Mass Communication Commons^™

A Comparative Content Analysis Of How Print Media Framed The Heroin Epidemic And The Opioid Crisis, Quincy Hodges

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examined how the news media covered the Opioid Crisis of the 21st century compared to how the news media covered the Heroin Epidemic of the 1970s. A content analysis of six U.S. newspapers – the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Columbus Dispatch, The Detroit Free Press, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the New Orleans Times-Picayune indicated that the print news media covered the Heroin Epidemic and the Opioid Crisis drastically different. The news media framed the Opioid Crisis as a public health issue, focusing coverage on rogue doctors and health professionals, and how unethical pharmaceutical companies took …

Preventing Brand Activism From Backfiring: How The Use Of An Ingroup Model Can Limit The Negative Effects Of One-Time Csr History, Cole C. Dunnam

LSU Master's Theses

Brands are beginning to engage in corporate social advocacy (CSA) with social movements to form deeper connections with their audience, but not all are successful. This thesis asks why a brand’s target audience considers some CSA campaigns as more authentic than others. In Study I, I use Twitter data to conduct an exploratory analysis that applies existing research to two extreme CSA cases: Nike’s Emmy-winning “Dream Crazy” campaign starring Colin Kaepernick and Pepsi’s unsuccessful “Live for Now– Moments” campaign starring Kendall Jenner. Pepsi failed despite its history of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. I suggest that group identity theory impacts …

Cross-Issue Agenda Setting From Racism To Immigration: Spreading Activation Or Group Threat?, Martina Santia

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Little research to date offers evidence for the “cross-issue agenda setting effect,” that is transfer of salience from media coverage of racism to perceived importance of immigration. Laboratory experiments afford the opportunity to facilitate causal inference in determining whether this cross-issue effect is due to a cognitive mechanism of spreading activation (as conventionally assumed in agenda setting research) or to a cumulative, affective process driven by perceived threat to a certain identity group. Observational data, on the other hand, allow to externally validate the experimental results beyond the constrained settings typical of laboratory experimentation.

This dissertation combines the strengths of …

Exploring Cognitive Associations Of Athletes’ Activism Through Social Issue Primes: A Convergent Analysis, Anthony Ciaramella

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Contemporary athletes are using their platforms to discuss more social activism issues than ever before. This dissertation examines how attitudes and perceptions of activist athletes may differ based on the social activism issues they advocate for. Further, how different social activism issues may prime individuals to associate different gender and racial stereotypes to the athletes involved. To accomplish this goal, a mixed methods convergent approach was used to explore how certain social activism issues and athletes’ level of activism involvement alter perceptions of the issues and the athletes themselves. This approach combines findings from study 1, in-depth interviews with sports …

Does Your Opponent's Gender Make A Difference? A Content Analysis Of The Use Of Gender Stereotyped Issues In Female Candidates’ Campaigns In A Mixed-Gender Versus An All-Women Races., Caley R. Hewitt

LSU Master's Theses

All-women races are steadily growing in politics as more women run with every election. While research shows how women campaign and face stereotypes when facing a male opponent or a female opponent, it does not assess how candidates may change their strategies when facing a male opponent or a female opponent. I ask if female candidates’ campaign differently on stereotypic issues between a mixed-gender election to an all-female election, specifically looking at the use of Twitter. These results showed that Democratic female candidates used more feminine-based issues facing a female opponent versus a male opponent. These results also show that …

Louisiana Social Studies: A Look Into The Culture, History And Business Of Our State, Ava Borksey

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Analyzing The Effects Of Gender On Public Evaluation Of Elected Officials’ Covid-19 Responses, Sydney Mcgovern

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Obstacles Of Self-Expression In Vulnerable Populations, Maria Pham

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Media Representation On Black Civic Engagement & Media Usage, Charity Williams

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

"News At Its Best:" A Case Study Of Boundary Crossing In Social Media Journalism, Bailey L. Williams

