Entertainment Studies 2017 Abstracts
Blackish: Deconstruction and the changing nature of black identity • Venise Berry, University of Iowa • The hit ABC television show Blackish explores the changing nature of black identity in America. Specifically, Blackish critically tests a number of core ideas that influence the authenticity of blackness. This analysis examines how black identity and authenticity are communicated within this specific television program as a resistant, satirical narrative effectively deconstructing the commodification of stereotypes, stigmas, racial biases, and historic myths.
Undisclosed information – Serial is My Favorite Murder: Examining Motivations in the True Crime Podcast Audience • Kelli Boling, University of South Carolina • This study explores the true crime podcast audience within the uses and gratifications theoretical frame. Using an online survey (n = 308), this study found that the true crime podcast audience is predominantly female (73%), and five motivations were prominent for users: entertainment, convenience, boredom, voyeurism, and relaxation. All significant motivating factors were found to be more salient for females than for males. Practical and theoretical implications for genre-specific media are discussed.
My Sexual Entertainment, My Vote: How Attitudes Toward Condom Use in Pornography Related to Support for California’s Condom Law • Kyla Garrett Wagner, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Joseph Cabosky, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • In 2016, Californians voted down Proposition #60, which aimed to mandate condom use in pornography. This study’s survey of residents assessed how one’s entertainment preferences relate to their support for regulation. Findings generally suggest some aversion to condom use in pornography, especially among heterosexual males. Data suggest the more pornography one watches, the more averse one is to condoms in pornography, as well more opposed to regulation. Results varied more by gender than sexual orientation.
“FYI: This Video is Sponsored:” Exploring Credibility in User-Generated and Professionally-Generated YouTube Videos • Madeline Migis, The University of North Texas; Sara Champlin, The University of North Texas • YouTube now holds the attention of more 18 to 34 year olds than any major cable network. As a result, advertisers capitalize on the popularity of YouTube content creators to broadcast branded information through the creator’s large audiences. A sample of 144 videos, representing 44 creators, were examined. From this dataset, themes were generated that pointing to ways in which credibility and truthfulness are depicted in sponsored and non-sponsored content across user- and professionally-generated content.
Selfie-posting on social media: The influence of narcissism, identification, and gender on celebrity followers • Li Chen; Carol Liebler • The celebrities and the selfie are both prevalent in contemporary popular culture. The present research aims to examine social media users’ narcissism, involvement with celebrity culture, and gender as predictors on their selfie-posting behavior. We recruited 594 respondents through MTurk, who lived in the US and followed at least one celebrity on social media. Respondents completed a 15-minutes online survey through Qualtric. The current study provided empirical evidence of narcissism’s critical role in selfie-posting and involvement with celebrity culture. Results also showed that the identification with celebrity culture and the attitudes towards celebrity selfies served as mediators in the relationship between narcissism and selfie-posting frequency. Meanwhile, gender played a role in these relationships. Based on our study, women post selfies more frequently than men. Interestingly, we also found the interaction effect between respondent gender and celebrity gender on the attitudes towards celebrity selfies.
The Efficacy of Radio Entertainment Education in Disseminating Health Messages: A Meta- Analysis • Pratiti Diddi, Pennsylvania state university; Sushma Kumble, Pennsylvania state university; Fuyuan Shen • The present meta-analytic review of 23 studies (N = 35,138) examined the persuasive effect of radio based entertainment education efforts in the area of health communication. The results suggested that overall persuasion effects of radio messages was small but significant (r=.13, p<.001). There were significant moderating effects for health issues (r = .17, p<0.001), and exposure time (r = .14, p<0.001) and research design setting (r = .14, p<0.001). Gender did not moderate the effect.
Connecting to the Narrative: The influence of relevance, motivation, and realism on narrative identification. • Matt Eastin, The University of Texas at Austin; Vincent Cicchirillo, DePaul; Mary Dunn, The University of Texas at Austin; Fangxin Xu, The University of Texas at Austin • Over the past two decades, researchers have examined video game play through content, player, and engagement differences to better understand both positive and negative outcomes from play. To extend the research agenda and move gaming research beyond the play perspective, this research turns the focus to game narrative elements. Specifically, this study will use a backstory narrative to examine the effects of setting relevance (i.e., location), motivation (i.e., attack and retaliatory violence), and perceived realism, on identification and subsequent state arousal and state hostility. In doing so, this research furthers the understanding of how interactive storytelling can have an impact on a player’s psychological perspective prior to content engagement.
Social Comparison on Facebook and the Impact on Life Satisfaction • Lee Farquhar, Samford University; Theresa Davidson, Samford University • Facebook use, lower self-esteem, and loneliness have been regularly examined in recent years. However, scholars, it seems, have left a gap with regard to social comparisons on Facebook, which now claims over 1.23 billion in active daily users (Facebook Newsroom, 2017). The effects of these comparisons on general well-being outcomes need further examination. This paper examined Facebook Intensity, general Social Comparisons, and Facebook-specific comparisons as predictors of Life Satisfaction and Happiness. Survey data was collected from college students and Amazon’s Mechanical Turk workers. Broadly speaking, social media matters in terms of one’s happiness and life satisfaction. Results indicate the salience of general social comparisons, and, Facebook-specific comparisons to impact Life Satisfaction and Happiness. Facebook Intensity did not serve as a predictor in either of our models; however, time spent on the site predicted Life Satisfaction.
The influence of female lead characters in political TV shows: Links to political engagement • Jennifer Hoewe, University of Alabama; Lindsey Sherrill, University of Alabama • This study examines political television dramas with lead female characters, proposing a model that links viewing of these shows with political engagement. A survey revealed that individuals who regularly viewed Madam Secretary, The Good Wife, or Scandal reported feelings of transportation and connections with the main characters – women in positions of political power and leadership. These parasocial relationships then led to increases in political interest and self-efficacy, with interest then predicting real-world political participation. The findings illustrate that these political dramas – featuring strong lead female characters – have prosocial implications, including the non-stereotypical representation of women and eventual increases in political engagement among viewers.
Co-op Mode: Players’ Parasocial Interactions with Video Game Characters • Kyle Holody, Coastal Carolina University; Sommersill Tarabek, Savannah College of Art and Design • The present study examined parasocial interaction (PI) and parasocial relationships (PR) within the scope of 2011 high-narrative video game The Last of Us. While previous research on PI and PR focused heavily on celebrities and television content, this study expounded on the limited literature concerning players’ cognitive and attitudinal responses to video games. A survey was utilized to examine effects of the game and related variables, such as players’ aggression, transportation, empathy, and morality. Results were compared to an experimental pilot test and suggest that players experience different interactions with in-game characters and that these interactions are related to different cognitive and emotional responses the players have to the game. The results also justify the need for further research into what influences players’ PIs, aggression, and other game effects, and indicate the effects video game players feel while playing are much more complicated and may last longer than currently understood.
Television for Good? An Examination of Depictions of African American Families in Situation Comedies • Brittany Jefferson • The depictions of African Americans in entertainment has often been a topic of debate. This paper reviews the extant literature regarding depictions of African American families on television shows intended to display positive representations free of stereotypes. Despite the stated goals of such programming, characters featured tended to reflect established racial stereotypes or failed to represent realistic experiences shared by African Americans. The consequences and ethical implications of such programming is also explored.
In Contempt of Court?: Unintended Consequences of Watching Courtroom Shows • Khadija Ejaz; Joon Kim, University of South Carolina, Columbia; Nandini Bhalla, University of South Carolina; Jane Weatherred, University of South Carolina • Courtroom shows like Judge Judy frequently top the ratings charts in the United States. This study examines such shows through media system dependency (MSD). Responses from a sample of 401 respondents were gathered using a self-administered online survey. Analysis revealed that watching courtroom shows made viewers dependent on television to understand the world. At the same time, such dependence was related to poor knowledge of the small claims court system. The implications of this finding are discussed in light of other findings that indicated that watching such shows made viewers more likely to participate in both real and television courts.
Integrating the Theory of Planned Behavior and Uses and Gratifications to Understand Music Streaming Behavior • Heidi Bolduc, University of Central Florida; William Kinnally, University of Central Florida • Nielsen Music 360 Research Report indicates that 67% of all music consumers in the U.S. used digital music streaming services to listen, discover, and share music (The Nielsen Company, 2014). Scholars and music professionals are recognizing the importance of understanding the influences behind music streaming behavior. This study proposes an expanded Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model by integrating the TPB with music streaming motives from the Uses and Gratifications theory. The expansion reflects an effort to gain a better understanding of the intentions to use music streaming services and actual behavior. Results suggest that both the original TPB and expanded TPB models can be successfully applied within the context of digital music streaming service use. Specifically, attitudes and perceived behavioral control drive behavioral intention in the traditional TPB model whereas only attitudes predict behavior. In the expanded TPB model the motives of convenience and information seeking emerged as contributors to intention to use digital music streaming services, while the motives of entertainment and social identification emerged as predictors of streaming behavior. Ultimately, these results reveal fundamental differences between what leads listeners to use the services and what keeps them listening. The implications are discussed.
Exploring the Effects of Viewer Enjoyment of The Apprentice on Perceptions and Voting Behavior for President Trump • Shu-Yueh Lee, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh; Sara Hansen, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh • This research explores how viewer enjoyment of The Apprentice and The Celebrity Apprentice as entertainment media impacted attitudes toward Donald Trump and voting intentions in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Data from an online survey with 624 responses were analyzed using path analysis. Meaningfulness in watching the shows contributed to enjoyment, which positively influenced attitudes toward Trump’s charismatic leadership that then predicted intention to vote for him. Implications for media entertainment and culture are discussed.
Dad, Where Are We Going? Analyzing the Popular Chinese Reality TV Show from a Communication Perspective • Sixiao Liu, University at Buffalo, SUNY; Hua Wang • “In this study, we examined a popular Chinese reality TV show Dad, Where Are We Going, using the framework of entertainment-education communication strategy. We analyzed the program content of five celebrity fathers and their children engaging in a variety of challenging activities as well as the audience response on social media. Our quantitative content analysis included two parts: (1) using 10 communication dimensions (five nonverbal and five verbal) for decoding different parenting styles, and (2) evaluating the scale, valence, and insights from audience comments online. We discuss the research findings and implications for parenting and fatherhood in the contemporary Chinese society.
Spoiler Alert: Can Co-Viewing with Smartphones Save TV from YouTube? • Rebecca Nee, San Diego State University; Valerie Barker, sdsu • Viewership of entertainment programming on traditional television channels has been steadily declining. Mobile phones, social media, streaming videos, and YouTube compete for the attention of younger audiences. This study of 18 and 19-year-old college students (N = 345) found television viewing is far from dead, however. The practice of co-viewing virtually with others through a mobile phone enhances the experience for young adults, providing a sense of social capital affinity and gratifying social identity needs.
Television and the role model effect: Exposure to political drama and attitude towards female politicians • Azmat Rasul, Florida State University; Arthur Raney • Entertainment television historically relied on the engaging potential of political broadcasting, and political fiction played a significant role as a narrator of stories about politics and politicians using different plot lines such as comedy, drama, thriller, and action. To understand the processes through which exposure to primetime drama culminates in an attitudinal change, the current study proposes an SEM model to explicate the role of essential mediating variables such as identification, transportation into the narrative, enjoyment, and political self-efficacy, and focuses on direct and indirect effects between media use motivations and attitude toward female politicians. The results indicated that there is a significant relationship between exposure to political drama and audience attitude towards female politicians.
Effects of Customized Ratings on User Evaluations of Television Shows • Jeremy Saks, Ohio University; Carson Wagner, Ohio University • This study analyzes the effects of customized ratings on individuals’ enjoyment of television shows. The study utilizes an experimental methodology that attempts to mimic that of popular media distribution websites, such as Netflix. The results show that individuals report differing levels of enjoyment depending on the ratings they receive prior to viewing shows in three genres despite the fact that the ratings are randomly assigned. The results and implications are discussed.
The role of readers’ performance of a narrative on their beliefs about transgender persons: A mental models approach • Neelam Sharma • Narratives are powerful communication tools that can influence people’s beliefs and attitudes. Narrative processing literature explains cognitive operations involved in information processing in terms of transportation and identification with characters. Narrative performance, however, is an unexplored construct in narrative engagement literature. Narrative performance is a process by which readers bring cognitions and emotions to construct distinct story worlds into which they can be transported. This study advances the narrative processing literature by examining how people’s performance of a narrative affects their story-related beliefs. A three-condition experiment, with 174 voluntary participants, was conducted to gauge the effects of performance on viewers’ beliefs about transgender persons. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that narrative performance can weaken the effects of narrative transportation, and performance can be a stronger predictor of viewers’ story-related beliefs. The study discriminates narrative performance from narrative transportation, demonstrating construct validity. This study uses mental models approach as a theoretical basis, and along with operationalization of narrative performance, develops valid and reliable scales for measuring viewers’ beliefs about transgender persons and their propensity to take action in socializing with transgender persons.
Appealing to Niche Markets: A Typology of Transmedia Storytelling for Digital Television • Ryan Stoldt • “Traditional television networks have a limited amount of time available to broadcast content, so programming decisions are based on maximizing potential market reach instead of in appealing to small markets. Digital television’s broadcast time is solely limited by server space and regulation of broadband data transference, so their technological infrastructure affords more opportunities to appeal to smaller markets. These affordances can be seen through the types of programming digital television services produce. This paper proposes a typology of transmedia stories used by digital television services like Netflix and Hulu to appeal to niche markets to grow their business. Five types of transmedia stories were theorized to appeal to varying levels of niche markets: serialized continuations, augmented continuations, world building universes, cross-platform personalities, and adaptations. This typology provides a better understanding of the production practices of digital television networks, an area of research that has received little attention to date.
Binge-Watching: A Concept Explication • Stephen Warren, University of Massachusetts • Binge-watching has yet to be adequately analyzed and researched to determine its effects, despite myriad Americans engaging in the activity. While some studies have attempted to discover its causes or effects, most research fails to operationalize the viewing aspects of binge-watching that make the experience unique. This concept explication reviewed the existing literature on other binge activities and behaviors and attempted to develop guidelines for more specifically defining and measuring binge-watching in future studies.
Behind the Music: How Music Journalists Understand Their Roles and Their Readers • Kelsey Whipple, University of Texas at Austin • Through in-depth interviews, this study explores the professional roles of music journalists and the ways they think about and create content for their audiences. It applies the hierarchy of influences and journalistic role conceptions to a new role for these lifestyle journalists: curator. The findings also suggest that music journalists see consideration of their audiences as limiting, and they are driven to focus on increasingly niche genres of music to differentiate themselves as experts.
Exploring the Business Potential of Location-Based Mobile Games: Taking Pokémon Go as an Example • Linwan Wu, University of South Carolina; Matthew Stilwell, University of South Carolina • Pokémon Go, a location-based mobile game, has been tremendously prevalent ever since its launch in 2016. Advertising professionals have begun to consider this game as a promising advertising platform. This study investigates the business potential of this game by conducting a survey to examine the psychological process of the gameplay and how it leads to advertising effectiveness. Results indicated that players experienced spatial presence, which positively influenced their attitudes toward and behavior intentions to the sponsors. Moreover, spatial presence was positively influenced by players’ game engagement, perceived mobility, and contextual perceived value (CPV). We also identified players’ motives of playing Pokémon Go, including the exercise, entertainment, and social motive. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Don’t Respond to Strangers: How a Groundbreaking Television Drama Serial Helped Raise Domestic Violence Awareness in China • Zhiying Yue; Hua Wang • Don’t Respond to Strangers is the first and only television drama serial about domestic violence in China. Given its purposeful attempt to address domestic violence as a prevalent yet taboo topic, we used entertainment-education (E-E) as an overarching framework and the protection motivation theory (PMT) as our conceptual foundation to examine this program. We first analyzed the messaging in drama serial and the viewer comments posted on online forums about the show. Major themes identified from both the drama serial and viewer comments were consistent for raising awareness and stimulating discussions about domestic violence. Based on the results, we conducted an online survey with 326 adults in China. Within PMT framework, path model results showed that exposure to this drama was significantly associated with perceived severity of domestic violence and perceived reward from tolerating domestic violence. Furthermore, perceived severity and self-efficacy were significant predictors of Domestic Violence Law support and the intention to fight against domestic violence; self-efficacy was also a significant predictor of intention to intervene domestic violence; and perceived reward was the only significant predictor of tolerating domestic violence. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for E-E interventions in domestic violence context
Facebook vs. YouTube Manners: Effects of Pseudonymity on Posting Politeness • Gi Woong Yun, University of Nevada, Reno; Sasha Allgayer, Bowling Green State University • Facebook and YouTube function differently, but particularly in regards to anonymity or pseudonymity of users. This study evaluates public reaction to one of the most contentious topics of current European music and art; Conchita Wurst. Comments from Facebook and YouTube were collected and quantitatively analyzed to discern similarities/differences between the types of comments posted by users on the two platforms. Of particular intrigue was the role pseudonymity and self-identifying information have on social media manners. Overall, many users seemed to be unimpacted by levels of self-identifying information. However, profane language was less frequent and replies to comments were more civil on the network with self-identifying information; Facebook. The results of this study shed some light to online politeness: Systematic mechanisms that identify self and personal networks (Facebook’s use of full name and friendship networks) correlate with increased politeness and reduction of nasty comments towards other users.
Electronic News 2017 Abstracts
A Textual Analysis of Fake News Articles on Facebook Before the 2016 Election • Mitchell T. Bard, Iona College • This meso-level textual analysis of the 20 most engaged fake news articles on Facebook before the 2016 election (Silverman, 2016) examines whether the pieces conform to journalistic style and the themes found across the stories. An analysis of “The O’Reilly Factor” during the period looks at how those themes were addressed on Fox News. Results show a wide variety of styles, but concentration on a few themes, which were also seen on “The O’Reilly Factor.”
Follow of the leader?: Perceptions of solo journalism of local television journalists and news directors • Justin Blankenship, Auburn University; Daniel Riffe • This research study examined the perceptions of solo journalism in the context of local television news production in the United States. Solo journalism is a work practice in which a single reporter is expected to gathering information for, write, shoot video, and edit their news stories on their own. It is sometimes known as video journalism, multimedia journalism, or backpack journalism. This is contrasted with a traditional news crew work design in which those tasks are distributed among at least two professionals, possibly more. The study utilized data gathered from two separate surveys, one of news managers (N= 159) and one of front-line journalists (N= 222). The data indicated that journalists are generally more pessimistic about the causes and benefits of solo journalism than news directors. Additionally, by matching the two samples by station, analysis suggested that the “optimism” of news managers toward solo journalism may impact the efficacy of the reporters that work for them.
Following the Familiar: Effect of exposure and gender on credibility of journalists on Twitter • Trent Boulter • This study examines the effect of mere exposure and journalists’ gender on credibility. Through controlled experiments it was found that exposure significantly impacts credibility of journalists on Twitter, but with certain limitations. Additionally, female journalists were evaluated as significantly more credible than males. These findings indicate a need practicing journalists have to strategically consider their SNS activity level, and how it can strengthen their position as an information source in the current media environment.
Framing Violence and Protest at Standing Rock • Gino Canella, University of Colorado Boulder; Patrick Ferrucci, U of Colorado • This paper analyzes coverage from CNN and Democracy Now! of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at Standing Rock, ND. Through an ethnographic content analysis of strongly and weakly market-oriented news organizations, we examine frames, sources used, and time devoted in order to understand how market orientation may have influenced these journalistic decisions. We find that while both outlets framed the story through the lens of protest and violence, the way this was done differed significantly.
Melodramatic Animation, Presence, and Sympathy for Crime Victims in News: An Experiment with Adolescents in Hong Kong • Ka Lun Benjamin Cheng, Hong Kong Baptist University; Wai Han Lo, Hang Seng Management College • This study uses the transportation-imagery model to examine the mediating role of presence between the use of melodramatic animation in news and sympathy for victim among adolescents. A path model was proposed and was tested by an experiment with 74 adolescents with the mean age of 15.3. The results partially supported the proposed model. The ethical issues of using this news format, and the practical issues in media education for adolescents were discussed.
Overrun by Emotion: How Emotional Reactions Predict News Sharing to Social Media • Kelley Cotter; Chris Fennell, Michigan State University; Zhao Peng, Michigan State University • This study examined how emotional arousal and valence impact intent to share news articles to social media through an experimental design. Results showed that emotional arousal positively predicted the intention to share articles to Facebook and Twitter. The results also showed an interaction effect, such that when news articles elicited high arousal, positive emotions and when articles elicited low arousal, negative emotions, they were more likely to be shared.
U.S. Law Enforcement Social Media and TV News: What are Agencies Posting and How is it Being Reported? • Jennifer Grygiel, Syracuse University/Newhouse; Suzanne Lysak, Syracuse University/Newhouse • This qualitative study examines the growing use of social media by U.S. law enforcement and seeks to understand how this may be altering the relationship with broadcast newsrooms. Semi-structured topical interviews were conducted with eleven television newsroom staff from around the United States. Our findings show an increased reliance on receiving law enforcement related content via social media. In some cases, law enforcement use of social media has provided transparency and made news gathering easier, but not always.
Effects of virtual reality news video on transportation, attitudes, fact-recall and intentions to act • Jennifer Hijazi; David Cuillier • Virtual reality (VR) devices allow the news media to engage with audiences in new ways by putting viewers “into” the story. An experiment compared the effects of VR with print and traditional broadcast modes on attitudes, behavioral intent, fact recall and transportation. Results indicated that those in the VR condition demonstrated lower transportation than those in the print or broadcast conditions, and showed no more empathy, intent to act, or knowledge recall. Implications are discussed.
The Local TV News Digital Footprint: Is Local Content Vanishing Amid Climate of Consolidation? • Harrison Hove, University of Missouri; Beverly Horvit, University of Missouri; James Endersby, University of Missouri • A content analysis of 11 East Coast television stations’ Facebook postings shows that the larger the stations’ corporate owners, the lower the percentage of local news posted. Stations in larger markets posted more local stories, but the corporate ownership structure is a stronger predictor of local coverage. The findings suggest Lacy’s model of news demand should be revisited to account for consolidations in the television industry that could affect the quality of the digital product.
The Weibo Olympic: Factors Influencing Chinese Users Engagement with Sports News on Social Media • Alyssa Lobo; Ruochen Jiang; Jie Yu • “This study examines if news agencies’ framing of events on social media affects Weibo users’ engagement with sports during the 2016 Rio Olympics. There was partial support to show that content, frame, language style and visual elements led to higher engagement, but within agency analyses were inconclusive. Instead, time of posting, the frequency of posting and a combined effect of language style and image use had a significant influence on engagement. Findings support the media richness theory.
Immersive Journalism and Telepresence: How Does Virtual Reality News Use Affect News Credibility? • Seok Kang, UTSA; Erin O’Brien; Arturo Villarreal • Although news in virtual reality (VR) is recently on the rise, relatively little empirical evidence is available in its effects on news credibility. This study tests how telepresence in VR news consumption can affect news credibility. In a posttest only experiment, 40 subjects watched VR news: 20 with a viewer (Google Cardboard) and 20 in 360 degrees without a viewer. The other 20 subjects only answered a questionnaire without VR exposure. The comparison of the three groups revealed that VR news groups showed significantly higher telepresence than did the control group. The experimental groups also marked higher news credibility than did the control group. In an interaction effect test, the 360-degree VR news group with high telepresence highly evaluated news credibility compared to the VR news with a viewer and control groups. This study found that VR news, particularly, 360-degree VR news without a viewer was effective in telepresence and news credibility.
From #Ferguson to #Ayotzinapa: Analyzing the Differences in Domestic and Foreign Protest News Shared on Social Media • Danielle Kilgo, University of Texas at Austin; Summer Harlow, University of Houston; Victor García-Perdomo, U Texas Austin and U La Sabana; Ramón Salaverría • This study compares online U.S. news coverage of foreign and domestic protests, in addition to analyzing how coverage was shared on social media. Building on protest paradigm and shareworthiness literature, results show journalists and social media audiences alike emphasize legitimizing frames for foreign protests more than domestic protests and protesters. In addition, results point to the unique role the audience plays in interacting with foreign and domestic content.
