International Communication 2007 Abstracts
International Communication Division
Do ‘They’ Frame it Differently?: Examining the Coverage of the U.S./Al Qaeda Conflict in the English-and Arabic-Language Al-Jazeera Websites • Mohammed Al-Emad and Shahira Fahmy, Southern Illinois University • This study explored the online coverage of the U.S./Al Qaeda conflict in the English-and Arabic-language Al-Jazeera websites. Utilizing prominence, use of sources, and agency as framing devices, it looked at how Al-Jazeera caters the news to different users online. By and large, results showed limited differences in coverage between the two websites. The overwhelming majority of attributed sources were from the United States and its allies.
A Decade of Deregulation: The Changing Structure of Nigeria’s Broadcasting Industry, 1993-2003 • Abubakar Alhassan, University of Florida and Bayero University Kano, Nigeria • It has been more than a decade since Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, enacted a law in 1992 deregulating broadcasting and establishing the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) as the regulatory agency for the broadcast industry. Prior to the commencement of deregulation that began in the 1990s, broadcast ownership in Nigeria was the exclusive monopoly of both federal and state governments.
Voices in the Hills of Rwanda: African Press Accountability of the 1994 Pogrom • Emmanuel C. Alozie, Governors State University • Using framing and its theoretical and methodical framework, this study found that bane of a nation, Rwandan national introspection, an(other) African cataclysm, together with world inaction and indifference emerged as the dominant themes in the accounts of Daily Nation of Kenya and Guardian of Nigeria. The article traced the political and socio-economic development of Rwanda.
Music Video Use Among Egyptian and U.S. Young Adults: A Cross-Cultural Analysis • Philip Auter, University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Erica Ashton and Mohamed Soliman, Mansoura University • Approximately 360 undergraduate students in the U.S. and Egypt were surveyed regarding their consumption of music videos, affinity for them, and perception of them as reality. Their parasocial interaction with favorite music video performers was also assessed. Results showed that Egyptian young adults scored significantly higher on all measures than their U.S. counterparts. Affinity, perception of reality, PSI, and consumption were all positively correlated. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
U.S. Foreign Policy and Media Framing: A Content Analysis of U.S. Newspapers’ Coverage of the Nuclear tests in North Korea and India • Kanghui Baek, University of Texas at Austin • This study analyzed how the nuclear tests in North Korea (Oct. 9, 2006) and India (May 11-13, 1998) were framed in U.S. newspapers. By using content analysis, the study concluded that U.S. foreign policy was an external factor influencing the U.S. newspapers’ coverage of the nuclear tests in North Korea and India. In short, U.S. newspapers arbitrarily chose a fact or set a news frame reflecting U.S. foreign policy toward North Korea and India.
Nationalism and Media Access in Perestroika-Era Latvia • Janis Chakars, Indiana University • This paper addresses the issue of media access under perestroika in late Soviet Latvia. The scholarly literature on the press and Latvia’s liberation movement is almost nonexistent and so it begins to fill a gap in our knowledge about the reestablishment of Latvian independence, the fall of the Soviet Union and the operation of the press in nonviolent movements and liberation movements. It is based upon archival research, oral history interviews and the press itself.
War and Peace Journalism Frames in Cross-National News Coverage of North Korea’s Nuclear Test • Mun-Young Chung, Meijing Fan and Justin Lessman, Kansas State University • This cross-national study examines differences in news coverage of North Korea’s 2006 nuclear test by newspapers from the United States, China, and South Korea. Findings, based on a content analysis of 290 articles from the highest-circulation native-language newspaper in each country, reveal differences in the way each framed coverage: the U.S. coverage demonstrated the strongest war journalism framing, the Chinese coverage the strongest peace journalism framing, and the South Korean coverage the strongest neutral framing.
Indian Journalists: Democracy Builders or Government Supporters? • Bridgette Colaco and Jyotika Ramaprasad, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale • This study reports on Indian journalists’ rating of various journalistic functions in terms of both importance and ability to perform these functions. The functions, rated for importance, coalesced into nine factors, Sustain Democracy, Support Country, Be Public Advocate, Discuss Social Policies, Practice Development Journalism, Provide Cultural Stimulation, Educate Citizens, Support Government, and Provide Information Fast.
