International Communication 2013 Abstracts
Bob Stevenson Open Paper Competition
Inside and Outside of the Great Firewall: The Knowledge Gap Hypothesis Revisited in a Censored Online Environment • Yi Mou; Kevin Wu, University of Connecticut; David Atkin, University of Connecticut • Although China has surpassed the United States to command the world’s largest Internet user base, government-led information regulations prevent common users from enjoying free access to information. Owing to a special software apparatus that helps define China’s Great Firewall, savvy users can bypass online censorship. Based on Knowledge gap hypothesis and reactance effects, this paper reveals a knowledge gap existing as a side effect of state censorship, one that is emerging between the savvy users and common users.
Communicating External Voting Rights to Diaspora Communities. Challenges and Opportunities for El Salvador and Costa Rica • Vanessa Bravo, Elon University • “This paper fills a gap in the literature of international communication by exploring the challenges that home governments face when trying to convey information about newly established political rights to diaspora communities located in host countries. It does so by analyzing the cases of El Salvador and Costa Rica, two Central American countries that will offer external voting rights (absentee vote) to their citizens, for the first time, in the national elections of 2014.
The ability of video-mediated training approaches to reduce agricultural knowledge gaps between men and women in rural Uganda • Tian Cai; Eric Abbott • This study explored the effectiveness of video training delivered by portable battery-operated projectors to narrow the gap in agricultural knowledge between men and women in rural Uganda. Through a pre-post quasi-experiment, this study found that the method that combined video and lecture-demonstration was significantly more effective in narrowing the gender knowledge gap. Use of video alone improved women’s knowledge scores as much as men, but did not close the knowledge gap.
(Re)categorizing Intergroup Relations: Applying Social-Psychological Perspectives to News Reporting on International Conflict • Michael Chan • This study examines how intergroup relations between nations are categorized and recategorized through news discourse. Theories from social psychology, including the common in-group identity model, mutual intergroup differentiation model, and optimal distinctiveness theory, form an integrated framework to analyze news coverage of the territorially-disputed Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands by the China Daily from 2002 to 2011. Findings from content analyses showed that despite the local nature of the dispute that invokes clear in-group/out-group distinctions between China and Japan, the majority of the articles in the newspaper discursively recategorize intergroup relations. This includes the assimilation of Japan under a superordinate ‘Asian’ identity, and the categorization of the United States as the ‘outsider’ purposefully interfering in Sino-Japanese relations. The findings provide important ideological insights of the ruling party state and its attempts to influence intergroup comparisons by reconfiguring the basis of intergroup evaluation and differentiation.
A Theoretical Model of Transnational Communication by Dominican Diaspora Organizations • Maria De Moya, North Carolina State University • This study presents a theoretical model of strategic communication by diaspora community organizations (DCOs) serving the Dominican-American community. Using constructivist grounded theory, this study explored the reasons why DCOs engage in these efforts, the means through which they communicate to national and international in-group and external publics, and their desired community outcomes. The model highlights a combination of mediated and interpersonal efforts conducted to engage publics in both the home and the host country.
The Facilitative and Monitorial Roles of Bulgarian Media in the Coverage of the 2011 Presidential Election • Daniela Dimitrova, Iowa State University • Using a systematic content analysis, the present study investigates the coverage of the 2011 presidential election campaign in Bulgaria in order to evaluate the quality of news reporting 23 years after the end of Communism. The study examines several characteristics of the coverage, including the use of news sources, the framing of politics, references to scandal and journalistic speculations. The findings show that while the media have moved beyond direct political controls of the past, there are a number of areas that need improvement. Implications for normative democracy are briefly discussed.
Legitimating Journalistic Authority under the State’s Shadow: A Case Study of the Environmental Press Awards in China • Dong Dong • This study attempts to investigate the legitimation of journalistic authority in the form of journalism awards. The Environmental Press Awards (EPA), an unofficial but highly regarded news competition among Chinese environmental reporters, has been chosen as a case study. The case is examined from three interconnected dimensions: the creation and maintenance of moral and pragmatic legitimacies, the strategic processes of cognitive and social legitimation, and a dual process of symbolic legitimation of the market media ideology. Research data is formed based on statistical analysis of 181 award submissions and 10 in-depth interviews with key personnel in the host organizations, the journalism community, and environmental NGOs. By looking into the establishment, dynamics and results of the awarding process, it is found that the alliance between the market media and the green civil society has created and buttressed the legitimacy of the award. However, without blessing from the Party/state, such legitimacy is vulnerable and can easily be dismantled.
Governmental Corruption through the Egyptian Bloggers’ Lens: A Qualitative Study of Four Egyptian Political Blogs • Mohammed el-Nawawy; Sahar Khamis • Corruption was among the serious problems of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s regime. Egyptian political bloggers played a critical role in exposing this regime’s corrupt policies. This study analyzed a number of threads from four prominent Egyptian political blogs that tackled corruption, which performed three functions, namely: mobilization, documentation, or deliberation. This analysis highlighted the strengths and weaknesses and the potentials and limitations of political blogs in promoting civic engagement, democratization, and political change.