In the Name of the Fact-Check: Sponsoring Organizations, Analysis Tools, Transparency/Objectivity of Fact-check • Bumsoo Kim, University of Alabama • This research empirically analyzed (a) categories of fact-checking institutions, (b) fact-checkers’ sponsorships, (c) analysis methods of fact-checkers, and (d) degree of pursuit of objectivity and transparency of fact-checking contents. The results showed that first of all the highest proportion of the types of sponsoring entities is commercials or advertising, followed by branches of a mainstream news media outlet. Secondly, about 70% of the sites provided official records/documents such as statistical data, prior news stories, and published papers, and the fact-checking sites mainly employed more detailed judging types that explained how they determined veracity. Thirdly, the degree of transparency (source clarity) for independent news outlets’ fact-checking was higher than for stand-alone fact-checking sites as fact-checking sources of the independent news outlets were more clearly revealed. Finally, narratives of the fact-checking sites were more likely to lean toward objective than interpretative.
“Lauering the Bar” for Journalism Standards during the 2016 Presidential Election Campaign: Paradigm Repair and the Ritual Sacrifice of Matt Lauer • Raymond McCaffrey • This study examined the widespread criticism faced by Matt Lauer after NBC’s Today show host interviewed presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as part of a forum in September 2016. A review of news stories after the forum revealed that journalists responded in a manner consistent with paradigm repair, banding together to scapegoat Lauer for a performance that some admitted was reflective of systemic poor broadcast campaign coverage driven by ratings not news values.
Moments to Discover: A longitudinal panel analysis of media displacement/complementarity of social networking sites and traditional media • Yee Man Margaret Ng, The University of Texas at Austin; Kyser Lough, The University of Texas at Austin; Jeremy Shermak, University of Texas at Austin; Thomas Johnson • The perceived threat of social network sites (SNSs) to traditional news consumption brings to mind the theories of media displacement/complementary effects. Through a two-wave panel survey, this study reveals that complementary effects exist between SNSs and traditional media, among SNSs, and between news-centric features — Twitter Moments and Snapchat Discover. The concept of media alignment is introduced to illustrate the correlation between media usage across time. Predictors of the change of media usage are examined.
Citizen news podcasts, carnivalism, and the formation a counter-public sphere in South Korea • Chang Sup Park • This study examines what roles citizen news podcasts of South Korea play, based on two concepts – carnivalism and counter-public sphere. To this end, the current study analyzed the news content of 11 citizen news podcasts that are most popular in this country and conducted interviews with 10 mainstream media journalists. The findings reveal that through the use of carnivalisque techniques such as humor, parody, and satire, the discourse of citizen podcasts transgresses existing social and cultural hierarchies and subverts a range of authoritative discourses by mainstream media. The analysis also finds that the discourse in citizen news podcasts intends to motivate ordinary individuals who are left largely disillusioned from mainstream journalism to engage in elite-challenging political action. Mainstream journalists admitted that citizen news podcasts provide an opportunity to re-evaluate the journalism norms and practices of South Korea.
Does news consumption online and on social media affect political behavior? Evidence from a swing state in the 2016 elections • Newly Paul, Appalachian State University; Hongwei “Chris” Yang; Jean DeHart • With the rise of digital media and social media news, it is important to examine the impact of media consumption, especially social media, on political behavior. We tested the impact of online and social media news consumption, ad exposure, social media use, and online social capital, on political participation, civic engagement, and voting behavior by conducting a web-based survey on 3,810 U.S. college students immediately after the 2016 presidential election. Results indicate that online news consumption positively predicted online political participation, turnout and civic engagement, but did not influence vote choice and offline participation. News exposure on social media, however, only positively predicted bridging social capital. We also find that online news consumption, social media news exposure, and political ad exposure on social media positively predicted college students’ political expression on Facebook, social media news exposure enhanced their political use of Twitter, whereas online news consumption led to their political use of Instagram.
An Examination of WeChat: Predictors of News Use on Closed Messaging Platforms • Zhao Peng, Michigan State University • This study chose a closed-messaging platform-WeChat as an example to examine the relationship between technology features and news use behavior. The present study contributed to theory by conceptualizing news use and integrating Task-Tech Fitness Theory with Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model to explore whether technology features would affect news usage behavior. Results showed that task-tech fitness, effort expectancy and social influence significantly predicted news use behavior.
Mobile Journalism as Lifestyle Journalism? Field Theory in the Integration of Mobile In the Newsroom and Mobile Journalist Role Conception • Gregory Perreault, Appalachian State University; Kellie Stanfield, Missouri School of Journalism • Mobile journalism is one of the fastest areas of growth in the modern journalism industry. Yet mobile journalists find themselves in place of tension, between print, broadcast and digital journalism and between traditional journalism and lifestyle journalism. Using the lens of field theory, the present study conducted a qualitative survey of mobile journalists (N=40) on how they conceive of their journalistic role, and how their work is perceived within the newsroom. While prior research has established a growing prevalence of lifestyle journalism, the present study finds that the growth of mobile represents the development of lifestyle journalism norms within even traditional journalism.
Work-Life Balance in Media Newsrooms • Irene Snyder • This research examined work-life balance in media newsrooms. To date, 30 in-depth face-to-face interviews have been conducted with individuals currently employed at U.S. newsrooms of varying market sizes including local television stations, regional newspapers, and national news organizations such as The New York Times and CNN. Results indicate that individuals employed in print newsrooms have more difficulty balancing work and family life than those working in television newsrooms.
Agendamelding and the Alt-Right: The media controls the message but not its telling • Burton Speakman, Ohio University; Aaron Atkins, Ohio University • When people seek news and information online they pursue content that supports their worldview (Beam, 2011; Casteltrione, 2014). Extremist communities – in this case white supremacist communities – use similar sources on social media to share news content to bolster their agenda (Bowman-Grieve, 2013). This paper uses agendamelding theory to show that even at the far end of the political spectrum media set the agenda, but how those on the far right discuss issues is quite different.
Who’s in charge here: How news producers use social media to make news decisions • Lydia Timmins, University of Delaware; Tim Brown, University of Central Florida • As online media consumption grows and traditional television viewing wanes, local television newsrooms continue to look for ways to connect with their audiences. Social media allows the audience unprecedented access to journalists, turning them into just another option for receiving information (Bright, 2016; Lee 2015; Turcotte et al, 2015). This study uses participant observation and interviews to investigate how journalists perceive audience impact on news decisions and the ways newsrooms determine what the audience wants.
Cultural and Critical Studies 2017 Abstracts
Judging the Masses: The Hutchins Commission on the Press, the New York Intellectuals on Mass Culture • Stephen Bates, University of Nevada, Las Vegas • To qualify as an intellectual, according to Edmund Wilson, one must be “dissatisfied with the goods that the mass media are putting out.” This paper dissects and compares two prominent midcentury critiques of the mass media that have rarely been considered together: the critique of the news media by Robert Maynard Hutchins and the Commission on Freedom of the Press, and the critique of mass culture by Dwight Macdonald and other New York intellectuals.
Detecting Black: Urban African American Noir • Ralph Beliveau, University of Oklahoma • A critical and cultural perspective leads to the notion that Film Noir’s sense of location is tied to urban spaces. The context of post-WW II cities, depicted as an expressionist play of revealing light and disguising shadow, defines the cultural universe for these stories of crime and conflict. However less attention has been paid to the notion of race in relation to noir, though the varieties of stories that are discussed under noir (and neo-noir) include significant treatments of African American characters in these urban contexts. The relationship between cities and black culture(s), therefore, offers an opportunity to explore American cities at the intersection of race and the concerns of noir. A deeper noir context is presented in the Los Angeles of Carl Franklin’s Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), the Hughes Brothers’ neo-noir Brooklyn in the film Dead Presidents (1995), and the adaptation of a Chester Himes story in the “Tang” episode of the anthology pilot Cosmic Slop (1994), by Warrington and Reginald Hudlin. In these examples the noir setting is increasingly constrained, the urban landscapes, through racially inflected noir terms, are a shrinking labyrinth. The uncomfortable politics of race that are just beneath the surface of noir are brought to the forefront. Where mainstream (i.e., racially transparent) noir finds threats in how the system is perverted by evil men and femme fatales, by shifting attention to attitudes about race, these evil actions are matched by injustices and evil in the epistemology of ignorance in the systems themselves.
Athleticism or racism?: Identity formation of the (racialized) dual-threat quarterback through football recruiting websites. • Travis R. Bell, University of South Florida • This study uses racial formation theory to explain how football recruiting websites oppress high school quarterbacks of color through the “dual-threat” code word. Analysis of 125 top-rated quarterbacks from 2012-2016 is explicated as a sporting racial project. Inequality is embedded in the coded difference between predominately white “pro-style” quarterbacks and “dual-threats.” Racialization of the quarterback position reduces upward mobility and serves as a site of new struggle for quarterbacks of color to overcome as teenagers.
Faith and Reason: A Cultural Discourse Analysis of the Black & Blue Facebook Pages • Mary Angela Bock, University of Texas at Austin; Ever Figueroa, University of Texas at Austin • Highly publicized deaths of Black men during police encounters have inspired a renewed civil rights movement originating with a Twitter hashtag, “Black Lives Matter.” Supporters of the law enforcement community quickly countered with an intervention of their own, using the slogan, “Blue Lives Matter.” This project compared the discourses of their respective Facebook groups using Symbolic Convergence Theory. It found that the two groups’ symbol systems are homologous with America’s historic secular tension.
Deconstructing the communication researcher through the culture-centered approach • Abigail Borron, University of Georgia • The culture-centered approach (CCA) model, as a research methodology, critically examines the contested intersections among culture, structure, and agency, specifically as it relates to marginalized communities. This paper examines how CCA challenged the researcher to personally evaluate ethical and academic responsibility, recognize marginalizing practices on behalf of the dominant paradigm, and integrate elements of CCA into course design and student mentorship regarding future journalism and communication careers and scholarly work.
Differential Climate: Blacks and Whites in Super Bowl Commercials, 1989-2014 • Kenneth Campbell, University of South Carolina; Ernest Wiggins, University of South Carolina; Phillip Jeter • A content analysis of Super Bowl commercials from 1989 to 2014 finds that Blacks as primary characters exceed their proportion in U. S. population. However, they appear much more frequently in background roles and are associated with less prestigious products more than with higher-status products, which is consistent with the presence of Blacks in other TV commercials and findings of a climate of difference in commentary about Black athletes and White athletes during sporting events
“Trust me. I am not a racist”: Whiteness, Media and Millennials • chris campbell, u. of southern miss. • This paper examines “whiteness,” a contemporary form of racism identified by Critical Race Theorists, in media created by and/or designed for the Millennial generation. Partially through a textual analysis of white comedian-actress Amy Shumer’s peculiar take-off on superstar Beyonce’s “Transformation” video, the paper argues that even politically progressive Millennial media reflect similarities to racially problematic media produced by previous generations — especially the notion of post-racialism. The paper raises the possibility that post-racial whiteness will continue to haunt media texts and delay yet another generation of Americans from arriving at a more sophisticated understanding of racism and its impact on our culture.
“We’re nothing but the walking dead in Flint”: Framing and Social Pathology in News Coverage of the Flint Water Crisis • Michael Clay Carey, Samford; Jim Lichtenwalter, Georgia • This framing study uses news coverage of the Flint, Michigan, water crisis to examine representation of social pathology. Ettema and Peer wrote that the use of a “language of social pathology to describe lower-income urban neighborhoods” has led Americans to “understand those communities entirely in terms of their problems” (1996, p. 835). Urban pathology frames discussed in this study suggest a lack of agency among residents and may distract from broader questions of environmental justice.
Navigating Alma’s gang culture: Exploring testimono, identity and violence through an interactive documentary • Heather McIntosh; Kalen Churcher, Wilkes University • Testimonios bring oppressed voices to the masses, motivating them toward political engagement. Alma: A Tale of Violence is an interactive documentary that draws on this tradition. It tells the story of a Guatemalan woman who joined a gang and struggled with marianismo expectations within gang culture machismo. This paper argues that while Alma provides expansive information unavailable in other mediated testimonio forms, it offers a limited experience in terms of audience participation and interactivity.
Of “Tomatoes” and Men: A Continuing Analysis of Gender in Music Radio Formats • David Crider, SUNY Oswego • The 2015 radio controversy “SaladGate” revealed a lack of female music artists gaining airplay. This study expands a previous gender analysis of music radio into a longitudinal study. A content analysis of 192 stations revealed that airplay is increasing for females; however, it is mostly limited to the Top-40 format. The results suggest the existence of a gender order (Connell, 1987) in music radio, one that works hand-in-hand with the music industry to exclude women.
Considering the Corrective Action of Universities in Diversity Crises: A Critical Comparative Approach • George Daniels, The University of Alabama • Using both the theory of image restoration discourse and critical race theory, this study takes a critical comparative examination of the university responses to diversity crises in 2015 at The University of Missouri, The University of Oklahoma, and The University of Alabama. All three institutions took “corrective action” by appointing a “diversity czar” and a committee or council to investigate concerns of students protests.
Preserving the Cultural Memory with Tweets? A Critical Perspective On Digital Archiving, Agency and Symbolic Partnerships at the Library of Congress • Elisabeth Fondren, Louisiana State University – Manship School of Mass Communication; Meghan Menard-McCune, LSU • In recent years, the Library of Congress has announced plans to archive vast collections of digital communication, including the social media tool Twitter. A textual analysis of white papers and press briefings show the Library is trying to make born-digital media accessible by increasingly partnering with private vendors. This study attempts to narrow the gap in understanding why cultural organizations have an interest in preserving social media as part of our collective memory.
A Seven-Letter Word for Leaving People Out: E L I T I S M in The New York Times Crossword • Shane Graber • This study examines the discourse that The New York Times crossword puzzle uses to define, protect, and exclusively communicate with the culture elite, a privileged group of people who tend to be wealthy, male, and white. Using a critical discourse analysis to study clues and answers, findings show that puzzles in the world’s most important newspaper skew favorably toward the culture elite and often portray marginalized groups such as women, people of color, and the poor negatively—or ignore them altogether.
When Local is National: Analysis of Interacting Journalistic Communities in Coverage of Sea Level Rise • Robert Gutsche Jr, Florida International University; Moses Shumow, Florida International University • This study examines the interaction of journalistic communities from local and national levels by examining moments when local issue for local audiences was thrust onto a national stage by national press for wider audiences. Through this analysis, we argue that local press positioned themselves as authorities on local issue, ultimately positioning national press as “outsiders” so as to reaffirm local news boundaries, a process we refer to as boundary intersection.
Silly Meets Serious: Discursive Integration and the Stewart/Colbert Era • Amanda Martin, University of Tennessee; Mark Harmon, University of Tennessee; Barbara Kaye, University of Tennessee • This paper traces political satire on U. S. television. Using the theory of discursive integration, the paper examines the satire of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, and the scholarship about their respective programs, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Discursive integration explained well the look and sound, as well as societal function, of such programs. Each blurs lines between news and entertainment, and helps audiences decode meanings from the hubris often in the news.
Remote Control: Producing the Active Object • Matthew Corn; Kristen Heflin, Kennesaw State University • This study argues that remote control is not merely a human capability or feature of a device, but a type of human/device relation and agency with deep roots in broader attempts at control from a distance. This study discusses the concept of active objects and provides an historical account of the emergence of remote control as the means of producing active objects, thus revealing the insufficiency of Enlightenment/empiricist divisions between acting humans and acted-upon objects.
Social Identity Theory as the Backbone of Sports Media Research • Nicholas Hirshon, William Paterson University • The impacts of group memberships on self-image can be examined through social identity theory and the concepts of BIRGing (basking in reflected glory) and CORFing (cutting off reflected failure). Given the interaction between sports media narratives and identity variables, this paper charts the simultaneous developments of social identity theory and BIRGing and CORFing and examines how social identity can serve as the theoretical backbone for sports media scholarship.
Challenging the Narrative: The Colin Kaepernick National Anthem Protest in Mainstream and Alternative Media • David Wolfgang, Colorado State University; Joy Jenkins, University of Missouri • In 2016, NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick protested police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem, stirring debates in the media over appropriate methods of protest. This study used textual analysis to compare mainstream and black press coverage of Kaepernick’s protest and also analyzed forums on black press websites. The findings show how mainstream media focused on a protest narrative, while the black press struggled to promote racial uplift and to use forums for productive discourse.
National Security Culture: Gender, Race and Class in the Production of Imperial Citizenship • Deepa Kumar, Journalism and Media Studies, Rutgers University • This paper is about how national security culture sets out, in raced, gendered, and classed terms, to prepare the American public to take up their role as citizens of empire. The cultural imagination of national security, I argue, is shaped both by the national security state and the media industry. Drawing on archival material, I offer a contextual/historical analysis of key national security visual texts in two periods—the early Cold War era and the Obama phase of the War on Terror. A comparative analysis of the two periods shows that while Cold War practices inform the War on Terror, there are also discontinuities. A key difference is the inclusion of women and people of color within War on Terror imperial citizenship, inflected by the logic of a neoliberal form of feminism and multiculturalism. I argue that inclusion is not positive and urge scholars to combine an intersectional analysis of identity with a structural critique of neoliberal imperialism.
Searching for Citizen Engagement and City Hall: 200 Municipal Homepages and Their Rhetorical Outreach to Audiences • Jacqueline Lambiase, TCU • U.S. cities rely on their websites to enhance citizen engagement, and digital government portals have been promoted for decades as gateways to participatory democracy. This study, through rhetorical and qualitative content analyses, focuses on 200 municipal homepages and the ways they address audiences and invite participation. The findings reveal very few cities have: platforms for interactive discussions; representations of citizen activities; or ways to call citizens into being for the important work of shared governance.
California Newspapers’ Framing of the End-of-Life Option Act • Kimberly Lauffer; Sean Baker; Audrey Quinn • In 2014, Brittany Maynard, 29, diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, moved from California to Oregon, one of only three U.S. states with legal physician-assisted death, so she could determine when she would die. Three months after her Nov. 1, 2014, death, California lawmakers introduced SB 128, the End-of-Life Option Act, to permit aid in dying in California. This paper uses qualitative methods to examine how California newspapers framed the End-of-Life Option Act.
When Cognition Engages Culture and Vice Versa: Conflict-Driven Media Events from Strategy to Ritual • Limin Liang • Amidst the recent turn towards power and conflict in media ritual studies, this article proposes a new media events typology building on Dayan and Katz’s (1992) classic functionalist model. Events are categorized according to how a society manages internal and external conflicts in ritualized/ritual-like ways, and at both formal and substantive levels. This leads to four scenarios: rationalized conflict, ritualized trauma, perpetuated conflict and transformed conflict, all of which can be subsumed under Victor Turner’s useful concept of “social drama”. Further, to bridge ritual and cognitive framing studies, the article compares the two fields’ central frames for studying social conflict – “social drama” vs. “social problem” – and their mechanisms of achieving effect, namely, salience-making and resonance-crafting. The article tries to move beyond the “media events vs. daily news” binary to study communication along a continuum from strategy to ritual.
Re-imagining Communities in Flux, in Cyberspace and beyond Nationalism: Community and Identity in Macau • Zhongxuan LIN • Based on four years of participant observation on 37 Macau Facebook communities and 12 in-depth interviews, this paper inquires the research question that how Macau Internet users resist legitimizing identity, reclaim resistance identity and restructure project identity thereby constructing re-imagined communities in cyberspace. This inquiry proposes a possible identity-focused approach for future community studies, especially studying re-imagined communities in flux, in cyberspace and beyond nationalism.
Clustering and Video Content Creators: Democratization at Work • Nadav Lipkin • Much has been written on the democratizing potential of YouTube and other video-sharing sites, but scholarship generally disregards professional independent video content creators. This article explores these content creators through the concept of clustering that suggests firms and workers benefit from co-location. Using a case study of video content creators, this study suggests these workers are less positively affected by clustering due to political-economic conditions and the digital nature of production.
“Kinda Like Making Coffee”: Exploring Twitter as a Legitimate Journalistic Form • Zhaoxi Liu, Trinity University; Dan Berkowitz, U of Iowa • Through an eight-week field research, the study provides an in-depth inquiry into journalists’ use of Twitter and what it means to their craft, foregrounding the issue of artifact boundary while exploring its deeper meaning from a cultural point of view. The study found journalists had contradicting views on the issue of artifact boundary, and faced contradictions and uncertainties regarding what Twitter meant for their craft. The paper also discusses the finding’s implications for democracy.
Editorial Influence Beyond Trending Topics: Facebook’s Algorithmic Censorship and Bearing Witness Problems • Jessica Maddox, University of Georgia • In 2016, Facebook found itself at the intersection of a controversy surrounding media ethics and censorship when it removed Nick Ut’s famous “Terror of War” photo for violating its community standards policy regarding child nudity. The social media giant defended its decision by decreeing its image scanning algorithms had functioned correctly in policing the Pulitzer Prize winning photograph. This contentious situation highlights many nebulous issues presently facing social media platforms, and in order to assess some of the dominant forms made available from press coverage of this issue, I conducted a textual analysis of the top ten international newspapers with the highest web rankings. This research shows that one, blurred boundaries of media, communication, and content are even more tenuous when considering social media, technology companies, and algorithms; two, that with great media power comes great media responsibility that Facebook does not seem to be living up to; and finally, that a fundamental flaw with algorithms, writ large, lies in their inability to bear witness to human suffering, as exemplified by international news coverage of the censorship of “Terror of War.” By regulating all human duties to computers, individuals absolve themselves over moral duties and compasses, thus presenting a perplexing ethical issue in the digital age.
Intellect and Journalism in Shared Space: Social Control in the Academic-Media Nexus • Michael McDevitt • This paper highlights interactions of journalists and academics as deserving more scrutiny with respect to both media sociology and normative theory on the circulation of ideas. Three sources of social control that impinge on the academic-media nexus are examined. A final section contemplates the implications of risk-aversive communication in higher education for public perceptions of intellect and its contributions to policy and politics.
Blending with Beckham: New Masculinity in Men’s Magazine Advertising in India • Suman Mishra • This study examines the representation of the “new man” in men’s lifestyle magazine advertising in India. Using textual analysis, the study explains how certain kinds of western masculine ideals and body aesthetics are being adopted and reworked into advertising to appeal and facilitate consumption among middle and upper class Indian men. The hybrid construction of masculinity shows a complex interplay between the global and the local which overall acts to homogenize the male body and masculine ideal while simultaneously creating a class and racial hierarchy in the glocal arena.
Digital Diaspora and Ethnic Identity Negotiation: An Examination of Ethnic Discourse about 2014 Sewol Ferry Disaster at a Korean-American Digital Diaspora • Chang Sup Park • This study examines how the members of a Korean-American online diaspora perceived a homeland disaster which took 304 lives and to what extent their perceptions relate to ethnic identity. To this end, it analyzes 1,000 comments posted in MissyUSA, the biggest online community for Korean Americans. This study also interviews 70 users of the ethnic online community. The findings demonstrate that the diasporic discourse about the disaster was fraught with discrete emotions, particularly guilt, anger, and shame among others. While guilt and anger contributed to reminding Korean Americans of their ethnic identity, shame has resulted in the disturbance of the ethnic identity of some Korean Americans. This study advances the ethnic identity negotiation theory by illuminating the nuanced interconnection between online ethnic communication, emotions, and ethnic identity.
Non-Representational News: An Intervention Against Pseudo-Events • Perry Parks • This paper introduces a journalistic intervention into routinized political “pseudo-events” that can lull reporters and citizens into stultified complacency about public affairs while facilitating highly disciplined politicians’ cynical messaging. The intervention draws on non-representational theory, a style of research that aims to disrupt automatic routines and encourage people to recognize possibilities for change from moment to moment. The paper details the author’s coverage of a routine political rally from a perspective untethered to normalized journalistic or political cues of importance, to generate affective and possibly unpredictable responses to the content.