Global coverage of efforts to end genocide in Darfur, Sudan: A community structure approach • Victoria Cullen, The College of New Jersey • Using a community structure approach linking national characteristics and cross-national newspaper coverage of efforts to end genocide in Darfur, Sudan, a sample of 11 nations yielded 153 articles. Content analysis combined article prominence and direction measures into composite Pollock’s Media Vector scores for each newspaper, ranging from -.08 to .53.
When a Democratic Revolution Isn’t Democratic or Revolutionary: Press Restraints and Press Freedoms after Kyrgyzstan’s Tulip Revolution • Eric Freedman, Michigan State University • Kyrgyzstan’s Tulip Revolution of March 2005 was expected to spur democratization by ousting an autocratic government. Journalists and media experts hoped that regime change would loosen press restraints, spur privatization of state-owned media, and make a market-supported media system viable. A year and a half later, however, anticipated improvements in the press environment were slow in developing.
Ambassador of the Airwaves: The Saarlaendischer Rundfunk as Cultural Mediator • Kevin Grieves, Indiana University • The German state of the Saarland and neighboring regions in France and Luxembourg are redefining themselves as a common transborder community within the EU. Because of a distinct historical path, the Saarland and its broadcast station – as reflected by program content – position themselves as a cultural ambassador across national borders. This suggests a new conceptualization of current models of how local, regional and national identity relate to one another via the mass media.
Dependency, Democracy, and the Internet: A Cross-National Study over Time • Jacob Groshek, Indiana University • Increased internet diffusion was shown to be a meaningful predictor of more democratic regimes in this multinational ten year study. This was shown to be most true in developed countries, where nonlinear fixed effects regression models showed the highest coefficient estimates and actual effect sizes. Though these findings were consistent with the expectations of media system dependency theory, results also indicate that the internet should not be overstated or employed as a modern “mobility multiplier.”
What do the Korean youth think of the Japanese mass culture?: Attitude-behavior relationship approach • Jongwon Ha, Sunmoon University • This paper aimed to investigate the reception of the Japanese mass culture in the Korean youth, which had been prohibited until October 20, 1998. Setting attitude-behavior relationship as a research framework, this study showed that the attitude toward Japan itself had some positive relation with receiving the Japanese mass culture. The attitude toward opening of the Japanese mass culture had positive but very weak relation to behavior of receiving it.
News Media and Their State: A Comparative Analysis of Media Systems in 36 Democracies • John Hatcher, University of Minnesota Duluth • The structure of news media in 36 democracies are analyzed in relation to the social and political structures in which they operate. This study asks if the institutional structure of a democracy influences the nature of a media system. Using primarily secondary data and Lijphart’s executives-parties (consensual-majoritarian scale), this study looks at whether news organizations differ with respect to readership, press freedoms and a concept called media orientation.
How Japan’s Shinjinrui Define Their Generation: An Exploratory Collective Case Study • Frauke Hachtmann, University of Nebraska–Lincoln and Yoko Kitagawa • This exploratory collective case study describes how members of Japan’s Generation X, also known as “Shinjinrui, who were born and raised in Japan, define their generation. Typological analysis was used to analyze the interview data. Five qualitative themes emerged, including “Enabling parents: The emergence of a consumer society,” “Economic boom and bust,” “Building a social structure: Relationships with parents, friends and work,” “Forming an individual identity,” and “Advertising: An honest and subtle form of art.
NYT foreign correspondent Larry Rohter vs. Brazil’s President Lula da Silva: misconceptions and stereotypes in international coverage • Heloiza Herscovitz, California State University-Long Beach • This paper analyzes the conflict between the New York Times foreign correspondent Larry Rohter and Brazil’s President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva over a story published by the newspaper in May 9, 2004 accusing the President of being a drunk. Larry Rohter’s piece was criticized for its lack of facts, reliable sources and its ironic overtone.
