Digital Commons Network^™

Media Erasure: A 1904 Lynching In St. Charles, Arkansas, Mary Hennigan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As Americans grew increasingly interested in historic racial violence following the Black Lives Matter movement in 2021, select news publications chose to publish apologetic editorials and articles that addressed their failure of inclusive reporting for the last century (Lancaster, 2021; Fannin, 2020). In the theme of acknowledging past mistakes, the Printing Hate project emerged to investigate the power white-owned papers had in influencing lynching incidents in the county (Capital News Service, 2021). The present study examines one Arkansas lynching in 1904 St. Charles. The incident includes the death of 13 Black men. Findings from a content analysis of 70 original …

Queens Of Discourse: An Observation Of Black Insta-Comediennes, Naoka Foreman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study observed the ways Black females on Instagram perform sociopolitical humor online to push back against the dominant culture in this digital age – maintaining the Black comedy tradition. It explores and illuminates the strategies of resistance exhibited by Instagram comediennes through a textual analysis informed by minor discourse, intersectionality, and critical feminist theories. Each comic’s personae were investigated and their content on Instagram was randomly selected and coded then grouped into themes. Black insta-comediennes shared Black feminist thought, modified beliefs about Black females or conventionality, and negotiated with the industrial demands of show business to earn subjectivity on …

Public Monuments In Changing Societies And Political Orders, Jake Connolly

Comm-entary

No abstract provided.

Is Being A Social Media Influencer A Sustainable Career?, Mya Sanders

Comm-entary

Being a social media influencer in today’s world has its stereotypes: that it is not a real job which one can have for their whole lives, that it does nothing useful for society, or that people get paid to take videos of themselves and nothing more. While that argument has valid points for individual people, I discuss in this paper the idea that being a social media influencer can be a sustainable career path. I mention the positives of the career path: how influencers have the power to change their followers’ minds on a topic, how they can be a …

Pragmatics Paper: The Real Housewives Of New Jersey, Madeline Graf

Comm-entary

Reality television has brought viewers into the lives and homes of many different families across the country. While people question the ‘reality’ aspect of reality TV, the interpersonal conflict amongst families, friends, and loved ones is definitely far from scripted. Shows such as The Real Housewives franchise allow viewers to see many patterns of human communication on their screen, even if they are unaware of it. Using the theories discussed in the Pragmatics of Human Communication by Watzlawick, Beavin and Jackson, this paper analyzes the family systems and interpersonal relationships within The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Applying the concepts …

“Um Mundo Novo2” Or Just More Of The Same For Brazil Post-Olympics?, Emily Desormier

Comm-entary

This paper uses the photographic record to examine how well Brazil fulfilled its promises to improve the lives of its citizens via its preparations for the 2016 Olympic Games.

Shein: How Immaterial Labor Fuels The Capitalist Fast Fashion Industry, Sara Donatello

Comm-entary

This paper highlights the consumption of fast fashion products by consumers as immaterial labor. The industry runs not only on the production of goods, but the consumption and advertising done by influencers and everyday consumers alike. The research explores romantic individualism as a way to advertise products to followers and how the global apparel industry works. Research is supported by surveys completed by SHEIN consumers ages 18-25. The sustainability of the fast fashion industry is also a factor explored in this paper.

Grace Helbig Will Never Be A Hollywood Star, But David Dobrik Will Be, Julia Gomes

Comm-entary

The balance of internet celebrities' careers and the limitations that they are put on due to the pressure of parasocial relationships has changed over time within the world of mainstream media and the internet. In this paper, I explore parasocial relationships and their effects on internet professions. I start by focusing on an early Internet/YouTube star Grace Helbig and discuss how the internet and parasocial relationships affected her career and changed the shape of the internet. I then transition into talking about a newly successful Internet/Youtube star, David Dobrik, and discuss how he faced an opposite journey to Helbig to …

The Bipartisan Media Strategy: How Three Ideologically Different Candidates Found Success, Madeline Graf

Comm-entary

This essay analyzes the social media strategies used by three very different candidates who have all run for presidential office. Using Joshua Meyrowitz’s application of Erving Goffman’s The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, we can see the ‘middle region’ performances politicians use to seem approachable and relatable to their target audience. With the transition from print media, to the early stages of electronic media, to social media, the barrier between a politician and the public has broken down to the point where the American public has the illusion of a personal connection with these political figures. It is hard …

A Response To Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, And Rage; Recontextualizing Editorial Biases In Nu Metal, Samuel Graff

Comm-entary

Nu metal, the oft-maligned subgenre of heavy music which reached massive commercial heights around the turn of the millennium, has long been a pop cultural punching bag. With recent media trends retrospectively framing past movements along ill-defined identity lines, the 2021 HBO documentary “Woodstock 99: Peace, Love and Rage” takes a close look at the ill-advised late-90s festival and does so by condemning Nu metal as staunchly consumerist, misogynist, and racist. These characteristics are generally held across the few pieces of media scholarship on the genre. In this paper, I analyze and rebuke the documentary and in doing so, provide …

A Manufactured Culture: A Look Into How U.S. Imperialism Coerced The Philippine Economy Into A Culture Of Migration, Gio Ramos

Comm-entary

In this research paper, I investigate the origins of labor brokerages in the Philippines. The Philippine economy heavily relies on remittance which is when temporary overseas Filipino workers and emigrants send money back to their families in Philippines. This money is then flushed back into the local economy and keeps it running. Throughout this essay, I find that United States imperialism is a root cause for early labor systems in the archipelago. I analyze historic books and other expert studies on this topic to come to a final conclusion that illuminates my primary research question. How has US imperialism coerced …

How The Media Frames Mental Health And Social Media: A Case Study Of The Facebook Whistleblower, Meghan Switzgable

Comm-entary

No abstract provided.