Is Marriage a Must? Hegemonic Femininity and the Portrayal of “Leftover Women” in Chinese Television Drama • Anqi Peng • “Leftover women” is a Chinese expression referring to unmarried women over 30s who have high education and income levels. Through a textual analysis of the “leftover women” representation in the television drama We Get Married, this study explores how the wrestling of tradition and modernity exerting a great impact on the construction of the femininity of “leftover women.”
Every American Life: Understanding Serial as True Crime • Ian Punnett, Ohio Northern University • Serial (2014), a podcast in 12 episodes on the digital platform of the popular NPR radio show, This American Life, reached the 5 million downloads mark faster than any podcast in history. Although a few scholars identified the podcast as part of the true crime literary convention Neither the producers nor the host ever referred to Serial as true crime. Using textual criticism, this analysis proves that it was.
Journalist-Student Collaborations: Striking Newspaper Workers and University Students Publish the Peterborough Free Press, 1968-1969 • Errol Salamon • Building on the concept of alternative journalism, this paper presents the Peterborough Free Press as a case study of a strike-born newspaper that was published by striking Peterborough Examiner newsworkers and Ontario university students from 1968 to 1969. Drawing on labor union documents and newspapers reports, this paper critically examines how this alliance collaboratively launched the Free Press to fill a gap in local news coverage, competing with and providing an alternative to the Examiner.
“You better work, bitch!”: Disciplining the feminine consumer prototype in Britney Spears’s “Work Bitch” • Miles Sari, Washington State University • Using Baudrillard’s theory of consumption as a theoretical framework, in addition to support from Horkheimer & Adorno, Foucault, and Bartky, this paper examines how Britney Spears’s 2013 music video “Work Bitch” articulates a violent capitalist narrative of consumption. Specifically, the author argues that the clip advocates for a collective submission to the sadistic, social discipline of the female consumer body as a means of accessing the social and material luxuries of the bourgeoisie.
Color, Caste, and the Public Sphere: A study of black journalists who joined television networks from 1994-2014 • Indira Somani, Howard University; Natalie Hopkinson, Howard University • “Grounded in critical and cultural studies this study examined the attitudes and experiences of a group of Post-Civil Rights black journalists who face some of the same newsroom issues their predecessors faced, despite what was recommended in the Kerner Report in 1968.
Through in-depth interviews, the researchers uncovered the organizational and cultural practices of 23 black journalists aged 23-42 working in television network newsrooms, such as NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN and Fox. The participants included executives, anchors, reporters, producers, associate producers and assignment editors, who reveal how anti-black cultural norms are re-enforced by mentors, colleagues as well as superiors. Participants talked about culture, hair, skin color, grooming, and African American Identity and how conforming to white hegemonic norms were necessary for career advancement. This study also examined the degree to which color and caste continue to influence both the private workplace and the public sphere.”
Sights, Sounds and Stories of the Indian Diaspora: A New Browning of American Journalism • Radhika Parameswaran; Roshni Verghese • Using the concept of cultural citizenship, this paper explores the recent growth and visibility of the Indian diaspora in American journalism. We first begin with an analysis of the South Asian Journalists Association to understand the collective mobilization of this ethno-racial professional community. Gathering publicly available data on Indian Americans in journalism, we then present a numerical portrait of this minority community’s affiliations with journalism. Finally, we scrutinize the profiles of a select group of prominent diasporic Indian journalists to chart the professional terrain they occupy. In the end, we argue that Indian Americans may be a small minority, but they are poised to become a workforce whose creative and managerial labor will make a difference to journalism.
The securitization presidency: Evaluation, exception and the irreplaceable nation in campaign discourse • Fred Vultee, Wayne State University • This discourse analysis uses securitization theory to examine the maintenance of the Other in the discourse of the 2016 US presidential campaign and the early stages of the Trump presidency. The taken-for-grantedness of American exceptionalism, combined with the general orientation of the press toward narratives of power, explains the maintenance of identity through the construction of Iran, Islam and the spectre of “political correctness” as existential threats. This paper advances the understanding of the specific mechanisms by which “security” is invoked; securitization is a fundamentally political move, though its goal is to move an issue like Iran beyond the realm of political debate and into the realm of security.
SNL and the Gendered Election: The Funny Thing About Liking Him and Hating Her • Wendy Weinhold, Coastal Carolina University; Alison Fisher Bodkin • Feminist theories of comedy guide this analysis of journalism in the New York Times and Washington Post dedicated to Saturday Night Live’s 2016 election coverage. The analysis reveals how SNL’s election sketches and news about them focused on the candidates’ celebrity, appeal, and style in lieu of substantive critique of their positions, policies, or platforms. The personality-based comedy and resulting news emphasized gender stereotypes and missed an opportunity to put real-life political drama in perspective.
Emotional News, Emotional Counterpublic: Unraveling the Mediated Construction of Fear in the Chinese Diasporic Community Online • Sheng Zou • Examining a popular news blog targeting Chinese diaspora living in the United States, this paper explores how emotionally-oriented digital news production sustains the Chinese diasporic community online as an emotional counterpublic sphere. This paper argues that the mediated construction of fear as a predominant emotion holds civic potentials, for it bridges the political life and everyday life, and connects a potentially more engaged diasporic counterpublic with the dominant public sphere of the receiving society.
Community Journalism 2017 Abstracts
The Impact of Web Metrics on Community News Decisions: A Resource Dependence Perspective • Tom Arenberg, University of Alabama; Wilson Lowrey • This comparative case study of two community news organizations takes a Resource Dependence approach to assess impact of audience metrics on news decisions, and on mechanisms underlying these decisions. Findings show that the organization that more strongly emphasizes metrics publishes fewer in-depth civic-issue stories, and metrics are more likely to influence newsworthiness. However, reporters’ expertise with strategies for increasing numbers may actually free reporters for enterprise work. Findings also suggest effects from community size.
(Re)Crafting Neighborhood News: The Rise of Journalism Hackathons • Jan Lauren Boyles • This study examines how journalism hackathons construct interactional spaces for community-based conversation around the news. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with global journalism hackathon organizers in nine countries, the findings establish that hack events can heighten face-to-face engagement between news producers and can concurrently strengthen how local communities discuss (and perhaps, even solve) shared societal challenges.
An Optimistic Vision for the Future of Community Newspapers: Where Do Digital Technologies Fit In? • Francis Dalisay, University of Guam; Anup Kumar, Cleveland State University; Leo Jeffres • The declining prospect of daily newspapers has been accompanied by a rush to emphasize online and mobile access while slighting print, but this rush towards a “premature death” of print needs scrutiny, particularly for non-daily community newspapers. We conduct a national survey of non-daily community newspaper editors and publishers (N = 527). We analyze factors predicting their attitudes and use of online technologies, and how they affect the editors and publishers’ vision for the future of their papers. Results suggest the newspapers are not laggards in the use of technologies. They see it important that they serve journalistic functions for their communities. The editors and publishers have an optimistic view of the future, attributing that vision to their local news emphasis, maintaining strong coverage, and being active in the community. Community characteristics positively predicted positive attitudes toward technologies and use. Use and attitudes toward technologies did not predict optimistic vision.
Closing the gap between civic learning, research and community journalism: A critical pragmatic pedagogy • Bernardo Motta, University of South Florida St. Petersburg • This research essay draws on history, case study and pedagogical research methods to describe how theory-informed practices were applied to the re-development of a community journalism program serving a historical African-American neighborhood. The application of practices and activities informed by previous research in Critical Pragmatic Pedagogy, intercultural and race-specific education and communication, community journalism, journalism education and community and civic engagement communication research produced a series of lessons and effects that have been organized in this essay to inform the development and improvement of current theories and practices related to journalism and communication education and, more specifically, community journalism. Findings revealed that the combination of hands-on practices inspired by American Pragmatism with purpose-driven, self-reflexive learning processes from Critical Pedagogy and basic ethnographic and intercultural techniques resulted in a much richer and well-rounded educational experience for journalism students and, furthermore, produced positive impacts in the community.
Technology and the public: The influence of website features on the submission of UGC • Burton Speakman, Ohio University • Web 2.0 creates a situation were the Internet increasingly focuses on submissions of content from non-professionals and interaction between the masses as a method of creating dedicated audiences. Community newspapers work within this rapidly changing media market and one must follow their audience online, despite any reservations about if the web provides a hospitable economic environment. This study examines how community newspaper websites choose to engage in gatekeeping as it relates to UGC. Despite changes in technology gatekeeping continues to occur on community newspaper websites. Furthermore, it provides clarity about what type of audience submitted content is more likely published at community media.
Communication Theory and Methodology 2017 Abstracts
OPEN CALL COMPETITION
Mediated Food Cues: A Theoretical Framework for Sensory Information • Lauren Bayliss, University of Florida • Through a series of propositions, this paper outlines how message strategies related to the feelings food causes, such as full-stomach feelings and taste enjoyment, could be used to communicate food and nutrition information to laypeople. To incorporate somatosensory information into communication theory, this paper develops a framework for food and nutrition message processing based on perceived information importance and comprehension as conceptualized in Subjective Message Construct Theory (SMCT). Within this framework, concepts from food studies research are reviewed and applied to strategic health communication. By integrating concepts from food studies, nutrition labeling, and individual differences specific to food, such as eating restraint, the framework provides an approach to understanding how food messages may be different from other forms of communication. Finally, an example is given of how the theoretical framework can be applied when communicating about a specific type of nutrition information, energy density.
Competitive frames and the moderating effects of partisanship on real-time environmental behavior: Using ecological momentary assessment in competitive framing effects research • Porismita Borah • One of the major findings from cognitive sciences demonstrates that humans think in terms of structures called frames. The present study conducted two focus groups and two experiments to understand the influence of competitive frames on real-time environmental behavior. To capture real-time behavior, the second experiment used Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) methodology via mobile technology. Findings show that a message with elements from both problem-solving and catastrophe frames increased individuals’ environmental behavior. This relationship is moderated by political ideology, such that only those participants who identified as Democrats and Independents showed more pro-environmental behavior. Overall, Republications were low on pro-environmental behavior compared to the Democrats. But within the Republicans, participants showed more likelihood for pro-environmental behavior in the catastrophe framed condition. Implications are discussed.
More Than a Reminder: A Method for Using Text Messages to Communicate with Young People and Maintain an In-Person Bystander Intervention Training • Jared Brickman; Jessica Willoughby, Washington State University; Paula Adams • One problem facing in-person communication campaigns is that the positive outcomes can fade over time. Text may be a perfect supplement. This study tested and evaluated a method for using text messages to maintain in-person intervention efforts. Over the course of four months, participants in the messaging group received a weekly text. At the end of the study, the program was rated highly by participants and the messaging group scored significantly higher on attitudinal outcomes.
Emotions, political context and partisan selective sharing on Facebook • Yingying Chen, Michigan State University; Kjerstin Thorson, Michigan State University • The research examines the social sharing of partisan media messages under political contexts. Using with behavioural data, we analysed Facebook posts of Breitbart, Occupy Democrats and the New York Times before and after the 2016 presidential election. The result further confirms that emotional arousal is more correlated to social sharing, but partisan media and political contexts interacts with emotion responses to influence social sharing. Further results show that emotional responses to partisan media messages are different and changes as the circumstance of identity bolster or identity threat.
Measuring Information Insufficiency and Affect in the Risk Information Seeking and Processing Model • Haoran Chu, University at Buffalo, SUNY; Janet Yang • “Utilizing structural equation modeling and latent difference score technique, the current study analyzed six different ways to model information insufficiency and four ways to model affective response in testing the risk information seeking and processing (RISP) model in two contexts – the 2016 presidential election and climate change. Latent difference score was found to be an effective approach in measuring information insufficiency as a latent structure. However, classic regression method provides a better fit to the data. Consistent with previous research, valence and uncertainty appraisal dimensions seem to be viable ways to measure affective response.
When Information Matters Most: Adapting T.D. Wilson’s Information-seeking Model to Family Caregivers • Susan Clotfelter, Colorado State University • Family caregivers – the unpaid backbone of the American system of medical care – contribute an estimated $470 billion to the U.S. economy each year. Information-seeking constitutes one of their primary duties, including information related to the care recipient’s condition and disease progress, insurance, medications, therapies, and nutrition, as well as complex medical, insurance and financial systems. This paper synthesizes a key information-seeking model, that of T.D. Wilson (1999) with a list of cognitive barriers drawn from a research review and a theory from social stratification research. It proposes a new, expanded model that attempts to capture the influences, challenges and barriers now known to form part of the information journeys of family caregivers. The paper also examines the findings of recent caregiver studies in light of the proposed new model, an effort that offer indications for future research and interventions to assist this important, but overlooked and overworked demographic.
Bypassing vs. Complying? Predicting circumvention of online censorship in networked authoritarian regimes • Aysenur Dal, The Ohio State University • Circumvention technologies offer alternative means for bypassing online censorship created by networked authoritarian governments to combat online dissent and suppress information. This paper explores the correlates of circumvention technology use by examining the influence of account capital-enhancing Internet use, attitudes toward Internet censorship, regime support as well as risk perceptions about Internet activities. Using an online survey of approximately 2000 Internet users in Turkey, we employ quantitative methods to examine what determines the frequency of use as well as motivations behind being a user or a non-user of circumvention tools.
Social Identity Theory’s Identity Crisis: The Past, Present, and Future of a Human Phenomenon Metatheory • Julia R. DeCook, Michigan State University • Social Identity Theory is a phenomenon that is acknowledged and researched across many social science disciplines. Despite its prevalence and popularity, the way that the theory is applied and further, how social identity is measured, is incredibly inconsistent and convoluted. The purpose of this manuscript is to bring together different perspectives of this phenomenon through an exploration of the theory’s history, development, and growth, as well as to propose three dimensions of social identity and social identification to advance understanding as a discipline of this phenomenon. In the literature, social identification and social categorization are often confused and used interchangeably, when these are two distinct processes, as proposed by the original proponent of Social Identity Theory, Henri Tajfel. This manuscript aims to bring together Tajfel’s original conceptualization as well as other approaches to the theory and attempts to propose dimensions of “social identification.” Specifically, a dimension is proposed consistent with previous research on social identity theory and mass communication research, as well as two others based on a reading of the literature focusing on social identity theory. Future directions for developing a valid measure of social identity in the context of mass communication and media research are also discussed, and how this application can help to advance the theory as well as the discipline.
In the eye of the beholder: How news media exposure and audience schema affect the image of the U.S. among the Chinese public • Timothy Fung; Wenjie Yan; Heather Akin • This study presents a theoretical framework that examines foreign publics’ use of foreign news from domestic media and pre-existing schema to form an image of another nation. To test the proposed theoretical framework, we examined Chinese citizens’ image of the U.S. using the data from a survey collected from a representative sample of Chinese adults. The findings suggest that the role of foreign news from domestic media is conditional on pre-existing schema, including individuals’ patriotism and whether they have traveled to the U.S. We conclude by discussing the implications of the results for research investigating national image and stakeholders interested in predictors of national image.
Walking a Tight-Rope: Intimacy, Friendship, and Ethics in Qualitative Communication Research • James Gachau, University of Maryland • Qualitative research asks scholars to adopt and maintain a critical reflexivity that presents the biases, influences, and interests of the researcher vis-a-vis the research being conducted. A meta-method analysis of a research project involving participants who were close friends of the researcher is presented to explore the ways the author navigated the messy world of ethnographic research. The style and personality of the researcher is foregrounded, and put at the same critical plane as that of the research subject, to illustrate its centrality in giving a less false account than one in which the investigator is assumed to be “objective” in the traditional sense of the word. As Lindlof and Taylor write, “we should appreciate that researchers have been socialized by various cultural institutions to inhabit and perform their bodies in preferred ways” (2011, p. 139). Thus, the cultural and historical background of the investigator is examined to illuminate how it affected and influenced the research. The findings suggest that “intimate curiosity” (Lindlof and Taylor, 2011), coupled with the mutual recognition and respect of friendship (Honneth, 2014), can serve as effective tools to produce more robust data and yield more nuanced interpretations. The hope is that the essay offers a significant contribution to reflexivity and helps bolster the ethnographic imagination in communication research.
Do Computers Yield Better Response Quality than Smartphones as Web Survey Response Devices? • Louisa Ha, Bowling Green State University; chenjie zhang, Bowling Green State University • This study consists of two field experiments on college students’ media use surveys to examine the effect of smartphones and computers as response entry device on Web survey response quality across different question types and delivery mode. We found that device effect on survey quality was only significant when interviewers were present. Difference in device was not significant in overall response quality in the e-mail delivered Web survey. When given a device choice in the e-mailed delivered Web survey, computers were twice as more likely to be chosen as the response device. Yet immediate response rate was much higher for smartphones than computers. Implications of the findings to survey researchers were discussed.
Identification and negative emotions lead to political engagement: Evidence from the 2016 U.S. presidential election • Jennifer Hoewe, University of Alabama; Scott Parrott, University of Alabama • This study puts forth a model of political identification, where identification with political figures influences emotions and eventually changes levels of political engagement. Using a survey of young adults immediately following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, negative emotions are shown to mediate the relationship between identification with a political candidate and post-election political engagement, including election-related information seeking and sharing as well as intentions to participate in political activities. That is, when individuals identify with a political candidate and that candidate experiences something negative – producing negative emotions in supporters – that emotional experience leads to increases in political engagement.
The Effect of Presumed Media Influence on Communicative Actions about Same-sex Marriage Legalization • Yangsun Hong, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Catasha Davis, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Shawnika Hull, George Washington University • This study examines presumed media influence of a social issue, legalization of same-sex marriage (SSM), on non-LGB individuals’ communicative action. Data (N = 1,062) was collected in four Midwestern cities two months before the SSM law passed nationwide, when majority of media coverage was favorable toward SSM legalization. We found that presumed media influence on others shaped perception of positive climate of public opinion toward SSM legalization, which influenced their opinion. Our results indicate that presumed media influence indirectly shaped willingness to express opinion about the issue and willingness to speak out against those stigmatizing LGB populations, through perceived climate of public opinion and own opinion about the issue. We discuss the role of communicative action in contributing to public deliberation and democratic policy making processes. We also claim that mass media may indirectly decrease social stigma to sexual minorities, and ultimately contribute to social change.
Multitasking and Task Performance: Roles of Task Hierarchy, Sensory Interference, and Behavioral Response • Se-Hoon Jeong; Yoori Hwang • This study examined how different types of multitasking affect task performance due to (a) task hierarchy (primary vs. secondary multitasking), (b) sensory interference (low vs. high interference), and (c) behavioral response (absent vs. present). The results showed that task performance was reduced when the given task was a secondary task, when sensory interference was high, and when behavioral response was present. In addition, there was an interaction between task hierarchy and sensory interference, such that the effect of task hierarchy was more pronounced when there was sensory interference. There were some differences between Task 1 and Task 2 performance as an outcome. Theoretical, practical, and methodological implications for future multitasking research are further discussed.
Effects of Weight Loss Reality TV Show Exposure on Adolescents’ Explicit and Implicit Weight Bias • Kathrin Karsay, University of Vienna; Desirée Schmuck • This study investigated the effects of exposure to a weight loss reality TV show on the implicit and explicit attitudes toward obese individuals. An experimental study with N = 353 adolescents was conducted. The results indicate that for those individuals who expressed fear of being obese, TV show exposure reinforced negative explicit attitudes via the activation of perceived weight controllability. Furthermore, for all adolescents TV show exposure enhanced negative implicit attitudes toward obese individuals
Scale Development Research in Communication: Current Status and Recommendation for the Best Practices • Eyun-Jung Ki, University of Alabama; Hyoungkoo Khang; Ziyuan Zhou, The University of Alabama • This study was designed to analyze articles published in 11 communication journals that address new scale development from its inception until 2016. A total of 85 articles dedicated to developing a new scale for the communication disciplines. This study particularly examines characteristics of the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis procedures, including sample characteristics, factorability, extraction methods, rotation methods, item deletion or retention, factor retention, and model fit indexes. The current study identified a number of specific practices that were at variance with the current literature in terms of EFA or CFA. Implications of these findings and recommendations for further research are also discussed.
Who is Responsible? The Impact of Emotional Personalization on Explaining the Origins of Social Problems • Minchul Kim, Indiana University; Brent Hale, Indiana University; Maria Elizabeth Grabe, Indiana University; Ozen Bas, Indiana University • An experiment was designed to examine the influence of two news formats on how news consumers attribute causes for social issues. One story format followed the traditional objectivity standard of factual reporting while the other represented a human interest approach to storytelling, adding an emotional case study of the social issue to factual information. Participant (N=80) trait empathy was included as an additional factor in assessing how news formats might influence responsibility assignment for social problems. A week time delay between exposure to stimuli and open-ended responses enabled the observation of how (if at all) different story formats influence news consumer explanations of the causes behind social problems. Our findings show that participants with higher levels of trait empathy express a greater shift to collectivistic attribution after watching personalized news stories than do participants with lower levels of trait empathy. Our findings also suggest that the personalization of news stories and trait empathy does not affect individualistic attribution of social problem causes.
The Study of Semantic Networks and Health News Coverage: Focusing on Obesity Issues • Sunghak Kim • This work investigates news coverage related to obesity to understand various discourses and relationships surrounding the health issues and explain their dynamics. Health news stories were analyzed to observe which issues, frames, and sources of obesity-related topics are shared through mass communication. By applying semantic network analysis, a map of relations and flows among different objects and attributes became apparent. Furthermore, the research illustrates the change of semantic network structures over different time periods.
An Analysis of Process-Outcome Framing in Intertemporal Choice • Ken Kim • The current study was designed to explore how framing as process versus outcome works in intertemporal choice. Given the importance of earlier savings, one-hundred nineteen college students were recruited for the experimental study to investigate their intentions to begin saving earlier for retirement (i.e., begin saving at age 25 or as soon as you leave school). The obtained data indicated that a message emphasizing the process of earlier savings for retirement (that is, process framing) was more effective than a message stressing the outcome of earlier savings (that is, outcome framing) in intertemporal choice. Further, a process frame was more effective when it was presented in terms of losses than gains. However, the data revealed no difference between gain and loss framing in the outcome framing condition. Some implications for creating persuasive messages to encourage earlier savings were discussed.
Mediated Vicarious Contact with Transgender People: How Do Narrative Perspective and Interaction Depiction Influence Intergroup Attitudes, Stereotyping, and Elevation? • Minjie Li, Louisiana State University • Taking the experimental design approach, the present study investigates how narrative perspective (Ingroup Perspective vs. Outgroup Perspective) interacts with valence of intergroup interaction depiction (Positive vs. Negative) in transgender-related media content to redirect people’s attitude towards and stereotyping of transgender people, transportation, and elevation responses. The findings reveal that the outgroup perspective narrative is more likely to elicit 1) positive attitudes towards the featured transgender character and the transgender outgroup as a whole; 2) higher levels transportation; 3) stereotyping transgender people with genuine qualities; and 4) meaningful, mixed and motivational responses. However, the positive depiction of transgender-cisgender intergroup interaction can only prompt more positive attitudes towards the featured transgender character, and elicit meaningful affect and physical responses.
Relational Maintenance and the Rise of Computer-Mediated Communication: Considering the Role of Emerging Maintenance Behaviors • Taj Makki, Michigan State University • Existing typologies of relational maintenance behaviors do not account for communication behaviors that take place between romantic partners in online environments. This paper presents findings from a systematic literature review where the author aimed to assess the extent to which typologies for offline behaviors correspond with research findings pertaining to the use of CMC between romantic partners. Based on this review, and in efforts of moving toward a typology of relational maintenance behaviors that accounts for the precise range of efforts exchanged between partners to sustain relationship quality, the present paper proposes that additional dimensions be considered for their relevance to relationship outcomes. Specifically, conflict management and surveillance management are proposed as two maintenance-related behaviors that have emerged with the increasing use of computer-mediated communication between romantic partners. The present paper explicates each of these constructs in the context of relational maintenance and its intended outcomes, and proposes avenues for future research toward an all-inclusive typology of relational maintenance behaviors.
