Mass Communication Commons^™

"The Destruction Of A Legacy": Agenda Setting And The Bill Cosby Sexual Assault Allegations, Larissa Teran

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Media scandal has been a contributing factor to the American culture for centuries. However, ambiguity and pre-conceived notions arise when the media scandal is framed differently by various mediated outlets. This study investigates media scandal by examining the Bill Cosby sexual assault allegations and how the scandal is framed by the media. This study utilized agenda setting theory to explore the argument that the public will think of the Cosby scandal as highly important due to frequent exposure and how the media presents and frames the stories on this subject could ultimately impact public opinion on issues such as power, …

A Content Analysis Of Gender-Specific Media Coverage Of Sport: Ncaa Athletic Department Home Webpages, Margo R. Malik

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Studies have found that media coverage of women’s sports is inadequate when compared with coverage of men’s sports. The results of these studies have revealed inadequacies in terms of amount of coverage as well as type of coverage. Findings demonstrate that there is a certain way media frame female athletes when they are covered. Female athletes are often portrayed in overly sexualized images, as feminine role models, as passive rather than active, and in sports that are considered gender-appropriate. These types of portrayals can perpetuate gender bias and stereotypes, undermine the true athletic ability of female athletes, and give the …

"Nobody Can #Dragmedown": An Analysis Of The One Direction Fandom's Ability To Influence And Dominate Worldwide Twitter Trends, Nicole Kelsey Santero

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With more than 25 million followers and counting, One Direction is currently the biggest boy band in the world, and its fans—known as “Directioners”—have become one of the most visible and recognizable fandoms to utilize social media, especially Twitter. Drawing upon an updated version of a fan theory highlighting the interpretive community and social hierarchy that exist within a fandom, this study examines the participatory culture among One Direction fans online that helps them create and dominate worldwide Twitter trends, as well as overshadow what is regarded as more serious news topics. Although previous research studies have examined Directioners and …

Depictions Of Beauty On Cosmopolitan Magazine: Content Analysis Of Covers (1959-2014), Azalee Maslow

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The media, especially advertisers, have long used beautiful women as an ideal image for attracting viewers and selling products. American women have been portrayed as, ideally, thin Caucasians with blonde hair and blue eyes. Research has found that women compare themselves to the beautiful women in advertising and in turn have negative feelings towards their own appearance. This thesis’ goal is to find whether the ideal American woman has changed through a content analysis of the women on the covers of Cosmopolitan magazine over the past 55 years, 1959 through 2014. This content analysis will focus on how the covers …

Analyzing Television News: Pro-Social & Anti-Social Effects Of Criminal Depictions & Information Processing On Race Perceptions, Eunette Gentry

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This quantitative research is a content analysis of network affiliate crime reporting statistics in Las Vegas. As part of this study, six months of news content in Las Vegas was recorded in order to gather pertinent sociological information about crime reporting techniques and its potential effects on public perceptions of crime and race. Pertinent issues such as media-image affect on viewers, biases within reporting information, and gatekeeping within the media are analyzed. This study adds substantive knowledge through empirical research to existing literature that asserts media depictions do shape and/or affect perceptions and attitudes about crime and race. Data sources …

Jiahd In The Global Village: Al-Qaeda's Digital Radicalization And Recruitment Campaign, Katie Cannata

Honors College Theses

Following America’s “War on Terror,” al-Qaeda and its affiliates became highly decentralized in terms of organizational and media operations. Though mass media outlets continue to play a significant role in drawing attention to al-Qaeda’s transnational campaign, Salafi Jihadists have recently begun to rely on new media for purposes of legitimization and promotion. The Internet serves as a suitable platform for these groups’ media objectives since it is inherently anonymous and absent of censorship. Most importantly, the Internet facilitates al-Qaeda in reaching a global audience, which is made evident by the growing amount of Salafi Jihadist media that is translated or …

Virtual Rebel Website: A Strategy To Increase User Engagement Through Bounce Rate Analysis, Michael Vendivel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In a media environment that increasingly demands captivating content on a website, user engagement becomes a critical factor in the strategy of maintaining user interest. Research based on website analytics has shown that decreasing the Bounce Rate increased the time a web user spends on a website, entailing higher user engagement. Bounce Rate is the ratio of single-page visits on a website divided by the total number of visits, and it is used primarily used to quantify user interest. By examining the analytics and design of the student-run news siteVirtual Rebel, produced by the Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and …

