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Full-Text Articles in Communication

News Credibility And Blogs: Exploring The Effect Of Blog Use On Perceptions Of News Credibility, Daniel Spencer Duerden Dec 2010

News Credibility And Blogs: Exploring The Effect Of Blog Use On Perceptions Of News Credibility, Daniel Spencer Duerden

Theses and Dissertations

News credibility studies have been around since radio and television began competing with the newspaper industry for consumers' attention. However, at this time, the news industry is experiencing a shift in medium as the Internet is quickly becoming the predominant source by which many get their news. Due to the free and independent nature of the Internet and the rise of blogging as a source by which people get news and information, audience perception of what constitutes a credible source needed to be examined. This study took the dimensions of news credibility that have been set in previous studies and …


A Case Study Of The Impact Of Filmmaker Decisions In The Construction Of A Documentary: Helen Whitney's (2007) The Mormons, Elizabeth Joy Mott Dec 2010

A Case Study Of The Impact Of Filmmaker Decisions In The Construction Of A Documentary: Helen Whitney's (2007) The Mormons, Elizabeth Joy Mott

Theses and Dissertations

Informed by theories of media framing, exemplification, and non-fiction film production, this case study used as its sample for textual analysis the typed transcripts from the final cut of Helen Whitney's (2007) documentary film, The Mormons, and the interview transcripts of the 15 key commentators interviewed for the documentary. These theories suggest that (a) media producers condense topics in the media by selecting information that connects news stories to a larger context and imbues them with symbolic value; (b) verbal and visual examples have been shown to be more easily retrieved in memory than abstract ideas and are consequently …


An Identification Of Themes In The Charted Course Of The Church In Education, John Morrison Cannon Aug 2010

An Identification Of Themes In The Charted Course Of The Church In Education, John Morrison Cannon

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis operates under the assumption that the earliest form of mass communication is the religious sermon as recorded in the Bible. This thesis looks to Bormann, who used a sacred to secular approach and found similarities between Puritan sermons and the rhetoric of political speeches. This research reverses that order and moves from secular to sacred by looking first at well-known American speeches and then at landmark addresses to Seminary and Institutes of Religion teachers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—and specifically at Clark's The Charted Course of the Church in Education. This single sermon, delivered …


The Impact Of Broadcast Localism On Delaware Valley News And Talk Radio, Brian Nicholas Aug 2010

The Impact Of Broadcast Localism On Delaware Valley News And Talk Radio, Brian Nicholas

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to the examine the influence of Broadcast Localism on news/talk radio in the Delaware Valley to determine how it might impact the future of the medium as a viable public relations tool. A non-scientific snowball survey of 19 Delaware Valley public relations professionals was used to forecast the likely impact of localism on radio. In addition, in-depth interviews with Delaware Valley radio executives were conducted to learn what impact localism might have on the radio industry. This research collected and quantified primary data from public relations professionals using surveymonkey.com. Interview responses were collected as …


Characterization: A Content Analysis Of Pulitzer-Awarded And Traditional Features, Linda Janet Tobler Jul 2010

Characterization: A Content Analysis Of Pulitzer-Awarded And Traditional Features, Linda Janet Tobler

Theses and Dissertations

Characterization in Pulitzer-awarded features and traditional features was measured using a characterization typology developed by the author. Although some of the results were statistically constrained by a small n, those results which were statistically significant reflect that what separates Pulitzer-winning features from regular features are those elements of characterization particular to scene: a character's distinctive physical characteristics, clothing and possessions; the setting and environment as it defines a character; a physical description of character that is not lineament nor habitual posture or expression but bodily appearance in the immediate moment; a character's movements and actions, facial expressions, words, and …


An Assessment Of Stakeholder Response Of Collegiate Spots Marketing Across Three Western State Universities, Casey D. Stauffer Jul 2010

An Assessment Of Stakeholder Response Of Collegiate Spots Marketing Across Three Western State Universities, Casey D. Stauffer

