Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Breaking News Stories In The Age Of Citizen Journalism: Daily Nation’S Utilisation Of User Comments On Facebook, Agewa Waruguru Wainaina

Theses & Dissertations

This study examines how the Nation Media Group (NMG) utilises comments made on its social media platform to break, update, and ultimately publish stories on social media platforms, the study focused on Facebook. Previous studies have established that the audience has the power to determine what content media houses publish, even forcing social media editors to delete or change stories they publish online. Thus, media practitioners must understand how to best engage with their online consumers while delivering quality journalistic content and maintaining integrity. Through the literature review of similar studies, it was found that scholars have determined that audience …

The Needs That Instagram Satisfies For People Seeking News & How This Displaces Time Spent With Traditional Media, Madeleine Dunn

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines how the current climate of mainstream media is changing, and how this may affect journalistic norms and practices. There are many outlets for consumers to receive news, including traditional media, such as television news, newspapers, magazines, etc. There is also social media. The future of mainstream media outlets, like television stations, newspapers, magazines and radio stations, seems to depend on the growing use of social media sites for the use of getting news. This research will focus on Instagram as an alternative to traditional media, and why people prefer to use this outlet to get their news. …

Small Historically Black Colleges And Universities Bridging Social Capital: The Use Of Language, Tone And Content To Share Information On Instagram, Pamela Peters

Journal of Research Initiatives

The COVID-19 pandemic has strained higher education institutions, especially small Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). As campuses closed and reopened, Black communities' digital divide grew, adding to the need to stay connected. This study uses social capital to examine how institutions use language, tone, content, and information to bridge social capital. An analysis of 35 small liberal arts HBCUs’ Instagram posts was undertaken to compare post frequency, types of information, engagement, tone, language, and content in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic and during the pandemic, 2020 and 2021. This study indicates that post-oversaturation in 2020 and 2021 and information …

All The News That’S Fit To Be Identified: Facilitating Access To High-Quality News Through Internet Platforms, Sonja R. West, Jonathan Peters, Lefteris Jason Anastasopolous

Scholarly Works

Roughly half of Americans get some of their news from social media, and nearly two-thirds get some of their news from search engines. As our modern information gatekeepers, these internet companies bear a special responsibility to consider the impact of their platform and site policies on users’ access to high-quality news sources. They should adopt policies that clear the digital pathway between the public and press by facilitating such access. To that end, the companies must first, address the threshold issue of how best to identify high-quality news sources. This article examines factors that would be useful, drawing from legal …

Review, Democracy And Fake News: Information Manipulation And Post-Truth Politics, Peter Krapp

Secrecy and Society

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Social Media Activism In Achieving Good Water And Sanitation In Ghana, Inusah Mohammed

Communication ETDs

This thesis examined the role of social media activism in ensuring good water and sanitation in Ghana. The study conducted a thematic analysis of Facebook posts (403) from March 2020 to December 2022 and found seven themes on how social activists are presenting issues concerning water and sanitation in Ghana. The study also found outcomes of the activism and also found theoretical implications of activism on social media usage in Ghana.

Instagram Ideals: College Women's Body Image And Social Comparison, Paige K. Hill

Masters Theses

The present study unveils several themes that detail female college students’ experience, usage, and social comparison trends on Instagram, with a particular emphasis on body image. Compared to a study conducted by Meta Inc., which found that social comparison disproportionately affected young females (Social Comparison Exploratory Research, 2020), this study highlights insights directly expressed by young females in college concerning their past and current experiences on the platform. With over 90% of women in colleges across the United States reporting body and image dissatisfaction (Pritchard & Cramblitt, 2014), this study aims to contribute to existing literature, showcasing whether female students …

Social Media And Contentious Action: The Use And Users Of Qq Groups In China, Zixue Tai

Journalism and Media Faculty Publications

This article presents an analysis of a netnographic study of QQ groups engaged in contentious activities in China. Informed primarily by semi‐structured in‐depth interviews of 34 participants and field observations through years of grounded research, the findings shed light on the communicative dynamics and mobilization strategies of QQ groups in nurturing contentious action and motivating mass participation in social protest. In‐group communication stays highly focused on the respective mission of the groups, and it cultivates a sense of shared awareness conducive to collective action. There is also a noticeable contagion effect that transfers the spirit of contestation in terms of …