Russia versus the World: Are Public Relations Leadership Priorities More Similar than Different? • Elina Erzikova, Central Michigan University • As a part of a world-wide study, 215 Russian public relations practitioners completed an online survey of their perceptions related to professional leadership and communication management. The Russian sample’s demographics differed significantly from the overall sample’s make-up (N=4,484; 22 countries). Despite the differences, there was a significant overlap between Russian participants’ and their global peers’ beliefs. This result might signal, among others, universality of some specific leadership aspects and/or a globalization effect in Russian public relations.
Framing the Egyptian Revolution: An online frame building case study • Hogar Mohammed; Peter Gade, University of Oklahoma • This agenda setting study explored the influence of citizen media on legacy media during the Egyptian Revolution. It examined the extent to which the frames in the posts on two popular citizen Facebook pages, We Are All Khaled Said (Arabic) and We Are All Khaled Said (English), were also found in frames of three online legacy media, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and The New York Times, during the revolution from January 25, 2011 to February 11, 2011. Results showed the two Facebook pages’ frames had an indirect influence on the frames of the three online legacy media.
Mediated Public Diplomacy in Times of War: An investigation of media relations in Pakistan • Rauf Arif; Guy Golan, Syracuse University; Brian Moritz, Syracuse University • The current study provides a unique perspective into US-Pakistan and Taliban-Pakistan media relations in the context of the regional war on terror. Based on mediated public diplomacy and news construction literature, the study explores some of the key challenges and opportunities that both sides face as they aim to influence Pakistani media coverage and win the political support of the Pakistani people. Eighteen online in-depth interviews of Pakistani media practitioners explore their perceptions of wartime media relations involving four main categories: US-Pakistani media relations, Taliban-Pakistani media relations, Taliban/extremist groups’ understanding of Pakistani news routines, and US officials’ understanding of Pakistani news routines. The study’s key findings are discussed in the context of wartime media relations and mediated public diplomacy.
Journalism in times of violence: Uses and practices of social media along the U.S.-Mexico border • Celeste Gonzalez de Bustamante, University of Arizona; Jeannine Relly, University of Arizona School of Journalism • Mexico ranks as one of the most violent countries in the world for journalists, especially those who work on the country’s periphery such as its northern border. Our research examines the way that violence has influenced social media use by U.S. and Mexican journalists who cover northern Mexico, and advances the hierarchy of influences model (Shoemaker and Reese, 1996; Reese, 2001) through qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews conducted in 18 cities along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Online Coverage of the 2010 Brazilian Presidential Elections: framing power and professional ideology • Heloiza Herscovitz, California State University Long Beach • A framing analysis of news and commentaries published by mainstream online media organizations and their bloggers and columnists on the 2010 Brazilian Presidential Elections revealed that framing do have the potential to uncover journalism’s ideological elements. Political preferences marked the Brazilian online coverage blurring the lines between the private and the public. Journalism status quo emerged as a main topic in the coverage as a free press under attack quickly reacted with rage causing a rift between news organizations that criticized the outgoing president and those that supported him. A popular president, apparently unaffected by corruption scandals, and the country’s most powerful media groups confronted each other in an exhaustive and unfinished battle.
Journalism on the Fly: Youth Reporters in Benin as a New Model of Development Journalism • Robert Huesca, Trinity University • “The concept of “”development journalism”” was introduced in the late 1960s and proposed as a new press theory more amenable to developing nations. The concept has been criticized as conceptually vague and professionally problematic due to a lack of independence vis a vis the state. Despite this criticism, the concept has continued to draw adherents and advocates who claim that this practice continues to hold promise as an alternative to other models of journalism. This paper reports on a development journalism project conducted in Africa among young women in terms of its potential contributions to development journalism. The journalism camp for girls was designed out of a framework drawn from the scholarship of development journalism and participatory development communication. The findings indicate that projects such as the journalism camp for girls addresses many of the criticism leveled against development journalism, while suggesting a sustainable, viable, and compatible model of development journalism in the developing world.”
Testing Cyber Nationalism in China: A Case Study of Anti-Japanese Collective Actions • Ki Deuk Hyun, Grand Valley State University; Jinhee Kim, Pohang University of Science and Technology; Shaojing Sun • Although the rise of nationalist activism in Chinese online sphere has drawn much scholarly attention, few studies examined how nationalism, usages and motivations of the Internet affect nationalist collective actions. Using Sino-Japanese diplomatic disputes as a testing ground, this study investigates the effects of news use of both traditional and social media, nationalist attitudes, motivations in using the Internet specific to the disputes on anti-Japanese political behaviors such as boycotting and protest. Analyses of online survey data of Chinese netizens demonstrate that nationalism positively correlate to news use and Internet use motivations of information seeking and social interaction. The results also show that respondents who are motivated to use the Internet for expression and discussion related to the Sino-Japanese disputes are more likely to engage in anti-Japanese behaviors. This study demonstrates that motivations involved in the use of new media technologies related to specific political issues and events play significant roles in mobilizing supporters for collective actions.