Walt Disney And The Propaganda Complex: Government Funded Animation And Hollywood Complicity During Wwii, Amanda Michelle Cunningham

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The focus of this proposed thesis will be on the animated propaganda films the studios of Walt Disney produced for the government during World War II, analyzing three of the most widely viewed animated features: The New Spirit (1942), Der Fuehrer's Face (1943), and Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi (1943). These government-financed films were used to encourage Americans to pay their taxes; they generally depicted Germany as a threatening enemy and encouraged support for America's effort and involvement in the war. Using a semiotics theoretical approach, the thesis will analyze these films as propaganda to demonstrate how …

High Stakes Of Media Messages: Decoding Visual Narratives From The Iraq War In The U.S. And British Presses, Jennifer Liese

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research analyzes media coverage of the Iraq War from the perspective of the invading forces, the United States and the United Kingdom. The New York Times and The Guardian were chosen to represent news from their respective countries because of their high circulation rates and international prestige for journalistic reporting. The study focuses on how the Iraq War was visually represented after the Iraq invasion of 2003, examining periods in 2006 and 2011. There were significant differences in how The New York Times and The Guardian visually portrayed the war in 2006, especially in terms of Iraqi civilian and …

The Perceived Level Of Enjoyment In Sports Violence: An Experiment Examining How Sports Commentary, Fanship, And Gender Affect Viewer Emotions, Sarah Vineyard

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This investigation examines if the independent variables of sports commentary, fanship, and gender affect the viewer's level of perceived enjoyment while watching sports violence through televised professional football and hockey clips. Previous studies have found that these three variables contribute most to a viewer's level of perceived enjoyment. This study aimed to test to see if that was still true, while taking into account new rules regarding violence by the National Football League and the National Hockey League. This thesis addresses all variables in one study, which something past research has failed to do.

Perhaps the most significant finding from …

Media Bias Through Facial Expressions On Local Las Vegas Television News Programs: A Visual Content Analysis, Jessica Zimmerman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Trust in news media has been considered an important base for social order and cohesion in society and is a crucial variable for evaluating news media. Media credibility has been questioned by the audience for some time and the audience's trust in the media has been slowly diminishing over the years. When a news broadcaster communicates a story on local television news, it is possible for his own opinions to leak through nonverbal communication, specifically facial expressions. This thesis explores the six local Las Vegas television news stations' anchors and reporters to visually analyze whether facial characteristics reveal media bias …

Newspaper Coverage Of Christianity In South Korea, 1996-2005, Taisik Hwang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Drawing upon framing theory, this study content analyzes a sample of 2,614 news articles dealing with religions published in Chosun Ilbo from 1996 to 2005. Of this sample, it focuses on 727 news stories covering Christianity to examine how this major daily newspaper has covered this religion in terms of its tone and frames towards Protestants and megachurches. The key findings show that this religion seems to have been portrayed in a positive tone rather than in a negative tone and that Korean journalists tend to view both the Protestants and megachurches as providers of social work services. Given the …

Governing Through Permanent Campaigning: Media Usage And Press Freedom In Ecuador, Maria Jose Flor Agreda

Honors College Theses

In Ecuador, media and politics have been historically tied together. Over time, the banking industry has had financial stakes in the media and vice versa. Yet, from the time that President Rafael Correa took office in 2007, the situation has been turned around. Correa has used a permanent campaign to appeal to the public and change the media ownership environment of the country. The President’s strategy has included the acquisition of private media such as newspapers, and radio and television station; as well as the establishment of governmental media entities. Additionally, as part of Correa’s permanent campaign scheme, the president …

Social Media Strategy For The Hank Greenspun School Of Journalism And Media Studies, Irene Williams

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Within the past 10 years, communication online has evolved tremendously toward social media. This rapid change has been difficult for higher education institutions (HEI) to adapt to, leaving this important area underexplored. This strategic social media plan was developed to improve internal and external communication for the Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies (JMS). By initiating social media platforms, relationships are cultivated with present and future students on Facebook and Twitter. This strategic social media plan develops and maintains Facebook and Twitter pages for JMS and interprets social media site visitation data. These data provide information on users, …