Democracy and National Identity: The Role of Alternative Media in Taiwan’s Pursuit of Free Expression • Shuling Huang, University of Maryland • Since democratization and liberalization after 1987, Taiwan’s media have gradually escaped from direct political control. Nevertheless, today the news media do not function independently but become extremely polarized according to their political preferences. This paper argues that we can trace the historical origin to the late 1970s and the early 1980s, when alternative media (dissident magazines) launched the rhetorical war against the authoritarian government and the mass media in Taiwan.
Constructing Violence in the Shadow of Death: The Palestinian Intifada in U.S. News Post-Arafat • Amani Ismail, California State University-Northridge • Media make judgment calls on conflict actors, constructing normal/deviant dichotomies. This study investigates Palestinian violence in U.S. news within the Palestinian intifada, informed by primordial and instrumental paradigms, and using Arafat’s death as reference moment. News invoked both primordial and instrumental paradigms; each was drawn upon to serve certain coverage dimensions. News cautiously distinguished between Palestinian violence and the Palestinian cause. Arafat’s death was reported eulogistically, but the news certainly did not legitimate Palestinian violence.
The Role of Superstructures in Globalization: Political, Socio-Economic, and Cultural Determination of Worldwide Public Interests on the Internet • Yongick Jeong and Reaz Mahmood, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill • This study examines global public interests through a new methodological approach that enables the public to speak for itself. Analyzing the actual search terms people used in gathering information online, it determines the impact of globalization and cultural imperialism on public interests. Significant differences were detected among countries in differing categories of political freedom (politically free, partially free, and not free), socio-economic status (high, medium, and low SES), and cultural differences (masculine, mixed/neutral, and feminine).
Rethinking the Success of the Korean Film Industry • Jeongsuk Joo, State University of New York at Buffalo • In the past decade, the Korean film industry has successfully challenged the domination of Hollywood films in Korea. Given Hollywood’s long-term dominance in Korea, this success is viewed as a case of local resistance and challenge to Hollywood’s hegemony. Yet, this paper aims to challenge this view by examining how the current success of the Korean film industry has been achieved by following industrial examples set by Hollywood and the ensuing ironies of the success.
Presidential Hegemony in Transitioning Democracies: The Press and Public Attitudes in Africa • Yusuf Kalyango, Jr., University of Missouri-Columbia • Do media serve as a democratizing agent in two African countries that share a history of presidential hegemony and past military regimes? Data were drawn from surveys of 2400 voters in Nigeria and Uganda. This comparative study utilized the OLS regression and case studies. The observed outcome differed between the countries. Media exposure had a significant influence on presidential term limits in Nigeria, but little in Uganda.
Third-Person Perception of Online Political Communication and Government Censorship • Daekyung Kim, Idaho State University and Hyunwoo Kim and Tom Johnson, Texas Tech University • This study explored the third-person effect perceptual and behavioral components of online political communication during the 2006 local election in South Korea. Online survey was conducted to examine perceptions of political messages and the relationship to support for the government regulation. This study found the perceptual component hypothesis for online users to perceive greater influence of political messages on other people than themselves.
Media Use and International Knowledge Gap • Jun Kyo Kim, University of Alabama • Although low levels of international knowledge among the American public, there is little discussion of its theoretical background or specific empirical evidence. Therefore, the present study examines the roles that media use, news attention, interpersonal involvement and interpersonal discussion play in the development of international knowledge. The findings support four of the measures such as media use, international news attention, international news involvement and interpersonal discussion play the positive and predictive roles for international knowledge.
Framing North Korea: Official Sources in the New York Times and Chosun Ilbo • Yeon Kyeong Kim, University of Iowa • This study examines the use of official sources and framing of North Korea in the New York Times (NYT) and Chosun Ilbo (CHO). A content analysis of news stories found there were clear differences between two newspapers. Results showed that NYT’s domestic official sources focused on weapons of mass destruction while CHO did not. Furthermore, NYT either criticized North Korea or supported U.S. views while CHO supported their own views or criticized U.S. views.
Media Effects on Russian Students in the Perception of the United States of America • Anastasia Kononova • Russian students were surveyed to compare media consumption and attitudes toward America and find relationships between the use of media and the image of the United States. Television and Internet were the most popular sources of information about the USA. To get news, students who had never been to America used Russian media, mostly television, while those who visited the USA used mostly American and international media, mostly websites.
