How Elements Including Location, Time Of Day, And Narrative Structure Influence Audience Engagement And Emotional Connection Within Short Form Video Content, Ashleighe Gibson

Communications and Digital Media Theses

This study examines how TikTok-based digital storytelling communicates urban walking experiences in New York City, focusing on how content strategies influence audience engagement and emotional connection. While both walking and short-form video storytelling have been widely studied, their intersection in shaping perceptions of urban environments remains underexplored. Using a mixed-methods approach, a TikTok account was created to document walking experiences, with content systematically varied by key factors including narrative structure, posting frequency, and environmental context. Engagement metrics, including views, likes, comments, and shares were analyzed alongside qualitative reflections to identify patterns in audience engagement and response. Findings indicate that engagement …

Implementing Engagement Strategies For Growth On Twitch, Chandler Gravely

Communications and Digital Media Theses

Online media sites have changed how viewers’ are taking in content in addition to how content creators engage with their audiences. One of these sites that has proven itself as the main source for live-streaming content, is Twitch. Despite how popular the site is, there is a lack of research on how individual creators can use growth and engagement methods over a period of time to help grow an audience and viewer base. This study will look at how doing so over a three-month period can provide valuable insight into expanding one’s viewer base and channel on Twitch. In order …

The Cultivating Influences Of Mass Media: Portrayals Of Female Athletes In The Wnba, Reece Wassink

Senior Seminars and Capstones

The differences in how male and female athletes are represented in the media are a significant topic of scholarly interest for decades. My goals are to better understand how female athletes are positioned within the media landscape and how such portrayals may cultivate public perceptions of their athletic performance, because the sports community is powerful, influential, and historically dominated by masculine identities. This study extends the research conversation by examining the portrayal and coverage of female athletes on accounts/posts dedicated to women’s sports, especially the WNBA. This research is conducted through the observation and qualitative systematic content analysis of selected …

The Guardian The Month Of May 2026, Wright State Student Body

The Guardian Student Newspaper

News articles from The Guardian for the Month of February 2026. The Guardian is the official student-run newspaper for Wright State University. It has been published regularly since May of 1965.

The Impact Of Social Media Algorithms On Information Consumption, Emily Scott

Communications and Digital Media Theses

This research examines the profound impact of social media algorithms on information consumption in an era defined by rapid digital transformation. Social media platforms, powered by sophisticated algorithms, personalize user experiences to maximize engagement. These algorithms raise concerns about the formation of filter bubbles and echo chambers, limiting exposure to diverse perspectives, and reinforcing existing beliefs. This study investigates how algorithms prioritize content, the effects on users, and the influence of AI in distorting news and information. It explores the ethical responsibilities of social media companies in mitigating the negative impacts of algorithmic curation and promoting a more balanced and …

الصمت المُصنّع والرأي المُوجَّه: دراسة تحليلية في آليات تشكيل الرأي العام الدولي تجاه الحرب على غزة (2023–2024) من خلال نظرية دوامة الصمت ونموذج المعتقدات الانتقائية, Ibrahim Akka, Mujahid Jihad Faraj, Doha Mazid, Yahya Mashaqi

Middle East Journal of Communication Studies

This study aims to provide a critical and in-depth analysis of Western media coverage of the Gaza War (2023–2024) through a comparative content analysis of three major international news channels: BBC, CNN, and Fox News, across three consecutive time phases. The research is grounded in a dual theoretical framework that combines Noelle-Neumann’s Spiral of Silence theory (1974) and the Selective Belief System (SBS) model (Lord et al., 1979), employing a mixed quantitative–qualitative methodology applied to a sample of 240 televised news items covering the period from October 2023 to May 2024.

The findings reveal a clear dominance of …

Pour & Ponder: A Gen Z Evaluation Of Hospitality And Communication In Wineries Of The Ozarks, Evan W. Seay

Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology Undergraduate Honors Theses

Generation Z represents an emerging consumer group within the hospitality and tourism industry, yet winery experiences are often designed with more traditional audiences in mind. As younger consumers increasingly value authenticity, communication, and experience-driven hospitality, wineries must consider how their practices align with evolving expectations. This honors thesis explores winery hospitality and communication practices in the Ozarks through a Generation Z perspective using a creative, experience-based approach. The final product of this project was Pour & Ponder, a podcast created to document reflective discussions following visits to three wineries: Sassafras Springs Vineyard, St. James Winery, and Ozark Hills Winery. …