Who Will Tell The Story? Terrorism's Relationship With The International News Media, Katherine Eugenis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Terrorism feeds on an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. In order for a terrorist group to achieve its purpose, its activities must be known to a mass audience. Due to the often isolated nature of the conflicts in which they are involved, terrorists groups must attract and maintain the attention of the mass media, through which they access a broader audience and gain salience. This relationship begs the question: will less media attention lead to less terrorism as groups lose their audience and are forced to use legitimate means of enacting change? This thesis analyzes the pattern of media trends …

Niche Theory In New Media: Is Digital Overtaking The Print Magazine Industry?, Zeenath Haniff

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

New challengers in mass media are poised to annihilate the competition. The trials and tribulations that magazine publishers have conquered over the years is a testament to the industry's undaunted resilience and perseverance against such competition. Presently, the paper-based medium has enjoyed massive success by catering to readers' individual interests in special interest publications called niche magazines. However, the future of print magazines is unclear as recent technological innovations in digital publishing become the latest contender against print media. Analyzing the possible effects of the new digital medium upon the incumbent print magazine may help publishers prepare to face their …

American Propaganda, Popular Media, And The Fall Of Jacobo Arbenz, Zachary Carl Fisher

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In June 1954, President Jacobo Arbenz Guzman of Guatemala resigned in the face of a coup led by Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas. While the United States publicly denied involvement, the coup was in fact the culmination of a plan called PBSUCCESS (CIA codeword), led by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Although PBSUCCESS lived up to its namesake, it was aided (both intentionally and unintentionally) by various U.S. media outlets. For the duration of Arbenz Guzman's regime, he and his country had been the subject of U.S. suspicions of undue Communist and Soviet influence. A general anti-Communist attitude permeated virtually all …

Factors Of Adoption: Initiating Relationships Using Online Dating Sites, Rachel Lee Toyer

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The present study used the Diffusion of Innovations Model to explore the circumstances that lead graduate and professional students enrolled at the a university in southern Nevada to adopt online dating services with the intent of initiating a serious commitment with a potential partner. The diffusion model was used to frame online dating as a process that people go through in acquiring knowledge about the service, forming an opinion about it, testing the service, and finally adopting the service into their daily life. Factors such as time afforded to relationships, apprehension in social situations, safety, and opinions of online dating …

Parasocial Relationships With Celebrities: An Illusion Of Intimacy With Mediated Friends, Amanda R. Laken

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research looked at parasocial interactions among college students. The study looked at the differences in gender and parasocial interaction, ethnicity/race and parasocial interaction, and the type of entertainment the celebrity was in and parasocial interaction. The research looked at celebrities as themselves and not as the characters they play as previous studies have. The research consisted of a revised parasocial interaction scale along with basic demographic questions. Although there have been studies examining levels of worship among different celebrities, they have been no correlations or differences stated concerning parasocial interactions. In addition, there has been no previous research stating …

Torturing Terrorists For National Security Imperatives: Mediated Violence On "24", Michael D. Sears

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study analyzed mediated violent content as seen on the FOX television program 24. The study covered a seven year period, or six seasons, of 24 , with a sample set of 43 episodes and 445 individual acts ofviolence. Three research questions guided this study. The first research question sought to determine if a relation exists between heroic characters inflicting torturous violence and justifying the act with a national security imperative. The second research question examined the prevailing mode of violence and the use of nonlethal and lethal weapons. The third research question examined the portrayed efficiency of violence on …

Analyzing Policy Issues In Presidential Speeches And The Media: An Agenda-Setting Study, Jessica L. Hughes

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

For decades, researchers have maintained that the president has a significant role in setting the policy-making agenda. In this study, a grounded theory approach was applied to determine President George W. Bush's success in focusing the media's attention toward policies mentioned in his State of the Union Addresses (2002-2008). Bush's issue priorities were determined by coding individual paragraphs as themes. To identify the frequency of these same themes in the media, the front pages of The L.A. Times, The New York Times, and The Washington Post were analyzed one week before and after each address. Coding was limited to every …

Communication Technologies: Diffusion Of Online News Use And Credibility Among Young Web Users In The Information Age, Chee Youn Kang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The increasing popularity and extensive usage of communication technologies, particularly the Internet and online news, makes it important to obtain an insightful perception of the new media. The purpose of this study is to examine the diffusion of online news use and credibility among young web users in terms of how these main users adopt, use, and trust the new media. This study attempts to find which online news sites are widely used by this group, based on the credibility of online news adopted among undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), in which demographic …