Communication Commons^™

Challenging The Lion In Its Den: Dilemmas Of Gender And Media Activism In South Africa, Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

Media activism groups work to bring about change in the mainstream media, but their gains are often limited. Drawing on theories of the political function of news in a democracy, media sociology, and feminism, this article focuses on the specific experience of Gender Links, a Southern African gender and media organization founded in 2001. An analysis of institutional materials and 25 in-depth interviews shows that Gender Links is using a professional-technical approach to feminist media activism that is insufficient in bringing about deep and long-term change on an ideological level. It is suggested that Gender Links could benefit from more …

Sense Of Community And Political Mobilization In Virtual Communities: The Role Of Dispositional And Situational Variables, Kevin Y. Wang

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

This paper explores the psychological processes that connect virtual communities to political behavior. Drawing on previous findings in political psychology, I argue that the psychological sense of community may be an important mechanism that dictates people’s behavioral responses toward incoming information or mobilization pressure in the online environment. I then discuss the role of different dispositional and situational variables in: a) contributing to the formation of sense of community in the virtual world, and b) serving as potential moderators to influence the strength of virtual sense of community and its subsequent impact on individuals’ political behavior. Finally, I consider the …

Review Of Olympic Industry Resistance, By Jefferson Lenskyj, H. (2008), Allison Harthcock

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

Review of the book Olympic Industry Resistance, by Jefferson
Lenskyj, H.

Review Of Redesigning Women: Television After The Network Era, Ann M. Savage

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

Review of book: Redesigning Women: Television after the network era.

Orwellian Language And The Politics Of Tribal Termination (1953-1960), Casey R. Kelly

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

From 1953 to 1960, the federal government terminated sovereign recognition for 109 American Indian nations. Termination was a haphazard policy of assimilation that had disastrous consequences for Indian land and culture. Nonetheless, termination cloaked latent motivations for Indian land within individual rights rhetoric that was at odds with Indian sovereignty. Termination highlights the rhetorical features of social control under capitalism portrayed in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), in which opposing principles are fused and inverted. This essay critiques termination’s Orwellian language to show how ideographs of social liberation are refashioned by the state to subvert Indian sovereignty and popular dissent.

Coping With Narcissism: Causes, Effects, And Solutions For The Artist Manager, Paul Linden

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

There is a morbid fascination with the spectacular crash of celebrity in our culture. Examples abound of television documentaries and motion pictures that share a common plot regarding artists in the entertainment industry: the lean years of sacrifice provide an opportunity for success which then gives way to entitlement, hubris, alcohol and drug use all followed by a spectacular crash—and in some cases a reckoning and comeback. Are unwitting artists doomed to follow this pre-written script? Or is this a ready-made plot on which scriptwriters fall back like some crutch? This article looks at artistic development as a negotiation between …

Public Relations Professionals’ Perspectives On The Communication Challenges And Opportunities They Face In The U.S. Public Sector, Brooke Liu, Abbey Levenshus

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

This study reports common challenges and opportunities 49 government public relations professionals face in the United States of America (U.S.) when communicating internally and externally. Following on from the primary public sector attributes proposed by Liu and Horsley (2007), the in-depth interviews revealed 13 common attributes that affected government communication practices. The study’s findings are useful for practitioners entering the government communication field in the U.S. and elsewhere, practitioners in other sectors who collaborate with government communicators, and academics developing communication theory for the under-researched public sector.

Do Web Users Care About Banner Ads Anymore? The Effects Of Frequency And Clutter In Web Advertising, Sang Y. Lee

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This study investigates the effects of frequency of exposure to banner ads and ad clutter in web pages upon online users’ psychological responses. In a 7 (frequency 1 through 7) x 2 (clutter vs. non-clutter) between-participants factorial experiment, participants (N = 250) were randomly assigned to one of fourteen news websites, each with 20 separate pages of news stories and animated banner ads downloaded from various websites. Results indicated that frequency of exposure is a powerful psychological cue affecting users’memory, attitudes, and behavior. However, contrary to expectation, banner clutter does not lead to negative effects on recall, attitudes, and behavior. …

Constructing Legal Narratives: Law, Language And The Media, Jane Johnston, Rhonda Breit

Graduate School of Media and Communications

This paper proposes using the theory of narratology to connect legal discourses and processes with the way the media translate the law into news. Focussing on the Australian context, it looks at the choice of language used by media in covering courts, how stories are told and retold within these primarily textual environments, as well as the selection processes used by journalists in covering these rounds. The paper extends the argument for a narratology of courts, to a narratology of court reporting, suggesting fundamental criteria of story, discourse and the interpretative context be examined. It foreshadows the need for a …

Wire In The Blood, Crime Drama With A British Flair, Leslie Eliason

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

Americans love a good murder – as long as it takes place on television and the perpetrator is apprehended within an hour. Crime dramas are one of the most popular genres of programming available today, a trend that shows no sign of waning. Megan Larson of Media Week wrote in 2004 that eight of the top twenty five shows on network television were crime related. She also noted that the series Law and Order was entering its fifteenth year – quite a feat in the here-today-gone tomorrow world of broadcast television. The most recent Nielsen ratings indicated that seven of …