Determinants of Satisfaction and Behavioral Intentions: Role of Perceived Authenticity, Identity, and Reputation in Tourism Promotion • Rajul Jain, DePaul University • This study examined a model with causal linkages among identity, reputation, perceived authenticity, tourists’ satisfaction, and intended behavior. Survey data from 545 tourists and in-depth interviews with 16 visitors of a cultural and eco-archaeological theme park in Mexico showed significant linkages among constructs. Variations in perceived authenticity with demographics, visit characteristics, and information sources were also examined. Findings imply the value of strategic communication, which could lead to supporting behavioral intentions towards a destination.
Tweeting as a Journalistic Social Engagement Routine in Africa and Beyond • Yusuf Kalyango, Ohio University, Ohio, Athens, USA; Pamela Walck, Ohio University • This study explores how international journalists based in East Africa and the United States communicate with their audiences about current affairs on Twitter and whether the reporting beats and their news-gathering routines reflects their tweets they share with their followers. This qualitative study also explores whether the issues that the four prominent journalists from East Africa and the United States tweet are driven by the need to brand themselves or to crowd-source through other social engagement approaches. The findings indicate that the two prominent East African journalists were more prone to use Twitter for a more conversational, less formal tone to convey information but the journalists from the United States eschewed using Twitter for personal conversations or editorial opinions. They were more likely to include informal, sarcastic or critical commentary on Twitter than the African international journalists.
U.S. vs. the rest of the world: Perceptions of war correspondents in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars • Hun Shik Kim, University of Colorado Boulder • The first decade in the 21st century saw two major wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in which journalists from different countries covered either as embedded and unilateral journalists. This study, based on a survey of 309 war correspondents, examines and compares the U.S. and non-U.S. journalists’ perceptions of various aspects of the two international conflicts. There are stark contrasts between U.S. and non-U.S. war correspondents in their perceptions of overall quality of news coverage, embedded reporting practices, censorship pressures from the military, and news themes involving high human casualties. It was evident that differences in nationality based on U.S. vs. non-U.S. distinction shaped the war correspondents’ overall assessment of news coverage from the two wars. Reasons for the divergent news coverage were discussed, including war reporting from the perspectives of our own wars vs. other people’s wars.
Journalists of Botswana: Roles and Influences • Katie Lang, University of Miami, School of Communication; Jyotika Ramaprasad • This study is likely the first systematic study of journalists in Botswana. It examines their perceptions of their roles as well as the influences on their work within the framework of professional milieus and content theory respectively. The data was collected in person from 115 randomly selected journalists representing various ranks, media types, media ownership, and media orientation. The study’s contribution lies in the quantitative benchmarks it establishes for Batswana journalism practices.
Socio-cultural value difference of the media and news framing on business conflict issue • Min-Kyu Lee, Chung-Ang University; Wan Soo Lee, Dongseo University • This study conducted a comparative analysis on how media framing varied across two countries as well as the ideologies of newspapers when it comes to the market competitive reports such as the Samsung-Apple patent lawsuit. In addition, this study attempted to provide an integrated explanation of news frames quantitatively, analyzing both the generic frame and the issue-specific frame. This study shows that there were differences according to the ideological characteristics of the newspapers as well as to socio-cultural values, economic and social factors. While the news frame in favor of Samsung was absolutely abundant in South Korea, neutral frames were dominant in the U.S. This implies that the ethnocentrism or patriotism can have little significance in some issues that place emphasis on moral evaluations and market principles.
Web Credibility in China: Comparing Internet and Traditional News Sources on Credibility Measures • Yunjuan Luo; Hongzhong Zhang • China has the largest Internet population in the world. The rapid increase of Internet use has raised the question of whether the Internet is judged to be a more credible news source compared to the traditional media. Based on probability sample telephone surveys in two major Chinese cities, this study found that the Internet was judged as less credible than television and newspapers, but it was perceived to be more credible than other traditional news sources such as radio and magazines. Internet use was the strongest predictor of Web credibility. Newspaper use and television use were found to be negatively correlated with Web credibility. Some demographic variables such as age and education also turned out to be significant predictors.