Exploring Popular Music's Affect On Popular Culture Through The Media Format Of A Podcast, Alicia Kobasic

Honors Projects

This project covers the development of a podcast titled "The Podcast" where topics relating to popular music and popular culture and how they affect one another are discussed. The project discusses existing research into the topics as well as the development process of the podcast. It delves into each episode and what was learned through the research into the episode and how the episode was recorded and shared. it also talks about the effectiveness of a podcast as method for delivering research.

News Consumption Habits On Social Media: A Study Of Unemployed Kenyan Millennials At National Employment Authority In Kasarani Sub-County, Teresia Wambui Ndonye

Theses & Dissertations

Social media started as a social meeting point where users met to socialize, network and connect. The earliest users of social media applications were millennials and with time they became addicts and spent a lot of time online. The study aimed to identify the social media applications Kenyan Millennials use to consume news, what motivates them to use the applications, the gratification they get and amount of time they spend on news on social media. The study was carried out at the National Employment Authority headquarters in Kasarani Sub-County. The study targeted all walk-ins to the office for a period …

Online Audiences And Gatekeeping: User Comments And Their Influence On Editorial Processes In Newsrooms In Kenya, Beryl Anyango Oywer

Theses & Dissertations

There has been an ongoing debate in Kenyan newsrooms on whether or not to retain the comment section on news websites in the wake of Social Media Networks which allow the media to still get user feedback devoid of any liability of unregulated third-party comments. This study set to establish the role and influence user comments have on editorial processes as well as explain what value media houses that have retained the comment section are receiving. Using methodological triangulation, this study analysed the nature of user comments, how comments influence editorial processes and the value the three media houses with …

Sharing The News: The Role Of Social Media In News Diffusion And Audience Building In Media Houses In Kenya, Isaac Swila

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the study is to assess how media houses in Kenya are using social media to diffuse their news content and build loyal audiences in a competitive media environment. It uses two media houses, the Nation Media Group and Royal Media Services as case studies. The study aimed at attaining four specific objectives: to examine how social media platforms, facilitate diffusion of news content in media houses in Kenya; to examine whether sharing of news on social media lead to growth of digital audiences; to examine the strategies legacy media stations in Kenya, use to disseminate news content …

The State Of Innovation And Media Viability In East Africa: From Indepth Media House Surveys, Hesbon Hansen Owilla, Rose Kimani, Ann Hollifield, Julia Wegner, Dennis Reineck, Roland Schürhoff

Graduate School of Media and Communications

Media houses globally are grappling with how best to produce quality content while at the same time remaining financially viable in the wake of shrinking revenues, technological disruptions, the emergence of peripheral content creators, competition for advertisement revenues from big tech platforms, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a myriad of other changes in the ecosystem. Despite these challenges, it is in the interest of the public that news media organisations (NMOs) produce quality content and do so in a financially sustainable fashion. Media viability, that is, producing quality journalism in a financially sustainable way, is, therefore, a growing area of focus. …

Walking Into A News Desert: How Arkansas College Newspapers Are Coping With The Decline In Print Journalism, David Keith

Dissertations

News deserts is a reference to geographic areas — most commonly counties — where no newspaper is published. The number of these areas continues to grow as more newspapers shut their doors because of financial difficulties brought on by a lack of advertising, a lack of readers, and the shift to online news consumption. College students studying journalism find themselves on the cusp of entering a profession where the number of workplaces and jobs is shrinking. They know it and the advisers of their college newspapers know it. Even with this arid prospect before them, the students are reporting news …

Alcohol Advertisements On Social Media: A Study Of How Alcohol Advertisements On Social Media Platforms Appeal To Young People, Alexis Campbell

