Broadcast and Video Studies Commons^™

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 …

Res Historica, Volume 5, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta, Lindsay Rae Smith Privette Phd

Res Historica

The 2026 journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lindsay Rae Smith Privette, Julia Ackerman, Callyn Wright, Logan Davis, and John Hinton. Cover art by Mary Beth Lee.

Identifying Youth Appeals In Alcohol Alternative Social Media Content Through Framing, Melina Oneal

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Proposed regulations for alcohol advertising prevent beverage companies from targeting people under the legal drinking age. However, similar regulations for alcohol alternative beverages are less explored, which could allow alcohol alternative products to create awareness for alcoholic beverages among youth. Alcohol alternatives beverages, including no-alcohol and low-alcohol products, are increasing in popularity and can function as compliments to alcoholic products to decrease the total alcohol volume consumed or as substitutes for alcoholic products. Framing theory can be operationalized through the Content Appealing to Youth Index, an index of content elements found in research literature to be appealing to youth, to …

The Regenarrative: How To Change The Story In Order To Change The Future, S. Rose Bigheart O'Leary

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Abstract

In the era of Climate Change, many are concerned that the end of the Anthropocene, or the end of the era of human life on Earth, is upon us. Western European colonialism and its subsequent systems (settler-colonialism, colonial-capitalism, and globalization - sometimes termed “neocolonialism”) have all been implicated in contributing to unsustainable behaviors linked to accelerating climate change. In searching for possible solutions, some have called for listening to Indigenous Peoples, citing ethics of sustainability found among many Indigenous cultures. However, the cultural products of settler-colonialism are still dominant in ways that do not allow for Indigenous worldviews to …

Framing Of Latinx Vote Choice And Voter Registration, Laurel E. Bennett

Student Publications

This work investigates media framing done by CNN between the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. Although Latinx voters remain underrepresented and under researched, they have the ability to highly influence elections. Specifically, CNN uses the sleeping giant frame, the need for Latinx voter registration as a frame, and the importance of Latinx voter mobilization as a frame in the 2020 presidential election more prominently than in the 2016 presidential election upon consideration of Latinx vote choice and voter turnout.

The Great Resignation: A Content Analysis Of News Sources' Portrayals Of The Covid-19 Labor Shortage., Mackenzie Williams

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

When workers left the labor market in large numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic, proclamations of a labor shortage emerged extensively throughout the news. In this study, I analyze the coverage of the worker shortage among three news sources with different political orientations. Several themes emerged from analyzing a total of 75 articles. The findings showed that the perspective shown in the article, the cause of the labor shortage, restaurant worker portrayal, support of solutions, and opinion of the labor shortage all differed based on the political identity of the news source. This research supports previous findings that show there is …

Black Occularity, The White Gaze, And Color-Blindness In Shonda Rhimes' Bridgerton, Daniella Ruiz Cantu

Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

The white gaze, or the assumption that the default reader or observer of a piece of media is white, affects the way that people of color are shown on television. This research project uses the hit Netflix show Bridgerton to study the way that modern-day representations of people of color both challenge whiteness and white supremacy, while also reinforcing the white gaze. This is done through the examination of works by George Yancy, Laraine Wallowits, Frantz Fanon, Laura Mulvey, Kristen J. Warner, and Cheryl I. Harris on the white gaze, the male gaze, narrative conventions of soap operas and telenovelas, …

Political Discussion And Disagreement: Seeking Validation Through News Media, Michael Carmona

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study explores how often individuals discuss politics with family/friends and acquaintances, how often individuals are exposed to disagreement during those discussions, the strategies they use to respond to political disagreement, and the use of news media following those disagreements. Through the lens of Uses and Gratifications theory, this study examined these elements through an online survey of U.S. adults. The results of this study did not support Hopmann’s, Bjarnøe’s, and Wonneberger’s findings about the relationship between the frequency of political disagreement and the strategies for responding to that disagreement. This study highlights how the discussions and disagreements we have …

Hudson Yards: Hybrid Capital's New Home, Massimo D. Scoditti

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis focuses on the material and metaphysical aspects of the Hudson Yards, the largest private development in US History. With its roots in the administration of Michael Bloomberg, the site is representative of neoliberal ideology. It is also one in which cultural production is central. This is in terms of the rationalization and mythos of the building of the space itself and the dreamworlds created to obscure the mechanisms of extraction and accumulation that make such a complex possible. The Hudson Yards is particularly interesting because, as Cindi Katz might suggest, topography lines connect it to transnational capital. And …

