Celebrity Versus Non-Celebrity: Parasocial Relationships With Characters In Reality-Based Television Programs,
2011
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
Celebrity Versus Non-Celebrity: Parasocial Relationships With Characters In Reality-Based Television Programs, Nicole Webb Henry
LSU Master's Theses
Research of parasocial relationships suggests that audiences engage in one-sided relationships with their favorite personae in the media. This study attempts to explore two types of reality stars: those who had fame before being on reality television and those who have fame because of the show. Using the PSR-Processing Scale, I compared levels of parasocial interactions for each, as well how moral disengagement might play a role for each type of reality star. I also explored whether these parasocial relationships are influenced by the frequency with which respondents watch various types of sub-genres of reality-based programs (i.e. game docs, dating …
The Effects Of Fantasy Football Participation On Team Identification And Nfl Fandom,
2011
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
The Effects Of Fantasy Football Participation On Team Identification And Nfl Fandom, Jeremy Lee
LSU Master's Theses
Nearly 27 million people in North America played fantasy sports in 2009. This quantitative study examined how a person’s level of participation in fantasy football affects team identification, team loyalty, fandom of the National Football League (NFL), and consumer behavior. I also looked at whether fantasy football participants prefer a win by their fantasy team or their favorite team. An online survey was conducted using a snowball sample. I found higher participation levels result in higher team identification, higher team loyalty, and higher fandom, where fandom of the NFL is higher than team identification. Higher levels of participation also led …
Stay Calm And Tweet: A Best Practice Approach To The Use Of Social Media In A Crisis Situation,
2011
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
Stay Calm And Tweet: A Best Practice Approach To The Use Of Social Media In A Crisis Situation, Elizabeth Barrow Tadie
LSU Master's Theses
At some point in its history every organization will face a crisis situation. How an organization responds to a crisis incident decides its survival. As Internet technology flourishes, public relations practitioners are provided with additional tools to manage crisis situations. This study investigates the role that emerging social media components play in the field of crisis management. It presents a best practice approach to using new technology in times of emergency. A qualitative study of Louisiana public relations practitioners analyzes how and why social media is being integrated into crisis communication plans. Social media components are used to quickly communicate …
The American Empire: A Content And Textual Analysis Of The Media Coverage Of The 2009 U.S. And Colombia Military Base Agreement,
2011
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
The American Empire: A Content And Textual Analysis Of The Media Coverage Of The 2009 U.S. And Colombia Military Base Agreement, Britt Don Christensen
LSU Master's Theses
The United States maintains a worldwide network of military bases and spends more on military expenses than the rest of the world combined. This project seeks to analyze how the U.S. mainstream media cover and discuss the American Empire both broadly and specifically. I conducted a quantitative content analysis and a qualitative textual analysis of the Media coverage of the 2009 U.S. – Colombian military base agreement, which was protested by Latin American leaders. I analyzed the coverage in the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN.com, and The Miami Herald regarding the US military’s use of bases in Colombia in …
Indexing And Economic News: Coverage Of The 2009 Economic Stimulus Debate,
2011
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
Indexing And Economic News: Coverage Of The 2009 Economic Stimulus Debate, Portia Levasseur
LSU Master's Theses
Indexing theory predicts that, in certain issue areas, media coverage will index levels of elite debate. Elite controversy, the theory predicts, will embolden the press to include a broader variety of sources and coverage should reflect a more open public debate. This has important implications for public opinion. Proponents of the theory expect that it will operate in a variety of issue areas of news coverage, but support for the theory exists largely in the realm of foreign affairs coverage. This study examines television coverage of the 2009 economic stimulus package to evaluate levels of indexing for a domestic, macroeconomic …
From "Courtesy Of The Red, White, And Blue" To "If You're Reading This": Patriotic Themes In Country Music Between 2000-2010,
2011
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
From "Courtesy Of The Red, White, And Blue" To "If You're Reading This": Patriotic Themes In Country Music Between 2000-2010, Claire S. Carville
LSU Master's Theses
Music plays an important role in the lives of individuals and often reflects important societal values. Music can also serve as an important reflection of the public’s current opinion at a given point in time. Patriotism is a feeling of love for one’s homeland and has often been the subject matter of music lyrics throughout history. In particular, country music has been perceived as being an especially patriotic genre of music. This thesis utilized quantitative and qualitative content analyses as the methods to examine the patriotic content of country music lyrics over the past decade. The sample was adapted from …
Community Newspapers Play Significant Role In Election,
2011
Portland State University
Community Newspapers Play Significant Role In Election, Lee Shaker
Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations
This article compares coverage of the 2007 Philadelphia mayoral campaign in the city's major daily and community newspapers. The findings show that community newspapers serve as a complement to the dailies but also prove to be sources of campaign information in their own right.