React to the Future: Political Projection, Emotional Reactions, and Political Behavior • Bryan McLaughlin; John Velez; Amber Krause, Texas Tech Universtiy; Bailey Thompson • This study demonstrates the important mediating role political projection—the process of cognitively simulating future political scenarios and imagining the potential effects of these scenarios—plays in determining how campaign messages affect voting behavior. Using an experimental design, we find that campaign messages that are narrative in nature (compared to non-narrative) encourage higher levels of political projection, which elicits higher levels of anger, which, in turn, is negatively related to support for the opposing candidate.
Media Violence and Aggression: A Meta-Analytic Approach to the Previous 20 Years of Research • Alexander Moe, Texas Tech University; Joseph Provencher, Texas Tech University; Hansel Burley • “This Meta-analysis examines research on the effects that violent media content has on individuals’ aggression. A total of a total of 28 studies reporting data for 2840 participants remained for analysis. The findings indicated the presence of homogeneity (Q = 37.10, df = 27, p < 0.05). The implications both for the current state of media violence research, as well as future research interests and practices are discussed.
Corporate Sustainability Communication as Legitimizing and Aspirational Talk: Tullow Oil’s Discursive Constructions of Risks, Responsibility, and Stakeholders • S. Senyo Ofori-Parku, The University of Alabama • Critics of corporate social responsibility (CSR) worry that corporations use CSR communication to ‘greenwash’ their practices. But a recent version of the communication as constituting organization (CCO) perspective argues that such communication, even if misleading, can create positive organizational improvements. Underpinned by the corporate sustainability framework (which combines commonplace notions of CSR with risk management), the discourse-historical approach (DHA), and CCO, this study examines how an oil multinational—Tullow Oil— discursively constructs its sustainability issues and stakeholders. From a predominantly technical perspective of sustainability, Tullow constructs its identity as an aspirational, engaged and a responsible business. As seen in a shift in its Global Reporting Initiative certification from C+ in 2007 to A+ in 2013, Tullow’s CS talk has a potential to constitute desirable practices. However, the extent to which such discourse results in sustainable corporate outcomes hinges on whether it is used to merely reproduce or transform institutionalized notions of sustainability associated corporate practice. By combining the DHA and CSF, this research provides a novel technique for issues and stakeholder analysis—who and what is important to the organization. The implications are discussed.
Unsupervised analyses of dynamic frames: Combining semantic network analysis, hierarchical clustering and multidimensional scaling • Joon-mo Park • This study analyzes the online discourse frames of the fine particulate air pollution issue in South Korea from May 12, 2016 to June 11, 2016. To detect frames, semantic networks combined with unsupervised learning techniques such as hierarchical clustering and multidimensional scaling were applied. 9,241 web documents posted on portal websites were collected. After extracting keywords from those documents, word frequency and co-occurrence matrix were measured. Through calculating the Euclidean coefficient, proximities between words were deducted. The analyses focused on the most frequently occurring 25 keywords which further functioned as elements in the hierarchical clustering analysis. Then multidimensional scaling showed the results over three phases of time period through changes of frequently occurring frames and proximities between concepts. In the first phase, many health-related and government-related concepts appeared. Next, the second phase, after government released official announcement on news, the government-related words were associated with individual responsibilities such as ‘mackerel’, ‘pork belly’, and ‘diesel price’. Institutional cause-related keywords appeared along with several energy-related keywords in the last phase. Moreover, in Phase 1 and 3, ‘China’ and ‘ultrafine dust’ were mentioned in terms of health risk, but in Phase 2, ‘China’ was associated with governmental coping ability. Finally, keywords such as ‘diesel price’, ‘related stock’ revealed what the public also concerned was the side effects of air pollution in daily lives.
Who are the Voters? A Contemporary Voter Typology Based on Cluster Analysis • Ayellet Pelled, University of Wisconsin – Madison; Hyesun Choung, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Josephine Lukito, 1990; Megan Duncan, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Song Wang, Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin-Madison; “Winnie” Yin Wu; Hyungjin Gill, University of Wisconsin – Madison; Jiyoun Suk, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Trevor Kniaz • Most research on political party identification has focused on partisan voters and the consequences of political polarization. Independent voters are also an important feature of the political landscape, but far fewer studies have examined them. Too often researchers treat independent voters as a monolithic entity, using a single response category to identify them. But as made clear by the 2016 Presidential election, there are vast differences among independent voters. This study explores distinct clusters of voters that emerged in the context of the 2016 Presidential election. Using national survey data (N = 2,582) collected shortly before the November election, we conducted a cluster analysis to classify individuals into subgroups that share similar profiles of opinions concerning different personal values and worldviews. Nine clusters are distinguished: mainstream liberals, mainstream conservatives, anti-establishment liberals, anti-establishment conservatives, engaged floaters, patriotic liberals, disengaged isolates, disengaged floaters, and pragmatic liberals. Two of the nice clusters represent the traditional two party ideology while the other seven clusters are mixed in their party affiliation. Clusters differ in their political attitude and voting behaviors. Our study also reveals patterns in how engaged and disengaged partisans and independents choose media for their news source. The results suggest that voters’ party affiliation and political attitudes are not organized in a single dimension of ideological liberal/conservative. The political ideology is rather a multidimensional trait that should be measured in a more elaborated way so that can properly predict people’s political behavior including their voting choices.
Credibility and Persuasiveness of News Reports Featuring Vox Pops and the Role of Populist Attitudes • Christina Peter • Exemplification research has consistently shown strong effects of vox pops exemplars, i.e. ordinary citizens voicing their opinion in news reports, on audience judgments. In this context, ordinary citizens as opinion-givers were found to be more persuasive compared to other sources, such as politicians. The main reason for this is seen in the fact that ordinary citizens are more trustworthy, yet this has not been empirically tested. In our study, we look at spillover effects of source trustworthiness on the news report itself. We investigate whether the integration of vox pops in a news article enhances the credibility of the article, and whether this mediates effects on personal opinion. In addition, we look at whether populist attitudes (i.e., the belief in the homogeneity and virtuosity of the people and a mistrust in elites) moderate these effects. In a web-based experiment, we confronted participants with news articles where arguments were put forward either by the journalist or by ordinary citizens as vox pops. Results indicate that the integration of vox pops enhances the credibility of the news article, which in turn leads to stronger persuasive effects. These effects were only found for people holding strong populist attitudes.
Differential Uses and Gratifications of Media in the Context of Depression • Sebastian Scherr, U of Munich • Depression is the most common metal disorder linked with both higher and lower media use behaviors. Nevertheless, findings on the use of particular media in depression are scattered, dependent on individual motivations, and media demand characteristics. The associations between depression, media use, and motives are explored using robust regressions and representative data. Depression links with higher TV use, computer gaming, and music, and with lower use of newspapers with motives being both compensatory and non-compensatory.
Measurement Invariance and Validation of a New Scale of Reflective Thoughts about Media Violence across Countries and Media Genres • Sebastian Scherr, U of Munich; Anne Bartsch; Marie-Louise Mares, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Mary-Beth Oliver, Pennsylvania State University • This study investigates reflective thought processes and meaning-making about media violence as a fact of social reality within two survey samples from the US and Germany. Building on a large item pool derived from qualitative interviews, we suggest a five factorial self-report scale to assess reflective thoughts about media violence. Given the established measurement invariance of the furthermore cross-conceptually validated scale across countries and genres, we strongly recommend its use and replicative future work.
Authenticity: Toward a unified definition in communication • Diana Sisson, Auburn University; Michael Koliska, Auburn University • This study draws upon previous definitions and characteristics of authenticity from philosophy, psychology, and sociology to highlight the insufficient conceptualization and explication of authenticity in an interactive media environment. Findings revealed research foci across the various communication fields regarding authenticity lie primarily on the message sender neglecting what an authentic message is or how a message receiver may understand authenticity. This study is a first step to critically define authenticity in communication.
Opinion Climates à la Carte – Selective and Incidental Exposure Impacts on Polarization, Public Opinion, and Participation • Daniel Sude, The Ohio State University; Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick; Melissa Robinson, The Ohio State University; Axel Westerwick • Hypotheses regarding political polarization were derived from cognitive dissonance, motivated reasoning, and spiral of silence theories. A selective exposure study (N = 118) featured six political online articles and examined impacts on attitudes, public opinion perceptions, and participation likelihood. Multi-level modeling demonstrated that encountering article leads influenced attitudes per article stance. Attitude-consistent messages were selected more often. Article selection, even if attitude-discrepant, influenced public opinion perception in line with article stance and fostered participation likelihood.
Pathways to Fragmentation: User Flows and Web Distribution Infrastructures • Harsh Taneja; Angela Xiao Wu, Chinese University of Hong Kong • This study analyzes how web audiences flow across online digital features. We construct a directed network of user flows based on sequential user clickstreams for all popular websites, using traffic data obtained from a panel of a million web users in the United States. We analyze these data to identify constellations of websites that are frequently browsed together in temporal sequences, both by similar user groups in different browsing sessions as well as by disparate users. Our analyses thus render visible previously hidden online collectives and generate insight into the varied roles that curatorial infrastructures may play in shaping audience fragmentation on the web.
“You Must Be This Anthropomorphic” to Write the News: Machine Attribution Decreases News Credibility and Issue Importance • Frank Waddell, University of Florida • Do readers prefer news attributed to human journalists due to the operation of a similarity attraction effect, or is news attributed to “robot journalists” preferred because automation is perceived as objective? An experiment was conducted to answer this question using a 2 (source attribution: human vs. machine) x 2 (robot recall: no recall vs. recall) design. Results reveal that machine attribution decreases news credibility and issue importance via lower source anthropomorphism and higher expectancy violations.
The 2016 U.S. Presidential Public Opinion Polls: Third-Person Effects and Voter Intentions • Jane Weatherred, University of South Carolina; Anan Wan, University of South Carolina; Yicheng Zhu, University of South Carolina • Focusing on the 2016 U.S. presidential election, this study investigates how the American voting public perceives public opinion polls in terms of desirability of the message, partisanship, political affiliation and knowledge. The public’s intentions to impose restrictions on the polls were also examined relative to the third-person effect (TPE) gap. Results from a survey of 807 respondents indicate that the public does not understand how polls are conducted, yet still perceives that the polls are biased, and the greater the TPE gap, the more likely a person will support restrictions on the polls.
Political Economy, Business Journalism and Agency: An Examination • Rob Wells, University of Arkansas • The political economy theory tradition of media studies is a powerful framework to examine business journalism, particularly news decisions in wake of the genre’s origins as a market participant. This theory is often used to criticize business reporting, but the literature rarely examines some fundamental theoretical assumptions and conflicts that arise from using the political economy theory. This theory, for example, has been criticized for its deterministic view of individual agency. Critics contend the theory’s focus on control by an elite superstructure minimizes the potential for individual initiative and innovation. This places the political economy theory in a basic conflict with individual agency, a core normative value in the journalism field, one with enduring power and embedded in institutional frameworks. The historical and sociological underpinnings of journalistic professionalism, for example, emphasize the role of reporter and editor autonomy, and these forces continue to have staying power. This essay seeks to answer the question, how does the political economy’s view of agency coexist, if at all, with the journalistic professional ideal of autonomy? The essay explores this question through a content analysis of business journalism coverage during the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, for example, provides some significant examples of individual reporting initiative, particularly at a small trade industry newspaper called the National Thrift News. The essay concludes by noting the political economy theory fails to predict the extraordinary work of this small trade newspaper, which succeeded in large part due to a strong journalistic professional culture.
Picture Yourself Healthy–How Social Media Users Select Images to Shape Health Intentions and Behaviors • Brianna Wilson; Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick • To test predictions derived from the SESAM model, participants (N = 265) selectively viewed Instagram-like postings featuring healthy or unhealthy food imagery. Beforehand, participants reported habits and perceived expert-recommendations regarding food intake. After viewing postings, participants chose gift cards representing healthy or unhealthy food purchases and indicated food intake intentions. Results show existing eating behavior predicts selective exposure to healthy or unhealthy food imagery, which in turn, shapes gift card choices and food intake intentions.
No Comments, but a Thumbs-down: Estimating the Effects of Spiral of Silence on Online Opinion Expression • Tai-Yee Wu, University of Connecticut; Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch, University of Connecticut; David Atkin • This study tests Spiral of Silence theory in online news discussions by examining willingness to express one’s opinion via commenting, sharing, and voting. Results (N = 530) indicate that while fear of isolation is generally a negative predictor of opinion expression, perceived online anonymity positively predicts commenting. Moreover, one’s minority status and reference group support encourage the use of a thumbs-down, and opinion congruity with the news and issue involvement motivate news sharing.
Is It Top-Down, Trickle-Up, or Reciprocal?: Testing Longitudinal Relationships Between Youth News Use and Parent and Peer Political Discussion • Chance York, Kent State University • Using data from a three-wave, parent-child panel survey and Slater’s Reinforcing Spirals Model (RSM) as an analytical framework, I document a “trickle-up” political socialization process whereby baseline levels of youth news use and political discussion with peers motivate future political talk with parents. Results suggest youth possess agentic political power and play an active role in their own political socialization, rather than being passive receivers of “top-down” influence. Methodological suggestions for modeling variables are discussed.
Bridging the Divide Between Reason and Sentiment: Exploring the Potentials of Emotionality in Journalism • Sheng Zou • Following the line of scholarship to take emotionality seriously in communication, this paper theorizes the nexus between emotions/affects and journalism in the digital era, and develops a five-facet conceptual framework to delineate the civic potentials of emotionality in news reporting by transcending the conventional dualism between reason and emotion. It proposes a view of emotionality as an ally to rationality, and as an intermediary bridging public and private spheres, connecting the individual and the collective.
Communication Technology 2017 Abstracts
FACULTY PAPER COMPETITION
The Role of Self-Efficacy and Motivation in mHealth App Adoption: The “Food Friend” Case Study • Alexandra Merceron; David Atkin • Smartphone apps present an interactive, tailored, low-cost and culturally adaptive vehicle for health interventions. The present study employs Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) to explore the adoption of health apps. Study results demonstrate that the cognitive and motivational processes set forth by SCT—the self-system of observational learning, self-belief and efficacy to determine behavioral courses of action—and their interactions with the cognitive structures of motivation (external, vicarious and self-incentives) contribute to the mHealth adoption process.
Self-tracking with cell phones: Exploring the effects of self-monitoring and perceived control in mHealth applications • Saraswathi Bellur; Christina Devoss • The smartphone industry has contributed to the widespread growth of the “Quantified Self” movement where individuals are monitoring their everyday lives like never before. We examine the role of self-monitoring, specifically, frequency of tracking and updating health information. Findings from an online survey (N = 524) show that these variables do positively impact attitudes, intentions, use and outcome expectations. Perceived control emerges as a significant mediator. We discuss theoretical implications and avenues for future research.
Dual Screening the Candidate Agenda: The Moderating Role of Communication Technologies and Need to Evaluate for Attribute Agenda-Setting Effects of Presidential Debates • Lindita Camaj; Temple Northup; Regina Dennis; Felicia Russell; Jared Monmouth • This study explores the consequences of dual screening for political learning and opinion formation in the contexts of political campaigns and debates. Grounded in the agenda-setting theoretical framework, it investigates the impact of dual screened political debates on audiences’ perceptions about presidential candidates during the 2016 electoral campaign. The results suggest that the dual-screening practice can exert a significant moderation role for the agenda-setting effects of political debates. The effects of the televised debates were weaker for those individuals engaged in dual screening. Additionally, the results imply that the moderating role of dual screening is dependent on personality traits of the audience. Participants with low need to evaluate who watched the debates on television alone exerted the highest positive change in their perceptions of Trump’s attributes, but people with the same trait (low need to evaluate) who dual-screened the debate showed a slight negative change in their perceptions of Donald Trump. This study extends previous agenda-setting research by examining how media technologies moderate attribute agenda-setting effects at the individual level and linking these effects to broader social issues of digital disruption and political campaigning.
Mobile-mediated multimodal communications, relationship quality and subjective well-being: An analysis of smartphone use from a life course perspective • Michael Chan, Chinese University of Hong Kong • This study examined the relationships among different uses of the smartphone with close friends (i.e. voice, email, SMS, Facebook, WhatsApp), perceived relationship quality and subjective well-being. Results showed that while frequency of face-to-face communications and friendship satisfaction were related to well-being, more positive emotions and less negative emotions across all age cohorts; the linkages for mobile communications were more varied. Mobile voice was related to friendship satisfaction and social support for the 35-54 and 55-70+ cohorts; but also, to more negative emotions for the 18-34 and 35-54 cohorts. Frequency of Facebook use and number of Facebook friends was related to social support and psychological well-being for the 18-34 cohort, but also related to negative emotions. While WhatsApp use was related to social support for all cohorts, it also predicted friendship satisfaction and psychological well-being for the 55-70+ cohort. Some mobile uses however were also related to increased feelings of entrapment and negative emotions, though only for the younger cohorts. The findings are framed in line with the life course literature, and the existence of both positive and negative outcomes suggest that future studies of communication technologies and well-being may better be served with more explicit dialectical perspectives and approaches.
Perceived Online Friendships and Social Networking Sites • Yi-Ning (Katherine) Chen, National Chengchi University • This study examines the differences in the categories of online friends and perceived quality of friendships between Taiwan’s two most popular social networking sites, Facebook and LINE. We gather data from 805 adult respondents online. Results show females and younger people tend to have a bigger variety of friends. LINE is mostly used for maintaining relationships and task-oriented purposes, while Facebook is utilized for developing contacts and for being a source of information.
More than just some pictures. An exploratory study into the motives of posting pictures on Instagram • Serena Daalmans, Radboud University; Nikkie Wintjes, Radboud University; Merel van Ommen, Radboud University; Doeschka Anschutz, Radboud University • The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the motives that underlie the posting of pictures on the popular app Instagram. Based on in-depth interviews with sixteen Instagram users, we found that there are at least six different motives to post pictures on the app and these motivations differ between men and women as well as younger and older users. Furthermore, in contrast with the often-negative connotation the posting of pictures online has in academic and popular discussions, the results paint a more positive picture. Users reveal that they receive more than just a status validation from the posting of pictures, they indicate that they feel part of a community that supports them both online and in real life.
Political Discourse on Twitter Networks during the U.S. 2016 Presidential Election • Shugofa Dastgeer • This study explored Twitter network structure and uniqueness of their content across four days during and around the U.S. 2016 presidential election. While the findings indicate differences in the structure of the networks, the dominance of political candidates and mainstream media remained the same across the four days. Less than 25 percent of the data in the four networks was original tweets and the rest of them were retweets (51 percent) and mentions (25 percent).
Augment Intrusiveness: The Role of Privacy Concern in the Use of Virtual Try-On Mobile Applications • Yang Feng, San Diego State University; Quan Xie, Bradley University • This paper investigates how smartphone users perceive self-viewing (trying a virtual product on one’s own image) versus other-viewing (trying a virtual product on a model’s image) virtual try-on mobile applications, and how smartphone users’ perception of control over their personal image information affects their app attitudes, brand attitudes, and purchase intentions. Results from Study 1 demonstrate that when smartphone users have high levels of privacy concern, self-viewing virtual try-on apps are more likely to generate perceived intrusiveness than other-viewing virtual try-on apps, which in turn leads to negative app attitude. Results from Study 2 indicate that regardless of smartphone users’ levels of privacy concern, giving users control over the privacy settings reduces their perceived intrusiveness of self-viewing virtual try-on apps, which in turn leads to more positive app attitudes and brand attitudes, and increased purchase intent.
Commenting on news stories via social media • Sherice Gearhart, Texas Tech University; Derrick Holland, Texas Tech University; Alexander Moe, Texas Tech University • Previous research has validated the spiral of silence in Facebook among peers. However, no identifiable work has tested behavior in a non-peer circumstances, where theory may lack applicability. Using a 2×2 between-subjects design, participants indicated intent to refrain or comment on news posted by reputable news outlets after viewing either agreeable or disagreeable posts from others. Results support theory and reveal that individuals who selectively expose to likeminded content speak out regardless of the opinion environment.
Personality Traits and Social Media Use in 20 Countries • Homero Gil de Zúñiga, University of Vienna; Trevor Diehl, University of Vienna; Brigitte Huber; James Liu • This study examines the relationship between peoples’ personality traits and social media uses with data from 20 societies (N = 21,314). A measure of the “Big Five” personality traits is tested on dimensions of social media: frequency of use, social interaction, and news consumption. Across diverse societies, findings suggest that while extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness are all positive predictors of different types of social media use; emotional stability and openness, are negatively related to them.
Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Media: Can Corporate Citizenship Motivate Companies to Create Safe Social Media Platforms? • Jennifer Grygiel, Syracuse University/Newhouse; Nina Brown, Syracuse University/Newhouse • This paper investigates the legal framework governing social media platforms in order to assess whether companies are motivated to create safe social media platforms. Using case studies, we explore the idea that increased corporate social responsibility and corporate citizenship can encourage companies to enhance their platforms beyond their legal responsibilities, in order to increase user safety.
Distributed Intimacies: Robotic Warfare and Drone Whistleblowers • Kevin Howley, DePauw University • This paper adapts the concept of “distributed intimacy” in an effort to identify and analyze unequal relations of power/knowledge in the mediated relationships articulated by drone warfare. Throughout, I contend this notion enhances our understanding of the authoritarian logic of disembodied control at a distance underpinning America’s drone campaign. The paper proceeds in three parts. The first develops an analytical framework for examining the distributed intimacies engendered and exploited by drone warfare. Doing so, I identify revealing points of comparison between commercial and authoritarian logics of digital mediation. The second considers the affective and political consequences of this new kind of war for drone operators turned whistleblowers. Here I consider the relationship between digital witnessing and trauma in the era of robotic warfare. Based on an examination of press accounts, broadcast interviews, and documentary films, this paper identifies drone whistleblowers – whose intimate testimony exposes the physical, emotional, and psychological brutality of drone warfare – as central actors in the formation of an alternative order of discourse surrounding weaponized drones. The paper concludes with an assessment of the personal and institutional challenges confronting the ranks of remote-control warriors as Donald Trump, one of the most authoritarian figures in recent American history, assumes the office of the presidency, and with it, command and control of the US drone program.
Revisiting the privacy paradox: Exploring the mediating effect of privacy management and self-disclosure on social capital • Shih-Hsien Sandra Hsu, National Taiwan University; Yi-Hsing Han, Fu Jen Catholic University; Thomas Johnson • This study employed various measurements of key variables to update the current status of the privacy paradox phenomenon—the disconnection between privacy concerns and self-disclosure on Facebook—and found the break of the traditional privacy paradox and the existence of the social privacy paradox. It further examined the mediating role of privacy management to solve the dilemma. Findings confirmed that privacy management is important in redirecting the relationships among privacy concerns, self-disclosure, and social capital.
Effects of Self-Presentation Strategies and Tie Strength on Facebook Users’ Subjective Well-Being • Wonseok (Eric) Jang, Texas Tech University; Jung Won Chun; Jihoon (Jay) Kim, University of Georgia • Existing evidence suggests that the use of Facebook (FB) has a positive impact on subjective well-being (SWB) when people use FB to interact with close friends. Based on the self-presentation literature, the current study identified an effective strategy for how FB users can enhance SWB while interacting with weak tie FB friends. The results indicated that FB users became happier after adopting strategic self-presentation while interacting with weak tied friends compared to true self-presentation.