À La Carte Cable: A Regulatory Solution To The Misinformation Subsidy, Christopher R. Terry, Eliezer J. Silberberg, Stephen Schmitz, John Stack, Eve Sando

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

Although “fake news” is as old as mass media itself, concerns over disinformation have reached a fever pitch in our current media environment. Online media outlets’ heavy reliance on user-generated content has altered the traditional gatekeeping functions and professional standards associated with traditional news organizations. The idea of objectivity-focused informational content has primarily been substituted for a realist acceptance of the power and popularity of opinion-driven “news.” This shift is starkly visible now: mainstream news media outlets knowingly spread hoaxes, conspiracy theories, and the like.

This current state of affairs is not some freak accident. The Supreme Court’s First Amendment …

Racialized Reality: Crime News And Racial Stereotype Framing, Warrington Sebree

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research shows that crime news is a primary mechanism for shaping public consciousness surrounding legal order, social morality, and threats present in their citizens communities. This research explores how news media influences negative attitudes towards criminal justice reform and Black identity. Utilizing Framing Theory, this study focuses on whether negative stereotypes in crime news triggers racial prejudice and bias towards African Americans. Participants of this study will consist of current students at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. The findings suggest that knowing the race of a potential criminal assailant influences respondents’ attitudes towards presumptions of guilt, future criminality, and criminal …

American Samoa Politics: Performing Sāmoa, Dayonara S. Gaoteote

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

American Samoa as a self-governing U.S. territory located in the South Pacific is fortunate to be able to maintain their cultural traditions, language, and lands in all aspects- including their government. However, when the community suffers from a number of growing issues that affect the health and safety of its citizens, an analysis of the culture and leadership is fitting. I interviewed Jacqueline Tuiasosopo-Mata'u, Dr. Tapa'au Daniel Aga, and Chief Tauaisafune Niualama Taifane to gain insight into American Samoa government history, American Samoa government and community in the present, and to describe cultural practices and traditions that are in place. …

War, Media, And Memory: American Television News Coverage Of The Vietnam War, Brock J. Vaughan

Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Connections

Social and political impacts of television news coverage of the Vietnam War are often glorified and grossly overestimated. This paper argues that the role of the American media during the war did not directly affect public support for the war, nor did it profoundly impact American nationalism and military policy. Television news coverage did, however, influence how events were perceived and remembered. The commonly held belief that the American news media was directly responsible for the decline of public confidence in the U.S. government, ultimately contributing to the public’s distaste for any further involvement in Vietnam, is a narrow viewpoint …

China’S “Three Warfares”: People’S Liberation Army Influence Operations, Edwin S. Cochran, U.S. Department Of Defense, Retired

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The following article—whose author is both a retired US Army officer and retired Department of Defense civilian employee with multiple publications—focuses on Chinese information operations. Readers might wish to speculate on matters such as why the Chinese have organized the way they have, whether the organization leads to optimal integration of tools of national security/political power, and how vulnerable specific populations and even intelligence cultures are to specific types of information operations. One might even conclude that the only thing that has not changed in thousands of years has been the technology available to influence others.

This article examines the …

B613?, Donna Roberts

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

Comment from IBPP Editor: Psychological research traditions relevant to this article include (1) magical thinking not as schizotypal indicator but as normative phenomenon, (2) the developmental sequence of primary omniscience followed by the paranoid-schizoid and depressive positions of Kleinian psychoanalysis, and (3) collective psychologies including the Jungian collective unconscious as exploitable by charismatic political leaders.

Author's abstract: Hollywood will always be Hollywood. There will always be ridiculous chase scenes, impossible rescues and implausible conspiracies, each accompanied by the proverbial warning, “Don’t try this at home.” But sometimes, when art seems to imitate life and aspects of the fantasy world on …

The Political Preference Of Arkansas Farmers And Ranchers, Rachel J. Barry, Donna L. Graham

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Access to information is critical to improving production efficiency, but little is known about how farmers are informed on the policy or issues influencing programs related to farming. This research sought to determine the sources of communication used by farmers and ranchers to form opinions about agricultural policy and candidates, identify the issues important in voting, and their level of participation in the political process. Face-to-face interaction was the preferred form of communication in farm organization meetings, with friends, or farm agencies. Magazines were the preferred source of print communication, and university/extension websites were preferred for internet sources. Broadcast media …

Rwu First Amendment Blog: David Logan's Blog: Media Centralization Imperils Marketplace Of Ideas 04-05-2018, David A. Logan

Law School Blogs

No abstract provided.

