Communication Commons^™

Deepfakes As Crisis Triggers: Experimental Evidence On Response Strategy Effectiveness, Responsibility Attributions, And Sharing Intentions, Alicia Mason, Mariah Laman, Tanner Glenn, Treyton Meyers

Faculty Submissions

The term deepfake refers to falsified media content created using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to manipulate audio, video, or images. Deepfake news fabrications are designed to appear highly realistic, making it difficult for audiences to distinguish them from authentic content. Responding to deepfake-induced  reputational threats therefore presents a unique challenge for organizations. Despite the growing prevalence of deepfake technology, little experimental research has examined how different crisis communication strategies perform in mitigating the reputational and relational harm posed by deepfake-induced crises. Accordingly, this study seeks to (1) examine how exposure to deepfake news relates to public perceptions and affect toward …

The Study Of How Sensory Marketing Techniques Used By Beauty Brands Influence Engagement And Consumer Perception On Social Media Platforms, Particularly By Evoking Specific Consumer Emotions, Eeshani Juthani

Digital Marketing Theses

This study describes how a consumers' attitude towards beauty products on social media is affected by sensory marketing techniques and cues. This study also examines how sensory marketing tactics and elements such as sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste affects the way a consumer engages with content on social media platforms like Tiktok and Instagram.

The Guardian The Month Of July 2026, Wright State Student Body

The Guardian Student Newspaper

News articles from The Guardian for the Month of July 2026. The Guardian is the official student-run newspaper for Wright State University. It has been published regularly since March of 1965.

“The Ai Pushed Me To Consider New Perspectives”: Preliminary Observations On A Chatgpt Intervention Designed To Elicit Critical Thinking About Media Headlines, Karina Luna, Chelsea Julian Reynolds, Ali Zain

Journal of Media Literacy Education Pre-Prints

This study explored whether a custom AI chatbot could be a relevant tool for promoting critical thinking about news bias. The research team discusses the development of a custom critical media literacy chatbot and its implementation in an upper-division critical media studies course at a large North American public university. Students interacted with the chatbot to analyze news headlines about transgender issues, employing a scaffolded framework to dissect media framing and generate alternative frames. We argue that the same AI technologies fueling anxiety can be reimagined as partners in cultivating critical media literacy and guiding future directions in journalism pedagogy. …

Locate Alternative Media In The Digital News Ecosystem: A Cross-Country Comparative Study Of Alternative-Mainstream Audience Overlap Networks, Qinfeng Zhu, Fan Liang, Gabriel Miao Li

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

This study examines alternative media within the digital news ecosystem in six European countries: Norway, Sweden, Austria, Germany, France, and Spain. Using a network approach and a cross-country comparative design, we analyze audience overlap between alternative and mainstream media, the positions alternative media occupy within these networks, and how media systems and political contexts may shape these dynamics. Our findings show that while overall audience overlap is low, it is higher in countries where far-right populist parties have greater institutionalized access to political discourse. We also identify alternative media enclaves within the Northern-type media system characterized by strong professional journalism—particularly …

Will Beauty Save The Brain? Exploring The Relationship Between Eudaimonic Reels Exposure And Egyptian Gen Z'S Mind And Motivations, Petra Zaky

Theses and Dissertations

Social media entertaining content includes a mixed bag of the meaningful and the trivial. For Generation Z, whose favorite daily entertainment is shallow yet funny short-form videos (reels), there is often an invisible price paid. The loss of ability to watch long meaningful videos, distractedness from self, “Brain Rot”, glamorizing of hedonism are among the maladies left behind the attractive rabbit hole of their daily media diet. This study explores the relationship between exposure to meaningful reels, in contrast to pleasurable reels, and Gen Z’s reflective thinking, “Brain Rot” symptoms, motivation to watch long meaningful videos and life motivations between …

Breaking The Silence: A Content And Expert Analysis Of The 2025 Ramadan Series Lam Shamseya's Framing And Subversion Of Child Sexual Abuse Discourse In Egypt, Maya Abouelnasr

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes how the 2025 Egyptian TV series Lam Shamseya served as a sociocultural intervention and awareness platform for reframing and subverting the typical child sexual abuse (CSA) discourse in Egypt. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study triangulates framing theory and two complementary tools of the critical discourse analysis (CDA) and the circuit of culture model through a scene-level content analysis of 304 scenes across all 15 episodes of the series and ten semi-structured interviews with media experts, media practitioners, and psychologists. Key findings include reported corroboration of subversion of traditional tropes and archetypes, as well as reframing of …

An Analysis Of Immigration Frames In The News Media Post- Second Trump Administration, Olivia Hartley

Communication Studies

Immigration has been a particularly controversial issue since the 2nd Trump Administration. There has been an increase in Immigration Customs Enforcement activity, including deportations and detainments of immigrants across the United States (Craft & Witherspoon, 2026). Given the uptick in media coverage regarding these events, it is essential to understand how this information is being presented to the public. The framing of news media impacts how the public perceives issues, determining the acceptable treatment of immigrants in our society. In this study, a content analysis was performed to determine the prevalence of generic immigration news frames following the start of …

The Guardian The Month Of June 2026, Wright State Student Body

The Guardian Student Newspaper

News articles from The Guardian for the Month of June 2026. The Guardian is the official student-run newspaper for Wright State University. It has been published regularly since March of 1965.