Developing a survey instrument of journalistic peace/war performance: Toward a reliable assessment of crisis-reporters’ attitudes • Rico Neumann, UN-mandated University for Peace; Shahira Fahmy, U of Arizona • Based on Galtung’s concept of peace/war journalism, this exploratory work attempts to advance an empirical method to develop a survey instrument for a reliable and valid assessment of journalists’ attitudes toward peace/war performance. The authors propose a measurement index of conflict reporting which combines practices linked to peace/war journalism. The approach’s usefulness is demonstrated by quantitative and qualitative evidence from a pilot study–a survey of worldwide members of The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
State of Research on Media Representation of China: A Thematic Meta-Analysis • Zengjun Peng, St Cloud State University; Xi’an International Studies University; Yuan Zeng, Xi’an International Studies University; Pei Zheng, Xi’an International Studies University; Tianding Wang, Xi’an International Studies University • State of Research on Media Representation of China: A Thematic Meta-Analysis. This study, by way of thematic meta-analysis, analyzed 91 research articles in the area of media representation of China published in Chinese academic journals between 1994 and 2013. Targeting at an overall picture on the state and health of the scholarship in this field, the study used a comprehensive list of categories including publication and authorship profile, theory use, citation patterns and methodological details. Results identified several weaknesses and deficiencies, particularly in theory use and methodological execution. Implications for future research were discussed.
Tensions, Conflicts and Challenges: A Case Study of Foreign Correspondents in China • Wei Zhou, Beijing Foreign Studies University; Jiang Zhan, Beijing Foreign Studies University; Zengjun Peng, St Cloud State University; Xi’an International Studies University • This study, based on results from semi-structured interviews with nine foreign correspondents stationed in Beijing, China, offered a qualitative examination into the daily practices of foreign correspondents in a country undergoing dramatic political and social transitions. Focusing on themes emerged from the narratives of the foreign correspondents themselves, including profile feature, news agenda, sourcing pattern and special challenges in reporting, the paper explored the tensions, conflicts and special challenges foreign correspondents face in doing professional reporting in an authoritarian state. Related issues and implications were also raised and discussed against the theoretical premises in international communication and journalism scholarship.
The Digital Divide In Brazil, 2004 – 2009: Evolution and Effects on Political Engagement • Rachel Reis Mourao, University of Texas at Austin; Charles Wood, University of Florida • Results of a 2010 survey of twenty-two Latin American countries show that Brazil ranks first with respect to Internet connectivity. Analyses of national household surveys further show an increase in microcomputers and Internet access between 2004 and 2009, and a decline in the digital divide by rural-urban residence and socioeconomic status. The study also finds that the intensity of Internet use has a positive effect on the knowledge and attitudes deemed relevant to democratic governance.
Journalists’ perceptions of professional ethics norms in post-Ba’athist Iraq • Jeannine Relly, University of Arizona School of Journalism; Margaret Zanger, University of Arizona School of Journalism; Shahira Fahmy, U of Arizona • In the post-Saddam Hussein period in Iraq, thousands of Iraqi journalists were trained in journalistic professional norms as U.S. government officials paid for propaganda placement in news reports and local politicians handed out envelopes of cash at press conferences. This survey (N = 588) of Iraqi journalists examined influences on ethics perceptions. The study found when controlling for demographics that occupation, watchdog attitude, journalistic role perception, and training had the greatest impact on professional ethics.
The Journalist’s Role in a Digital and Social Media Era: A Comparative Analysis of Journalists in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru • Amy Schmitz Weiss • Based on a survey conducted of over 1,100 journalists, this study examines how journalism is transforming in today’s global media climate. It specifically investigates the professional roles as well as the digital and social media routines of journalists in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Findings show the professional roles of the journalists surveyed show significant differences between countries in the area of the populist mobilizer and the interpretative role. In addition, the journalists also identified multiple uses of the digital platform for newsgathering tasks and social media channels for tasks ranging from using it to post news to using it to encourage dialog and conversation with the public. Implications of the findings are also discussed.
Cultural Values in Viral Video Advertisements in China and the U.S. • Fei Xue, University of Southern Mississippi • The current research analyzed 194 popular online video advertisements in China (YouKu) and the U.S. (Advertising Age) from November 2012 to March 2013, to explore differences between two countries in cultural values and advertiser characteristics. It was found that ads from YouKu used more group/consensus appeals, more tradition/elderly appeals, and less individual/independence appeals, compared to those from Advertising Age. Significant differences were also found in terms of country-of-origin and product categories.
Communicating AIDS in Africa: A Case Study of Ugandan Newspapers • Angella Napakol; Nan Yu, North Dakota State University; Charles Okigbo, North Dakota State University • This empirical content-analytic study of AIDS coverage in two Ugandan newspapers — one government owned and the other private – showed that the media can be useful tools in framing AIDS narratives and directing attention to people at risk. Although there were slight differences between the two newspapers, on the whole they were similar in their AIDS reportage and portend great benefits in the fight against the epidemic. We conclude that the mass media can contribute in important ways to the various efforts toward HIV/AIDS prevention.