Mobile Moves: Engagement, Emotion and Attention to Social Media Images on Mobile and Desktop Screens • Kate Keib, Oglethorpe University; Bartosz Wojdynski; Camila Espina, University of Georgia, Grady College; Jennifer Malson, University of Georgia, Grady College; Brittany Jefferson; Yen-I Lee, University of Georgia • Screen size, input modalities, and use pattern differences between smartphones and desktop computers have been thought to influence information processing. This eye-tracking study compared consumers’ visual attention to, and engagement intent with, social media news images on mobile and desktop devices. Results show users pay significantly less attention to social media posts on smartphones than desktops, posts with images were perceived as more arousing than posts without images, and negative images were the most arousing.
Unpacking unboxing videos: the mediating role of parasocial interaction between unboxing viewing motivations and purchase decision-making • Hyosun Kim, University of Wisconsin_Stevens Point • Via a web survey, the present study explored the effects of YouTube unboxing motivations on purchase decision making from use and gratification perspective. Also, the mediating role of parasocial interaction(PSI) was examined. Results suggested that PSI fully mediated when users view unboxing videos to feel realness of products or experience products vicariously, fostering purchase decision making. Though entertainment motivation did not directly predict purchase decision, it significantly affects people to consider purchase through PSI.
Virtual Tours Promote Behavioral Intention and Willingness to Pay via Spatial Presence, Enjoyment, and Destination Image • Jihoon (Jay) Kim, University of Georgia; Thitapa Shinaprayoon, University of Georgia; Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn, University of Georgia • Despite the increasing popularity of virtual tours in tourism marketing, empirical supports for the benefits of virtual tours are lacking. This study (N = 118) investigates how a virtual tour affects behavioral intention and monetary valuation toward a travel destination. Results revealed that experiencing the virtual tour increased behavioral intention and willingness to pay, compared to reading the e-brochure, via spatial presence, enjoyment, and destination image. The theoretical and managerial implications of virtual tour experience are discussed.
Influencers with #NoFilter: How Micro-Celebrities Use Self-Branding Practices on Instagram • Eunice Kim, University of Florida; Casey McDonald, University of Florida • The growth and popularity of user-generated content has created as a new form of celebrity known as ‘micro-celebrities.’ Micro-celebrities engage in strategic self-branding practices on social media through use of self-presentation strategies to attract and maintain a fan base. The study uses a content analysis to explore how micro-celebrities use self-presentation strategies (i.e., self-promotion, affiliation, and authenticity) on Instagram. Findings reveal that self-presentation strategies vary by gender and account types of micro-celebrities.
When do Online Audiences Amplify Wellbeing Benefits of Expressive Writing? Identifying Effects of Audience Similarity and Commenting • Rachel Kornfield, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Catalina Toma, University of Wisconsin-Madison • It may be possible to enhance benefits of self-disclosure writing through adjusting online environments and thereby the perceptions of one’s audience. In a two-by-two experimental design, we examine effects of 1) establishing a shared identity between writers and audiences, and 2) enabling or disabling commenting. Results suggest that writers perceiving similar audiences showed more cognitive processing, while those led to expect comments wrote less about emotions. Audience similarity was associated with increased post-traumatic growth.
Narcissism or Willingness: The way college students use Facebook and Instagram • Sangki Lee, Arkansas Tech University • This study examined how participants’ narcissistic traits and willingness to share personal information were related to social networking site (SNS) activities. 271 undergraduate students provided a self-report. 211 Facebook and 231 Instagram pages were coded based on self-promotional pictures. Results indicated both perspectives were related to SNS activities. However, participants’ willingness to share information about themselves better correlated with SNS activities, posting pictures in particular, than narcissistic traits did. Contribution and limitation were discussed.
Promoting CSR Programs/activities via Social Media On social media, does reading online comments encourage people to speak up or be silent? Social Judgement and Spiral of Empowerment • Moon Lee, University of Florida; Jung Won Chun; Jungyun Won, University of Florida • We investigated effects of online comments on individuals’ willingness to speak out when a CSR program/activity becomes a topic of exchange via social media. An online experiment with 277 participants was conducted. People with positive prior attitude are more likely to speak out when reading both positive public opinion polls and two-sided online comments. People with negative prior attitude were less willing to speak out when reading others’ two-sided comments than negative comments.
Lifestyles, Mobile Viewing Habits, Contextual Factors, and TV Content Interest as Predictors of the Intention to Adopt Mobile TV • Louis Leung, Chinese University of Hong Kong; Cheng Chen, Chinese University of Hong Kong • This study applies the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to explain the intentions of Hong Kong consumers to adopt mobile TV and their interests in its content. Using a probability sample of 644 respondents, this study not only demonstrated the robustness of TPB in explaining consumer behavior but also showed that channel deficiency, mobile viewing habits (which were moderated by perceived behavioral control), and content interest could significantly influence consumers’ intentions to adopt mobile TV services.
The Effect of Efficiency, Matching, Trusts and Risks on the Adoption of Content Curation Service • Lu Li, Sungkyunkwan University; Shin-Hye Kwon, Sungkyunkwan University; Byeng Hee Chang, Sungkyunkwan University • Content curation is now widely used in online film and music services. As a new way to organize and present information of goods, it attracts many users and promotes sales. There are many factors that influence the adoption of content curation services, and the present study focuses on the effects of perceived efficiency, perceived matching, perceived trust and perceived risk on attitude and intention to use of film and music content curation service. The differences between film content curation services and music content curation services were compared. Perceived trust was divided to trust in competence and trust in integrity. Perceived risk included product risk and time risk. An online survey with 448 samples was conducted to examine the effects of the above factors. The results showed that (1) perceived efficiency and perceived matching had a positive effect on attitude and intention; (2) perceived trust did not have significant effects; (3) perceived time risk had negative effects in music content curation services while perceived product risks influenced intention to use in film content curation services; (4) film and music content curation services had many differences in the effects of the above variables.
Understanding Political Brand Communities from a Social Network Perspective: A study of the GOP 2017 Primary Elections • Jhih-Syuan Elaine Lin, University of Georgia; Itai Himelboim • This study analyzes Twitter activity by and about Republican Primary candidates in January 2016. The findings suggest that brand social mediators play an important role in connecting political brand communities across the network. Several social mediators are identified for winning and trailing candidates. Different patterns of information flow and network structures are found in winning and trailing brand communities. The interactions between candidates and direct vs. indirect communities also exhibit different patterns of information flow.
Are People Willing to Share Their True Opinions on Social Networking Sites? Exploring Roles of Self-Presentational Concern in Spiral of Silence • Yu Liu; Jian Rui; Xi Cui, College of Charleston • The purpose of this study is to extend the spiral of silence framework with the integration of online self-presentation perspective to investigate the psychological processes of SNS users’ political self-disclosure through commenting, sharing or posting behaviors. Survey data from 296 SNS users confirmed the opinion-congruence based mechanism argued by the classic spiral of silence theory, and found that SNS users’ willingness of online engagement in controversial issues is also related to self-presentational concern and CSW.
Credibility perception within social media frames: How Wechat mediates sources’ effect on responses to food-safety information • Ji Pan • Conceiving Wechat as a frame for mediated social interactions, this study conducts a controlled experiment to explore how Wechat shapes the effects of embedded source cues (China’s CCTV logo and avatars) on information assessment and on subjects’ responses to food-safety information. Findings show that when individual avatars re-paste CCTV-produced information about food safety on Wechat, the credibility of Wechat mediates the impact of CCTV credibility on information assessment, and the mediating effect is contingent on the frequency of Wechat use. The attitudinal and behavioral effects of CCTV credibility also depend on the perceived credibility of Wechat. The credibility of avatars exerts an independent effect on information assessment, but no impact on behavior or on attitude. Findings are discussed in terms of theoretical implications for integrating framing theory with media credibility literature in the Web 2.0 era.
Academics versus Athletics and Rhetorical Mechanisms Used by Business Schools in Brand Promotion on Social Media • Shaila Miranda, University of Oklahoma; Rahnuma Ahmed, University of Oklahoma; Nazmul Rony, University of Oklahoma • “Branding is critical to business schools at a crossroad in public opinion. Research on brand promotion via social media offers little insight into how organizations should craft brand messages or how their institutional context might mitigate message efficacy. Based on dual process theories, we identified two sets of rhetorical mechanisms – systematic and heuristic. Investigation of tweets by eight schools indicated use of the mechanisms and traction they garnered with audiences is shaped by institutional contexts.
News Gatekeeping and Socially Interactive Functions of Twitter: An Algorithmic Content Analysis • Frank Russell, California State University, Fullerton; Katie Yaeger, University of Missouri School of Journalism; Jennifer Para, University of Missouri School of Journalism • This study concerns Twitter use at the organizational level by the 26 most popular online news entities in the United States. An algorithmic content analysis compared characteristics of posts published on the news organizations’ main Twitter accounts during a one-month period in fall 2015. Statistically significant differences existed between news organizations in the use of three socially and technically interactive functions of Twitter: retweets, @mentions, and hashtags
Reporting the Future of News: Constructing Risks and Benefits for Journalism, Silicon Valley, and Citizens • Frank Russell, California State University, Fullerton • This qualitative discourse analysis explored risks and potential benefits for journalism, Silicon Valley, and citizens in the digital transformation of news gatekeeping. Coverage by the Nieman Lab industry website described Silicon Valley platforms’ gatekeeping role between news media and citizens principally in terms of risks and potential benefits for journalism. The findings suggested that uncertainty over the conditions of contributing content to Silicon Valley platforms raised legitimacy concerns for news media.
It’s Alt-Right: Tracing the Technosocial Evolution of White Nationalism on Twitter • Saif Shahin, Bowling Green State University; Yee Man Margaret Ng, The University of Texas at Austin • This study examines the evolution of White Nationalism on Twitter (2009-2016) by tracking the growing frequency of retweets of “alt-right” messages and the changing structure of the social network they constituted. It identifies the prospect of Barack Obama’s second election in 2012 as a key factor that bolstered the movement. It also shows that the movement was clustered, but a few weak ties across clusters allowed it become a megaphone for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Just Venmo Me the Money: An Exploratory Analysis of Alternative Banking Adoption • Evren Durmaz; Julie Ciardi, St. John Fisher College; Ronen Shay, St. John Fisher College; Gianna Sarkis; Nicholas Cieslica • To explore diffusion of alternative banking this mixed-methods study first surveyed 219 MTurk respondents to examine the factors that contribute towards alternative banking usage; whether age or perceived convenience have relationship with a consumer’s willingness to read the terms and conditions of online banking apps/websites; and how well alternative banking brands are trusted relative to traditional offline banks. Content analysis is also utilized to compare banking fees across platforms.
A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Croatian and American Social Network Sites: Exploring Cultural Differences in Motives for Instagram Use • Pavica Sheldon, University of Alabama, Huntsville; Philipp A. Rauschnabel, University of Michigan – Dearborn; Mary Grace Antony, Schreiner University • The current study compares motives for Instagram use between participants of two countries: Croatia, a highly collectivistic culture, and the United States, a typically individualist culture. Findings reveal that Croatian students’ Instagram use reflects collectivist tendencies as they predominantly use it for social interaction. American students’ use of Instagram reflects individualistic trends, namely self-promotion and documentation.
Personal ties, group ties and latent ties: Connecting network size to diversity and trust in the mobile social network WeChat • Cuihua Shen; He Gong • This study examines whether and how personal and group network sizes affect diversity and trust in the mobile social media WeChat. We argue that the social network affordances of WeChat, coupled with its distinct network privacy, give rise to a wide spectrum of relations ranging from strong, weak to latent ties. Online survey data (N = 313) reveal that both personal network size and group network size are positively related to people’s social network diversity (measured by the position generator). However, group network size is negatively related to people’s trust in their WeChat contacts. We argue that the increasing size of the group network and the existence of latent ties reduce familiarity, certainty and accountability that are prerequisites of trust.
Can Immersive Journalism Affect Presence, Memory, Credibility, Empathy and Sharing? An Experimental Comparison of VR Stories, 3600 Videos and Text • S. Shyam Sundar, Penn State University; Jin Kang; Danielle Oprean • Immersive journalism in the form of VR headsets and 3600 videos is much touted for its ability to induce greater ‘presence’ in the mediated environment. In a controlled experiment (N = 129), VR and 3600 videos outperformed text with pictures, not only on such presence-related outcomes as being there, interaction and realism, but also on perceived source credibility, story sharing intentions and feelings of empathy. We explore theoretical mechanisms and practical implications of these effects.
Barriers and Facilitating Conditions for parents’ mobile communication with adolescent children in resource-constrained contexts • Alcides Velasquez, University of Kansas • Access to and use of mobile and smartphones in resource constrained contexts does not come without adoption and use barriers. Mixing qualitative and quantitative methodologies, this study investigates what are the barriers parents of teenage children in resource constrained contexts face for mobile parenting. The qualitative phase of the study explored the individual and enviornmental barriers that parents in Bogotá, Colombia, faced when trying to use mobile communication technologies to contact their teenage children. The quantitative phase examined the relationship among the variables suggested by findings in the first phase. Findings show that parents use alternative resources available to them and that they take advantage of these resources to gain material access, but that the acquisition of skills to use mobile technologies can be affected by learning efficacy perception barriers.
How the Serialization of News Affects Recipients’ Attitudes Toward Politicians Involved in Scandals • Christian von Sikorski; Johannes Knoll • Journalists tend to serialize political scandals and publish scandalous information bit by bit instead of all at once in a single news article. Participants took part in an experiment and were exposed to identical scandalous information about a political candidate. However, the form of presentation—exposure to 1/2/3/4, or 5 article(s)—was systematically manipulated. Serialization indeed indirectly decreased candidate attitudes via the perceived scandal importance, participants’ reading duration, cognitive elaboration, and intensity of negative emotions.
Like My Posts? Exploring the Brand–Post Congruence Effect of Facebook Pages • Shaojung Sharon Wang, National Sun Yat-sen University; Yu-Ching Lin • This study explored the effects of Facebook Pages’ brand–post congruence and a brand’s product attribute on consumers’ intentions to interact on brands’ posts. The moderating effect of product involvement was also assessed. The experimental results showed that congruence level alone did not exert significantly different effects on interaction intention, but the interaction effect of congruence and product type was significant. Low brand involvement significantly increased interaction intention when the brand-post congruence was low.
An integrated model of TAM and eWOM exploring WeChat payment use in China • Shaojung Sharon Wang, National Sun Yat-sen University; Chiao-Yung Chang • This study incorporated the TAM model into eWOM perspectives to explore WeChat payment adoption and use behaviors. PU had a positive impact on intention to use while EOU was not a significant predictor of behavioral intention. The effects of brand trust and profit gained was assessed. The quantity of strong tie recommendations partially mediated the effect of the recommenders’ tie strength on use intention. Implications on the application of TAM and tie strength are discussed.
Peer-Citation and Academic Social Networking: Do Altmetrics Affect Peer-Citation and Article Readership in Communication Research? • ben wasike, university of texas rio grande valley • This study examined how altmetrics, the attention that research gets from social media and the Internet, affect readership and peer-citation in communication research. Citation data was examined alongside altmetrics from academic SNSs ResearchGate and Mendeley, and mentions on social media. All altmetrics positively correlated with citation. Posting articles on ResearchGate and Mendeley improves readership and the likelihood of citation. Impactful variables also include social media mentions, downloadable articles, co-authorship, and an active online presence.
An Analysis of Google Scholar Profiles of Mass Communication Faculty at U.S. Research Universities • John Wirtz, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Sann Ryu; David Ross; Rachel Yang, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign • This paper presents an analysis of Google Scholar (GS) profiles of tenure-track faculty in journalism and mass communication departments at U.S. research universities (N=321). We found that males and females were equally likely to have a GS profile and that on average more than 35% of entries in a profile had 0 citations. Academic rank was the strongest predictor of total entries, citations and h index; academic department and total doctoral students were also significant.
How Interactivity Influences Evaluations of Product Choice Among Consumers with Different Levels of Desire for Control • Linwan Wu, University of South Carolina; Denetra Walker • This study investigates the interplay between interactivity, desire for control, and product choice. The results indicated that with a small choice set, participants high in desire for control expressed more favorable product attitudes when interactivity was high versus low, but those low in desire for control expressed similar product attitudes across different interactivity conditions. When provided a large choice set, consumers’ product attitudes were not influenced by levels of interactivity or desire for control.
Responding to Racism: Bystander Responses to Racist Posts on Social Media • Rachel Young, University of Iowa; Saleem Alhabash, Michigan State University; Michael Nelson, Michigan State University; Maddie Barnes, Michigan State University; Alex Torres • This experimental study investigated bystander response to racism on an app where users were visually anonymous (n = 373). Participants were much more likely to use more indirect options, such as down-voting or reporting the posts, than to directly confront racist posts with their own comments. The number of bystanders had no effect on action. Our study suggests avenues for fostering more active confrontation and engagement on the part of bystanders.
“Big Brother is Watching You!” • Weiwu Zhang, Texas Tech University; Derrick Holland, Texas Tech University • Using data from a 2013 national survey of American adults (N = 1,801) from the Pew Research Center, this study examines the spiral of silence effect in the social media and offline settings during the Edward Snowden-NSA saga. Results indicate that Facebook and Twitter users were more willing to voice their opinions about the Snowden-NSA issue in social media and offline settings if they perceive their social media networks agree with them.
Tablet Uses and Gratifications: Support, Attitude, Self-efficacy, and Anxiety • chenjie zhang, Bowling Green State University; Kate Magsamen-Conrad • We conducted a cross-sectional study to test how self-efficacy, attitude toward tablet use, perceived support availability, and anxiety affecting table uses and gratifications. Age, education level, and biological sex are control variables. Attitude and perceived support positively predict tablet uses and gratifications, whereas anxiety positively predicts information seeking and does not predict organization. Self-efficacy does not predict any subfactors of tablet uses and gratifications. Further discussion is provided in this paper.
STUDENT PAPER COMPETITION
Facebook: Antidote or poison? A study of the relationship between Facebook, depression, and older adults • Katie Anthony • This study examines the relationship between Facebook uses and gratifications among those 65+ years old and the signs and symptoms of depression. An online survey found that the social affection and informational gratifications are most sought and lead to an increase in depressive symptoms. However, the most popular gratification among the respondents was social interaction, suggesting that more people are drawn to Facebook for an emotional connection.
Immersive narratives, 360 video, and VR: A pilot experiment examining 360 video and narrative transportation • Aaron Atkins, Ohio University; Dave McLean, University of Florida; William Canter, Georgia State • This study examines the impact of medium on narrative transportation. Virtual reality and 360-video are growing in journalism. This experiment serves as a pilot, examining a news narrative’s level of transportation, immersion, and potential for attitude change, between 360-video viewed on a two-dimensional screen and in VR. Findings suggest VR condition participants experienced increases in transportation and immersion; however, a correlation between transportation and attitude change was not found. Practical implications for journalists are discussed.
Technologies and Social Fitness: Examining Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy as Predictors of Health Monitoring, Goal-Setting, and Results Sharing • Kim Baker, University of Alabama; Sarah Pember, University of Alabama; Xueying Zhang; Kimberly Bissell, University of Alabama • This survey study employed theoretical frameworks of self-efficacy and sociometer theory to advance understanding of the effects of mobile technologies on fitness within the context of social interactions. Self-efficacy was a significant predictor for tracking, goal-setting, goal dedication, and perceived effectiveness of tracking for physical and mental benefits. Self-esteem was a significant predictor of the perceived effectiveness of tracking for physical benefits and intentions to try new technologies.
“I’ve Lost the Weight, Now Feed Me Upvotes!”: Weight Loss Narratives in an Online Support Space and Strategic Impression Management for Garnering Social Support • Jared Brickman; Shuang Liu; David Silva, Washington State University • Online support communities are popular and growing. However, newer social interaction features like content aggregation and scoring through “likes” and “upvotes” have changed how people give and evaluate social support. This study used content analysis to identify the posting strategies and narratives used by members of the weight loss subreddit /r/loseit, which uses content aggregation. A negative binomial regression revealed which strategies and narratives resulted in the most engagement with the content.
Self-mockery as an Alternative Social Strategy: Gratifications-sought, Need for Humor, Narcissism, and Self-Mocking Meme Usage • Miao LU, School of Journalism and Communication, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Hua FAN, School of Journalism and Communication, The Chinese University of Hong Kong • Based on a survey research of Chinese college students (N=506), this exploratory study examines the uses and gratifications of self-mocking memes on social media, and identifies six motivations: self-protection, social criticism, sociability, entertainment, venting personal negative feelings and recognition. All the six motivations are proved to be strong predictors of self-mocking meme usage. This study also addresses the roles of individual traits (i.e. need for humor and narcissism) in predicting gratifications-sought and intensity of self-mocking meme usage and need for humor is proved to be a strong predictor. Lastly, this study explores how intensity of self-mocking meme usage will impact Chinese college students’ psychological well-being and finds a mixed effect: it is positively related to harmonious interpersonal relationship but negatively related to self-acceptance.
Instagram as a tool for communicating sexual health: Future recommendations and unanswered questions • NIcole O’Donnell; Davi Kallman, Washington State University; Whitney Stefani, Washington State University • Public health organizations often use the photo-sharing social networking site Instagram for communicating health risks. In the present study, we analyzed young adults’ likelihood to use Instagram for sexual health information seeking. Female gender, low condom-use self-efficacy, and high intentions to practice safe sex predicted likelihood to use a sexual health Instagram service. Message sensation value and message attention were also evaluated. Results provide insight into the effectiveness of using Instagram for sexual health promotion.
Parasocial Interaction and YouTube: Extending the Effect to Online Users • Kirstin Pellizzaro, Arizona State University; Ashley Gimbal • Parasocial interaction has been widely studied in traditional mass media, such as television and radio, but few studies utilize this theory to understand the phenomenon within the ever-growing online video market. This study sought to fill a gap in the literature while adding to parasocial interaction research. Using an online survey, this study found that viewers of YouTube personas do not exhibit the same levels of parasocial interaction than those of traditional mass media.
How great can Greater China be? A comparative study of the consumption of mobile apps in the Greater China area • Chris CHAO SU, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Hang Kuang, Chinese University of Hong Kong • This paper focuses on the use of mobile applications (apps) and the model of cross-regional communication in the app markets of the Greater China area (mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau), and explores the influence of policy, capital, and regional cultural tastes on the consumption of mobile apps. The cross-regional degree of mobile apps is used to measure the circulation of apps in different markets, and to single out mobile apps and their producers that can achieve cross-regional commercial success and gain market recognition in the Greater China area. Built on quantitative methods, the final samples consist of 1,124 mobile apps that are ranked among the top 500 in at least two markets. Further coding of these apps and their producers has been done according to market platform, founding year, price, whether the app is listed or not, the location of producers, app genres, and cross-regional degree. The results show that, in the mobile app market, no such thing as a Greater-China community exists. The consumption of apps in these markets is significantly influenced by policies, company capital, and local cultural tastes. In addition, mainland China is obviously isolated from other Greater China regions. Compared with the cross-regional degrees of apps in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, the degree in mainland China is rather low.
Tell Me More: The Effects of Mobile Screen Size on Self-disclosure • Jinping Wang, The Pennsylvania State University; Eugene Cho; Bikalpa Neupane • As information disclosure occur more on mobile devices, how difference in screen sizes affect the level of self-disclosure when using mobile devices is worth exploring. A between-subject quasi-experiment was conducted to investigate this question. Findings suggested that being exposed to a larger screen elicited more disclosure related to health information. However, no corresponding effects appeared with transactional information disclosure. In addition, the level of mobile power usage moderated the relationship between screen size and self-disclosure.
A Slap or a Jab: An Experiment on Viewing Uncivil Political Discussions on Facebook • Meredith Wang, Washington State University; David Silva, Washington State University • Across two experiments conducted in the end of last Presidential election, we replicate previous findings that exposure to incivility while viewing political debates on Facebook can be both upsetting and engaging. This study adds to research by testing differential effects of two kinds of incivility: insults and mockery. The effects of these two types changes between gun control and abortion topics, suggesting future research on online incivility may need to better address topic-specific outcomes.