In the Shadow of the Olympics: The Olympics Beijing 2008 Promotions and the Image of Chin in Hong Kong • Annisa Lee • Over 1000 Hong Kong residents of age 18 and above were interviewed through telephone about their perceptions towards the image of the Olympics and the image of China after exposure to 2004 Olympic advertising and promotional activities disseminated through mass communication channels.
What’s at Issue with Bush and Blair? The Iraq War in U.S. and U.K. Editorials • Abby LeGrange, University of Florida and Kristen Landreville, Ohio State University • This study investigated newspaper editorials from the United States and the United Kingdom before and during official combat of the Iraq War. This study sought to explore which issues were associated with the leaders of the U.S. and the U.K. and which issues and positions were selected and emphasized in editorial coverage.
Mobile Telephony in China: Negotiating the Good, the Bad and the Profitable • Jia Lu and Ian Weber • China’s telecommunications and information industry has seen unprecedented growth since the turn of the century with the mobile telephony sector driving significant expansion. This article examines the Chinese government’s strategy for managing the complexities of socio-economic changes created by the widespread adoption of mobile telephony.
Explosive Silences: Communist Newspaper Coverage of the 1986 Paris Bombings • Kristi McKinney, University of Minnesota • Coverage of the 1986 Paris bombings in the USSR’s Pravda and France’s l’Humanité using headline analysis yielded surprising results regarding the nature of terrorism coverage in communist newspapers. While there was virtually no coverage in Pravda, l’Humanité covered the events minimally. The results suggest the USSR’s ties to terrorism may have influenced Pravda’s coverage, while elections may have influenced l’Humanité’s.
Latin American election coverage in U.S. and international news magazines: The Economist and Time • Maria I. Miro-Quesada, University of Missouri-Columbia • Building on research on electoral coverage, this study develops seven possible frames for Latin American elections: horserace, leaders, policies, instability, foreign relations, background and party identifier. Through a content analysis of Time and The Economist magazines, findings suggest the region is not a priority for U.S. media. Similarities in both magazines include a preference for descriptive stories, the use of left party identifiers more than right ones and a link to Venezuela President Hugo Chavez.
The “New” Arab Public Sphere: Satellite News, Political Identity, and Anti-Americanism • Erik Nisbet, Cornell University • The growth of satellite TV and Internet access within the Middle East, its possible impact on the formation of transnational political identities, and the consequences for regional public opinion toward the U.S. have garnered significant academic and policy attention in recent years. Employing cross-national survey data from six Arab countries collected in October 2005, this paper finds that relying on al-Jazeera as a primary source of news is associated with a higher degree of Pan-Muslim identity, but not Pan-Arab nationalism.
Gender Differences in Facial Prominence in Chinese News Photos • Zengjun Peng and Jing He, St. Cloud State University • Applying the theory of face-ism in visual representation (men are shown more of the head/face, women more of the body), this study analyzed 1197 news photos in four Chinese news magazines. Results show that male images enjoyed higher facial prominence than those of women. Significant gender differences were also found in other categories including age, facial expression, occupation, clothing, and photo background, where women were stereotyped in roles and settings conforming to conventional social and cultural norms.
The Zambian Conundrum: Attitudes Toward Press Freedom Among Members of Parliament • Gregory Pitts, Bradley University • Democracy’s sweep through Sub-Saharan Africa during the 1990s signaled multiparty elections, spawned additional media voices, and led to at least deference to a free press. Zambia, with its newly elected Parliamentarians, is learning what these changes mean to the government and the media. Elections cannot change the political and social values of elected officials.
Media use patterns across countries: Are there any differences? • Jack Powers, Ithaca College and Chris Murphy, Syracuse University • An online survey was conducted (snowball sample) with the goal of gathering media use data from across as many countries as possible. Specifically, hypotheses addressing media use and the reasons for that media use were tested. The results suggest that there is very little variance between media use across developed nations and that, surprisingly, time spent on the Internet rivals (and in some cases surpasses) time spent watching television.