Framing Strategies At Different Stages of Crisis: Coverage of the “July 5th” Urumqi Event by Xinhua, Reuters, and AP • Lily Zeng, Arkansas State University; Lijie Zhou, Arkansas State University; Xigen Li • This study examined how Xinhua, Reuters, and AP adjusted their framing strategies when covering the 2009 “July 5th” Urumqi event, a series of violent activities between two ethnic groups in far west China. The findings revealed that during the initial stage, the three news agencies displayed considerable similarities, relying on official sources, addressing damages, and focusing on updates. They also tended to portray the crisis from the regional perspective, reflecting the nature and scope of the incident. However, reporting of the same crisis varied dramatically after the first stage. When it was time to define the situation by selecting background or contextual information, media organizations began to reveal the different interest they represent.
Bridges in the Global News Arena: A Network Study of Bridge Blogs About China • Nan Zheng, James Madison University • The concept of bridge blogs as a form of global journalism was examined by content analysis and network analysis of 426 blog posts and 1026 links in 11 bridge blogs about China from 2009 to 2010. This study proposes a theoretical framework to examine how bridge blogs’ network characteristics (i.e. attentive cluster, betweenness, centrality) are related to their communicative practices as reflected in their linking preferences.
Markham Student Paper Competition
Euros over Citizens: The Dutch Press’s Narrow Conception of Democracy • Tabe Bergman, University of Illinois • The disruption of European politics as usual resulting from the Greek prime-minister’s proposal in late 2011 to hold a referendum on the euro-crisis provides an opportunity to examine the commitment to democratic deliberations among Dutch journalists. This paper first documents the current crisis in Dutch democracy and then argues that Dutch journalists have incorporated a narrow conception of democracy, similar to Walter Lippmann’s, that discourages citizen participation in the democratic process. The assumption that this almost antidemocratic conception of ‘democracy’ influenced the commentary on the referendum proposal is tested with a content analysis of four newspapers. The results show that, indeed, the proposal was widely and often vehemently dismissed.
“Blind dating” with culture, market, and governmental regulations: A case study of Meeting with Mother-in-Law, a blind date reality show in China • Li Chen • This study attempted to reveal and discuss how Meeting with Mother-in-Law, a Chinese blind date reality show, reflects glocalized cultural elements in urban areas in China. The study also analyzed how Chinese media practitioners balance market needs and governmental regulations through examining the role of judges in the show. By conducting textual analysis on eight episodes of Meeting with Mother-in-Law, the study revealed that the show reconstructed gender roles and reinterpreted Western values within a local context, which is a result of cultural hybridization. In addition, the study discussed how judges cautiously monitor the conversations to make the show appealing to the public without violating state regulations.
Online Social Support Messages for Intercultural Adaptation of Mainland Chinese international Students in Singapore • Liang Chen, Nanyang Technological University • China has become the biggest source nations of overseas students worldwide. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of Chinese students flocking to universities or colleges in Singapore. While the culture of Singapore, to some extent, is similar to China’s culture, mainland Chinese students might present the difficulty of adapting to an English medium education system, local culture and academic pressures in Singapore. Thus, many of them in Singapore feel homesick, isolated and frustrated at the beginning of their overseas study. Fortunately, a computer mediated social support group (the LSg Group), a sub-forum of most popular Chinese overseas study forum founded in April 2000, provides various types of social support messages for mainland Chinese students in Singapore. The present study does leading examinations to inquire the nature of social support that took place in the LSg Group for intercultural adaptation of mainland Chinese overseas students. A directed qualitative content analysis was applied to analyze all 736 posted messages collected from 6th July to 6th October .The results suggests that the social support messages can be categorize into many subcategories under three existing main categories, informational, instrumental and emotional support and a new created category: network support. In sum, this online social support group provides a convenient and effective platform for mainland Chinese students in Singapore to seek and share information, emotional encouragement, tangible services and opportunities to expand their social networks in order to orient themselves to a new cultural environment.
The Freelancer-NGO Alliance: What a Story of Kenyan Waste Reveals about Contemporary Foreign News Production • David Conrad, University of Pennsylvania – Annenberg School for Communication • This paper explores the impact that foundation/NGO partnerships are having on the practices of contemporary foreign news reporting in American journalism. Through an exploration of a widely published project on a health crisis in East Africa – funded by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and reported by the study’s author – this paper ultimately argues that issues of framing, representation, and ideology are not dominating foreign news production; they are being hotly contested within it.
Does the medium make a difference? A comparative analysis of international news in Chinese online and print newspapers • Ming Dai • The study examined the influence of new media technologies on agenda diversity of international news coverage and how the influence varied by media’s audience orientation. A content analysis of major Chinese newspapers and their websites showed that the online media reproduced some of the traditional media’s practices of covering international news unevenly. The influence of the internet was more pronounced on the government-oriented media than on the market-oriented media.
The role of social media in helping voters to resist mainstream media propaganda in Argentina • Mariana De Maio, University of Florida • In the last decade popular democracies have survived mainstream media opposition in many countries in Latin America. This demarks a departure from history. Voters support governments aligned with their needs in spite of media propaganda. Within the propaganda theory framework, this paper will propose a model to study the case of Argentina focusing on how social media messages have helped media news consumers to resist the propaganda.