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to explore stakeholder response to the increase in corporate involvement in college sports. As tough economic times have been steadily realized into a recession, the rise in educational costs and in amount of money required to run athletic programs have placed a tremendous need on athletic departments for money. As a result, a popular trend of outsourcing or selling, marketing rights to third party entities has been a quick way to raise needed revenues. In the selling of these marketing rights, athletic departments have essentially opened the door to allow for an increase in …


What Are Physicians' Perceptions Of Proposed Federalized Healthcare And How Do They Feel It Will Impact The Quality Of Health Care?, Katrina Stier Jun 2010

What Are Physicians' Perceptions Of Proposed Federalized Healthcare And How Do They Feel It Will Impact The Quality Of Health Care?, Katrina Stier

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine physicians' opinions of a federalized health care system as well as the effect federalized health care will have on the quality of patient care provided by physicians. A survey was randomly administrated to physicians from across the United States. The survey was administered as an on-line instrument. Because physicians are difficult to gather together for a focus group, a survey, consisting of multiple choice questions and personal interviews, was used for data collection. The survey was comprised of matrix questions. Each physician was given the opportunity to write in additional comments or …


The Public Relations Aspects Of Municipality Wind Energy Development: A Case Study Of Wind Energy In Ocean Gate, Nj, Gregory Richter Jun 2010

The Public Relations Aspects Of Municipality Wind Energy Development: A Case Study Of Wind Energy In Ocean Gate, Nj, Gregory Richter

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this exploratory investigation were to (a) determine if the local government of Ocean Gate, NJ, would use communication techniques to achieve compliance, or sufficient approval, of government and citizens for wind turbine development and (b) determine if some citizens will express strong views against wind energy while the majority of Ocean Gate's citizens will favor wind turbine power generation in their municipality. This researcher used interviews with important figures surrounding the wind project. This researcher also conducted pen and paper survey research of 106 local residents of Ocean Gate and surrounding areas through a convenience sample found …


Turn It Up To Eleven: A Study Of Guitar Hero And Rockband: Why People Play Them And How Marketers Can Use This Information, Timothy J. Hemingway Apr 2010

Turn It Up To Eleven: A Study Of Guitar Hero And Rockband: Why People Play Them And How Marketers Can Use This Information, Timothy J. Hemingway

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to first understand why individuals play Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Several motivational factors are looked at including fantasy, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and the desire to play a real instrument. In addition to the motivation factors, the communication theories of uses and gratifications and deficient self-regulation are used to define the gamers who play Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Once the paper defines a theoretical framework, a survey is used to test the variables. The significant findings are then discussed and suggestions are made as to how these games can more effectively be used as marketing …


The News Director's Balance Of Business And News: An Oral History Exploration Of Salt Lake Television News, 1948 - 2008, Andrew Miles Tyler Mar 2010

The News Director's Balance Of Business And News: An Oral History Exploration Of Salt Lake Television News, 1948 - 2008, Andrew Miles Tyler

Theses and Dissertations

News directors fill, perhaps, one of the most difficult roles within the drama of the news room. In an environment where objectivity and trust are paramount, and where bias must be kept at an absolute minimum, the news director exists as the arbiter, balancing these journalistic ideals with the necessities for financial survival. This scenario presents a conflict, in which the news director must constantly balance the journalistic obligation to inform the public, with the managerial obligation to generate a profit. In an exploration of this conflict, I interviewed three news directors from KUTV, KSL, and KTVX within the Salt …


An Analysis Of The Elements Of Collaboration Associated With Top Collaborative Tools, Kristopher C. Nagy Mar 2010

An Analysis Of The Elements Of Collaboration Associated With Top Collaborative Tools, Kristopher C. Nagy

Theses and Dissertations

United States government agencies have historically experienced problems with inter-agency information sharing and collaboration. In fact, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United Stated recommended that the U.S. government “increase information sharing” and “improve collaboration across government agencies.” To this day, no collaborative tools are being used to fully address that recommendation. In fact, there is little agreement as to what collaboration necessarily means and what characteristics or capabilities are best suited for the design and use of collaborative tools. Before we can improve collaboration across agencies, we need to better understand the nature of collaboration itself, and …