Broadcast and Video Studies Commons^™

The Untold History Of Nevada's Shield Statute, Matthew Travis Ward

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The history of American journalism is replete with anecdotes about news reporters enduring jail and other penalties to protect the identities of confidential sources of information. Since as early as the American Revolution journalists have often found themselves at odds with established authority. In the political cauldron of the late 1960s and early 1970s, U.S. government intrusion into the news gathering process was widespread. The notion the First Amendment protected journalists from revealing sources was invalidated by the Supreme Court's 1972 decision in Branzburg v. Hayes. Many states throughout the nation reacted by codifying a reporter's privilege. Nevada did so …

Gilded Age Visual Media As The Impetus For Social Change: Jacob Riis's Reform Photography And The Antecedents Of Documentary Film, Denitsa Yotova

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis examines the birth and evolution of the social documentary genre in visual media. It proposes that a mixture of ideology, technology, and social awareness are necessary for a successful social reform. Its review and study of related primary and secondary sources determines that despite the limitations of technology during the nineteenth century, social documentaries were produced long before they were part of the genres of photography and film. By focusing on the work of Danish photographer Jacob Riis and tracing the emergence of the film medium through time, this thesis demonstrates a strong connection between documentary film and …

High Stakes Of Media Messages: Decoding Visual Narratives From The Iraq War In The U.S. And British Presses, Jennifer Liese

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research analyzes media coverage of the Iraq War from the perspective of the invading forces, the United States and the United Kingdom. The New York Times and The Guardian were chosen to represent news from their respective countries because of their high circulation rates and international prestige for journalistic reporting. The study focuses on how the Iraq War was visually represented after the Iraq invasion of 2003, examining periods in 2006 and 2011. There were significant differences in how The New York Times and The Guardian visually portrayed the war in 2006, especially in terms of Iraqi civilian and …

"I Got Shot Five Times And I Got Crucified To The Media": Tupac Amaru Shakur -- Moral Panic, Media Crucifixion And Resurrection, Lucas Jerome Combs

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis looks at why the media had and continues to have a fascination with the late rap artist Tupac Amaru Shakur. A content analysis of coverage from twelve newspaper publications was used to better understand the nature of the coverage on Shakur. Analysis of coverage after Shakur's death determines the tone of coverage varied from the coverage when the rapper was alive. The concept of moral panic explains media attitude.

Walt Disney And The Propaganda Complex: Government Funded Animation And Hollywood Complicity During Wwii, Amanda Michelle Cunningham

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The focus of this proposed thesis will be on the animated propaganda films the studios of Walt Disney produced for the government during World War II, analyzing three of the most widely viewed animated features: The New Spirit (1942), Der Fuehrer's Face (1943), and Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi (1943). These government-financed films were used to encourage Americans to pay their taxes; they generally depicted Germany as a threatening enemy and encouraged support for America's effort and involvement in the war. Using a semiotics theoretical approach, the thesis will analyze these films as propaganda to demonstrate how …

Virtual Rebel Website: A Strategy To Increase User Engagement Through Bounce Rate Analysis, Michael Vendivel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In a media environment that increasingly demands captivating content on a website, user engagement becomes a critical factor in the strategy of maintaining user interest. Research based on website analytics has shown that decreasing the Bounce Rate increased the time a web user spends on a website, entailing higher user engagement. Bounce Rate is the ratio of single-page visits on a website divided by the total number of visits, and it is used primarily used to quantify user interest. By examining the analytics and design of the student-run news siteVirtual Rebel, produced by the Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and …

Media Bias Through Facial Expressions On Local Las Vegas Television News Programs: A Visual Content Analysis, Jessica Zimmerman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Trust in news media has been considered an important base for social order and cohesion in society and is a crucial variable for evaluating news media. Media credibility has been questioned by the audience for some time and the audience's trust in the media has been slowly diminishing over the years. When a news broadcaster communicates a story on local television news, it is possible for his own opinions to leak through nonverbal communication, specifically facial expressions. This thesis explores the six local Las Vegas television news stations' anchors and reporters to visually analyze whether facial characteristics reveal media bias …

The Other September 11th: El Mercurio Media Coverage After The Chilean Coup Of 1973, Valeria Andrea Gurr-Ovalle

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis provides an exploratory overview of the role the El Mercurio newspaper played along with the military after the Chilean coup of 1973. The study reviews the contents of the newspaper's front pages, including their coverage of the events during the coup. The thesis will show how the paper revisited its coverage each year on the anniversary -- September 11th and 12th -- beginning with the years dominated by the military government, from 1973 through 1990, and continuing through the transition to democracy, from 1991 through 2007. The primary method used in the course of this examination is a …

The Perceived Level Of Enjoyment In Sports Violence: An Experiment Examining How Sports Commentary, Fanship, And Gender Affect Viewer Emotions, Sarah Vineyard

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This investigation examines if the independent variables of sports commentary, fanship, and gender affect the viewer's level of perceived enjoyment while watching sports violence through televised professional football and hockey clips. Previous studies have found that these three variables contribute most to a viewer's level of perceived enjoyment. This study aimed to test to see if that was still true, while taking into account new rules regarding violence by the National Football League and the National Hockey League. This thesis addresses all variables in one study, which something past research has failed to do.