The South African Press’ Framing of Human Rights in the 2011 Libyan Conflict • Anthony Frampton • This qualitative study examines the South African Press’ coverage of the 2011 Libyan conflict and their framing of human rights abuses and discourses advocating Western intervention. I performed a content analysis of news stories from South African newspaper available on LexisNexis that referenced the Libyan Civil War during the period February 14 to March 17, 2011. To analyze the data, I used a customized thematic framework based on framing theory. I found that overwhelming, the coverage by the South African press appeared more closely aligned with war journalism than peace journalism. Their newspaper reports largely explored human rights issues by highlighting the negative actions of the Libyan Government and demonizing its leader, Colonel Gaddafi, while ignoring human rights violations by the rebel fighters. The research also revealed that while South African journalists adopted a nationalistic perspective, they ignored racial violence, depended heavily on elite political sources, and privileged Western proposed resolutions over local or regional mediation. That the African press’ framing of the conflict was little different from Western reports highlights the relative consistency of mainstream journalism around the globe on war and conflict, although it also points to significant insights into the uniqueness of war reporting on the continent by African-based newspapers.
Cyber Security in Developing Countries, a Digital Divide Issue: The Case of Georgia • Ellada Gamreklidze • Based on the case study of the cyber war between Russia and Georgia in August 2008, this paper is a theoretical deliberation in an attempt to illustrate connection between Digital Divide and cyber security. Through a qualitative case study of cyber warfare between the two countries, it shows that states on the disadvantaged side of the Digital Divide are subject to cyber insecurity. As a result, even though relatively low dependence of their vital systems on online networks supposedly makes them less vulnerable to cyber offensives, disruptions to communication infrastructures causes these states turn dysfunctional. The conclusion is that the level of country’s cyber security serves as a litmus test for the level of its cyber power that, in turn, is indicative of the country’s strategic political standing among other states.
Losing Focus: Goal Displacement at an Alternative Newspaper in El Salvador • Summer Harlow, University of Texas at Austin • This study examines whether a Salvadoran alternative newspaper maintained its critical, independent, and alternative position after the country’s first leftist president was elected and the newspaper no longer was in opposition to the government. Via a content analysis and in-depth interviews, this study improves our understanding of “alternativeness” in a non-U.S.-context. Findings indicate that the newspaper’s goals became less radical, with more pro-government coverage, and less coverage of social movements and civil society.
Framing Mediated Activism: Lokpal Bill Campaign in India • Sumanth Inukonda, BGSU • Anti-corruption agitations in India coincided with the Arab Spring inspiring many to draw parallels. This paper argues that the ease with which the frames crossed the boundaries of social and traditional media confirms the relevance of media framing. The cascade model helps explain circumstances under which the discord between media and political elite arises. This paper argues that initial media frames need not subscribe to the views of political elite; rather discord draws from historical struggles to maintain press freedom.
The Limits of Revolution in the Digital Age: The cases of China and Cuba • Haiyan Jia, Penn State University; Cristina Mislan, The Pennsylvania State University • The Internet, with its ease of obtaining information, is supposedly constructive to democracy while corrosive to non-democratic rule. The assumptions that technological advances foment democratization have roots in historical events, such as the fall of the Soviet Union and the libertarian ideology of early proponents of the Internet. While we have witnessed social movements such as “Arab Spring,” the prediction remains largely as an ideal. China and Cuba have shown that technology is moderated by external and internal factors, from macro to micro, instead of a single technological determinant. In this paper, we look at modernization theory to understand the rationale of technology as a liberalizing tool, and further analyze the effectiveness and limitation of this approach using two cases studies that investigate the utilization of Internet in China and Cuba. Based on a review of the literature and theories, and two case studies on Cuba and China, we propose different factors that influence the actual use of Internet and discuss the implications.
The Political Economy of Burma’s Media System: Democratization, Marketization and the Media • Brett Labbe, Bowling Green State University • Using political economy as a theoretical framework, this study employs Hallin and Mancini’s five-dimensional media systems model to the case of Burma (a.k.a. Myanmar) in an attempt address the relationship between media systems and political change. It finds that political structures cannot be adequately understood apart from national media systems and the global economic context in which they are embedded. Furthermore, the findings challenge theoretical assumptions asserting an organic, inherently linear relationship between democratization and marketization.
Can Regimes Really Discourage Social Networking? Urbanization, Cellphone Use and the Dictator’s Plight • Shin Haeng Lee • Are authoritarian regimes ever really successful at stopping at the use of social networking services? This study conducts a panel data analysis on 182 countries observed from 2009 to 2012, to reveal under what conditions and to what extent political institutions shape a cross-country difference in the adoption of Facebook. Including fixed effects, the findings support that authoritarian regimes are detrimental to the diffusion of the digital technology. However, the government’s suppression is moderated by the increased use of cell-phones and the growth of urban population. In other words, urbanization and mobile phone diffusion undermines a regime’s ability to censor the use of Facebook. The authoritarian control is also eroded when people perceive high levels of political efficacy.