The Politics of Hate or How Media Can Help an Ultra-Nationalist Group in Bulgaria Win Elections • Maria Raicheva-Stover, Washburn University and Elza Ibroscheva, Southern Illinois University • This paper uses a case-study approach to examine the role of mass media in the surprising electoral success of the Bulgarian ultra-nationalist party Ataka. Arguing that it is important to recognize the critical role media play in fueling sentiments of ethnic intolerance, this paper concludes that Ataka’s ascent to prominence was largely aided by its skillfully crafted media blitz.
Journalism and Terrorism Across the Atlantic: A Qualitative Content Analysis of CNN and BBC Coverage of 9/11 and 7/7 • Amy Reynolds, Indiana University School of Journalism • This paper explores, through a qualitative content analysis, the verbal frames utilized in both American and British television coverage of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack in the U.S., and the July 7, 2005 terrorist attack in London. America’s Cable News Network (CNN) and the U.K.’s British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) are the focus of the analysis.
When Media Portrayals Fail: Campaign Professionalism on German Party Web Sites • Eva Johanna Schweitzer, University of Mainz, Germany • The paper scrutinizes the media portrayal of German online campaigns in the 2002 and 2005 National Elections. Based on a quantitative content and structure analysis of federal party Web sites in both election cycles, the study reveals that the journalistic criticism of a non-professionalization in German e-campaigning was false: The parliamentary Web sites advanced in information density, interactivity, and sophistication. In addition, the home pages were strongly campaign-oriented, party-focused, and highly competitive in their tone.
Perceptions of North Korea and Its Leader: A Comparative Study of South Korean and Western Journalists • Hyunjin Seo • This study investigated whether journalists’ nationality influences their perceptions of North Korea and its leader. To examine this issue, the study conducted a survey of South Korean, U.S., and European journalists who have covered the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear weapons development. A total of 79 journalists participated in the survey, which included both close-ended and open-ended questions. The respondents include 44 South Korean journalists, 19 U.S. journalists, and 16 European journalists.
Press Freedom Matters Too: A Longitudinal, Econometric Time-Series… Economic Well-Being • Lowndes Stephens, University of South Carolina • Development scholars have long acknowledged the role mass media play in communication and development. Cross-national studies of the relationships among political freedom, economic freedom, and economic growth and well-being have been reported in the literature for a quarter century. Enough longitudinal data is now available on press freedom to add this measure to the mix.
Framing of NGOs: International Media Coverage of the Tsunami, 2004 • Renuka Suryanarayan, Ohio University • Media attention was an important component in developmental work and in the collection of aid during the tsunami of 2004. Through a content analysis of print media from four countries—USA, the UK, India and Sri Lanka, this study investigated elite media attention given to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the coverage of the tsunami.
Promoting Colleges on the Internet: Comparing the Visual Components of Chinese and American Collegiate Websites • Tang Tang, Ohio University • This cross-cultural content analysis was designed to test the differences in visual components between Chinese and American collegiate websites. The results show that pictures including images of people appeared more often on the American websites than on Chinese sites; people were portrayed more often in groups on Chinese websites than on American websites; and that people of authority were also portrayed more often on Chinese collegiate websites than on their American counterparts.
Growing Up Together: Newspaper Coverage of the Legal System in Kosovo • Maureen Taylor and Michael L. Kent, Western Michigan University • Over the past seven years, international donor organizations have spent millions of dollars in civil society initiatives in Kosovo. The purpose of this paper is to explore how one nascent institution in Kosovo, the media, is learning how to report on another emerging institution, the legal system. This research reports on the outcome of a series of workshops devoted to training journalists on the background of the Kosovo legal system.
Asia in Mass Communication Research: A Meta-Analysis of Peer-Reviewed Journals (1990-2005) • Hai Tran, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill • This paper represents a status report on Asian communication studies from 1990 to 2005. Findings indicate that the growth in this body of literature remained modest given an abundance of research opportunities in the area. The meta-analysis, conducted on the census of relevant journal articles in fifteen years, provides a unique window to understand how Asian communication has been studied in the United States and where the research is heading.