In Media Res, Christopher Andrew Sisk

Theses and Dissertations

We are inundated by a constant feed of media that responds and adapts in real time to the impulses of our psyches and the dimensions of our devices. Beneath the surface, this stream of information is directed by hidden, automated controls and steered by political agendas. The transmission of information has evolved into a spiral of entropy, and the boundaries between author, content, platform, and receiver have blurred. This reductive space of responsive media is a catalyst for immense political and cultural change, causing us to question our notions of authority, truth, and reality.

Politics, Culture And Media: Neo-Ottomanism As A Transnational Cultural Policy On Trt El Arabia And Trt Avaz, Y. Gökçen Karanfil, D. Burcu Eğilmez

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

This article examines the ways in which Turkish Radio and Television Institution (TRT), as the public service broadcaster of Turkey, has been mobilized by the Justice and Development Party (JDP) to contribute to the dissemination of a neo-Ottomanist discourse in the neighboring geographies. Our focus is on two expansions of TRT, namely TRT Avaz and TRT El Arabia, that aim at reaching markets outside the national borders of Turkey. Our interest here lies in three intersecting phenomena. One is the notion of neo-Ottomanism and its deployment as a cultural policy geared towards a market of transnational viewers. The other is …

And That's The Word: Effects Of The Colbert Report On Political Knowledge And Participation, Nicholas Canfield

Student Research – Stevenson Center

The Colbert Report was a satirical, political, and “fake” news show that lasted for almost a decade on the Comedy Central Network. Although many scholars have argued the program was less impactful and influential than Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, phenomena such as the “Colbert Bump” show a definite impact on the political lives of many Americans. Using four quantitative surveys from 2008 to 2012, this thesis investigates the effects of watching The Colbert Report on individuals’ political knowledge and political participation. Results indicate non-Republican viewers increased their political knowledge, but not participation, from watching the show. The educational …

Churchill’S Argument Against Democracy: The Average Voter. Information Levels And News Sources Among Americans, Kyle Priest

Political Science Theses and Capstones

A democracy needs an informed public. However, I investigate low levels of political awareness among Americans. I focus on whether people understand issues incorrectly or are simply disengaged and inattentive. There is an important difference between them. Those who are uninformed simply do not know, which would make it easier to turn them into informed citizens. All that would be needed is for them to access the right information. For those who are misinformed, however, it is a tougher task. They believe that their answer is right, and even though they are in fact wrong, they are more willing to …

Because I Said So: A Functional Theory Analysis Of Evidence In Political Tv Spots, Jayne R. Henson, William L. Benoit

Speaker & Gavel

This study examines presidential general election television advertising (1952-2004), primary advertising (1952-2008), and non-presidential advertising from 2002 (gubernatorial, U.S. Senate, U.S. House) to understand the use of evidence (statements for which sources are provided) in such campaign messages. 8% of the themes in these spots were supported by evidence (that is, identified a source for a claim). However, the longitudinal presidential data suggests that evidence in advertising was rare until the 1990s, when Bill Clinton in particular employed a great deal of evidence in his spots. Although the appeals across all ads were mainly positive (70% of the themes in …

Death Of A Politician, Brian W. Sanders

Global Tides

This paper strives to explain the remarkable efficacy of brash rhetoric, specifically analyzed through the lens of Donald Trump’s sustained popularity in the 2016 Presidential Election. Examining Trump’s rhetorically generated relationships with the media, immigrants, politicians, and women, this paper explores the increasing importance of sophistic rhetoric and rhetorical ethos. Appeals to audience identification through in-groups and out-groups are explored, followed by an examination of the appeal of violent metaphors and sanctity considerations to Trump’s voter base. Trump’s successful self perpetuating cycle of shocking statements, followed by increased news coverage and political popularity is explained. Finally, this paper analyzes the …

A Functional Analysis Of 2008 Presidential Primary Tv Spots, William L. Benoit, Leslie Rill