Media Modality Effects on Perceptions of China: A Study of Text and Video Frames • Ruobing Li, The Pennsylvania State University; Steve Bien-Aime; Lian Ma, The Pennsylvania State University • The present paper describes an experiment that compared the strength of negative framing effects in text and video on people’s perceptions of China. Controlling for avidity for following international political news, results suggest that audience’s nationality moderate the effects of modalities on audience’s perceptions of China. For Chinese audience, video news increases their negative perceptions of China, while for non-Chinese audience, textual news elicits more negative perceptions of China.
Framing H1N1 Influenza in U.S. and Chinese TV News • Jingfei Liu; Gang (Kevin) Han, Greenlee School/Iowa State University • This study examines the news frames of H1N1 influenza in NBC Nightly News (NBC) in the U.S. and CCTV Evening News (CCTV) in China from April 2009 to October 2010. The content analysis reveals significant differences in news frames and news sources between the two programs. Attribution of responsibility and human interest are the most visible frames in NBC, and the former is also the dominant frame in CCTV. The visibilities of human interest, conflict, and economic consequence frames in NBC are higher than those in CCTV. Domestic government officials and citizens are the most cited sources in NBC, followed by scientists and non-government organizations. The most cited source in CCTV is the domestic government, followed by foreign governments and international organizations. Positive correlations are found between the attribution of responsibility frame and the domestic government source, and between the human interest frame and non-government organizations, citizens and victims in NBC. In CCTV, positive correlations are found between the attribution of responsibility frame and the domestic government, between the human interest frame and both the domestic government and citizens, and between the conflict frame and scientists.
Netizens Overlook “Official Frames” in China? A Framing Analysis of Online news and Micro-blogging Posts • Yanqin Lu • This framing analysis study examined China’s online news and micro-blogging posts on the disputes on Dioayu/Senkaku Islands. Compare to online news, micro-blogging users were more likely to put a human face and make moral judgments on the issue. Within the micro-blogging network, public figures tended to employ thematic frame while news media users preferred episodic frame. Pearson correlation test determined that public figures have a significant impact on the general users in the micro-blogging network.
Weibo, a Better Civic Medium? A Comparative Framing Analysis of Weibo and Xinhuanet in Covering the 7.23 China Train Crash • Luyue Ma, Bowling Green State University • This study employs a comparative framing analysis approach to examine how the popular Chinese social media Weibo and the government-run news website Xinhuanet cover the 7.23 Wenzhou train crash event (2011). The findings indicate that compared with Xinhua coverage, Weibo users are more likely to employ societal or political frames to cover the event. The discourse on Weibo diverges independently from the mainstream media and is more civic oriented.
Framing Poll News in a Unbalanced Media System Society: A Study of Poll Coverage in South Korean Newspapers and Broadcasters during the 2012 Presidential Election • Chang Sup Park, Southern Illinois University Carbondale • This study examined the coverage on public polls by mass media during the 2012 presidential election in South Korea. Through the coding of news stories on public polls published in four newspapers and three broadcasters, this study finds South Korean mass media depended excessively on the strategy frame rather than the issue frame. This means that South Korean mass media presented readers the presidential election as an image of battle between candidates or political parties, rather than making voters engage in constructive dialogue about important issues regarding candidates and parties. Second, South Korean newspapers were very unkind in providing basic information about public polls that is necessary for voters to judge the results and implications of the polls. Third, topics that need to be delivered to voters were missing in the coverage of public polls in both newspapers and broadcasters. Important topics that the electorate should know in judging the candidates were rarely seen (e.g., main difference in policies between parties, human rights issues, and social welfare problems). Most importantly, South Korean media showed a very partisan attitude in the polling coverage. While the two conservative newspapers were positive toward the ruling party candidate, the two liberal newspapers were positive toward the opposition party candidate. Also, the two government-controlled broadcasters were seriously biased toward the ruling party and its candidate. The outcomes suggest that how the media system of a society is closely associated with the news coverage on important political issues.
Foreign Correspondence in the Digital Age: An analysis of India Ink The New York Times’ India-specific blog • Newly Paul, Louisiana State University • This paper is a case study of India Ink, the New York Times’ first country-specific blog, launched in September 2011. This paper examines the blog’s content in order to analyze the ways in which participatory Web 2.0 tools have changed foreign coverage. Findings indicate that through interactive multimedia, crowd-sourced content, and collaboration between Indian and American reporters, India Ink is helping foreign correspondence thrive amidst drastic newsroom budget cuts.