The Relationship Between American Media Exposure And Trinidadian Female Adolescents' Body Image Satisfaction,
2011
University of South Florida
The Relationship Between American Media Exposure And Trinidadian Female Adolescents' Body Image Satisfaction, Clarabelle Ferguson
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Numerous studies have examined the development of body image among people, especially girls and young women. Many factors have been associated with the development of body image dissatisfaction. Especially important are exposure to mass media and its relationship with three theoretical constructs: Awareness of a thin ideal, internalization of a thin ideal, and perceived pressures to be thin. Extending existing research, this study examined through experimentation the relationships among exposure to American media content and the awareness and internalization of the American norms and expectations for thinness, pressures to adopt these norms, and Trinidadian female adolescents' body image satisfaction. Based …
Mentoring Experiences Among Female Public Relations Entrepreneurs: A Qualitative Investigation,
2011
University of South Florida
Mentoring Experiences Among Female Public Relations Entrepreneurs: A Qualitative Investigation, Sabina Gaggioli
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This phenomenological study expands from current mentoring literature within the mass communication field in understanding how mentoring can contribute to the successful careers of public relations entrepreneurial women. While many scholars indicate that mentoring is effective for women, the present study describes how mentoring has affected the women participants' public relations careers and personal lives. In-depth interviews focused on following five research questions: What have been the key contributing factors in the success of public relations women entrepreneurs? How has mentoring helped the women participants achieve their goals in a public relations career and in starting their own company? Which …
Internships In Public Relations And Advertising: The Nature Of The Experience From The Student's Perspective,
2011
University of South Florida
Internships In Public Relations And Advertising: The Nature Of The Experience From The Student's Perspective, Catherine Ann Gugerty
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This qualitative content analysis examines the nature of experience of public relations and advertising interns. Three decades of scholarly inquiry into the internship experience has provided little insight into the actual experience of the interns themselves. Yet what is learned directly from their individual experience can provide both educators and professionals valuable insight for enhancing the learning process. The following study is a qualitative content analysis of journals and focus groups of undergraduates enrolled in public relations and advertising internships/practicums. The interns' experience follows four themes: (1) the perception of importance; (2) perceived learning benefits; (3) influence of supervisors; and …
Framing And The End Of Operation Iraqi Freedom,
2011
University of South Florida
Framing And The End Of Operation Iraqi Freedom, James Robert Hickman
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this qualitative framing study is to analyze the dominant frames that were reflected in the news coverage of two separate Presidential speeches marking the proposed cessation of combat operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom. In order to determine which frames emerged in the coverage of each speech, a content analysis of 105 articles from 4 national newspapers was conducted. Analysis included the week preceding and the week following each speech in an effort to capture the immediate coverage surrounding each address. The findings suggest that the dominate frames utilized were the economic consequences frame, the responsibility frame and …
Gaming Literacy: Construct Validation And Scale Construction,
2011
University of South Florida
Gaming Literacy: Construct Validation And Scale Construction, Kenneth Allen Rosenberg
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This thesis is the first attempt to construct a standardized measure of literacy for the medium of video games, filling a gap in the literature by synthesizing various items of skills, behaviors, and affective components from existent studies and determining their correlations through analyzation of survey data. The five categories that were derived from conceptual review and factor analysis have high measures of internal consistency: Information and Systems Management; Exploration and Enjoyment; Teamwork; Design; and Socialization. To test for external consistency and reliability, the proposed gaming literacy model was compared to the Novak and Hoffman (1997) construction of flow, using …
Framing Christianity: A Frame Analysis Of Fundamentalist Christianity From 2000-2009,
2011
University of South Florida
Framing Christianity: A Frame Analysis Of Fundamentalist Christianity From 2000-2009, Rebecca Mackin Sitten
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This qualitative frame analysis examines how print media handles the concept of Fundamentalist Christianity. The researcher examined news reports in four prominent national newspapers over the ten-year period between 2000 and 2009 for references made to Fundamentalist Christianity. The sample is examined on the basis of Mark Silk's "topoi," a term taken from classical rhetoric meaning commonplaces or themes (1995). Silk outlines seven common topoi on which stories about religion are written, and these are utilized as a framework for this present study. While much has been written and researched on how religious groups, Fundamentalist Christians, and Evangelicals use mass …