Are you a social media chameleon? Probing self-presentations across and within social network sites • Lewen Wei, Pennsylvania State University; Jin Kang • The presentation of self has been reasoned to be malleable and context-specific during social interactions. The purpose of this study was to extend and test this notion in social network sites (SNSs). Two studies were conducted. The first one takes the form of the interview with the second one as an online survey to explore users’ motivations, behavioral patterns and boundary regulation strategies when projecting multiple selves on social media.
To meet or not to meet? Measuring motivations and risks as predictors of outcomes in the use of mobile dating applications • ka yee Janice WONG, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Randy Jay Solis, The Chinese University of Hong Kong • Mobile dating applications (MDA) like Momo gratify the sexual needs of their users, among others, contributing to the radicalization of sexual ideologies in China. However, risk must also be considered within this context of needs gratification. Thus, this study asked: Do motivations and risks predict the outcomes of MDA use? Findings reveal that sexuality, self-esteem, and love are predictors of MDA use to meet for dates and sex, regardless of the risk of exposure.
The Effect of Hedonic Presentation of Horticultural Product on Consumers’ Willingness to Pay and Purchase Intention • Jing Yang, Loyola University Chicago; Juan Mundel, DePaul University; Bridget Behe; Patricia Huddleston, Michigan State University • The current study investigated how the hedonic/utilitarian presentation of horticultural products influences consumers’ willingness to pay and purchase intention. A 2 (brand association: hedonic vs. utilitarian) x 3 (product presentation: hedonic vs. utilitarian vs. both) between-subject experiment was conducted to examine the impact. Results showed that the hedonic presentation of horticultural products has potential to positively influence consumers’ purchase intention and willingness to pay. Managerial implications for the horticultural industry and future research are also discussed.
Communicating Science, Health, Environment, and Risk 2017 Abstracts
Wheat free for wrong reasons? College students’ perceptions and sources pertaining to the gluten-free diet • Anne Walker; Katie Abrams, Colorado State University • Health scholars believe that misleading media messages touting the weight-loss and general health benefits of the gluten-free diet have led to its popularity among a greater portion of the population. However, these statements were not supported by research. In the pursuit of this knowledge, we conducted a survey on college students’ perceptions, attitudes, and information sources (media and interpersonal) pertaining to the diet.
Going Viral: User Engagement with Sensationalistic News on Facebook During an Infectious Disease Outbreak • Khudejah Ali; Lisa Johns • In an increasingly globalized world, the threat of the rapid spread of infectious disease during times of outbreaks can be considered to constitute a national and international health-risk emergency. In such times, it is imperative that the communication about the risk to the public is spread through populations as efficiently and effectively as possible to mitigate negative outcomes. The growth in number of people worldwide that use social media for information acquisition, coupled with the ease of sharing information quickly on social media, indicates that it provides promising opportunities to disseminate health-risk related information during such health emergencies. However, the volume of competing messages on social media means that it is necessary to maximise dissemination efficacy by capitalizing on the motivation of social media users to help spread the information through their own networks and beyond. This study thus aimed to examine message attributes of health-risk related information which may lead to increased social media activity. In particular, this study analyzed the level of sensationalism of 800 message posts on Facebook regarding the Zika virus outbreak and its influence on user engagement. Findings reveal that user engagement differs significantly between levels of sensationalism.
Communicating land loss for coastal Louisiana with visuals: Issue urgency and issue importance • Zeynep Altinay, Iona College; Nekesha Williams • The success of sustainable development will require the public to undergo a significant shift in thinking about environmental issues. Using focus group methodology, this paper investigates the influence of visual imagery on how people perceive environmental change on a coastal land. It explores two types of message framing (gain/loss framing and temporal context) and visual message framing’s ability to influence issue urgency, issue importance. Results suggest that visuals that incorporate the best practices, such as including hypothetical future scenarios, can shape pro-environmental perceptions. Other practices to increase public participation via images in sustainability efforts are discussed.
Communicating the flood: The role of communication during extreme weather events in shaping climate change engagement • Ashley Anderson, Colorado State University • Scholarship is increasingly linking experiences with weather to climate change perceptions. This study points to a missing piece of this scholarship: communication of extreme weather events. Using an online survey of Coloradans (n = 808) following a statewide flood event in 2013, this study finds that flood-related offline communication activities – including news media use and discussions with others – and online social media use are positively related to future information seeking and discussion about climate change. It also finds that people who hold more belief certainty that climate change exists are more likely to partake in future information engagement on climate change after exposure to flood-specific social media use. Implications for climate change advocacy are discussed.
The Representation of Human Papillomavirus, Sex, and Cancer Prevention in Popular Television Programming • Audrey Bachman, University of Kentucky; Robin Vanderpool, University of Kentucky; Elisia Cohen; Amanda Wilburn; Scott Johnson • “Media coverage of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is more salient and varied than ever. Content analytic procedures were used in this study to analyze HPV-related news and entertainment programming that was gathered over a 1-year period from 26 television channels. We discovered three primary findings regarding (a) stigma; (b) scientific discovery, safety, and efficacy; and (c) varied, conflicting, and incomplete scientific information. These findings may inform interventions, campaigns, and advocacy for entertainment education.
Promoting Multivitamins to College Women: An Examination of Source, Message, and Audience Characteristics • Jennifer Ball, Temple University; Allison Lazard, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Michael Mackert, University of Texas at Austin • The consumption of multivitamins that contain folic acid can significantly reduce the incidence of neural tube birth defects. It is therefore important to identify effective strategies to promote continuous multivitamin consumption. College-age women are a particularly relevant population for research on this topic since they are more likely to have unplanned pregnancies and are less responsive to messages that connect vitamin consumption to fetal health. The current study builds on previous research examining multivitamin promotion strategies by experimentally testing the effect of source, message, and audience characteristics among a female college population. Grounded in information processing and altercasting theories, results indicated source alone did not have a large effect on dependent measures. Findings also suggested college-age females preferred an informational rather than a humorous appeal, contrary to some literature on the use of humor in health communication.
To Talc or Not to Talc: How Media framed the Association Between Talcum Powder and Ovarian Cancer. • Aqsa Bashir, University of Florida • In 2016, Johnson & Johnson lost almost $200 million in three different cases against its talcum powder lawsuit. The association between talcum powder and ovarian cancer is not a novel one but one which has been at the heart of much controversy. This paper explored how media framed the association between talcum powder and ovarian cancer. Analysis revealed frames such as uncertainty framing, legal framing, scientific framing and negligence on the part of Johnson & Johnson as the major frames. Analysis also revealed a distinction between how the media framed the association and how Johnson & Johnson framed this claim.
The Framing of Suicide in the News • Randal Beam • Though suicide is a subject that many journalists say that they prefer to avoid, it constitutes a significant public health problem that kills 800,000 people around the world each year, including more than 40,000 in the United States. This paper uses content analysis to analyze the framing of suicide in 10 U.S. daily newspapers between 1991 and 2015. It finds that journalists are far more likely to use Thematic frames than Episodic frames in their articles. Among Thematic frames, those focusing on suicide as a social problem increased during the study period. Human Interest and Attribution of Cause frames remained stable.
Understanding Scientists’ Willingness to Engage • John Besley, Michigan State University; Anthony Dudo, UT-Austin; Shupei Yuan • A set of parallel surveys of scientists from multiple societies finds that, after controlling for past engagement, the most consistent predictors of scientists’ willingness to engage the public are a scientist’s belief the she or he will be enjoy the experience (attitude), can make a difference through engagement (external efficacy), and has the time to engage. Age, sex, scientific field, what a scientist thinks about the public with whom they might engage, perceived personal engagement skill (internal efficacy), and what a scientist thinks about their colleagues (normative beliefs) are inconsistent predictors. Given the findings, future research could focus on better understanding whether predictors vary based on specific engagement activities and experimenting with ways to assess whether scientists’ views can be reshaped and the degree to which such efforts might affect behavior.
Vaccine Conversation on Twitter: Group Dynamic, Emotional Support, and Cognitive Dissonance in HPV Social Networks • Meredith Wang, Washington State University; Itai Himelboim; Porismita Borah • As the media evolves more and more information about topics such as HPV are shifting to social media platforms like Twitter. In the present study, we use Twitter data around the HPV debate to understand the conversations around this topic. Approaching the HPV talk on Twitter as a social network this study identifies key sub-communities – clusters – of users who create “siloes” of interaction. Combining network analysis and computer-aided content analysis, we explored the communication dynamics within the groups in terms of group members’ affective and cognitive characteristics. Our findings show that positive emotion is positively correlated with graph density. For negative emotion, we found that only anger is significant predictor for graph density. We also tested correlation between certainty and tentativeness both at cluster as well as at tweet level. Our result shows that cluster brought people who are certain about HPV and people who are not certain together. Implications are discussed.
Credibility perceptions of health information: The interplay of message framing and social endorsement in Facebook • Porismita Borah; XIZHU XIAO • According to a recent Pew Research Center report, 50% of the young people between 18 and 29 years in the United States reported a high preference for online information gathering. In this landscape, the factors responsible for credibility perceptions of online information is fundamental. We conducted two experiments to examine the effect of health framing messages on credibility perceptions and how social endorsement and source moderates this relationship in the case of Facebook. Both studies used a randomized between-subjects experimental design; 2 (gain vs. loss frames) × 2 (Expert vs. Non-expert) × 2 (high vs. low social endorsement). Findings are consistent across two issues, physical activity and alcohol consumption, which indicate that gain-framed message was perceived as most credible across all conditions. Significant three-way interactions suggest that social endorsement has an impact on the relationship between message framing and credibility perceptions. Implications of these findings are discussed.
The Past, Present, and Futurity of Science Communication: The Journalization of Communication Offices • J. Scott Brennen • This project identifies, investigates, and analyzes the recent adoption of journalistic structures, practices, and formats by communication offices at US national laboratories and research universities. While identifying several causal factors, this project argues that the development of the Web was especially influential in providing a set of material resources for diverse actors to help transform the field. This project provides unique insight into how fields change, while challenging existing models of science communication.
Wading into Water Scarcity: How Information Source, Politics and Curiosity Impact Response to Water Messaging • Coy Callison, Texas Tech University; Derrick Holland, Texas Tech University • Through a nationwide hybrid experiment-survey (N = 947), respondents were exposed to a news article on water scarcity. Results suggest that Liberals and those high in science curiosity see water scarcity as more important, view organizations, their sources and the information they present related to scarcity as more credible and plan more positive water conservation behavior than their Conservative counterparts. Additionally, the government water agency was rated as more credible than the non-government agency overall.
Playing for Health: Using Games for Journalism to Engage Audiences in Health Insurance • Sara Champlin, The University of North Texas; Juli James, The University of North Texas • Health insurance knowledge is particularly low among young adults. An interactive, newsgame including entry-level information and scenarios was developed. Seventy-two participants completed in-person, individual gaming sessions: a pre/post survey of their knowledge exhibited increased understanding following the game. A game is a practical solution to a difficult health issue – the game can be played anywhere, including on a mobile device, is interactive and will thus engage an apathetic audience, and is cost-efficient in its execution.
A Comparative Examination on Haze-related Content on Traditional Media and Social Media in China: Using the Extended Parallel Process Model and Network Agenda-setting • Liang Chen, Sun Yat-sen University; Weijie Zheng; Jing Wang, Nanyang Technological University • The current study aims to explore and compare hazed-related content on between traditional media and social media in China. Specifically, this study first explored the nature of hazerelated messages on and Weibo based on the extended parallel process model (EPPM). Besides, from the agenda-setting perspective, the correlation between two media was examined in terms of rankings of fear appeal attributes of haze (i.e. EPPM components) as well as the interrelationships among attributes. Results revealed that while there were more than half of the total messages on both media reflecting EPPM components, either threat or efficacy, a greater number of messages mentioned threat than efficacy on Weibo. Moreover, only limited messages contained severity components of threat on both media. In addition, according to results of semantic network analysis, response efficacy and collective efficacy played central roles in haze-related content on People’s Daily, whereas the most central role was susceptibility on Weibo. Finally, the results from the Spearman’s rank-order correlation and Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP) indicated that there was no significant correlation between People’s Daily and Weibo in terms of rankings of fear appeal attributes of haze (i.e. EPPM components) as well as the interrelationships among the attributes.
Using EPPM to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Fear Appeal Messages Across Different Media Platforms to Increase the Intention of Breast Self-Examination among Chinese Women • Liang Chen, Sun Yat-sen University • The current study aims to examine the influence of fear appeal messages across different media platforms on Chinese women’s intention of breast self-examination using the Extended Parallel Processing Model (EPPM). A two-by-two-by-two factorial experiment is designed to examine the effect of threat and efficacy level of stimulus on different media platforms on behavioral intention. The sample includes 488 Chinese women who are between 25 to 50 years old. The results revealed that there were significant main effects of both threat and efficacy on the intention to performing breast self-examination. Moreover, the significant two-way interaction effect between threat and efficacy was detected, which indicated that Chinese women who received messages containing both high threat and high efficacy. Besides, the results demonstrated that there was no significant difference in the effectiveness of fear appeal messages on between traditional media and social media.
Does health orientation matter? Information processing of nutrient content claims information in online media and use of claims on food packaging • Kelly Williams; Rita Colistra, West Virginia University • Using Dutta’s (2007) work and information processing theory as guides, this study used an online survey to examine whether individuals were learners of NCC from three different online media sources, if this learning related to health orientation, and whether health orientation measures influenced their reported use of NCC claims. Results indicated that some health orientation measures are significantly related to both use of NCC and whether individuals learn about NCC from different online media sources.
Attitudes toward GMOs: The influence of media use, scientific literacy, and attitudes towards science • Kathryn Cooper; Erik Nisbet; Matt Nisbet • This study tests a theoretical model of the interrelationships between political ideology, viewing a particular type of media (edutainment/documentary), scientific literacy (general knowledge about science), deference towards scientific authorities, and scientific optimism and how these variables ultimately influence attitudes towards genetically modified organisms (GMOs) using survey data and structural equation modeling. Analysis of the entire sample (N = 1,879) indicates that edutainment viewing and scientific literacy were both associated with deference to scientific authority and with scientific optimism. Deference to scientific authority also predicted scientific optimism. Attitude toward GMOs was significantly associated with both deference to scientific authority and with scientific optimism. A multiple (separate) groups model dividing the sample into liberals (N = 559) and conservatives (N = 495) revealed that while the same model fits well for both groups the strength of the interrelationships varied for liberals and conservatives, allowing a better fit to the data when these groups were analyzed separately. Most notably, in the multiple groups model the association between scientific literacy and deference to scientific authority was five times stronger for liberals than for conservatives, which may be due to the fact that many of the most salient scientific issues in public discourse suggest a misalignment between conservative values and scientific consensus. Overall, the most influential variable in the models was deference to scientific authority.
Analysis of Climate Change Evidence Presentations and Information Formats • Jacob Copple • Climate change information is often confusing to understand for the average person, and as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has made clear in their recent assessments, citizen responsibility is going to become more important through adaptation and mitigation. Since it is becoming more popular among public concerns a better way to communicate such data for greater public understanding needs to be explored so people can become motivated to act sooner. This article addresses a gap in research on exemplification effects in climate change messaging by examining four different information formats’ impacts on issue perceptions: visual exemplar, text exemplar, visual base-rate, and text base-rate. Results suggest that exemplified message features promote greater worry or concern about the risks of climate change, but not for accuracy, importance, or likelihood of climate change risk perceptions. The visual exemplar demonstrated a significantly greater impact on worry compared to the base-rate text information format. Implications of these findings for the use of future climate change adaptive messages to mitigate ongoing effects are discussed.
Differences in Health Framing. An Investigation into the Role of Target Audiences’ Characteristics and the PSA Type • Viorela Dan, Free University of Berlin • This study uses a very diverse sample of news articles, articles in special interest publications and PSAs in an attempt to improve our understanding of why health matters are framed differently within and across these communication contexts. Specifically, the sample consists of (1) news texts and news photos originating in 24 local, metropolitan and international news outlets, (2) articles and photos from five special interest publications (SIP), and (3) print PSAs from recent campaigns focused on HIV/AIDS prevention, advocating against stigma and discrimination, and on HIV/AIDS treatment. Results show that news framing of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) differs based on the characteristics of the population in the federal states in which the news outlet was published. A case in point is the carrier frame which was conveyed most in news from states ranking high in conservatism and religiosity, but low in urbanism and HIV/AIDS prevalence. No significant differences were found based on the target audience of the SIP (PLWHA, African-Americans, LGBT). Prevention PSAs conveyed predominantly the normal frame, whereas PSAs advocating against stigma and discrimination and PSAs advocating treatment yielded to the survivor frame instead. These results suggest that target audiences’ characteristics may play a more important role in framing than previously acknowledged.
Avoiding the Trouble: Exploring Risk Information Avoidance Intentions • Mary Beth Deline; Lee Ann Kahlor • This study tests a theoretical model for risk information avoidance that empirically examines variables associated with risk information avoidance intentions, and contrasts these findings with a similar theoretical model applied to variables associated with risk information seeking intentions. The analysis is based on a survey of Texans (N=827) that focused on risk information seeking and avoidance in the context of manmade earthquakes associated with oil and gas production in the state of Texas. Key findings show that risk information avoidance intentions were singularly and strongly associated with avoidance norms, while risk information seeking intentions were associated with a wide range of variables, such as attitudes, perceived behavioral control and seeking norms. This suggests that while risk information seeking is guided by both individually held as well as socially signaled constructs, risk information avoidance is especially guided by socially signaled constructs. We discuss these findings and suggest avenues for future research efforts.
Words That May Hurt: Health Journalists, Chronic Pain and the Opioid Epidemic • Mugur Geana; Scott Reinardy • To our knowledge, this study is the first to explore health journalists’ attitudes and beliefs of chronic pain and their perceived relationships between chronic pain and opioid abuse. A survey of more than 200 health journalists reveals there is limited knowledge and awareness about chronic pain, there are misconceptions about the relationships between chronic pain and opioid addiction, and the voices of those living with chronic pain come secondary to experts or health care providers.
Exploring the Effects of Character and Cued Typicality in Health Narratives • Jiangxue (Ashley) Han, Appalachian State University; Shanshan Lou, Appalachian State University • Communication scholars have conducted a significant amount of research to explore the conditions under which exposure to narrative messages affects individuals’ attitudes and behaviors. The typicality of a story, in particular, has been shown to influence perceived realism of the messages. However, researchers have not examined the extent to which character typicality and cued typicality might affect individuals’ responses to health narratives. The present research examined whether the typicality of character and contextually-embedded typicality cues in a narrative would affect individuals’ responses. It also investigated the underlying mechanisms mediating the impact of narratives with character or cued typicality, which have not been fully investigated previously. A 2 (character typicality: typical vs. nontypical character) x 3 (typicality cues: typical cues vs. nontypical cues vs. no cues) between-subjects experiment was conducted, focusing on the risks of sun exposure without applying sunscreen. The findings showed that a narrative with a typical character led to higher perceived realism, more positive attitude toward sunscreen use, and less message novelty than a narrative with a nontypical character. Typical cues had more positive impact on issue attitude than nontypical cues. The findings also suggested that perceived realism mediated the effects of character typicality on message attitude, issue attitude, and behavioral intention to use sunscreen. The analysis showed that message novelty was a significant mediator of the effects of character typicality on message attitude. The study has theoretical implications for narrative literature and the results can help health communication practitioners improve narrative interventions and refine message designs.
Blinded by the Blu light: Consumer perceptions and electronic cigarette advertising strategies • Matthew Haught, University of Memphis; Erin Willis, University of Colorado – Boulder • Electronic cigarettes pose an unknown health risk to the public. Yet, many have become users of the devices as a standalone product or as a transition product for cessation of tobacco cigarettes. Because many electronic cigarettes are owned by major tobacco companies, persuasive advertising messages might be the loudest voice about the devices. This research surveys e-cigarette users, traditional cigarette users, combination users of e- and traditional cigarettes, former users, and nonusers to measure attitudes about electronic cigarettes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
The Elusive Role of Facts: Science, Politics and Public Debate about Fracking Policy • Kylah Hedding, University of Iowa • This study explores the ways in which scientific information was framed and discussed during public debate over fracking in New York and North Carolina from 2008 to 2015. Employing content analysis of state newspapers and interviews with stakeholders, this study reveals how the mobilization of science in a public policy debate can lead not only to public misunderstanding, but also a climate ripe for influence from the deliberate spread of misinformation.
Internet-Mediated Climate Advocacy: History, Convergence, and Future Outlook • Luis Hestres, The University of Texas at San Antonio; Jill Hopke, DePaul University • The past two decades have transformed the ways political groups and individuals engage in collective action. Meanwhile, the climate change advocacy landscape, previously dominated by well-established environmental organizations, now accommodates new ones focused exclusively on this issue. This article examines the convergence of these trends through the examples of] 350.org, the Climate Reality Project, and The Guardian’s “Keep It in The Ground” campaign. Implications for the future of Internet-mediated climate advocacy are discussed.
Troubled Waters: Risk Perception and the Case of Oyster Restoration in the Closed Waters of the Hudson-Raritan Estuary • Jason Holley, Cornell University; Katherine McComas, Cornell University; Matt Hare, Cornell University • Pathways to recognizing shared interests in addressing environmental problems are sometimes blocked by a lack of understanding or even misperceptions among stakeholder groups, which can impede productive communication. Drawing on a currently evolving case study, we examine the perceptions of stakeholders involved with oyster restoration in waters of the Hudson-Raritan Estuary considered unsuitable for commercial harvesting (i.e., closed waters) in New York and New Jersey. Survey research conducted with commercial shellfish farmers and oyster restoration volunteers shows that support for oyster restoration is less related to stakeholder group identification and more to the perceived risks to public health and the economy, and the perceived ecological benefits. The conclusions suggest how these results might be used to demonstrate where agreement exists among stakeholder groups that could be used to improve discussion about oyster restoration and advance shared interests.
Fostering Public Trust in Science: The Role of Social Media • Brigitte Huber; Matthew Barnidge, University of Vienna; Homero Gil de Zúñiga, University of Vienna; James Liu • The growing importance of social media for science communication has raised questions about whether these online platforms foster public trust in science. Combining multilevel data analysis, this study leverages a 20-country survey to examine the relationship between social media news use and trust in science. Results show a positive relationship between these variables across countries. Moreover, the between-country variation in this relationship is related to two cultural characteristics of a country, individualism/collectivism and power distance.
Feel-Good Smoking Prevention Messages – Nostalgia vs. Fear vs. Disgust • Ali Hussain, Michigan State University; Tao Deng, Michigan State University; Saleem Alhabash, Michigan State University • This study tests nostalgia as a positive emotional appeal to design no-smoking messages. Study included 169 participants and employed a 2 (smoker, non-smoker) x 3 (nostalgia, fear, disgust) repeated measures design. DVs include participants’ attitude towards smoking/PSA, and behavioral intention/confidence to refrain from smoking. Nostalgic PSA resulted in neutral attitude towards PSA and was equally effective in intention and confidence to refrain from smoking. Study informs nostalgic messages to be blended with fear and disgust.
Do social media amplify the vaccine-autism myth? • Mo Jang, University of South Carolina, Columbia; Brooke McKeever; Robert Mckeever, School of Journalism and Mass Communications, University of South Carolina; Joon Kim, University of South Carolina, Columbia • Despite increasing warnings about misinformation online, little has been known about how social media contribute to the widespread diffusion of misleading scientific information. This study addresses this issue, examining the vaccine-autism controversy. By looking into the full body of social media (Twitter and Reddit) and online news over 20 months in the US, Canada, and the UK, our time-series analysis shows that Twitter drives news agendas but Reddit follows news agendas regarding the vaccine-autism debate. Additionally, the results show that both Twitter and Reddit are more likely to discuss the vaccine-autism link compared to online news content.