Anonymous Sources Hurt Credibility of News Stories across Cultures: A Comparative Study of America and China • Ivanka Pjesivac, University of Tennessee; Rachel Rui, University of Tennessee • This experiment (N=620) tested the impact of the use of anonymous sources on perceived news story credibility in America and China, two countries with assumed different journalistic standards. Both Americans and Chinese rated news stories with only anonymous sources as less credible than stories with identified sources. Attitude of Americans towards news stories was found to be more positive. The study represents the first comparative research on the topic with rigorously established cross-cultural equivalences.
Still in the dark about Africa: 21st century perceptions of development in Sub-Saharan Africa among American college students • April Raphiou, Student • For decades, African countries have been portrayed inaccurately in mainstream media, often as a land filled with wild people, exotic wildlife and widespread poverty. On the contrary, the Africa of today is slowly moving beyond these stereotypical images with burgeoning economies and improved quality-of-life in many areas. However, this study illustrates that perceptions of Africa among young news consumers do not reflect the changing landscape of the continent. Even though information and communication technologies make it possible for younger generations to access more information, they are still misinformed or uniformed about developments in Africa. Employing media use, cosmopolitanism level, and socioeconomic status as guiding frameworks, the current study measures young news consumers’ knowledge of African development. An online survey was administered to 202 college students at a public university in the southeastern region of the United States to gauge their perceptions of the current state of development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Results indicate that students continue to associate Africa with negative aspects of development, such as poverty and disease. Additionally, respondents with high cosmopolitan or socioeconomic levels were more knowledgeable about African development. Interestingly, media use did not correlate with knowledge This study also highlights differences in perceptions based upon respondents’ ethnicities; Asian respondents were more knowledgeable that individuals of other races.
Right and Satisfied: How the Influence of Political Leaning on Job Satisfaction of Journalists is Mediated by Their Perceived Role Fulfillment • Philip Baugut, U of Munich; Sebastian Scherr, U of Munich • This paper challenges the relevance of journalists’ political leanings. A secondary analysis of a representative survey of journalists (n = 1536) (see Weischenberg et al., 2006) shows that liberal journalists have a more active role conception, perceive stronger discrepancies between their role and their role fulfillment, and are less satisfied with their job. The indirect only effect of journalists’ political leanings on their job satisfaction underlines the significance of intrinsic factors for job satisfaction.
“A Hero With A Thousand Faces”: A Narrative Analysis of US and Taiwanese News Coverage of Linsanity • Chiaoning Su, Temple University • This paper examines the interconnectedness of the construction of ethnicity, nationalism and identity in contemporary media sports. This paper first describes the development and progression of the Linsanity phenomenon, a global sports story that defined 2012. Next, it reviews scholarship on the intersection of news media, sports, and national identity in the context of globalization, and further discusses research methods and data collection procedures. Finally, it compares US and Taiwanese news coverage of Jeremy Lin and argues that media in both countries reflect traditional racialized and nationalist ideologies in their representation of Linsanity, supporting the dominant nationalistic rhetoric in the US and increasing social solidarity in Taiwan. Consequently, this paper aims to demonstrate how national ideology sanctions specific constructions of ethnicity and identity, and how Jeremy Lin was framed differently by nationally-preferred archetypal narratives in the US and Taiwan that enable a hero to have “a thousand faces” on the stage of global media sports. Furthermore, the similarities and differences between US and Taiwanese media coverage of Jeremy Lin can be interpreted as clear evidence that global media sports are a contested terrain characterized by constant conflicting global cultural flows and local resistance to cultural domination.
Media in the Middle East: A Credibility Crisis or a Case of Rising of Confidence? Jordan as a Model • Khalaf Tahat, University of Oklahoma; Azzam Elananza, Yarmouk University • The main purpose of this study was to investigate journalism students’ perceptions of the credibility of the media in Jordan. Specifically, this paper sought to test the difference in media credibility between public media and private media. A questionnaire translated into Arabic was used and handed to a systematic random sample that consisted of 200 students at The Mass Communication College in Jordan. The study found that Jordanian journalism students perceive private media as more trusted than public media. Participants did not rate public media which is run by government as the most credible sources. Today, with the ongoing the “Arab Spring,” private media play a major role in expanding the freedom margins in different countries in the Middle East compared with those media operated by governments that serve only their agendas. Also, the study revealed that people who spend more time in using media tend to trust private media than public media. The high competition between different types of media, the advent of new technologies, and adoption of a market approach in creating media content could explain how private media could employ different effective tools to enhance its communication with potential audiences and keep them following their content for a long time. Future studies and limitations are reported.
Does Censorship or Culture Explain the Isoated Chinese Internet: Analyzing Global Online Audience Flows • Harsh Taneja; Angela Xiao Wu, Northwestern University • Censorship seemingly isolates Chinese internet users. We argue that blocking foreign websites has a limited role in shaping user behavior, as audiences anyway prefer local content. Analyzing traffic among the 1000 most visited websites globally we find that websites cluster according to language and geography. Chinese websites constitute one such cluster, which resembles other such geo-linguistic clusters. This cluster however excludes many uncensored foreign websites that offer content in Chinese language.
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