Ethnic Online Newspapers Vs. Mainstream Online Newspapers: A Comparison Of The News Coverage Of The 2010 Health Care Reform Debate,
2011
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
Ethnic Online Newspapers Vs. Mainstream Online Newspapers: A Comparison Of The News Coverage Of The 2010 Health Care Reform Debate, Masudul Biswas
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
This study examined the news coverage of the 2010 health care reform in a comparative context of mainstream and ethnic online newspapers. Since health care reform had consequences among all ethnic groups in the U.S., the news coverage of this policy issue warranted an analysis in a diverse media context. The importance of this study lies in the fact that diverse news media provide a wide range of perspectives to the public and policymakers for a better understanding of an issue at stake. In past studies, mainstream media coverage was criticized for emphasizing political conflict and gains and losses over …
Talking With Als Patients: An Exploratory Study Of Patient Attitudes Toward Mass Messages About Als,
2011
University of South Florida
Talking With Als Patients: An Exploratory Study Of Patient Attitudes Toward Mass Messages About Als, Kamden Kuhn
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This study examines the attitudes and opinions of ALS patients toward mass messages about their condition. Six focus groups of ALS patient support groups viewed and responded to public relations messages, charity advertisements, and a news story. Results suggest that mass messages remind participants of the need for public ALS awareness. Participants also said they shared in the narratives and identify closely with the characters in the messages they viewed, and participants expressed concern with disease depictions. These concerns included a tension between positive and realistic portrayals, identification of message inaccuracies, and a desire for more specific disease information. The …
Usf's Coverage Of Women's Athletics: A Census Of The Usf Athletics Home Web Page,
2011
University of South Florida
Usf's Coverage Of Women's Athletics: A Census Of The Usf Athletics Home Web Page, Laura Ann Lebeau
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This study examines the coverage of women’s athletics at USF provided through photographic representations on the university’s Athletics Internet home web page during the 2009–2010 academic year. Findings from this census of five areas that comprise the USF Athletics Internet home web page revealed that, consistent with recent research on coverage of female athletes and women’s athletics on university web pages, women, compared to men, were underrepresented in the majority of the five areas of the home page analyzed. The difference in the number of overall total photographs of women and men was not that large—48% and 52%, respectively, not …
Corporate Speech: A Frame Anaylsis Of Cnn, Msnbc, And Fox News Coverage Of Citizens United V. Fec,
2011
University of South Florida
Corporate Speech: A Frame Anaylsis Of Cnn, Msnbc, And Fox News Coverage Of Citizens United V. Fec, Emma Rachel Brown
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This study examined how Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, and CBS portrayed the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision from the time of the decision, January 21, 2010 until the mid-term elections November 2, 2010. The broadcast transcripts were read for emergent frames to see how the stations framed coverage. The cable channels had the most coverage. MSNBC, ABC, NBC, and CBS framed the decision negatively, Fox News portrayed it positively, and CNN was neutral to negative in coverage.
A Focus Group Study Of Baby Boomers' Processing And Interpretations Of Fear Appeals In Health Care Reform Political Advertising,
2011
University of South Florida
A Focus Group Study Of Baby Boomers' Processing And Interpretations Of Fear Appeals In Health Care Reform Political Advertising, Allyson Dawn Calandro
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This qualitative research study describes the processing and interpretations of "Baby Boomers" in response to fear appeals from two health care reform political advertisements. Research suggests that scholars continue to disagree on the audience's interpretations of fear appeals, based on studies comparing different levels of fear, emotions, and interpretations by specific members of the population. However, little is known about how "Baby Boomers" interpret fear used in health care reform advertising. The method included six focus groups. Thematic analysis revealed five key themes: "Baby Boomers'" processing produced a range of emotions, they demand more facts, the fear expressed was fear …
The Hero Soldier: Portrayals Of Soldiers In War Films,
2011
University of South Florida
The Hero Soldier: Portrayals Of Soldiers In War Films, Gavin Davie
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The mythos of the hero has existed within the stories of humanity for as long as we can remember. Within the last hundred years film has become one of the dominant storytelling media of our culture and numerous films, especially war films, about heroes and their inspirational actions have been made. This study focuses on war films and the hero soldiers and their actions portrayed in those films. It uses a narrative analysis of five war films to accomplish this. The findings suggest that the hero soldier has become more human and fallible over time and that heroes are a …
Ua68/8/1 Potter College Of Arts & Letters History Publications,
2010
Western Kentucky University
Ua68/8/1 Potter College Of Arts & Letters History Publications, Wku Archives
WKU Archives Collection Inventories
Publications created by and about the History Department.
