Magazine 2006 Abstracts
Magazine Division
With the troops: a content analysis of reporter status and how Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News & World Report framed U.S. interventions between 1983 and 2003 • Erin Coyle, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This quantitative content analysis of Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News & World Report assessed magazines’ framing of five U.S. military conflicts between 1983 and 2003. Framing theory and the spheres of influence were used for this study of magazine influence from media-military relations. Statistical analysis found that magazine articles written by reporters with greater reporter-troop relations provided more positive frames for military action. Reporter-troop relations also influenced the use of government and military sources.
Positive Reinforcement: Portrayals of alcohol advertisements in teen and young adult magazines • Stacey J.T. Hust, Yi-Chun “Yvonnes” Chen and Erica Weintraub Austin, Washington State University • Alcohol advertisements are frequently in magazines with high teen readership and use appeals that target youth. A content analysis over four years examined differences in themes and portrayals in magazines targeted to teens and those targeted to young adults. Results indicate alcohol ads emphasized positive rewards and connected alcohol use to sexual prowess and relaxation. Regression analyses showed magazine circulation is positively associated with frequency of both alcoholic beverage advertising and ads targeted to youth.
Framing Sex, Romance, and Relationships on the Covers of Maxim and Cosmopolitan • Sammye Johnson, Trinity and Susan Currie Sivek, University of Texas at Austin • Both Cosmopolitan and Maxim present messages about incredible sex and physical perfection on their covers. Do the magazines frame sexuality in similar or different ways? A content analysis of the covers of 12 issues of Maxim and 12 issues of Cosmopolitan was done. Two questions were considered: (1) Does the visual representation of women on the covers of Maxim and Cosmopolitan reflect differing framing of female sexuality?
Consumer Responses to Sexual Magazine Covers on a Men’s Magazine • Tom Reichert, University of Georgia and Shuhua Zhou, University of Alabama • Competing men’s magazines often use sexually attractive cover models to enhance circulation. This investigation tested the efficacy of sexual cover models on consumer outcome variables including magazine interest and purchase intention, as well as on psychological variables such as sexual arousal and social comparison. Overall, magazine interest value and purchase intention were significantly higher in the sexual condition, as were sexual arousal and tendency for upward social comparison.
Body Image of Older Adults in Magazine Advertisements: A Content Analysis of Their Body Shape and Portrayal • Tom Robinson and Mark Callister, Brigham Young University • Because body disturbance, eating disorders, and the drive for thinness, are all conditions that effect older individuals, the images of older adults in the advertisements of national magazines can have a lasting impression. These media images compete with real life role models as the predominant source for body comparisons among both men and women. This study uses a content analysis to determine what body image of older adults is portrayed in national magazine advertisements.
Are Political Opinion Magazines Really All That Special? A Content Analysis • Susan Currie Sivek, University of Texas at Austin ? This study analyzes 843 feature articles from three political opinion magazines, and addresses the magazines’ function in American political discourse. Articles’ authors, topics, and frames were coded. Male authors from the editorial staffs were most represented. Articles often utilized “horse race” and “ideological” frames, reflecting the magazine’s political perspective. This political coverage – while reflecting distinct ideological positions was thus similarly framed as in other media.
Long Time Coming: How Magazine Letters to the Editor in 1952 Foretold Days of Rage • Brian Thornton, Northern Illinois University • Abstract not available.
A Pictorial Myth in the Pages of Life — Small Town America as the Ideal Place • Sheila Webb, Marquette University • The small town occupies a mythic place in American culture. In the media and popular culture, the small town is portrayed as a place of community, of traditional values, of practical attitudes, and as an incubator of progress. This paper argues that this myth was codified between the First and Second World Wars and that Life played a role in that idealization.
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