Lindenwood Magazine, Spring 2026, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Magazine (2017- )

This document is the Spring 2026 edition of The Lindenwood, a magazine published by Lindenwood University's Advancement Division for friends, employees, and alumni. It features campus community updates, alumni news, and a central spotlight on the university's new Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.

News Media Coverage Of Measure Ula: How The Story Of La’S Big Project To Address Homelessness And Affordable Housing Got Sidetracked By The Story Of Big Real Estate, Christopher R. Martin

Faculty Publications

“Measure ULA,” named after United to House LA, was approved by voters in Los Angeles in 2022 to create a dedicated, long-term funding source for solutions to homelessness in LA, including funding the construction of affordable homes and preventing homelessness by helping tenants stay in their homes. The funding would come from a new tax on the most expensive real estate transactions in L.A. (i.e., mansion tax), and would affect fewer than 4% of all property transactions. At the end of three years of local news coverage about Measure ULA from the Los Angeles Times and LAist, the news audience …

Bridging The Justice Gap: A Comparative Study Of Legal Aid Marketing In Canada, Australia, And The United States, Farah O. Haq

Student Theses and Dissertations

Access to justice remains a central challenge across legal systems, particularly for immigrants and refugees, Indigenous communities, and survivors of domestic violence. While legal aid organizations play a critical role in bridging this gap, their effectiveness increasingly depends on how clearly and compassionately they communicate legal information online to their target audience. This thesis conducts a comparative content analysis of nine nonprofit legal aid organizations in the United States, Canada, and Australia, three countries united by a common law tradition but divided by the communication barriers their communities face, examining 180 social media posts and nine websites through the lens …

From Double Absence To Double Presence: Video-Selfie As Empowerment In A Multicultural Italian Classroom, Maria Ranieri, Ilaria Bucciarelli, Giulia Cuozzo

Journal of Media Literacy Education Pre-Prints

This paper examines the video-selfie as a tool for empowerment in multicultural secondary school classrooms. We draw on data from the European ICME project, focusing on a vocational secondary school in Italy, where 17 of 18 first-year students – approximately half of whom had migration backgrounds – produced short videos presenting themselves through personally meaningful objects. Students then participated in a structured reflection activity after watching each other's videos in class. We combine three theoretical frameworks: critical media literacy, identity and self-representation studies, and Mezirow's transformative learning theory. Our argument is that the video selfie empowers in multiple ways: it …

The Role Of Social Media Platforms In Combating Health Misinformation Among The Jordanian Public From The Perspective Of Jordanian Pharmacists, Hani Ahmad Fayez Al-Badri

Middle East Journal of Communication Studies

The proliferation of health-related misinformation constitutes a serious threat to public health security. Pharmacists, as healthcare professionals, play a crucial role in addressing this phenomenon by increasing public awareness and dispelling misconceptions. The present study seeks to examine the role of social media platforms in mitigating health misinformation among the Jordanian public from the perspective of practicing pharmacists in Jordan. Adopting a descriptive survey methodology, the study employed a structured questionnaire distributed to a random sample of 480 pharmacists. The findings indicated that platforms such as WhatsApp (mean score = 4.43) and Facebook (mean score = 3.92) were the most …

The Role Of Media In Enhancing The Awareness Of Jordanian University Students About The Risks Of Energy Drinks, Rasha Salameh, R. Abuhasirah

Middle East Journal of Communication Studies

This article aimed to explore the role of media in enhancing the awareness of Jordanian university students regarding the health risks associated with energy drink consumption. The article employed a media audience survey method, applied to a Quota sample of 300 students from diverse academic disciplines (humanities, health sciences, and natural sciences) at Yarmouk University (public) and Middle East University (private). Data were collected between March 10 and April 15, 2025. The results indicated that energy drink consumption was higher among Middle East University students (55.4%) compared to Yarmouk University students (44.6%). Furthermore, students in the humanities reported higher consumption …

The Role Of Artificial Intelligence In Developing Science Journalism Strategies And Enhancing Political Awareness, Enad Akif Al-Jallad

Middle East Journal of Communication Studies

This study aimed to analyze the role of artificial intelligence in developing science journalism strategies and enhancing its capacity to raise political awareness. The study adopted a descriptive-analytical methodology through a review of relevant literature and an analysis of scientific content related to artificial intelligence technologies and their media applications. It also relied on a set of applied experiences in science journalism, including The Guardian’s coverage of climate issues and Al Jazeera Net’s reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic and its connection to health policies.

