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Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Sidis Case And The Origins Of Modern Privacy Law, Samantha Barbas Nov 2017

The Sidis Case And The Origins Of Modern Privacy Law, Samantha Barbas

Samantha Barbas

The American press, it’s been said, is freer to invade personal privacy than perhaps any other in the world. The tort law of privacy, as a shield against unwanted media exposure of private life, is very weak. The usual reason given for the weakness of U.S. privacy law as a bar on the publication of private information is the strong tradition of First Amendment freedom. But “freedom of the press” alone cannot explain why liberty to publish has been interpreted as a right to print truly intimate matters or to thrust people into the spotlight against their will. Especially in …


Creating The Public Forum, Samantha Barbas Nov 2017

Creating The Public Forum, Samantha Barbas

Samantha Barbas

The public forum doctrine protects a right of access - “First Amendment easements” - to streets and parks and other traditional places for public expression. It is well known that the doctrine was articulated by the Supreme Court in a series of cases in the 1930s and 1940s. Lesser known are the historical circumstances that surrounded its creation. Critics believed that in a modern world where the mass media dominated public discourse - where the soap box orator and pamphleteer had been replaced by the radio and mass circulation newspaper - mass communications had undermined the possibility of widespread participation …


The Public Sphere As Site Of Emancipation And Enlightenment: A Discourse Theoretic Critique Of Digital Communication, David Ingram, Asaf Bar-Tura Sep 2017

The Public Sphere As Site Of Emancipation And Enlightenment: A Discourse Theoretic Critique Of Digital Communication, David Ingram, Asaf Bar-Tura

David Ingram

Habermas claims that an inclusive public sphere is the only deliberative forum for generating public opinion that satisfies the epistemic and normative conditions underlying legitimate decision-making. He adds that digital technologies and other mass media need not undermine – but can extend – rational deliberation when properly instituted. This paper draws from social epistemology and technology studies to demonstrate the epistemic and normative limitations of this extension. We argue that current online communication structures fall short of satisfying the required epistemic and normative conditions. Furthermore, the extent to which Internet-based communications contribute to legitimate democratic opinion and will formation depends …


Pseudo Newsgathering: Analyzing Journalists’ Use Of Pseudo-Events On 'The Wire', Patrick Ferrucci, Chad Painter Feb 2017

Pseudo Newsgathering: Analyzing Journalists’ Use Of Pseudo-Events On 'The Wire', Patrick Ferrucci, Chad Painter

Chad Painter

This textual analysis examines the role of pseudo-events in the newsgathering process depicted on season five of The Wire. The researchers found that the press and sources construct “reality”; sources present “masks” to conceal “reality”' and journalists acknowledge the absurdity of pseudo-events but cover staged events as genuine news. The overriding conclusion is that journalists fail citizens by constructing a false reality through a negotiation with powerful sources who are media- savvy enough to control depictions. These findings are then interpreted through the lens of cultivation theory.


Gender Games: The Portrayal Of Female Journalists On 'House Of Cards', Chad Painter, Patrick Ferrucci Feb 2017

Gender Games: The Portrayal Of Female Journalists On 'House Of Cards', Chad Painter, Patrick Ferrucci

Chad Painter

This textual analysis focuses on the portrayal of female journalists in House of Cards. The uneven depictions of six female journalists could have a socializing effect on the audience. The researchers argue that the character Zoe Barnes is depicted as childlike, unprofessional, and unethical, while the character Ayla Sayyad is portrayed as a dedicated watchdog journalist. The researchers then explore the ethical implications of these portrayals through the lens of social responsibility theory.


Print Versus Digital: How Medium Matters On 'House Of Cards', Patrick Ferrucci, Chad Painter Feb 2017

Print Versus Digital: How Medium Matters On 'House Of Cards', Patrick Ferrucci, Chad Painter

Chad Painter

This study utilizes textual analysis to analyze how journalists are depicted on the Netflix drama House of Cards. Through the lens of orientalism and cultivation, researchers examine how depictions of print and digital journalism would lead viewers to see digital journalists as less ethical and driven by self-gain, while also viewing technology as an impediment to quality journalism. These findings are then discussed as a means for understanding how these depictions could affect society.


Market Matters: How Market-Driven Is 'The Newsroom'?, Patrick Ferrucci, Chad Painter Feb 2017

Market Matters: How Market-Driven Is 'The Newsroom'?, Patrick Ferrucci, Chad Painter

Chad Painter

This study examines whether the award-winning news show The Newsroom depicted on HBO practices what John McManus defined as market-driven journalism. McManus posited that organizations practicing market-driven journalism compete in the four markets he describes in his market theory for news production. This study found that The Newsroom depicts an organization that does indeed practice market-driven journalism, with results interpreted through the lens of market theory for news production.


Alternative Media And Normative Theory: A Case Of Ferguson, Missouri, Mark Anthony Poepsel, Chad Painter Feb 2017

Alternative Media And Normative Theory: A Case Of Ferguson, Missouri, Mark Anthony Poepsel, Chad Painter

Chad Painter

This paper, based on in-depth interviews with journalists at alternative and advocacy papers in St. Louis as well as interviews with live streaming protestors, a new breed of citizen journalist, applies six characteristics commonly associated with the alternative press to coverage of the protests and police crackdown in Ferguson, Missouri, between August 9, 2014, and March 2015. Journalists from the alternative newspaper in St. Louis focused on progressive or radical values less than the literature predicted. The African-American newspaper in St. Louis found itself influencing the national and global agenda regarding Ferguson and the ongoing oppression of blacks in the …


All In The Game: Communitarianism And 'The Wire', Chad Painter Feb 2017

All In The Game: Communitarianism And 'The Wire', Chad Painter

Chad Painter

Communitarian ethicists argue that social identity is formed by community relationships, emphasizing the connection between an individual and his or her community. News organizations are part of that community. Indeed, journalism only functions properly in terms of the public and public life, and as part of a larger community. This textual analysis study focused on the breakdown of the fictional Baltimore community depicted in the television series The Wire. Five institutions—the police force and justice system, the labor force, local and state politicians and government, the educational system, and the daily newspaper—have failed, and, in turn, the city is failing. …