Reporting The Unverifiable: Ethical Journalism And Disinformation About North Korea, Alexandra M. Pasto

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Journalists face significant challenges reporting on North Korean information due to restricted access, state-controlled media, and pervasive amounts of disinformation. This study includes a qualitative content analysis of journalistic practices and existing academic frameworks related to verification and reporting in highly restricted information ecosystems. The findings suggest and recommend that competitive media pressures often encourage the circulation of sensational or unverified claims, particularly in coverage of highly controlled media states like North Korea. In response, this argues that journalists must adopt a verification-centered approach to reporting that prioritizes accuracy, minimizes sensationalism, and clearly communicates uncertainty. This research highlights the growing …

Soft Life Or Survival? The Digital Rebranding Of Black Womanhood In Online Culture, Elizabeth Revangil

Communications and Digital Media Theses

This thesis examines how Black women are using digital media, specifically the popular social media platform, TikTok, to redefine femininity through the soft life SOFT LIFE OR SURVIVAL 2 movement. Historically, Black womanhood has been tied to strength, resilience, and survival, leaving limited space for softness and emotional vulnerability. This tends to create unrealistic expectations, and an undeniable societal pressure on Black women to perform. In recent years, social media has created opportunities for Black women to challenge these expectations and present alternative definitions of the Black women identity, reshaped around peace, emotional well-being, and softness instead of strength. Using …

Scrolling Fatigue: How Continuous Short-Form Video Consumption Affects User Attention And Satisfaction, Maribeliy Ramos Jimenez

Communications and Digital Media Theses

This thesis focuses on the negative effects that derive from continuous short-from video consumption. It specifically examines the relationship between user scrolling fatigue, attention, and satisfaction with constant usage of short-form video platforms. It mainly focuses on the use of digital platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram. This research builds on previously examined empirical investigations that analyzed the effects of scrolling through short-form video digital platforms influences users’ memory, stress, and procrastination. The research analyzes the possible connection with the use of survey-based quantitative methods. The study aims to determine how users process the continuous exposure to short-form …

The New Wild West: A Case Study Analysis Of The Communication Methods Surrounding Ai Infrastructure In West Texas, Thomas Sorensen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the past several years, artificial intelligence has taken the world by storm. It has enabled numerous innovations across all sectors, and its usage continues to grow daily. This increase in demand for AI products has led to the development of AI data centers nationwide. Fueled by competition between the public and private sectors, many projects are underway. This study focuses on one such project in West Texas: the Stargate Data Center. This project is being constructed near Abilene, Texas, and has had an instrumental impact on the daily lives of its citizens. This research project seeks to answer the …

Decoding Trafficking Films: Advocate Perspectives On Human Trafficking Portrayals, Avery Mock

All Theses

The crime of human trafficking is often used as a plot point in popular action films in the United States, however, many of these portrayals do not fully represent the truth of the crime, how it occurs, and who the victims are. Nonprofit organizations often combat this misrepresentation to re-educate the public, in addition to aiding survivors and fighting for legislation. Previous research has looked into false representations of human trafficking in both news and fictional media, as well as public and advocate sentiments of popular film portrayals. This thesis aimed to better understand the ways in which anti-trafficking advocates …

The Artificial Artist: Considering Ai’S Impact On Image Copyright, Alyse Mandelblatt

Communication Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to create empirical results to ground what has been a largely theoretical discussion about the effect of artificial intelligence (AI) on copyright law in the United States. AI has disrupted traditional ideas of creativity and expression, which are vital communication tools. Copyright is a regulatory agent to encourage the production of unique communication products by giving owners complete rights to their work. Copyright principles conflict with current AI model training practices. This research considers how AI literacy may provide insight into copyright knowledge and AI attitudes for prediction of how common law and AI regulation policy may …

Mental Health Representation And Audience Interpretation In Contemporary Streaming Media, Caitlyn Freeman

Communications and Digital Media Theses

This study looks at streaming television as a place where ideas about mental health are shaped and communicated. These shows communicate mental health through storytelling, rather than simply reflected. Instead of viewing series as realistic depictions of psychological struggle, this analysis focuses on different elements to understand how audiences understand mental illness. This study focuses on patterns in how mental health is presented to audiences, including whether it is shown as an emotional conflict, ongoing experience, or a moment of crisis within the story. Using a qualitative analysis, the research analyzes selected episodes from each series through a codebook with …