Perhaps the most significant finding from …

Muting The Masses: Effects Of The Spiral Of Silence In The College Newsroom, Blaire Ritter

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This paper explores whether or not Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's theory, the spiral of silence, is an accurate theoretical lens to examine the issues of censorship and conflict in the student broadcast newsroom. Using data collected from classroom observations and student interviews, levels of involuntary and voluntary censorship and editorial control were examined to see if they played a role in classroom dynamic and editorial decisions. Each instance was looked at to see if it fit five criteria; a threat of isolation by peers or community, a fear of this threat, a willingness to speak out by the majority, a quasi-statistical sense …

Social Media Strategy For The Hank Greenspun School Of Journalism And Media Studies, Irene Williams

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Within the past 10 years, communication online has evolved tremendously toward social media. This rapid change has been difficult for higher education institutions (HEI) to adapt to, leaving this important area underexplored. This strategic social media plan was developed to improve internal and external communication for the Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies (JMS). By initiating social media platforms, relationships are cultivated with present and future students on Facebook and Twitter. This strategic social media plan develops and maintains Facebook and Twitter pages for JMS and interprets social media site visitation data. These data provide information on users, …

The Uses And Gratifications Of Dance Reality Television Shows, Heather M. Yuille

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Uses and Gratifications of Dance Reality Shows

Competition based dance reality shows are a sub-category under the reality television show genre. One way to add to the growing body of research about reality television shows is to study each sub-category individually in terms of uses and gratifications theory. Therefore this research looked into the reasons why people watch dance reality shows. Since dance is an art form that has deep historic roots, has experienced highs and lows in terms of public perception and has experienced a strong resurgence recently within the realm of reality television, it proves to be …

You Should Know Jack: A Qualitative Study Of The Jack Lalanne Show (1951-~1965), Robert Cochrane

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Jack LaLanne hosted the first and longest running fitness program in United States broadcast history from 1951 through 1985. Since LaLanne's rise as a broadcasting celebrity, the health and fitness industry has grown from a small, somewhat-maligned field into a multi-billion dollar per year economy of its own. As LaLanne reached iconic status through his show, his name became synonymous with good health and nutrition, but the messages of his show went far beyond simple exercises. He used religious, patriotic, and biomedical messages to get his points across. In addition, he was a showman who sang to his audience, used …

The Information Battlefield: Al-Qaeda's Use Of Advanced Media Technologies For Framed Messaging, Jessica Marie Martin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Through a descriptive and qualitative content analysis of Al-Qaeda videos from 2001 to 2010, this thesis describes how the organization's video production has undergone a surge in production quality by using modern technology and skilled recruits. This thesis also provides background on the Islamic culture and the history of Al-Qaeda in order to put into perspective the goals of the organization's framed messages that are incorporated into their videos. The study also draws on parallels of propaganda use throughout history to highlight how regimes from all over the world understand the importance of communication during a time of war.

Gatekeeping In A Tv News Editorial Conference: Shift Of Force, Other Media, Personal Experience And Pack Mentality, Kyril Daniel Plaskon

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study uses Gatekeeping Theory and Conversational Analysis to describe how four factors influence news gatekeepers in a small group at one TV station. The four factors include shifting forces, other media, personal experience and pack mentality. They were identified through conversational analysis of pilot data and the research questions are supported in the literature as common influences in news gatekeeping. This study describes how those four elements occur during group conversation.

Analysis of the recorded data collected in five editorial conferences describes how the four factors are expressed by the gatekeepers as they consider events that may become news. …

Selling Knowledge: A Sociological Analysis Of Attorney Advertisement In Las Vegas, Giselle Velasquez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

I analyze how Las Vegas attorneys represent themselves, their associates and clients in televised law firm commercials. I use attorney commercials as a case to explore cultural beliefs in media representations. Using an inductive method, I analyze the textual, visual, and aural symbols that appear most frequently in television commercials to interpret how law firm advertisements convey themes of attorney expertise, knowledge, ethnic and gender stereotyping. I introduce this study with a historical evaluation of the rise of advertisement in the United States. I continue discussing how the media is an important realm of discourse that affects people's identity. Using …

I Am Journalism (And So Can You!): Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, And The Role Of The Journalist, Eugene Wagner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Satire news has garnered considerable critical attention, yet the question of just what mainstream journalism might take from it has yet to be asked. This study aims to clarify the normative potential of such alternative discursive approaches. Geoffrey Baym's theory of discursive integration, which argues that once distinct modes of discourse are now blending together, may help explain the relationship between humor and the mediation of current events. This study uses a discourse analysis to compare how mainstream television news outlets and The Daily Show approach truth claims, finding that journalistic credibility suffers, at least in part, from avoiding critical …

Parasocial Relationships With Celebrities: An Illusion Of Intimacy With Mediated Friends, Amanda R. Laken

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research looked at parasocial interactions among college students. The study looked at the differences in gender and parasocial interaction, ethnicity/race and parasocial interaction, and the type of entertainment the celebrity was in and parasocial interaction. The research looked at celebrities as themselves and not as the characters they play as previous studies have. The research consisted of a revised parasocial interaction scale along with basic demographic questions. Although there have been studies examining levels of worship among different celebrities, they have been no correlations or differences stated concerning parasocial interactions. In addition, there has been no previous research stating …