Speaker & Gavel

The 2008 presidential campaign was unusual for a number of reasons. For the first time since 1952, neither the President nor the Vice President contended for the Oval Office. This meant highly contested primaries in both major political parties. As the Democratic primary ground toward the end, the leading candidates were an African-American–Barack Obama–and a woman–Hillary Clinton. More money was raised and spent on the primary campaign than ever before. This means that the campaign messages in this election deserve scholarly attention. This study applies Benoit’s Functional Theory and Petrocik’s Issue Ownership Theory to primary campaign ads from both major …

A Functional Analysis Of 2008 General Election Presidential Tv Spots, William L. Benoit, Mark Glantz

Speaker & Gavel

This study performed content analysis on the general election TV spots from Democratic nominee Barack Obama and Republican nominee John McCain in the 2008 presidential campaign. There was no significant difference in function by incumbency, which is not surprising given that neither major party candidates was the sitting president or vice president. Unlike ads from previous years, these ads contained more attacks (65%) than acclaims (34%; and like earlier campaigns few defenses: 1%). These ads stressed policy (58%) more than character (42%). The Democratic candidate, as in previous elections, discussed policy more, and character less, than the Republican candidate. Both …

Obama Transforming: Using Functional Theory To Identify Transformational Leadership, Kristina Drumheller, Greg G. Armfield

Speaker & Gavel

The 2008 presidential campaign convention speeches broke records as viewers flocked to the speeches by Obama, Palin, and McCain in numbers that rivaled American Idol ratings. Adapting functional theory (Benoit, 2007) to include transformational leadership characteristics (Bass & Avolio, 1990), President Obama‘s 2008 nomination acceptance speech was used test the adapting of functional theory for analyzing leadership claims. Secondary data were used as evidentiary support of Obama‘s efforts to make changes once in the White House. Results are discussed and framed within functional theory and transfor-mational leadership.

Approaching Ideals Through Innovation: Twentieth And Twenty-First Century Mass Media Technology And American Democracy, Elizabeth Brand Cermak

Senior Theses

From the moment our First Amendment was adopted, America’s ideal of democracy has been firmly intertwined with media communications between the President and the citizenry. Over time, technological advancements have altered the way this communication is facilitated, increasing the public’s access to the Office of the Presidency, and visa versa, via new forms of media. Through an examination of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s use of the radio, the first televised debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960, and Barack Obama’s use of Social Media and the Internet, this thesis will seek to answer the question of whether the …

Specters Of Kurdish Nationalism: Governmentality And Counterinsurgent Translation In Turkey, Nicholas S. Glastonbury

Publications and Research

This essay examines translations of the Kurdish epic poem Mem û Zîn into Turkish, tracing the logics behind these state-sponsored translations and examining how acts of translation are also efforts to regulate, translate, and erase Kurdish subjectivities. I argue that the state instrumentalizes Mem û Zîn’s potent nationalist currency in order to disarm present and future claims of Kurdish national autonomy. Using translation as a counterinsurgent governmental tool, the state attempts to domesticate Kurdish nationalist discourses even as it reproduces them, thereby transforming Kurdish nationalism into a specter of itself. Attending to this specter, however, allows us to see how …

Iranian Nuclear Proliferation And Sanctions, Bailey Nicole Burlingame

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This project will involve the current problem of nuclear development in the nation of Iran. The question involved in the election studies was, “Should we try to stop Iranian Nuclear Development by increasing sanctions, yes or no?” According to the US Department of State website, they are attempting to increase these sanctions against individuals or cooperations who can be proven to have provided aid, information, or mechanical aspects to assist the goal of Iranian nuclear proliferation. The website provides identifying information for the individuals involved. The answer to this question I believe will be determined the amount of news information …

Exploring Economists & Society: Constructing Expert Identity, Joseph Fitzgerald, Brendan O'Rourke

Conference papers

The recent economic crisis has created a heightened interest in economics and greater demand for economics experts. The media has played an important role in meeting this demand as mediated expertise is relied upon to understand the complex relationships within society (Albaek, Christiansen and Togeby 2003; Beck 1992; Boyce 2006; Giddens 1990). Such interactions of experts with media are a key element of the knowledge flows within society (Sturdy et al. 2009) and so have attracted research attention (Ekstrom and Lundell 2011; Hutchby 2006; Montgomery 2008). This paper contributes to this literature by focusing on the under-researched area of the …