Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Hyperreality Of Daniel Boorstin, Stephanie L. Viens

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Early media theorists can help us to link the past and present of media literacy to pose new questions and gain new knowledge. Historian, author and Librarian on Congress Daniel Boorstin (1914 – 2004) played an important role in increasing public awareness of the constructed nature of media representations. Connections are explored between constructed reality, technological advances, media literacy education, and the current work of media scholar Douglas Rushkoff on presentist society. Daniel Boorstin helped recognize the changing nature of knowledge in an image-saturated environment and influenced a new generation of theorists, scholars and educators who have advanced the …

Teaching About Propaganda: An Examination Of The Historical Roots Of Media Literacy, Renee Hobbs, Sandra Mcgee

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Contemporary propaganda is ubiquitous in our culture today as public relations and marketing efforts have become core dimensions of the contemporary communication system, affecting all forms of personal, social and public expression. To examine the origins of teaching and learning about propaganda, we examine some instructional materials produced in the 1930s by the Institute for Propaganda Analysis (IPA), which popularized an early form of media literacy that promoted critical analysis in responding to propaganda in mass communication, including in radio, film and newspapers. They developed study guides and distributed them widely, popularizing concepts from classical rhetoric and expressing them in …

A Burkian Pentadic Analysis Of Msu Riot Narratives, Joseph Mohrfeld

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

In the fall of 2003 a riot occurred very near the Minnesota State University, Mankato campus and in its aftermath many different narratives emerged describing the events. Using Kenneth Burke's pentad, this project examines those narratives in order to discover how different groups construct their accounts and which narrative elements different groups emphasize. By understanding how the narrative accounts given by these agents are influenced by their situation, the research allows us to see how riots emerge out of tensions within the conflicting productive contexts.

Japan And The U.S.: Two Free Nations, Two Versions Of Free Press, Eliza Koch

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

The media are important in a democracy; they provide a means of communication between the government and its constituents. They also serve as a fourth branch to check the country’s government. Although these two nations have different histories there are many similarities in the media systems. This presentation examines the media and politics in two separate democratic nations, Japan and the United States. Despite their different historical and cultural backgrounds, they have similarities. Both nations have free press, but there are cases when both governmental systems have attempted to censure their media in one form or another. This presentation delves …

How Not To Get Lost In The Shuffle: Producing The Most Effective And Eye-Catching Press Release, Erica Derrico

Journalism

The following study investigates how to produce the most effective and eye-catching press release on a national level for Summit Outdoor Supply (S.O.S). Winter quarter of 2014, my partner and I worked on a local campaign for S.O.S., using traditional text-based press releases to get media coverage. Although we did see some success with the traditional press release, there were often times our releases would get lost in the shuffle of the many releases that media outlets received each day. My goal with this project is to learn how to produce a press release that will get noticed out of …

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 …

Perfect Timing: The Rise Of Women’S Political Leadership During Cultural Shifts, Christie E. Pearce

Oglethorpe Journal of Undergraduate Research

America has fallen behind in women's leadership, especially in politics. In the approaching era, there will be more viable female political candidates than ever in the past, but will the public be prepared to elect a woman to high office? Studies suggest that mentalities toward female leadership have taken a shift in a positive direction. The idea of what an 'ideal' politician must offer is more feminine in the modern era than ever before. In the age of social media, female politicians have opportunities to reach more constituents through social media in a more effective way than has been offered …

Media Portrayal Of Individuals In The Lower Class And Its Effects On Attributions Of Educational Hardships, Krista A. Burke

Communication Studies

This study investigated how media portrayals of individuals in the lower class affect people’s beliefs about educational hardships in lower socioeconomic areas. Specifically, this study looked at the attributions of these hardships to determine if media consumption had an effect on the internality of attributions. It was hypothesized that increased media consumption would be related to an increased tendency toward internal attributions. It was hypothesized that increased media consumption would lead to lower support for policy changes regarding education. A survey was distributed to assess media consumption habits and attitudes toward educational hardships in the lower class. Correlation results yielded …

"Another Way": The Pneumatology Of Deleuzean Minoritarian Communal Interpretation In Scripture, The 16th Century Radical Reformation, And Alternative 21st Century Anabaptist Community, Jeremy Garber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation proposes a constructive theology of the Holy Spirit called the "pneumatology of minoritarian communal interpretation," the alternative creation of meaning within an oppressive majority context. It illustrates the convergence of Deleuzean philosophy with Anabaptist pneumatology and media communal interpretation theory in three particular locations: 1) selected mentions of the Holy Spirit in the Hebrew Bible and Christian New Testament; 2) the 16th century Radical Reformation; and 3) "Another Way," a 21st century alternative Anabaptist group focused around the spiritual discussion of art and popular media. Chapter One outlines the three theories. Chapter Two examines the Holy Spirit in …

Perceptions Of Collegiate And Professional Black Male Athletes Based On The Media, Dionell Mcneal

LSU Master's Theses

This study focuses on how media usage can affect one’s perceptions of Black collegiate and professional male athletes. While early research focused solely on traditional media, this study focuses on social media as well. This study investigates the relationships between the amounts of time spent using traditional and social media, and the perceptions of athletes in regards to their physical capability, the likelihood of being criminals, and prevalence of committing violent crimes. To explore relationships, this study utilized a total of 145 White participants. Findings showed a positive relationship existed between social media usage and perceptions of criminal-like characteristics. It …

Can You Hear Me Now: A Cross-National Analysis Of Media, New Icts, Press Freedoms And Sociopolitical Instability, Conflict, And Democracy., Britt Christensen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Using cross-national panel data, I investigated relationships among sociopolitical instability, major intrastate conflicts, democracy levels, and media and new information and communication technologies (ICTs) penetration rates and press freedoms. I conducted similar analyses regarding all non-democracies, looking at various types of political instability and media/ICT penetration rates. The results of this research add to democratic, freedom of expression, and political communication theories. These findings bring empirical evidence to help illuminate many of the popular debates surrounding the impact of new ICTs and freedom of expression on popular dissident activities. My results suggested that countries with higher rates of Internet and …