In Search of an Explanation for Press Freedom as a Function of Culture and Development: Myths and Realities • Hai Tran, Reaz Mahmood, Ying Du and Andrei Khrapavitski, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill • This study examines assumptions about factors that influence global press freedom, with the impetus being a lack of sufficient evidence for both traditional and postmodern arguments in the field. Using aggregate empirical data, the findings challenge the established conception of development linked with communication, reveal the non-significance of cultural differences, and indicate the influence of the most widely used press freedom indices themselves on comparative research.
Fueling the Fire: An analysis of the online framing of three terrorist organizations • Lenae Vinson • This study takes a communicative standpoint in exploring media frames present in the coverage of Southeast Asian terrorist organizations. Content analysis is used to examine articles published in the New York Times, BBC, Manila Times and The Jakarta Post. Findings indicate significant differences in the frames constructed by Western and Eastern media outlets along with other trends in the framing of coverage of the Abu Sayyaf Group, Jemaah Islamiyah and Moro Islamic Liberation Front organizations.
American Pragmatism and Chinese Modernization: Importing the Missouri Model of Journalism Education to Modern China • Yong Volz, University of Missouri-Columbia and Chin-Chuan Lee, City University of Hong Kong • This paper argues that the almost carbon-copy transplantation of the Missouri model of journalism education to Chinese universities in the first half of the twentieth century was a success story in the larger context of American expansionism. As an emerging Asian power the United States advocated an open-door policy when joining the fray with other western powers to compete for influence in China.
Crimes and Punishments: Narrative Construction of Milosevic’s Death and Hussein’s Execution in The New York Times • Marina Vujnovic, University of Iowa • This paper provides a narrative analysis of the New York Times coverage of the death of Slobodan Milosevic in March 2006 and execution of Saddam Hussein in December 2006. Although both stories had different antagonist from different cultural contexts, journalists covered both news events in similar vain. Journalist chose to cover these stories as big events in the grand narrative of the rise and fall that is acceptable for the American audience and fits American or western cultural make-up.
Securitization: A new approach to framing and media portrayals of the “war on terror” • Fred Vultee, University of Missouri • To successfully cast an issue as an extraordinary threat requiring a suspension of normal political functions is to “securitize” it. This study uses portrayals of the “war on terror” in three U.S. newspapers from 2001 to 2006 to show how a securitization frame can be invoked or contested and how it changes across time.
For the Good of Public Health or for Political Propaganda: An Analysis of SARS Coverage • Xiao Wang, Eastern Connecticut State University • Previous research on the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome epidemic (SARS) in China or other parts of the world has documented how governments and the media handled the epidemic in terms of political and social efforts. Such studies largely ignored that SARS, in the first place, is a public health issue and that the mass media can be utilized to disseminate information for public health.
Foreign Countries in American Eyes: Deviance, Personal Experience, Mass Media and National Image • Xiuli Wang, Pamela J. Shoemaker, Gang Han and E. Jordan Storm, Syracuse University • This study examines the relationships among national image, deviance, and personal and mediated experiences using data from a cross-sectional internet survey of 495 American citizens. Personal experiences, mediated experiences, and perceptions of deviance all turn out to be significant at some level in predicting how favorable or strong Americans perceive other countries to be.
U.S Media Coverage of Natural Disasters: A Framing Analysis of Hurricane Katrina and the Tsunami • Worapron Worawongs, Weirui Wang and Ashley Sims, Penn State University • This study examines U.S. news media coverage of Hurricane Katrina and the Indian Ocean Tsunami. The frames used to depict these two natural disasters were identified through a content analysis of 457 news stories from ABC, CBS, and NBC. The results suggest the presence of notable similarities and differences. The Katrina coverage framed the disaster from a political and economical perspective while, the tsunami coverage emphasized the causalities and alterations of living conditions.
Globalization of U.S. Law on Press Freedom • Kyo Ho Youm, University of Oregon • From an international and comparative perspective, the Sullivan case is a fascinating illustration of how American law, especially the First Amendment law, has fared as U.S. “export” abroad. Increasingly important to journalists is the growing interaction between U.S. and foreign libel law as American news media are becoming more transnational now than ever.
Print friendly