Remember The Titans, Historical Fact Or Fiction?, Amy S. Tate

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

In the late 1990s, screen writer Gregory A. Howard wrote a screen play called Remember the Titans, based on the true story of T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia. Jerry Bruckheimer and Walt Disney Pictures bought the script based on the fact that it is a true story, but much of the film‟s content is fictional. Gregory Howard admitted to ESPN writer Jeff Merron that “he made some big assumptions when writing his script” (qtd. in Merron 5). Though the film is not entirely historically accurate, it is successful because it appeals to Americans through its intense emotional …

The Role And Positioning Of Public Relations In Non Profit Organisations: A Case Study Analysis, Gillian Lyons

Theses

This study aims to explore the role and positioning of public relations (PR) in non-profit organisations (NPO’s). Two case studies are explored namely the Mercy Hospital Foundation and the Cork Simon Community. The lack of research in the area along with the belief that NPOs rely on PR more than any other industry prompted the research idea for this study.

The literature review deals with the need for PR to be accepted as a management function with many leading theorists agreeing on the matter. According to Grunig (1992), the organisational effectiveness theories provide organisations with the formula to make their …

Can The Effectiveness Of An Online Tourism Public Relations Campaign Be Evaluated?, Deirdre Mangan

Theses

The practice of public relations has changed dramatically in the past fifteen years, embracing a variety of new media tools in a fast changing, global market. New and social media have radically altered the work of public relations practitioners. One aspect of this which gives rise to much debate is evaluating the effectiveness of online public relations campaigns.

Travel and tourism is an industry that has been changed fundamentally by the internet. This industry led the way with online reservations and information systems. Online public relations followed this innovation. The aim of this study is to look at the process …

Nbc Peacock North Winter 2010, Peacock North Staff

NBC Peacock North Newsletter

Highlights include: Bob Costas to be Spring Luncheon Speaker -- Remembering Heino Ripp -- TV Academy Honors Pardo, Stewart -- Apollo 11 Memories and Pictures -- John Clark Retires as NABET President -- Walter Miller Honored by Industry

Moving From A Textbook To Facebook College Students' Motivations For Using Social Networking Sites In Education, Heather J. Halter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined college student motivations for using social networking sites for educational purposes. Motives were examined through the uses and gratifications approach. If we can determine student motivations for using social networking sites, perhaps we can determine a way to successfully implement social networking sites into the classroom. By adding the concept of satisfaction, we can also determine if students will use the sites again. If students are satisfied with educational social networking site use, they will return to these sites for educational purposes again. Data was collected by giving a questionnaire to undergraduate students that assessed social networking …

Grades 11-12 Short Stories, Lauren Russo

English

Within a unit dedicated to reading, writing, and analyzing short stories, the lesson explores the key elements in composing engaging work. Students are given a multiplicity of activities to explore and determine what makes the short story, "Lost in the Woods" a thrilling tale. The activities serve to enhance their knowledge of the methods and techniques behind good short story writing.

More Than Just Openness: Developing And Validating A Measure Of Targeted Parent-Child Communication About Alcohol, Michelle Miller-Day, Jennifer A. Kam

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Research addressing parent-child communication on the topic of alcohol use relies heavily on assessing frequency of discussions and general assessments of openness in parent-child communication, ignoring the complexity of this communication phenomenon. This study adds to the literature by articulating a conceptualization and developing a measurement of parent-child communication—targeted parent-child communication about alcohol—and comparing the efficacy of targeted parent-child communication about alcohol in predicting positive expectancies of alcohol use and recent alcohol use. The predictive power of general openness in parent-child communication and frequency of communication about alcohol also were assessed. Students in 5th and 6th grade (N = 1407) …

Societal, Expert, And Lay Influences, Roxanne Parrott, Michelle Miller-Day, Kathryn Peters, James Dillard

Communication Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Families are influenced by many messages about genetics and health, which then affect communication with health-care practitioners and communication within the family. Using a discourse approach, this chapter identifies the various sources of these messages and explains the influences they might exert.

Online Hyper-Local News Sites Fulfill Classic Functions Of Community Journalism, Jack Rosenberry

Media and Communication Faculty/Staff Publications

A content analysis of story topics published on 70 hyper-local online news sites indicated that these sites may have an untraditional way of delivering the news but they fulfill roles and functions that are very similar to the ones documented in historical research about community press and social organization.

Communally Discerning A Covenant Of Hospitality For The Care Of Children At Westview Boys' Home, Ron Bruner

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This project addressed the lack of a covenant defining the practice of hospitality towards children for team members of Westview Boys’ Home. The purpose of the project was to facilitate the creation of such a covenant. The Westview ministry team already claimed hospitality as a strength; the hope was that reframing the ministry around this strength would improve the quality of care for children and the quality of life for the community. Invited into a communal discernment process (the methodology), the ministry team invested weeks in the examination of biblical texts, theological tradition, personal and communal narratives, cultural trends, psychological …