LSU Master's Theses

Digitalization continues to redefine the news ecosystem and boundaries that distinguish traditional news organizations from their nontraditional competitors. However, we still know little about how nontraditional organizations that operate entirely on social media are situated within their news ecosystems. This study examines “Reporter News,” a Facebook page that reports local and breaking news in Shreveport, Louisiana. A traditional journalist used the page to report news independently. In January 2020, he left the page in the care of a team of amateur journalists who contributed content to the page. In the amateurs’ care, the Facebook page has continued to amass a …

“Oye, Como Va:” How Streaming Services Have Contributed To The Globalization Of Latin Music, Isabel Caballero

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Challenging The Illusion Of Diversity: A New Theoretical Paradigm Towards Newsroom Inclusion., Paromita Saha

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Over the past forty years, the news industry has attempted to diversify the racial composition of their newsrooms from the perspective of representing their markets better mirroring best business practices in the industry. The statistics show that an affirmative style of recruitment has produced minimal, superficial results with a high turnover of minority journalists who are hardly promoted to editorial positions, as well as skewed representations of minority racial groups. The literature indicates that hegemonic ideological forces and the White male professional ethos behind journalism is not conducive to minority journalists producing meaningful changes to news content. My study indicates …

What Are People Searching During The Pandemic? Exploring The Determinants Of Public Interest Through Google Searches, Justin Weng

LSU Master's Theses

In 2020, COVID-19 became a serious health concern to people worldwide, regardless of their socioeconomic status, cultural characteristics, or political freedom. Even though this unprecedented crisis was the most impactful and dominant issue in 2020, COVID-19 was not the only issue that people were interested in. This study explored if and how national characteristics influenced global public interests during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Using popular online searches in 23 nations, this study categorized global public interests into two ways: COVID-19 related and non-COVID-19 related issues, with four and 13 sub-categories, respectively. Results showed that people in higher political freedom …

Operating The Digital Space In The Age Of Protest Participation, Kyle Stanley

LSU Master's Theses

This study examines young African American adults’ usage of social media and other digital spaces as tools to build community given the rise in protest participation in North American (U. S.) society while at the height of a global health pandemic. Since early adulthood is a time where African Americans are most active online, this study will examine how and why those African Americans are turning to digital spaces to find social connections. Racism and racial injustice are two of the most pressing issues in the African American community, and it is clear that it can be an emotionally laborious …

Telling A New Story Of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Narrative Versus Argument Communication Effects On Ocd Stigma And Recognition, Ashlyn Blaire Soileau

LSU Master's Theses

This study utilizes narrative persuasion theory to investigate the effect of narrative and argument appeals when communicating about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) to the public. This study tested stigma and recognition of OCD with a 2x2 factorial between-subject design using advertisement types and gender as the independent variables. Findings showed that communication type and gender do not affect OCD recognition. However, a univariate ANCOVA analysis, when controlling for empathy and OCD experience. The results revealed that gender and ad type did affect OCD stigma. Also, women showed lower stigma scores for social restrictiveness when seeing the narrative appeal when contrasted with …

An Analysis Of The Presence Of Dialogic Communication Features On Indiana Environmental Organizations' Websites, Jessica Moon

LSU Master's Theses

Dialogic communication is a two-way form of communication that allows entities such as organizations and their publics to share their viewpoints and contribute to decision-making processes openly and equally. The Five Dialogic Principles of Public Relations (ease of use of the interface, usefulness of information, conservation of visitors, generation of return visits, and dialogic loop) is a framework that has been used to examine this form of communication online. Research has shown that organizations’ websites have a generally low presence of features related to the Five Dialogic Principles. The goal of the present study was to determine the …

Defusing Polarization: The Politics Of Medicaid Expansion In Louisiana, Sarah Procopio

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Understanding The Story Behind The Story: A Comparative Textual Analysis Of Newspaper Coverage Following Mob Violence In 1921 Tulsa, Oklahoma And 2020 Minneapolis, Minnesota, Justin Franklin

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

A Critical Examination Of Media Images Of The Civil Rights Movement And Their Role In Shaping Collective Memories Among Northern White Audiences, Martha Ramirez

LSU Master's Theses

Collective memory theory has been used to study a wide array of phenomena, including the media’s role in shaping collective memories of pivotal and influential events throughout society. Often when lacking direct contact and engagement, the media may shape the collective memories of audiences. As such, the current study examines prominent images presented in the media and the potential role each could have contributed to the collective memory of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. More specifically, this study analyzes how collective memories, which are arguably influenced by the mass media, create memories for audiences that lack direct engagement (e.g., participating …