Journalism Undergraduate Honors Theses

Underage drinking is not uncommon and is associated with a number of school, social, legal, emotional, behavioral, health problems, and even death. This research seeks to explore alcohol-related social media advertisements across a variety of alcohol types, alcohol brands, and social media platforms. This was accomplished by a content analysis of the most popular alcohol brands’ advertisements on the Internet that examined the strategies used to appeal to consumers and the overall content patterns and characteristics of online alcohol advertisements. The strategy used differed by brand and alcohol type, but the most common themes included “taste,” “seasonal,” “holiday,” “recipe,” and …

The Karen Genre: Digital Memes As An Influencer Of Political And Social Discourse, Marc Wardle

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Social Media platforms are a source of transformation within the democratic process. Digital memes, seemingly facile and frivolous, contain a collection of dense and broad meanings that have become creative forms of political and social expression. Many complex messages can be communicated to mass audiences through mediated interpersonal communication platforms on social media through the usage of memes. This phenomenon creates what Limor Shifman refers to as a memeplexe. The focus of this study is to explore the transformative nature of the democratic process within digital and internet culture and the formation of an emergent genre of memes called ‘Karen.’ …

Whatsapp In The Newsroom: Utilisation Of Whatsapp In Journalistic Practices In Kenya, Valerie R.A. Koga

Theses & Dissertations

Over the years, technological innovations have become useful in communication and influenced the way people work (UNCTAD, 2018), with social media applications becoming more acceptable for use at work (Agur, 2019; Azeema & Nazuk, 2017; McIntyre & Sobel, 2019). Many newsrooms in Kenya have integrated the use of social media applications in news production. As a result, the social media application WhatsApp has been domesticated by journalists and is widely used as a tool for news gathering and a channel for communication and for news production as a whole. Thus, the study sought to find out what motivates journalists to …

I’M The One: Social Media, Social Identity, And Elections, Jason Anthony Cain

Faculty and Student Publications

This study surveyed voters to investigate why they shared political information on social media during the 2016 election. A strong social identity informed by political alignment was found to predict both polarization and more sharing, while feeling politically misaligned was found to decrease information sharing, supporting a spiral of silence phenomenon. Those with higher scores on a scale of social identity were more likely to feel sharing information to be an influential activity.

Examining The Ethical Dilemmas Of Advertising On Tiktok, Sophia Neubaum

Journalism Student Works

In recent years, journalism has completely transformed to adapt to the digital age. Modern journalists use social media for breaking news updates and adapt their stories for all platforms. Advertisers and journalists have more opportunities than ever to advertise their products online and on social media, however, it is imperative that professionals in this field report and advertise ethically on every platform. As social media trends and platforms change, so do the opportunities for online advertisers. TikTok is a rapidly growing social media app that is used by youths around the world. While there is plenty of opportunity for advertising …

Who Posted That Story? Processing Layered Sources In Facebook News Posts, Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch, Christina Devoss

2019 Faculty Bibliography

With social media platforms becoming primary news sources, concerns about credibility judgments and knowledge grow. This study (N = 233) experimentally tests the effects of multiple source cues on Facebook news posts on credibility and knowledge. Judgments of story credibility were directly influenced by media source cues, but not friend source cues. Involvement in the source topic moderated the effects of these source cues, such that particular combinations influenced credibility differently, and also influenced cognitive elaboration about the topic. Theoretical implications for cognitive mediation model of learning from the news and the heuristic-systematic model of information processing are presented.

2018 Constitution Day Essay Contest 2nd Place, Courtney Vice

Constitution Day Essay Contest

No abstract provided.

2018 Constitution Day Essay Contest 1st Place--Social Media: Unifier Or Divider, Claire Hilbrecht

Constitution Day Essay Contest

No abstract provided.

