylum seekers and other refugees who come in search of greener pastures. However, current trends have hindered such countries from being ideal hubs because citizens have basic fears including those related to national security. Refugee situations have attracted lots of controversies over the years to the point that the concern is evident in the media. This dissertation explores the crisis of Syrian refugees and the …

Fixing Journalism's Credibility Problem: Lessons From The Lippman-Dewey Debate, James Michael Hoyle

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

With advancing technology and social media becoming a more filtered place, many wonder whether or not the news has lost its credibility. However, this is not the first time technology has changed the way the newsroom works. Comparing the times of today and the times of the 1920s, a literature review and an analysis of the arguments between Walter Lippmann and John Dewey shows that not only are there many parallels, but the debate these two men had nearly one hundred years ago provides a blueprint and a game plan that will allow journalism to get its credibility back in …

Native Advertising Disclosures In Journalism: An Assessment On The Accurate Reporting Of Disclosure Wording In Conveying Advertising Intent, Darko Milenkovic

Major Papers

The struggling journalism industry adopted the practice of native advertising to raise digital revenue. This practice offered advertisers a chance to purchase the services of a publication in order to have their story published. The goal of native advertising is for advertising to become invisible to consumers, and to be presented to audiences as if were regular editorial content. The only distinguishing feature is a disclosure, often identifying the accompanying article as being “Sponsored Content,” “Promoted Content”, “Custom Content,” or a “Paid Post.” This research paper discusses the struggles of journalism and digital advertising. It examines the many definitions of …

Media In Crisis: Journalistic Norms In Natural Disaster Coverage, Lindsey Hall

Honors Theses and Capstones

Nearing the end of 2017, the United States and the Caribbean were struck with back-to-back natural disasters that left the country in shock and turmoil. Among the three hurricanes that struck sequentially, Hurricane Harvey landed in Texas approximately on August 25th, 2017 and Hurricane Maria hit the Caribbean and Puerto Rico around September 20th, 2017. These disasters were a test for the new presidential cabinet of how they would handle their first natural disaster. Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Harvey caused similar levels of destruction, with Maria being a category five storm and Harvey a category four. However, the media reacted …

It Happened At El Mozote: How Two Reporters Broke The Story That Washington Refused To Believe, Naomi Rubel Lachance

Senior Projects Spring 2016

Senior Project submitted to the Division of Languages and Literature and the Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Manufacturing News: Exploring How Public Relations Content Is Presented As News From An Agenda-Setting Perspective, Katharine R. Gore

Journalism

This study, conducted in San Luis Obispo, California, analyzes and investigates the relationship between public relations professionals and journalists, the role of public relations in news and how often content developed by the public relations industry is later portrayed as news.

Public relations-developed content has a growing presence in news. This is due, in part to the fact that more people work in the public relations industry than do in journalism fields. There is also a symbiotic relationship between the two industries, which is confirmed by existing studies and scholarly texts.

An effort was made by the author to track …

Multimedia Use In Small News Organizations, Robyn K. Keriazes

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Comparative Models Of Cooperative Journalism, Mercedes N. Rodriguez

Journalism

No abstract provided.

The Need For Foreign Correspondents: A Cost Benefit Analysis, Haley Petersen

Journalism

This paper includes an examination of the decline in foreign news coverage, the factors contributing to the decline, the implications of decreased coverage in a democratic society, the market for international news, and an explanation of various models of foreign correspondence in relation to the quality of work produced contrasted against the cost of production.

The Experiences Of Mississippi Weekly Newspaper Editors As They Explore And Consider Producing Internet Editions, Cassandra Denise Johnson

Dissertations

This dissertation focused on the challenges Mississippi weekly newspaper editors faced when deciding to have an online edition and the issues these editors encountered when they adopted a Web newspaper. The study expounded on four areas—the operational changes weekly newspapers have had to make to produce Web editions, the different type of newsroom staff that are needed to create both editions, the content that is going in the online edition, and the financial pressures that editors work through to keep the newspapers profitable. The study was modeled after similar studies from three organizations—the Pew Research Center, the Bivings Group, and …