Comm-Entary, Spring 2021 - Full Issue

Comm-entary

No abstract provided.

A Sentiment And Content Analysis Of Facebook Posts Regarding Wild Horse Management, Libbie G. Anderson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to better understand public sentiment and current conversations on Facebook regarding wild horse management practices, including adoption, roundups, and contraception, in the timeframe between the June 2021 BLM Wild Horse Advisory Board meeting and January 31, 2022. Social media monitoring and quantitative content analysis were used to examine the Facebook posts of four organizations communicating about the wild horse controversy. The research questions guiding this study included: (1) How many total mentions of “fertility control,” “contraception,” “roundup,” “gather,” “adoption,” and “management” as they pertained to wild horses occurred across Facebook from June 1, 2021 …

What Happened To Rosie The Riveter?: Media Portrayals Of Women In The Workforce, 1942-1946, Vivienne Cookmeyer

Honors Theses

Rosie the Riveter is a common feminist icon; however, few people know what happened to the Rosies after the war. Due to the Veterans Preference Act, women lost their jobs and went back to their home lives, which is contrary to the belief that women were incorporated into the workforce after World War II. Many women were laid off and had to fight to keep their jobs, resort to stereotypical female work, or revert to the caretaker of the home. While these women struggled for equality, there was a sustained increase in the number of women in the workforce in …

Public Libraries In Rural Arkansas: An Oasis In An Information Desert, Britt Graves

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Public libraries in Arkansas are welcome, but those found in rural Arkansas are almost a necessity. The public uses the library for more than just checking out books or their email: it’s become a community gathering place for all walks of life, regardless of age or economic status. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the state, libraries also became essential for education, medicine, news, and employment, nearly overloading their resources and shining a spotlight on technology, or the lack thereof, that so many public libraries are needing. With the Arkansas governor planning an upgrade on broadband technology and the federal government …

Political Discussion And Disagreement: Seeking Validation Through News Media, Michael Carmona

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study explores how often individuals discuss politics with family/friends and acquaintances, how often individuals are exposed to disagreement during those discussions, the strategies they use to respond to political disagreement, and the use of news media following those disagreements. Through the lens of Uses and Gratifications theory, this study examined these elements through an online survey of U.S. adults. The results of this study did not support Hopmann’s, Bjarnøe’s, and Wonneberger’s findings about the relationship between the frequency of political disagreement and the strategies for responding to that disagreement. This study highlights how the discussions and disagreements we have …

Spartan Daily, April 28, 2022, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2022

Volume 158, Issue 37

Spartan Daily, April 27, 2022, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2022

Volume 158, Issue 36

The Current - Volume 32 Issue 24, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Spartan Daily, April 26, 2022, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2022

Volume 158, Issue 35

Climate Without Context: Why Climate Change Journalism Is Losing Its Effect, Amanda L. Valentine

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

Despite the growing frequency and severity of climate disasters, the news coverage of these events hardly shocks the public like it used to. Environmental journalism has become more “voluminous,” but less complex, ultimately sacrificing quality over quantity to cover as many climate-related events as possible. By analyzing the word choice, key frames, and contexts of climate articles featured in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times over the past five years, this study finds that the frequent decontextualization of climate events and a focus on political actions has banalized climate journalism and rendered it ineffectual.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald: The Social Issue, Vol. 97, No. 7, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Magazine edition of the College Heights Herald for the period March 21 - April 25, 2022.

• Murray, Debra. How Social Media Shapes Creative Lives – Alexis Mueller, Andre Swai, Gatlin Milam
• West, Christina. The Bottomless Pit of Social Media
• Anderson, Alexandria. Campus Organizations Utilize Social Media to Improve Outreach to Students
• Rutherford, Lucy. WKU Freshman Showcases Passion for Photography with Instagram Challenge – Brett Phelps

Episode 4: Barrett As A 'Figure-In-Process', Lauren Durham

A Rhetorical Study of Twitter Discourse about Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Amy Coney Barrett

Durham addresses discourse that portrayed Barrett as a “figure-in-process.”

Episode 2: The Pop Culture Status Of 'Rbg', Lauren Durham

A Rhetorical Study of Twitter Discourse about Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Amy Coney Barrett

In a discussion of the first answer to the research question, Durham focuses on the discourse about the presence and absence of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's iconic appeal in popular culture.

Episode 5: Findings, Plus A Look At Events Following Confirmation, Lauren Durham

A Rhetorical Study of Twitter Discourse about Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Amy Coney Barrett

In this episide, Durham discusses what the research revealed and makes recommendations for further study. She also explores events following Justice Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation.

The Cowl - V. 86 N. 18 - Apr 21, 2022

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 86 No. 18 - April 21, 2022. 24 pages.

Spartan Daily, April 20, 2022, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2022

Volume 158, Issue 33

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; …

Spartan Daily, April 19, 2022, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2022

Volume 158, Issue 32