Manufactured Silence And Directed Opinion: An Analytical Study Of Mechanisms Shaping International Public Opinion Toward The War On Gaza (2023–2024) Through The Spiral Of Silence Theory And The Selective Belief System Model (Sbs), Ibrahim Akka, Mujahid Jihad Faraj, Doha Mazid, Yahya Mashaqi

Middle East Journal of Communication Studies

This study aims to provide a critical and in-depth analysis of Western media coverage of the Gaza War (2023–2024) through a comparative content analysis of three major international news channels: BBC, CNN, and Fox News, across three consecutive time phases. The research is grounded in a dual theoretical framework that combines Noelle-Neumann’s Spiral of Silence theory (1974) and the Selective Belief System (SBS) model (Lord et al., 1979), employing a mixed quantitative–qualitative methodology applied to a sample of 240 televised news items covering the period from October 2023 to May 2024.

The findings reveal a clear dominance of …

Portrayals Of Miscarriage In Film And Television: A Qualitative Analysis, Geovana Leonetti Saraiva

All Theses

Entertainment media may serve as a primary source through which individuals learn about miscarriage; however, little research has examined how miscarriage is portrayed in film and television. This study addresses this gap by conducting a textual analysis of five films and five television shows using a constructivist grounded theory approach. Guided by the model of stigma communication (MSC), communication privacy management theory (CPM), and social support frameworks, the analysis explores how miscarriage is represented in entertainment media.

Findings indicate that the analyzed content frequently includes stigma-related cues—such as marks, labels, responsibility, and peril—that may contribute to the formation and reinforcement …

Religiously Online: A Digital Media Communication Audit Of A Midwestern Church According To The Frameworks Of Uses And Gratifications Theory And Affordances Framework, Jada N. Ortiz

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines the digital media practices of a faith-based organization through how leadership communicates with internal congregation members. By applying the theoretical framework of uses and gratifications theory and affordances framework, a communication audit was conducted of a Midwestern Protestant church to uncover any gaps between congregational members' uses for digital media and how the church leadership was gratifying those needs through their digital media practices. Accordingly, this study investigated (1) what digital media content needs congregants expect their church to fulfill, (2) what the church is currently doing to gratify congregants' digital media content needs and (3) church …

Comment Sections As Counterpublics; Negotiating Public Discourse In Indonesia’S Digital Media Sphere, Leon Woltermann

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

This article examines the potential of YouTube comment sections as spaces of commoning in Indonesia’s digital media sphere. Drawing on the concept of counterpublics – that is, parallel discursive arenas where marginalized groups circulate counter discourses and voice their interests – it explores how users negotiate access to the digital public sphere and oppose dominant narratives. The article employs a mixed-methods approach, integrating quantitative and qualitative methods into the analysis of the data, to investigate both the structural features (based on comment metadata) and the discursive content of comments. I argue that the comment sections’ dynamic, non-binding structure facilitates open …

Expanding The Pantheon Of “Place-Myth”: Media-Induced Travel In College Students Who Study Abroad, Isabella M. Shevetz

Honors College Theses

Media-induced tourism refers to any travel that is in some part motivated by the consumption of mass media related to that location. Media-induced tourism and mass-tourism have led to nation branding and destination marketing across the globe, two industry phenomena that have worked to skyrocket tourism in places where it was not previously a large driver of the local economy. The expansion of mass media availability and the birth of social media mean the media roles of producer and audience member have blurred. Ordinary people now have the influential power of large media corporations. In destination marketing, the user-generated content …

The Living History Project: Documenting Winona State's Legacy, Holly A. Foss, Kenneth Goroztieta, Aubree G. Hansen

Research & Creative Achievement Day

This table will showcase the work of the Living History Project at Winona State University which preserves the history of WSU by documenting the careers of people who have impacted the university for the better.  The table will display three short documentary films produced by students during the Fall 2025 semester, running on a monitor with headphones on a continuous loop. The films feature Tom Sawyer (former football coach), Jo Stejskal (former Dean of Nursing), and Jim Bromeland (former Professor of Political Science).  Alongside the films, the table will include a display of photography from premieres over the past 20 …