The Stigma Factor: How Stigma Attitudes Moderate Emotional Responses to Health Message Frames • Stacie Jankowski, Northern Kentucky University • There has been much work about the ways media influences stigma; however, there is little research examining how stigma impacts the ways audiences think and feel about different media stories about health issues. This study begins to answer questions about the ways emotions and individual differences interact with framing effects. Using common frames in health news stories: Iyengar’s (1991) thematic (societal factors) and episodic (individual experience) frames as well as gain (benefits) and loss (consequences) frames, this study utilized a 2 (thematic/episodic frame) x 2 (gain/loss frame) between-groups factorial design to examine whether stigma moderated framing’s impact on the emotions of anger, sadness, and fear. Results found that certain characteristics of stigma do moderate framing’s impact on emotion readers felt when reading stories about obesity and depression, indicating stigma’s importance as a consideration for message creation by journalists and health communicators.
Reevaluating Regulation: Exploring Shifts In Public Perceptions Across Different Regulatory Domains • Hyoyeun Jun, University of Georgia; Michael Cacciatore, University of Georgia; Dietram Scheufele; Elizabeth Corley; Michael Xenos; Dominique Brossard • Relying on data from a nationally representative survey of American adults, this study explores the predictors of public regulatory attitudes on science policy, for two science issues at different points of the issue-attention cycle: nuclear power and synthetic biology. This study views public regulatory attitudes from two perspectives – ensuring safety from existing regulations and slowing down scientific progress – that have not typically been explored in public opinion work. The analysis focuses specifically on the competing roles of values and knowledge in influencing public regulatory attitudes, including differentiating between different types of knowledge and the trusted actors publics turn to when forming science regulatory attitudes.
The effects of cause-related marketing (CRM) in health communications based on the Theory of Planned Behavior • Hannah Kang, University of Kansas • Given that cause-related marketing (CRM) features health issues in marketing, this study examined how and to what extent cause-related marketing (CRM) on social media affect millennials’ responses to health information embedded in CRM based on the Theory of Planned Behavior. A total of 300 undergraduate students participated in a 2 (brand-cause fit: low vs. high) X 2 (cause proximity: local vs. international) between-subjects experiment. In addition, cause involvement (high vs. low) is the third independent variable. This study did not find main effects of brand-cause fit and cause proximity. However, main effects of cause involvement on attitudes toward sunscreen use, and attitudes toward skin cancer were found. Moreover, this study found a three-way interaction among brand-cause fit, cause proximity, and cause involvement on behavioral control for sunscreen use, as well as a two-way interaction between brand-cause fit and cause involvement on attitudes toward skin cancer. Implications and limitations of the findings are addressed in the study.
Health Belief Model Applied to Medicare Enrollment: Using Theory to Better Reach the Rural Poor • Kelly Kaufhold, Texas State University; Daniel Seed, Texas State University • The current uncertainty of U.S. health insurance policy makes insurance-, Medicaid- and Medicare-oriented research a necessity (Winfield Cunningham & Weigel, 2017). A federal initiative – the Medicare Improvement for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) – aims to identify ways to improve Medicare’s reach in low-income and rural areas. The state of Texas – with the highest rate of uninsured and largest rural population of all 50 states – provided an ideal environment for a novel application of Health Belief Model into perceptions of Medicare and trust in government. A statewide panel survey (N=751) found that one HBM construct (susceptibility) resonated significantly with rural Texans and that urban Texans were significantly more supportive of government in general. Higher income, higher education and gender (male) all related significantly with trust in government and support for Medicare. Rural residency helped explain the role of gender as a predictive variable of support for Medicare. This research was supported by a grant from the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (now part of Health and Human Services) under the Medicare Improvement for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. Discussion includes implications for future research.
Consideration of Future Consequences and Persuasion: The Processing of Message about Intertemporal Behaviors • Hanyoung Kim, University of Georgia; Sungsu Kim; Yan Jin • This study investigated the effect of consideration of future consequences (CFC) on persuasion effects of public service announcements (PSAs) advocating consuming less soft drinks. An experimental survey (N=189) indicated that individuals’ CFC had a positive effect on their responses to PSAs. Also, high-CFC individuals reported a higher level of systematic thoughts while attending to the PSA, and cognitive elaboration via a systematic route mediated the effect of CFC. Implications for health communication are discussed.
Impact of Exposure to Fruit-Flavored Electronic Cigarette Advertisements on Craving for Electronic Cigarettes: Evidence from an Online Experiment • Joon Kim, University of South Carolina, Columbia; Robert Mckeever, School of Journalism and Mass Communications, University of South Carolina; Yoojin Cho, University of South Carolina • The present study investigated the impact of exposure to fruit-flavored electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) advertisements on U.S. young adults’ perceived harm of and craving for e- cigarettes. The result of a between-subject experiment (N = 310) using an online panel sample (Amazon’s Mechanical Turk) indicated that exposure to an image of a fruit-flavored e-cigarette in advertisements reduced individuals’ perceived harm of e-cigarettes. Individuals’ craving for e- cigarettes was mediated by perceived harm of e-cigarettes.
What is there? What is not?: A thematic analysis of social norms campaigns about binge drinking for college students • Hyeseung Elizabeth Koh, University of Texas at Austin; Amanda Mabry-Flynn, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Xiaoshan Li; Jisoo Ahn, The University of Texas at Austin; Michael Mackert, University of Texas at Austin • Many U.S colleges and universities use social norms campaigns as a form of primary prevention to reduce high risk drinking among college students. Many campuses also engage in secondary prevention through providing or promoting various addiction and recovery services. However, little attention has been given to investigating whether these two approaches are compatible with one another in reducing alcohol misuse and addiction among college students. The present study analyzed social norms campaign messages and contents on recovery services websites at universities affiliated with National Social Norms Institute (NSNI). Thematic analysis was used to identify emerging themes across all messages/contents and explore how those messages/contents reflect the primary and the secondary prevention approaches. There were four emergent themes: neglect of the “1”, recovery services disparity, you can help, and healthy living. Findings indicate that social norms messages may need to incorporate information on recovery services to reduce stigma for students who misuse alcohol.
Cancer Selfies: Implicit Representations of Cancer and Gender on Instagram • Allison Lazard, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Avery Holton, University of Utah; Tamar Wilner, University of Missouri; Shannon Zenner, University of North Carolina; Alexandra Cannon • As social media sharing is increasingly visual, more users turn to platforms such as Instagram to share their life experiences, including experiences with life altering diseases like cancer. To better understand how individuals affected by cancer represent themselves on social media, we conducted a content analysis of Instagram cancer images (n = 402). We coded the interplay of representations of cancer and gender to explore how individuals use visual techniques to represent cancer and themselves and determine if gender-susceptible cancers influence ways in which cancer is represented. While some differences for female-susceptible and male-susceptible cancers were detected, cancer self-representations were generally images of a single individual, often a self portrait (or selfie), with positive sentiment.
Risk as Anxiety in Mental Illness: Negative Emotions, Coping Responses, and Campaign Engagement Intention • Jiyoung Lee; Hua Jiang • This study applied an extension of the extended parallel process model (E-EPPM) to examine how coping responses are manifested in the context of mental illness. Using an online survey (N = 614), we found that anxiety was a strong predictor of coping appraisal. Greater anxiety also resulted in greater online information seeking, and this relationship was mediated by self- efficacy. Overall, the SEM model presented that anxiety was related to campaign engagement intention via self-efficacy and online information seeking.
Promoting the HPV vaccination: Interplay of Message Framing, Motivation Orientation, and Risk-Taking Tendency • Moon Lee, University of Florida; Jieun Cho, University of Florida • We examined effects of message framing, motivation orientation, and rebellious-risk tendency on risk perception and behavioral intention in the context of promoting the HPV vaccination. An experiment was conducted with 211 participants and a three-way interaction effect. Loss-framed messages have shown a higher behavioral intention than gain-framed messages regardless of motivation orientation in high-risk rebellious groups. Among the low-risk group, although loss-framed messages worked better for avoidance-oriented individuals, gain-framed messages worked better for approach-oriented individuals.
Media Exposure, Situation Awareness and Protective Behaviors in a Public-Health Emergency • Xigen Li; Bolin Cao • This study investigates the role of exposures to traditional and social media in facilitating situation awareness indicated by perceived knowledge and perceived threat, and the effect of situation awareness on protective behaviors during a public health emergency. Under the context of the worldwide spread of Ebola disease in 2014, a survey was conducted in Hong Kong. The results showed that compared to exposure to media content on the emergency via social media, exposure to traditional media led to a higher level of situation awareness, which was a crucial determinant of protective behaviors in a public health emergency. In addition, the effect of traditional media exposure on protective behaviors was significantly mediated by both perceived knowledge and perceived threat. However, the effect of social media exposure on protective behavior was only significantly mediated by perceived knowledge.
Understanding the Effects of Emphasis Frames on Public Engagement with Climate Change: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis • Nan Li, Texas Tech University; Leona Yi-Fan Su, University of Utah • This meta-analytic study reviewed experimental studies that examined the effects of message framing on public attitudes toward and engagement with climate change. Results suggested that message framing generally has a positive effect on individuals’ engagement intentions and support for climate policy. Message frames emphasizing the environmental, economic, and moral dimensions have a small-to-medium size impact on individuals’ engagement with climate change. In contrast, message frames around public health or geographical identity barely have an effect.
Talking about clinical trials: News framing of clinical trial stories in the United States • Jo-Yun Queenie Li; Sei-Hill Kim; Daniela Friedman; Andrea Tanner; Caroline Foster; Caroline Bergeron • Analyzing newspaper articles and television news, we explored how the American news media have framed the issue of clinical trials. More specifically, our study examined the notion of agenda-building and frame-building, looking at the salient clinical research topics and frequent frames that were used to present clinical trials in news coverage. Our findings suggest that in the past two decades, clinical trials have been presented largely as a scientific issue and a controversy, rather than a policy or an economic issue. Our study also indicates that controversy, scandals, and discrimination have been the key talking points in presenting the issue. Overall, media coverage of clinical trials may be influenced by newsworthy events and high-profile incidents that draw the public’s attention. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Examining the Cue-reactivity paradigm: Effects of Substance Cues in negative Public Service Announcements on Cognitive Resource Allocation • Jiawei Liu; Tianjiao Wang, Washington State University • This study examined how substance cues interacted with arousing content public service announcements (PSAs) to affect human motivational systems, and as a result, affect cognitive information processing. A 2 (Arousing content: higher vs. lower) x 2 (Cue: present vs. no cue) x 4 (Repetition) within-subjects factorial design experiment was conducted. Overall, the results indicate that, except for higher arousing content PSAs without substance cues, individuals allocated consistent cognitive resources to encoding the information in the other types of PSAs. Further, the encoding performance for both the PSAs with substance cues and higher arousing content PSAs were relatively low. These findings indicate potential negative impacts of including substance cues in PSAs due to their hedonic nature. Implications and future research are discussed.
Communicating Zika risk: The role of metaphor in influencing risk perceptions and negative affect • Hang Lu, Cornell University; Jonathon Schuldt, Cornell University • Effectively communicating the risks associated with emerging zoonotic diseases remains an important challenge. Drawing on research into the psychological effects of metaphoric framing, we examine the conditions under which communicating severity information influences perceptions of disease susceptibility, behavioral intentions, and policy support in the context of Zika virus. Specifically, we manipulated the severity of Zika in the information provided to participants and whether the influence of this severity information was enhanced when the “nation-as-a-body” metaphor was employed. In a between-subjects experiment, a diverse sample of 354 U.S. adults was randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions as part of a 2 (severity message: high vs. low) x 2 (U.S. framing: metaphoric vs. literal) factorial design. Results revealed more support for Zika prevention in the high- (vs. low-) severity condition. Moreover, we observed an interaction effect such that metaphoric (vs. literal) framing increased perceived risk susceptibility in the high-severity condition only. Further analyses revealed that perceived risk susceptibility and negative affect mediated the path between the two-way interaction and policy support and behavioral intentions regarding Zika prevention. Our findings replicate and complement prior work on the influences of risk perception and metaphoric framing, while offering practical insights for risk communicators seeking to communicate about Zika and other zoonotic diseases.
An Examination of Perceived Risk for Alcohol Abuse in the context of HIV&AIDS among Young Adults in Kenya • Nancy Muturi • Communicating about health risks, motivating change in risk-taking behaviors and maintaining healthy lifestyles are integral to public health promotion and disease prevention interventions. However, health risks do not occur independently but are influenced by a variety of personal, cultural, social and environmental factors. This study examines perceived risks and efficacy for alcohol abuse within the HIV& AIDS context among young adults in Kenya. The study is based on Protection Motivation Theory and focused on the following key variable: alcohol consumption, alcohol outcome expectancies, risk perception and self-efficacy for alcohol abuse and HIV infection, and knowledge about HIV&AIDS. A survey (N=402) was administered among young adults (Median=22yrs, Mean=22yrs). Results show relatively low risk perception for alcohol abuse, which was correlated with perceived risk for HIV&AIDS. Alcohol expectancies influence perceptions of HIV risks and Knowledge about HIV&AIDS is associated with alcohol consumption. Predictors for risk perception for alcohol abuse include alcohol expectancies and HIV risk perception. Furthermore, gender is significant in alcohol consumption, risk perception and self-efficacy for alcohol abuse. The study suggests communicating about alcohol risks within HIV&AIDS context and designing gender-specific risk communication interventions.
Unhealthy Fun: Food References in Comedy Series • Mira Mayrhofer; Brigitte Naderer; Alice Binder • We analyzed the most popular comedy series regarding food references. Of interest were their extent, modality, centrality, character-product interaction, and humor connection. Moreover, characteristics of the characters connected, i.e. age, gender, or ethnicity were recorded. Unhealthy foods were referenced more numerously, prominently, and were more often shown in interaction with characters. Women and African-American main characters were connected significantly more often to unhealthy foods; underage characters were connected significantly less often to healthy foods.
Frame, Tone of Video, Message Source, MSV and Viewers’ Responses: A Content Analysis of Genetically Modified Organisms Videos on Youku • Yuanfeixue Nan; Jiaqi Qin • This study explored the connection between the viewers’ responses and the message characteristics of GMO videos on Youku, which is one of the most popular online video platforms in China. The major findings are as followed. Among all the samples, health implications frame, policy and regulation frame and social facts frame were the top 3 prevalent frames used in GMO videos. Neutral videos generated the most viewers while the positive videos generated the smallest. Also, the media source was the most frequently used message source in GMO videos. Lastly, the tests showed that videos’ characteristics (media frame, tone of video, message source and MSV) had a significant association with the number of views and comments, but had no noteworthy relevance with the viewers’ attitude toward GMO.
Cultural Worldviews and Media Polarization in the U.S. Climate Change Debate • Todd Newman, University of Connecticut; Matt Nisbet; Erik Nisbet • Analyzing national-level U.S. public opinion data, we examine how cultural worldviews guide politically-slanted news media choices and the influence on concern about climate change. Controlling for a variety of confounding influences, people with strong Hierarchical and Individualistic worldviews are significantly more likely to favor right-leaning news outlets such as Fox News and The Wall Street Journal that dismiss the urgency of climate change. They are also more likely to avoid left-leaning outlets like MSNBC and the New York Times where climate change is portrayed as an urgent problem. Turning to the effects of these news media choices on public attitudes, statistical modeling indicates that as Fox News viewership increases, individuals with a more Hierarchical outlook show less concern about climate change, whereas those with an opposing Egalitarian outlook show no change. In contrast, as MSNBC viewership increases, those with more Hierarchical views show increased concern, whereas those individuals with more Egalitarian views do not. Our findings do not suggest an overall pattern of motivated reasoning among individuals with more Hierarchical worldviews in which they are screening out counter-attitudinal arguments. Rather they suggest a model of direct persuasion in which one-sided framing and cultural cues about climate change at Fox News and MSNBC promote opinion change in the direction of the news outlet’s depiction of the problem.
Weibo for Wellbeing Modeling Predictors of Health Behavior Intentions on a Social Media Site in China • Zhaomeng Niu; Jiawei Liu; Jared Brickman • Empirical research has demonstrated that social media has been frequently used for informing, and sharing online health information. This study conducted a survey of Chinese adults aged 18 and over (N = 453) to examine predictors of health-related behavioral intentions on a Chinese social media. A model was developed based on the constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and five additional variables common to health intention research (perceived credibility, self-efficacy, health literacy, media use and past experience) and 80% variance of behavioral intention was explained. Implications and future research are discussed.
Effects of inoculation messages and tone of voice on HPV vaccine compliance • EunHae Park, University of Missouri; Glen Cameron • This study aims to guide the decision-making process of parents regarding the HPV vaccine based on inoculation theory and tone of voice. Overall, inoculation messages were effective to make people have a positive attitude toward HPV vaccination, a higher intention to vaccinate their children, and a higher intention to share the content with others. Using human voice was effective to increase intention to word of mouth and an interaction effects was found.
Is Climate Change a Crisis – and Who Says So? An Analysis of Climate Characterization in Major News Media • Perry Parks • This study measures characterizations of global climate change as an actual or impending “crisis” in major U.S. news media over several years to assess levels of alarm over climate change and related issues as expressed by journalists and their sources, and to determine whether major focusing events such as periodic reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change affect source and journalist characterization of the issue. Results indicate increases in climate and crisis co-occurrences between before- and after-reporting periods, increasing polarization between affirmers and deniers in before and after periods, and higher incidences of neutral characterizations among journalists than other sources.
Delivering social support online: Implications of verbal-centeredness for mass-mediated health communication • Giang Pham, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; John Wirtz, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign • This study investigated the benefits of supportive communication to stressful individuals in a mass-mediated context. 243 Amazon Mturk participants completed an online survey that asked them to imagine themselves in one of the two upsetting scenarios: being slightly overweight and being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, then to read and evaluate the supportive messages delivered in the form of non-personalized online health newsletter. Supportive messages were operationalized on three levels of verbal person-centeredness, and also contained a suggestion to eat healthy and exercise regularly. Results showed that higher level of verbal person-centeredness led to better supportive outcomes including emotional improvement, attitude toward the message, but not behavioral intention. Emotional improvement was found to mediate the effect of verbal person-centeredness on attitude toward the message and behavioral intention. Understanding the effect of supportive messages on mass communication provides a direction for designing health messages that provide support for people in need and effectively improve their emotions and the way they attend to the messages.
Using Warmth Portrayals to Recruit Students into STEM Colleges • Nagwan R. Zahry, Michigan State University • The public perception of scientists as competent but cold (Fiske & Dupree, 2014), as well as odd (Besley, 2015), is particularly disquieting for the future of science and the nation’s economic and scientific competitiveness, and thus, deserves special attention. A prominent concern is that negative stereotypes of scientists can influence public acceptance of scientific consensuses on topics such as climate change (Nisbet & Myers, 2007). Another concern is that negative stereotypes can deter young people from choosing to study for a career in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) (Guy 2013). Drawing studies that showed the importance of warmth in guiding people’s judgments about social groups and professions (Fiske, 2012), this study aimed to portray the interpersonal warmth of scientists using two non-verbal behaviors namely, smiling and collaboration. A 2×2 within-subject online experiment was conducted using visuals (posters) in the context of College of Agriculture and Natural Resources as an example of STEM college. Analyses showed that main and interactions effects of smile and collaboration on warmth judgments. That is, the posters of students who smile scored significantly higher in warmth than the posters of students who do not smile. Further, posters of groups of students working together were associated with higher warmth judgments than posters of an individual student. Finally, posters portraying group of students who collaborate were associated with significant higher warmth scores than posters portraying an individual student. Implications for improving scientists’ negative stereotypes and recruitment of prospective students in STEM colleges are discussed.
Do Narratives Attenuate Message Resistance? A Meta-Analysis • Chelsea Ratcliff, University of Utah • Narratives are thought to mitigate message resistance in persuasive and entertainment-education contexts. Message resistance can manifest as counterarguing, anger, perceived freedom threat, or negative appraisal of the message. Despite compelling evidence to support a resistance-lowering effect of narratives, research has produced mixed results and study designs and construct operationalizations have been inconsistent. Thus the current meta-analysis seeks to test the relationship between narratives and resistance. Results are aggregated in two separate analyses in light of a divide between two types of study designs in the literature: experimental and correlational. Thus, this synthesis separately examines: (a) whether amount of resistance differs between narrative or non-narrative conditions (6 studies, 8 effect sizes, N = 4,364), and (b) the relationship between narrative engagement and resistance (8 studies, 25 effect sizes, N = 2,227). Each analysis finds a small but statistically significant effect. This suggests that embedding information in a narrative can lower counterarguing and other forms of message resistance, and that this is related to aspects of narrative processing.
Seeking Inspiration through Health Narratives: Improving Mothers’ Self-Efficacy and Outcome Expectations in Handling Children’s Sleep Behavior • Melissa Robinson, The Ohio State University; Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick • Self-concepts’ impacts on selection of health-education narratives were examined to test predictions derived from the SESAM model. Mothers (N = 148) selected two health-education testimonials, featuring different preschooler sleep training methods. Mothers’ self-concepts (i.e., parenting style) predicted selection of testimonials with the same parenting style. Reading testimonials that aligned with one’s own self-concept improved self-efficacy and outcome expectations regarding sleep training through self-improvement social comparison, with impacts still detectable after one week.
More Than a Mirror: News Coverage of Orthorexia Nervosa and the Role of Journalism in Medicalization • Amy Ross, Northwestern University • Since the concept of medicalization was first introduced over 50 years ago, scholars have concerned themselves with understanding the process by which Western culture interprets more and more aspects of everyday life in medical terms. Initially focused on medical authority as an organ of social control, medicalization research has since expanded to acknowledge the diversity of actors involved, including patients and their families, social activists and the biotechnological industry. While the news media appear throughout this scholarship as an information source or reflection of ongoing debates, their role as actual players in medicalization remains largely unexamined. This papers attempts to address that void by analyzing news coverage of orthorexia nervosa, a suggested mental diagnosis described as a “pathological fixation on healthy eating.” This study draws from an analysis of 498 English-language news stories published between 1997 and 2016. The findings suggest that from the beginning, reporters embraced this uncertain diagnosis and the provocative and paradoxical stories they associated with it. This happened in absence of a social movement advocating for its recognition, and before the term caught hold in the medical establishment. I will argue that the news media has not functioned as a mere reflection of ongoing debates, but as key player in the medicalization process, guided in part by journalistic norms. To conclude, I will discuss the implications for scholarship on medicalization and media studies.
From Understanding to Participation: Science, Media and the Public • Maren Beaufort, Austrian Academy of Sciences; Josef Seethaler, Austrian Academy of Sciences • Considering the changing relationship between science, media and the public and based on network theory, various models of the public sphere are used to describe the setting in which science, media and the public interact in a democratic environment. Taking Austria as an example, multivariate analysis of representative survey data reveals the participatory conception as the only approach that increases public interest in science to a significant degree, thus providing legitimacy for scientific research.
Sustainability tweets of for-profit and nonprofit organizations and their effects on publics’ social media reactions • Sumin Shin, University of Alabama; Eyun-Jung Ki, University of Alabama • Substantive or specific environmental messages could prevent audiences from perceiving the messages as greenwash. This study examines organizational sustainability messages on Twitter. A content analysis shows that organizations more frequently use substantive and specific messages than non-substantive (associative) or vague messages. For-profit organizations emphasize their green products or manufacturing processes while nonprofit organizations often describe a degraded environment. Descriptions of a degraded environment in for-profits organizations’ messages generate more likes, shares, and replies than product, process, and image orientations.