A Checklist For Mortals: Preparing For Death’S Arrival, Becky Daniel

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Professional Projects

We learn everything from our parents—how to walk, talk and treat potential life partners. Yet our culture in the United States makes it difficult to talk to our parents about death and those consequences have a real impact. Closing a loved one’s estate can stretch from months to years without proper planning. While death is constant, the death industry is not. It is ever changing. And while all lives have equal value, there are many preparations that one person may need (veteran, parent, lotto winner) while another does not. The best way to prepare for death is to know its …

Democratic Engagement In The Digital Age: Youth, Social Media And Participatory Politics In Kenya, Samuel Kamau

Graduate School of Media and Communications

As the communication world becomes more complex and participatory, social networking sites (SNSs) have emerged as a platform with the potential to invigorate democracy and political engagement. However, the value of SNSs in politics remains contested among researchers. The study reported on in this article was based on a survey of 600 university students, aged between18 and 35, to examine the relationship between social media use and political engagement among the youth in Kenya. The study focused on the extent to which SNSs facilitate consumption of political information and the role of SNSs in influencing political interest, knowledge and behaviour …

Tackling ‘Bias’ And Fake Coverage In The Indian Media, Buroshiva Dasgupta

First Global News Literacy Conference

In India, there are a vast number of vernacular newspapers and TV channels in addition to the standard English newspapers and channels. Their strategies for covering news differ from place to place, language to language as well as their political or business “affiliations”. Unfortunately, in recent times most of the media platforms in India have moved away from their ‘objective’ standpoint. To understand or decipher fact from fiction the first method would be to go for a comparative study of the news items and then try to source out their ‘affiliations’ ! both political and business – to place the …

Says Who? Challenges Of Teaching News Literacy In A Culture Of Secrecy, Kanchan Kaur

First Global News Literacy Conference

India might be the world’s largest democracy, but it is still fraught with challenges that plague the underdeveloped world. India is quickly moving to a digital democracy—the ability to receive information in almost real time through mass media and to make one’s voice heard through social media (1) --with complex consequences. One of them has to do with a post-fact environment and non-state actors who try to influence public opinion to serve their own ends. Social media, especially WhatsApp, serves their purposes well, for instead of exposing people to diverse views, it mainly creates an echo chamber (2). Making matters …

Overcoming The Dark Side: Seeing Through The Spin Of Public Relations In The News, Samantha Stanley

First Global News Literacy Conference

In its current state, news literacy curriculum covers all the information types that consumers will see when they read, watch, listen to, and interact with news content. While current lessons do explain how press releases distribute information in the “promotion / publicity” neighborhood, there is much more nuance to the practice of PR that impacts information people read as ‘news’. In today’s climate of political spin cycles, it is more important than ever for news consumers to understand what public relations is and how its strategies influence news content. Because the practice of public relations is so often misunderstood and …

True-Self And The Uses And Gratifications Of Instagram Among College-Aged Females, Jocelyn Apodaca

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With more than 300 million daily users, Instagram has rapidly become one of the most widely used social networking apps worldwide. This study investigates relationships between motivations for using Instagram, whether users are portraying their true-selves and how their usage affects life satisfaction and well-being. A quantitative survey was used to collect data from 200 students at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas students. Participants were asked to provide answers regarding their habits for using Instagram, whether their online portrayal of self reflected their true self and determine overall life satisfaction. The motives studied in this research include: interpersonal …

Writing For Electronic Media, Brian Champagne, Kiera Farimond, Brianna Bodily

Textbooks

Introduction

Welcome to Writing for Electronic Media, an OER textbook. OER stands for Open Educational Resource, which means it’s free for all who access. Since it is electronic, I will do what I can to keep it updated with the changing media. People’s viewing habits are changing as they migrate to mobile sources, social media, and kitten videos. Television News is still a dominant #1 source, and radio is still the safest way to stay informed in your car. Hopefully, you already have some journalism background. This book does not teach the who, what, when, where, why, and how …

How Instagram Content Affects Brand Attitudes And Behavior, Ming (Bryan) Wang, Valerie K. Jones

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

This paper examines the effectiveness of communication on Instagram, a type of visual social networking site, by the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Results show that the TSA’s Instagram account elicited stronger emotional reactions than a private consumer product business Instagram account. More importantly, perceived usefulness of content, perceived persuasive intent of content, and negative emotions all affected attitudes toward the TSA. Additionally, perceived usefulness of content and negative emotions also influenced communicative action regarding the TSA account. Findings demonstrate the emotional impact of visual communication and the role of both cognitive and affective evaluations in changing attitudes and behavior …