The findings revealed that science journalism serves as a fundamental tool for transferring knowledge to the …

The Reality Of Digital Journalism In Jordan's Treatment Of Mental Illness After The Coronavirus Pandemic (An Analytical Study), Sura Mohammad Shatnawi

Middle East Journal of Communication Studies

This study aims to analyze how the Jordanian digital press addresses mental illness in the post-Coronavirus pandemic, in light of the growing need for professional media coverage that promotes community awareness of mental health. The study relied on content analysis as one of the appropriate methods to examine media messages and extract the semantic patterns inherent in the texts. A content analysis questionnaire and screener were used to categorize journalistic materials according to a number of professional and content indicators. The study sample included Al-Rai and Ammon news websites as two of the most prominent digital news platforms in Jordan, …

The Use Of Social Media By Jordanian Science Journalists And Its Implications For The Accuracy Of Journalistic Content, Farah Yahya Zaatreh

Middle East Journal of Communication Studies

This study aimed to explore the use of social media by Jordanian science journalists and its implications for the accuracy of journalistic content. The descriptive-analytical method was adopted, utilizing a questionnaire as the primary research tool. The study sample consisted of 178 journalists, all members of the Jordanian Press Association who use social media in covering scientific issues. The results revealed that the majority of journalists primarily rely on social media to gather scientific information, with Facebook being the most preferred platform (61.8%). Furthermore, the spread of unverified scientific news was identified as a significant threat to journalistic credibility, with …

The Role Of Public Relations Practitioners In Jordanian Hospitals In Managing The Covid-19 Crisis In 2020., Dana Khalil Basheer Al-Shloul

Middle East Journal of Communication Studies

This study aimed to identify the departments and divisions that contributed to public relations in Jordanian hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to determine the procedures undertaken by public relations practitioners and the challenges they faced. Utilizing a descriptive-survey methodology guided by the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) model, the research collected data from a comprehensive sample of 16 individuals using a questionnaire.

The findings revealed that senior management’s participation in pandemic management in the surveyed hospitals was 37.93%, followed by the Ministry of Health at 27.59%. The public relations department’s actions varied by phase. Before the …

Jordanian Digital Media Organizations Rely On Artificial Intelligence To Produce Scientific Content, Baraa Kamal Abdul Latif Abu Humam

Middle East Journal of Communication Studies

The research aims to identify the extent to which workers in Jordanian digital media organizations rely on artificial intelligence in the production of scientific content, by knowing the extent of Jordanian digital media's coverage of scientific content, and the most prominent types of scientific content that rely on artificial intelligence techniques in its production, what are the most prominent roles that artificial intelligence plays during the production of scientific content, and what are the most prominent artificial intelligence techniques used in the production of scientific content, and the  study belongs to descriptive research, and relies on the field survey method, …

Media And Climate Change: Responsibilities And Tasks, Kamel Khurshid Murad, Najm A. Alhatimi, Muhammed Kamel Al-Quran

Middle East Journal of Communication Studies

The study aimed to examine the role of the media in enhancing public awareness of climate change and to assess how media framing of content influences individuals’ beliefs, responses to climate-related messages, and subsequent behaviors. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, combining both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. A survey was conducted with 142 academics and university students to evaluate the media’s role in covering climate change issues and to determine their level of trust in the presented content. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five experts specializing in journalism and media, including professionals in media management and program hosting. The findings …

41.82379°N, 71.38497°W, Xiaotong Cai

Masters Theses

I, Xiaotong Cai, have known an abandoned bridge was lifted and stuck at 64-degree from 1976. I have walked and bent down towards it for over 60 times, each paralleling a journal entry. The visits and 27,351 words (up until May 5th) are the living proof: observation, encounters, correspondence, collectively and personally. It’s been nine months since it emerged in flux. Two flesh. A moving outsider and a still bridge. How can an Unused giant activate a human body? Who is the attractor and intervener?

Here, my solution is to conduct a series of small gestures. I say, interpreting without …

I Believe, Rusudan Dushuashvili

Masters Theses

This thesis investigates how products become believable and desirable through the stories that surround them, and how design enables the continuous cycle of desire that defines consumption. Drawing on  the underlying structures of myth-making, identity, and belonging that allow consumer culture to function, it argues that consumer culture operates through the same instruments older systems of belief have always used — narrative, ritual, sacred objects, and shared language — and that design is what makes the story stick to the object.