How "Lyingnewspapers" Made Huey Long The Ruler Of His State: A Model Of Press-Populist Dynamics, Christina A. Georgacopoulos

LSU Master's Theses

Huey Long’s use of the phrase “lyingnewspapers” to discredit negative publicity is commonly cited as evidence of his negative relationship with the mainstream press, but he did not always hold a hostile view toward newspapers. Before the press turned against him during his enemies' attempt to impeach him as governor in 1929, newspapers were one of his central tools for political advancement. He devised strategies to attract press attention and relied on newspapers to publicize himself and propagate his ideas more frequently and consistently than he used circulars or radio broadcasts, which are commonly attributed to his political success. As …

Balancing Act: When Gender And Media Collide In Sports, Kimberly Friedman

LSU Master's Theses

Women’s Gymnastics is one of the most popular events at the Summer Olympic Games and media coverage of the team provides a unique perspective on women’s athletics, as gymnastics is traditionally considered a feminine sport. Utilizing a discourse analysis, this thesis examines the newspaper coverage received by the team in the last 25 years. This thesis explores the narratives regarding gender within the coverage and additionally explores how abuse narratives were discussed in news media throughout theses years. This research shows that how female gymnasts are discussed is growing in type of coverage received, meaning that how female gymnastics is …

Balancing Act: When Gender And Media Collide In Sports, Kimberly Friedman

LSU Master's Theses

Women’s Gymnastics is one of the most popular events at the Summer Olympic Games and media coverage of the team provides a unique perspective on women’s athletics, as gymnastics is traditionally considered a feminine sport. Utilizing a discourse analysis, this thesis examines the newspaper coverage received by the team in the last 25 years. This thesis explores the narratives regarding gender within the coverage and additionally explores how abuse narratives were discussed in news media throughout theses years. This research shows that how female gymnasts are discussed is growing in type of coverage received, meaning that how female gymnastics is …

Knock Knock, Who’S There? Communications In Closed Environments With A Special Focus On Vietnam Pows, Carrie Cole

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Walk A Mile In My Shoes: The Disadvantage That Lies At The Intersection Of Race And Gender Through The Lens Of Kamala Harris, Wennafer Caela Donald

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Civil War Interventions: An Examination Of The Roles Of The Media, Political Executives, And The Domestic Opposition, Jonathan Charles Nickens

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines how media attention and domestic opposition parties affect third-party intervention in foreign civil wars. Previous research defines some of the ways that political executives in democratic states are constrained in their choice of actions, while also pointing out the influences and limitations of outside actors. This dissertation builds on existing research pertaining to opposition parties and the news media by providing new theories on how these outside actors can push a leader in taking an action he otherwise might not take, such as intervening in a foreign civil war. Using newly collected data, I argue that the …

Agenda Cueing In Aggregated Newsfeeds, Kirill Bryanov

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation brings together the findings from three experimental studies that seek to understand how exposure to information in an online news aggregating portal can influence users’ perceptions of the relative importance of problems facing society. Theoretically, this investigation relies on two foundational ideas. One is that in today’s high-choice, multi-source media environment communication flows are curated by a variety of gatekeeping actors, such as algorithms and fellow users. Individuals can have varying attitudes toward and perceptions of these gatekeepers, which can influence the effects of exposure to online information, including agenda-setting outcomes. Another is that users of digital news, …

Studying The Effects Of Privacy Concern, Exchange Of Benefits, And Brand Trust Onto The Generational Intention To Disclose Personal Information, Lauren Roach

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

“Damn, You Reek Of Pr”: Anti-Establishment Rhetoric And Resistance To Advertising Within Science Fiction Film Discussions In The Reddit Movie Community, Bailey R. Tinsley

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Analysis Of Immigration Framing In News Coverage During The 2016 Brexit Referendum And The 2016 American Presidential Election, Emily Ritchart

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Roles And Motivations Of Media Planners In The Proliferation Of Partisan Media, Zachary A. Roubein

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.