“I Believe” is an archive of objects collected from contemporary consumer culture. Half are products found in the marketplace; …

War Photography & The Limits Of Empathy, Andrea Shi

Student Theses and Dissertations

The proliferation of photography, particularly war and poverty photography, has had massive implications for the level of vividness with which Americans are able to picture suffering beyond their doors. The mass atrocities that have occurred since the advent of photography – that is to say, the last 200 years – are so relentlessly circulated that they feel, sometimes, as an inevitable byproduct of human nature. It’s not surprising, then, that a lot of media theory and analysis reduce the dilemma of atrocity photographs to a psychological level. Do they numb us, or do they incite empathy? Are they a call …

Rhetorical Frames In Daily Fantasy Sports Promotion: Referral-Code Creators And Official Advertisers, Garrett P. Hughes

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

In the years since the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, sports gambling and related products have become increasingly visible in U.S. sports culture. Daily fantasy sports sit within this larger environment and are often promoted as skill-based, social, and routine parts of fandom. This study examined how daily fantasy sports are rhetorically framed on TikTok by comparing official daily fantasy sports advertisements with content posted by referral-code creators, a term used here to describe TikTok users who promote platforms through referral or partner codes while presenting picks, tips, or betting advice. The guiding research question asked …

Please Don’T Kill Big Bird: The Crusade Against Public Broadcasting, Paige Meyer-Draffen

Whittier Scholars Program

The sword and shield conservatives wield in their crusade against the CPB are contradictory constructs that represent the hypocrisy, greed, and monopolistic inclinations that underpin the efforts to kill public broadcasting. The Shield that conservatives stand behind is the rhetorical defenses employed to degrade the institution of Public Broadcasting. Arguments like protecting the American Family in the culture wars from programming like PBS’ Tales of the City (1993), or accusing NPR of being a biased, inaccurate journalistic outlet, and reducing PBS and NPR to only serving “wealthy, white, urban liberals and progressives, who generally look down on and judge rural …

A Content Analysis Of Media Framing Regarding Name, Image, And Likeness And The Transfer Portal In Men’S College Basketball, Ethan Alexander

Honors College Theses

This study investigates media framing as it relates to name, image, and likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal in men’s college basketball. This study serves as an introductory point for future framing research surrounding NIL and the transfer portal, two topics that have not been thoroughly researched up to this point. While the analysis does reveal previously unrecorded frames, the data and study as a whole serve as foundational tools for future research and are not conclusive regarding these specific topics and their usage within framing research. Through the deductive coding of articles published by ESPN throughout the last five …

Going For Gold: Increasing Overall Membership In The Mankato Figure Skating Club, Stephanie Carlson

Strategic Communication Master of Arts Thesis Projects

The Mankato Figure Skating Club (MFSC) is a non-profit community sports organization that provides skating lessons to the Mankato Community. The main problem facing MFSC is its unstable membership numbers. The purpose of this project is to use research and analysis to uncover strategic and creative solutions. Secondary research revealed that volunteer volume, management, organization culture, and community investment are important in running a successful non-profit sports organization. MFSC needs to grow its membership numbers, otherwise this 50-year-old organization may have to disband. MFSC has not conducted research and analysis like this before; this project is the first to provide …

Bring The Heat, Bring The Savings: Supporting Strategic Growth For A Minnesota-Based Energy Efficiency Nonprofit, Abigail P. Oldenberg

Strategic Communication Master of Arts Thesis Projects

The Minnesota-based nonprofit organization Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) exists to deliver effective energy solutions to cold-climate states. Its primary mission is to make energy more affordable for residents and businesses, promote environmental equity, and lower carbon footprints. This project considers the social and political landscape in the United States and its impact on environmental nonprofits. Given the status of grants allocated for energy efficiency programs, while prioritizing the organization’s business development goals, Center for Energy and Environment must diversify its revenue streams. Primary and secondary research conducted for this project includes annual impact reports, social media and website …

How Elements Including Location, Time Of Day, And Narrative Structure Influence Audience Engagement And Emotional Connection Within Short Form Video Content, Ashleighe Gibson

Communications and Digital Media Theses

This study examines how TikTok-based digital storytelling communicates urban walking experiences in New York City, focusing on how content strategies influence audience engagement and emotional connection. While both walking and short-form video storytelling have been widely studied, their intersection in shaping perceptions of urban environments remains underexplored. Using a mixed-methods approach, a TikTok account was created to document walking experiences, with content systematically varied by key factors including narrative structure, posting frequency, and environmental context. Engagement metrics, including views, likes, comments, and shares were analyzed alongside qualitative reflections to identify patterns in audience engagement and response. Findings indicate that engagement …