UnVaxxed: A Cultural Study of the Online Anti-Vaccination Movement • Kathleen Stansberry, Cleveland State University; Carlina DiRusso, Cleveland State University • This study explores the constructive communication process of online, anti-vaccination advocates to provide insight into the challenges of communicating with a highly engaged and well-informed public that is distrustful of the mainstream medical community and government funded organizations. While only a small percentage of the population is adamantly opposed to vaccinations, just as a minority of people are climate change deniers or anti-GMO activists, the influence of these groups belies their numbers as the open nature of the web has provided a megaphone for alternative views. Using the circuit of culture as both a theoretical and methodological model, this article examines how online, anti-vaccination activists use social media communication tools to construct and reinforce a belief system that runs counter to dominate cultural understandings of health and wellness. The findings show that anti-vaccination advocates believe themselves to be highly educated and are distrustful of many official information sources. The purpose of this study is to better understand the influence of online vaccination advocates, identify barriers to instigating behavior change within this community and explore the potential of using the circuit of culture model to mitigate the challenges of communicating with adverse publics.
To engage or to avoid? Examining the effects of uncivil comments on science news engagement • Leona Yi-Fan Su, University of Utah; Dietram Scheufele; Dominique Brossard; Michael Xenos • There have been mixed findings about the impact of exposure to uncivil comments. Using a 2 (civil vs. uncivil) x 3 (fracking vs. nanotechnology vs. synthetic biology) experiment, we found that incivility motivated news consumption about issues with low familiarity. Moderating effects of ideology and issue attitudes on the relationship between incivility and news engagement intentions also differed across issues. Uncivil comments about politically charged issues tended to discourage engagement among liberals. Implications are discussed.
Media coverage, environmental conditions, and climate change policy: An examination of their effect on awareness of consequences • Bruno Takahashi, Department of Journalism, Michigan State University; Edson Tandoc, Nanyang Technological University • “Research in climate change communication has rarely focused on country level conditions, including media coverage of the issue, objective environmental conditions, and climate change related policies, on individuals’ awareness of the environmental consequences of the problem. This study, based on quantity of coverage theory and research on environmental psychology, used HLM to test those relationships. Results show that only media attention to the problem positively predicts awareness of consequences across 18 nations.” Playing the mad scientist? Depictions of science professionals in video games • Catherine Turng, University of Wisconsin – Madison • As media diets evolve, researchers should investigate cultivation effects of mediums other than television, particularly video games. Our content analysis of video game scientists seeks to understand how popular new games depict this group in order to understand what image of scientists is “cultivated” among players. Results show that scientists are generally portrayed positively and non-stereotypically; however, they are often white males. These findings can have implications for STEM-related issues such as diversity and education.
Using the CAUSE Model to Understand How Texas Groundwater District Officials Communicate About Water Risks • Matthew VanDyke, Appalachian State University; Andy King, Texas Tech University • Although public communication about water risks often faces numerous challenges when conveying information, water management professionals have a responsibility to work with the public to engage in communication efforts about information related to water and environmental risks. Because limited research in water management examines institutional communication practices and perceptions, researchers and practitioners benefit from investigating current practices of individuals regularly engaged in public communication about water risks. Guided by the CAUSE model, semi-structured interviews of professionals (N = 25) employed by Texas groundwater conservation districts were conducted to understand how districts build up constituent confidence, increase awareness and comprehension of water-related risks, and build satisfaction with and motivate enactment of solutions to water-related risks. Responses from water conservation officials suggest they adhere to best practices to build confidence among constituents. Opportunities seemingly exist for motivating constituents to become more aware and better understand risks, and to enact solutions.
Media Framing Effects of Public Service Announcements About The HPV Vaccine • Yiwei Xu, Clemson University • This study explored the effects of gain-loss frame and construal level on the effectiveness of messages about the HPV vaccine using a 2 (high vs. low construal level) X 2 (gain vs. loss) factorial experiment (N = 97). Findings revealed an interaction effect on perceived benefits of the vaccine. Gain-framed messages were most effective with a day frame (low construal level), whereas loss-framed messages were most effective with a year frame (high construal level).
The Influence of Television, Social Media, and Sensation Seeking on College Students’ Normative Perceptions, Binge Drinking Attitudes and Intentions • Bo Yang; Xinyan Zhao, University of Maryland • This study examines the influence of TV and social media pro-drinking messages and sensation seeking on college students’ binge drinking normative perceptions, attitudes and intentions. Results revealed that college students’ exposure to social media pro-drinking messages was positively associated with their perceived peer approval of binge drinking, their binge drinking attitudes and intentions. Sensation seeking interacted with college students’ exposure to social media pro-drinking messages such that only among low sensation seeking college students, greater exposure to social media pro-drinking messages predicted greater perceived peer binge drinking prevalence, more favorable binge drinking attitudes, and greater binge drinking intentions. College students’ exposure to TV pro-drinking messages didn’t predict their perceived peer approval of binge drinking, binge drinking attitudes or intentions. Among low sensation seeking college students, greater exposure to TV pro-drinking messages predicted greater perceived peer binge drinking prevalence. Theoretical and practical implications of the research are discussed.
Disgusting Microbes? The Moderating Role of News Attention on Information Processing and Perceived Risks • Sara Yeo, University of Utah; Ye Sun; Meaghan McKasy; Jessica Houf; Erika Shugart, American Society for Cell Biology • Research on information processing in science communication has primarily focused on the use of cognitive heuristics. But, affective factors are also important influences on judgment and decision making. Here, we examine the impact of a discrete emotion, disgust, on information processing and opinion formation using an online survey experiment. We focus on risk perceptions about microbiome-related issues and find evidence of moderated mediation. Disgust influences risk perceptions through heuristic processing; this indirect effect is moderated by attention to news about microbiomes. Our findings move us toward proactively assessing and addressing reactions to an emerging issue that has significant societal implication.
A Comparison between Scientists’ and Communication Scholars’ Views about Scientists’ Engagement with the Public • Shupei Yuan • This study aims to investigate the potential disconnections between scientists and communication scholars’ understandings of topics related to scientists’ public engagement. We conducted a survey with authors from five journals representative of the field of science, health, environment and risk communication, and a survey with scientists from three prominent science societies. The results from comparing responses from scientists in the three societies (N=307, 373, 372) and communication scholars (N=362) showed that communication scholars expected more engagement participation from scientists than what scientists actually did, and find fewer efficacies in scientists’ engagement behavior, but more influence from scientists’ normative belief. Other factors, such as science communication objectives, were also compared. The findings address gaps in science communication research findings and practices, and provide implications for future science communication training such as shifting the emphasis of the training focus.
Sharing Health Risk Messages on Social Networking Sites: How Cognitive and Affective Elaboration Affects Behavioral Intention • Xueying Zhang • Using experiment, this study aimed to examine how fear appeal message and individual differences combined in driving users’ intentions to sharing health risk messages on Social Networking Sites (SNSs). Results suggested the cognitive elaborations interacted with fear emotion in driving sharing intentions, while the concerns for image management on SNS served to restrain the impulse to share health risk messages. Theoretical and practical implications for message design were discussed.
Characteristics of Online Health Misinformation and Corrective Messages: information source, encoding system, content feature and frame • shiwen Wu; xia zheng; Di Nie • Based on data collected from Sina Weibo of China through 2013 to 2014 (N=376), this study utilizes content analysis to investigate the characteristics of online health misinformation and corrective message. The following four categories were measured: 1) information sources, 2) encoding systems (symbol — texts and numbers; representation — pictures and photos), 3) content features (factual claims, emotional appeals, and behavioral suggestions), and 4) frames. Results revealed that a large number of online health misinformation have no specific information resources; misinformation contained more emotional appeals comparing with the corresponding corrective message; both the health misinformation and the corresponding corrective message adopted factual frames, but misinformation utilized more personalization frames. The suggestions for misinformation correction practice and further research are offered.
Commission on the Status of Women 2017 Abstracts
Representation of Women Behind the Camera and the Power Play in Nollywood Industry • THERESA AMOBI, UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS, NIGERIA • Studies of the representation of women in Nollywood films have mostly focused on analyzing movie content in terms of the stereotypical depictions of women and not their roles behind the camera. Anchored on the Cultural Hegemony and Feminist theories, this paper focuses on the power play in Nollywood agencies and how this shapes the behind the camera roles the industry. Specifically, it interrogates the representation of women in terms of their numerical strengths, roles played, offices held in selected key agencies including the Nigeria Video and Film Censors Board (NFVCB), Directors Guild of Nigeria (DGN), Film/Video Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria (FVPMAN) and Association of Movie Producers (AMP). It also examines the AMAA and AMVCA Awards history and finally determines the factors inducing the structure of behind the camera roles in Nollywood. Using the triangulation research approach comprising Survey, In-depth Interview and Secondary Analysis methods, the questionnaire and unstructured interview guides were used to gather data for the study. Findings show an imbalance in the role structure with women occupying only 17% and 8% of decision making positions in the associations and agencies respectively, with sexism, discrimination, limited funding, lack of female role models and experts identified as factors inducing the imbalance. Although the inequity is impaired by mixed results and unclear trends in the AMAA and AMVCA Awards history, women have made a few forward leaps especially in the writing and video editing roles, where they appear to be dominating the awards.
“Ice cream is worse, and joblessness is not an option”: Gendered experiences of freelancing • Dunja Antunovic, Bradley University; Jenna Grzeslo, Penn State University; Anne Hoag • A rise in informal labor, characterized by contracted and non-salaried positions, has been observed in many business sectors including hospitality, transportation and journalism. In journalism, these individuals are referred to as freelancers or stringers. While opportunities for freelance journalists have increased, the journalism industry has simultaneously experienced mass layoffs. Using an international survey (n = 454), with quantitative and qualitative measures, this study assesses the reasons why respondents got into freelancing and pays close attention to gender differences in responses. While the survey focused on freelancing, the responses provide insight into the state of the journalism industry, full-time employment and gender dynamics. The findings suggest that while both men and women were affected by layoffs, their experiences are uniquely gendered in relation to pay and career advancement. Notably, women—but not men—reported leaving full-time employment for freelancing because of children. Scholars and educators, alike, should pay close attention to the prevalence of freelancing in the journalism industry, so emerging journalists are prepared for this changing field.
Combatting the Digital Spiral of Silence: Academic activists vs. social media trolls • Candi Carter Olson, Utah State University; Victoria LaPoe • Academics are increasingly using social media to share teaching resources and research collaborations. However, research shows that many academic women increasingly worry that if they engage in certain kinds of conversations, especially about feminist issues, they will face harassment or threats at some point. This article, which is based on interviews with 45 man and woman scholars, explores the ways that women and minority academics’ fear of harassment online leads to self-censorship, creating a digital Spiral of Silence. While many of our interviewees indicated that the only way to avoid negative backlash would be carefully censor what they said online, others indicated that online engagements—both negative and positive—are important for scholars to continue supporting one another and spreading knowledge.
Empowerment in the Information Age: How usable are college campus websites for sexual assault survivors? • Dawn Corwin, University of Tennessee; Erin Whiteside, University of Tennessee • Despite the opportunity and open doors that college campuses promise female students, they are also a space in which women’s likelihood of being sexually assaulted soars (Carey et al.; 2016; National Crime Victimization Survey, 2015). Making information on sexual assault awareness and related resources available to members of the campus community not only helps combat rape myths and provide important help to victims, but is also a key way to demonstrate institutional support and disrupt cultural norms that devalue women’s voices in relation to sexual assault. This study evaluates the availability of key information related to sexual assault prevention, awareness and response, and the usability of college and university websites that house it. Using a content analysis of 113 college and university websites, this study found that higher education institutions across the country deny their campus communities the opportunities to fully learn about and become better informed about sexual assaults on campus. Furthermore, only about half of all colleges and universities are meeting effective website usability standards, which may stymie student efforts to find necessary resources and detract from the content’s credibility. The findings are contextualized within the contemporary cultural climate toward sexual assaults on campus.
Have a Second Child?: A Critical Analysis of Second-Child Policy and Chinese Women • Zehui Dai, Bowling green state university • This paper highlights the interconnectivity between Chinese society, the discourse of one child and second-child policy and Chinese women. I used a critical feminist lens to analyze discourses about second-child policy and women in mainstream Chinese media. The results showed that media encouraged, promoted, and even enforced women having a second child. I argue that these discourses obscure Chinese women’s health and working conditions, individual willingness, and limit the reproductive autonomy of women.
Cocks, Glocks & Culture Shocks: Feminist Expression and the Protest Paradigm in Coverage of a Demonstration Against Texas’ Campus-Carry Law. • Deepa Fadnis, University of Texas at Austin; Kelsey Whipple, University of Texas at Austin • This study analyzed the coverage of the anti-gun “Cocks Not Glocks” protest held to oppose the campus-carry law in Texas. Working with the framework of social construction of news, it examines reporting of feminist expression and elements of protest paradigm, to reflect on the differences in journalistic values of national and local news publications. Content analysis revealed conservative usage of erotic terminology in national news publications, while visual analysis highlighted the lucid imagery of women protesters featured by publications in Texas.
Discarding the “Woman Card”: Exploring Gender Politics and Social Media Sharing of U.S. Election News • Summer Harlow, University of Houston; Ingrid Bachmann, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile • Gender politics took center stage during the 2016 U.S. presidential primaries when Republican hopeful Donald Trump accused Democrat Hillary Clinton of playing the “woman card.” Through a feminist lens with a mixed-methods approach this study examines coverage of the polemic using social media users’ reactions to the 400 most-shared woman card articles on social media. The findings show that while there was some focus on the issue of gender inequality, most stories failed to define the woman card, thus lending support to structures of patriarchy and further legitimizing constructions of sexism. In addition, stories that mentioned the gender gap, inequality statistics, sexism, and feminism were significantly related to increased Facebook likes, shares, and comments.
Locker Room Talk or Sexual Assault: A Struggle for Meaning in the Mediated Public Discourse • Dustin Harp, University of Texas at Arlington • Using a case study – vulgar comments President Donald Trump made during 2005, which aired October 2016 – to illustrate misogyny in American culture, the research investigates mediated discourse from a critical/cultural studies perspective during a moment in the U.S. 2016 presidential campaign. The discourse illustrates how struggles for meaning occur in a new mediated public sphere as competing ideologies enter into public conversation. Traditional patriarchal notions of “locker room talk” were countered with a feminist ideological perspective.
“Locker Room Talk” as “Small Potatoes”: Women of the GOP and the 2016 Presidential Election • Jiyoung Lee; Neal Powless; Carol Liebler • Through the lens of feminist standpoint theory, this paper investigates how women of the GOP experienced candidates Clinton and Trump, and how the media, candidates and party each helped to formulate their opinions. In-depth interviews with of 21 women of the GOP reveal that women used traditional norms as a lens through which to evaluate both Clinton and Trump, lending support to role congruity theory, and that their opinions reflected a system of white male privilege. This study overall integrates gender, political orientation, and perceptions on media.
“Be a badass with a good ass”: Postfeminist and Neoliberal Visuality Discourse in #StrongIsTheNewSkinny • Jessica Maddox, University of Georgia • “#StrongIsTheNewSkinny” has become a popular social media hashtag in which posters, typically women, use the words to encourage one to have a strong body instead of an ultrathin one. The idea of the strong female body has supplanted the old feminine beauty myth of the super skinny. Using discursive analysis, this work untangles some of the ideologies that inform, and are informed by, “#StrongIsTheNewSkinny”: Postfeminism, Neoliberalism, and the historical trajectory of bodily freakery. These tenets inform the discourse surrounding this contemporary beauty myth, which is more about prescribing behavior than appearance, and analysis shows that it is rife with contradictions that make the beauty ideal ultimately unobtainable. The contradictions indicate that it is socially acceptable for a certain type of woman to even attempt to chase the myth – that of the white, upper middle-class, heterosexual woman. Furthermore, discussions are made of how #StrongIsTheNewSkinny becomes ground for misogynistic critique.
Activist Knitting: How stitching together something so simple has created a movement • Robert Rogers, Baylor University; Mia Moody-Ramirez, 1968; Franci Rogers, Baylor University • This analysis focuses on how Facebook users framed the Pussyhat Project. A content analysis of “pussyhat” reveals findings indicating that social media allowed a directed viewpoint of a single voice to catch momentum, within private groups, hence building audience. Specifically, we address how the phenomenon of a fiber art project became an iconic visual symbol of the Women’s March, creating a sea of pink hats in Washington and beyond, with attention to the feminist perspective.
The Bitch is Back: Gender Stereotypes of Hillary Clinton in 2016 Twitter Images and Memes • Rebecca Nee, San Diego State University; Mariana De Maio, San Diego State University • Social media images and memes attacking Hillary Clinton were characteristic of the 2016 presidential race. Using role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders, this study reviews gender stereotypes historically used against Clinton. A comparative analysis of Twitter images posted about Clinton and Trump during the general election also is performed. Results show a pattern of gendered themes regarding Clinton’s biological traits and characteristics that are incongruent with socially constructed norms of the presidency.
Making Space in Social Media: Activism and Argumentation around #MuslimWomensDay • Rosemary Pennington, Miami University • The representation of Muslims in Western media has been historically problematic — with Muslim men being framed as violent and Muslim women framed as oppressed. Increasingly, Muslims are using internet spaces to begin to push back against such narratives of what it means to be Muslim. This paper examines such a move. On March 27, 2017 a group of activists launched the #MuslimWomensDay hashtag in Twitter in order to foreground the lived experiences of Muslim women in a social media space. This research explores how solidarity emerged among Twitter users and what challenges they faced as they pushed forward with their hashtag campaign.
To Love, to Mourn, to Commit a Murder-Suicide: News Framing Gender Violence in a Small Town • Roseann Pluretti, University of Kansas; Sara Erlichman, Penn State • In 2016, a double-murder suicide shook a small college town. How the media framed this tragedy could affect the town’s recovery and sense-making. Utilizing both performativity and framing theory, this paper examines how college, local, and national press framed this incident of gender violence. The researchers conducted a qualitative content analysis of 129 news articles. Results reveal gender norms that reinforce gender violence and that framing varies across each types of news.
The “Unprincipled Demagogue” and the “Dishonest Harridan” in Pink and Blue America: Gender and the Election • Urszula Pruchniewska, Temple University • This paper examines the gender discourses in liberal media during the 2016 U.S. Election. Despite The New York Times’ and The Washington Post’s overt support of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, a deeper analysis of the coverage reveals latent problematic gendered discourses. Gender inequality is reinforced in the reporting through: the division of men and women into a gender binary; the rhetorical devaluing and deletion of women; and the decontextualization of social issues. Ultimately, reporting in The Times and The Post upholds distinctly retrograde ideas about gender in American society, embracing postfeminist logic and hampering Clinton’s ambitions for the presidency.
“Rude Fairy Tales”: True Crime Narratives as Health Communication • Ian Punnett, Ohio Northern University; Wafa Unus, Arizona State University • The literary genre known as true crime is often erroneously described as a more sensational, less reliable iteration of traditional crime journalism. Utilizing feminist standpoint theory and the elite oral history of “the Queen of True Crime,” the late Ann Rule, true crime’s unique and prophetic role in mass health communication to at-risk female publics is reconsidered. This was Ann Rule’s last interview.
Dibs on that Sexy Piece of Ass: Hegemonic Masculinity on TFM Girls Instagram • Nathian Rodriguez, San Diego State University; Terri Manley, Texas Tech University • The study examines how TFM Girls Instagram, along with its followers, shape and maintain dominant discourses of masculinity. Mixed-method analyses revealed that women were depicted more in bikinis, posed in overtly-sexually suggestive poses, excluded the women’s eyes and faces, and included predominately white, fit, big-breasted women. There was a positive correlation between the number of likes/comments with breast size. There were also instances of misogyny and objectification manifested in the men’s comments attached to the photos.
Domestic Violence in Appalachian Newspaper Coverage: Minimizing a Problem or Mobilizing for a Solution? • Natalee Seely, UNC-Chapel Hill; Daniel Riffe • This content analysis identifies framing devices, sourcing, and mobilizing information within domestic violence news coverage across Appalachia. Societal and statistical context was lacking, with only 1 in 10 articles containing thematic framing elements. Police sources were found in about 80% of articles, while victim advocates were cited in only 8% of coverage. Victims’ voices were even more obscured, found in less than 2% of articles. Around 10% of news stories contained mobilizing information.
Fans and Victims: Understanding Audience Attitudes Toward Athletes and Crime • Welch Suggs, University of Georgia; Kate Keib, Oglethorpe University • “Sexual assault and domestic violence have become major issues for society and public policy in the past decade. The controversy over violence against women has gained particular valence in sports, where individuals and sports organizations have come under intense criticism from outsiders for their actions while fans have come to their defense. To understand how such issues play out in the media, scholars and practitioners need to understand what informs audience responses to allegations of sexual violence. A survey of college students found a positive association between the intensity of self-identification as a sports fan and agreement with the values associated with blaming victims. Moreover, both sports fan self-identification and endorsement of “binding” values are significant predictors for seeing the victims of sexual violence as tainted or contaminated rather than injured. As such, fans may be more willing to sympathize with athlete perpetrators than their victims.
#WhyIMarch: Protest Frames and Feminism Discourses on Women’s March Facebook Pages • Hong Vu; Hyunjin Seo, University of Kansas • This study examined protest frames and multimedia content on Women’s March Facebook pages and their effects on audience reactions to Facebook posts. Findings show that while activists adopted the call-for-actions frame most frequently, the information frame received greater levels of audience reactions. Videos received higher levels of audience reactions but were used least frequently. Activists adopted such feminism discourses as women’s freedom and liberation, and diversity and intersectionality. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Gender representation and occupational portrayals in primetime television: Has there been any progress? • Brittany Smith; Jan Wicks, University of Arkansas Journalism Department • This content analysis examined female characters on 70 primetime shows airing in fall 2013 on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and the CW. Females were 39.7% of sampled characters, underrepresented compared to their proportion of the U.S. population (50.8%). Females comprised 37% of characters in professional and white-collar occupations, compared to 51% in reality. Similar to previous research, fewer married female characters held professional jobs, suggesting women should be single to hold a prestigious career.
An Exploratory Study on Chinese Female College Students’ Sexual Information-seeking via Internet • Yuanjie XIA; Xiao WANG • This article is dedicated to examine Chinese female college students’ sexual information-seeking via Internet. With both an introduction of Chinese context in sex-related information on web and a definition of online sexual information-seeking within the concerned scope, a series of analyses were conducted to examine the dynamics among gratifications sought from online sexual information-seeking, Internet use frequency and dependency in seeking, sexual knowledge, permissive sexual attitude, and everyday health information literacy (EHIL). Results showed that six gratifications, namely, information/variety-seeking, coolness & novelty community-building, voyeurism, embarrassment-avoidance, and bandwagon were extracted through a principle components analysis. Second, information/variety-seeking, voyeurism and embarrassment-avoidance were found to be significant predictors of Internet use in sexual information-seeking. In addition, Chinese female college students with higher use intensity in seeking sexual information online were found to be equipped with more sexual knowledge. Moreover, the higher use frequency kept in online sexual information-seeking contributed to more permissive attitudes towards premarital sex and close heterosexual relationship, whereas less permissive attitudes towards sexual assault. Finally, a mediation effect of information/variety-seeking gratification between EHIL and Internet use frequency was confirmed.
Advertising 2017 Abstracts
OPEN COMPETITION
A Contributing Factor to the Obesity Paradox: Biological Food Cues in Food Advertisements and Packaging • Rachel Bailey, Washington State University; Jiawei Liu; Tianjiao Wang, Washington State University • This paper presents two studies that examine how food cues in advertisements and on packaging interact with ad claims and nutrition packaging information to influence encoding and storage of information and evaluations of healthiness. Results indicate that direct food cues facilitate greater perceptions of health, especially for objectively healthy food, and enhance encoding of episodic nutrition information, but may serve to inhibit the encoding and storage of information into semantic networks.
Veiled hyper-sexualization: How the Women’s Tennis Association deciphers collective identity through advertising. • Travis R. Bell, University of South Florida; Janelle Applequist, University of South Florida • This study performs a textual analysis of 36 individual images in the Women’s Tennis Association’s “Strong is Beautiful” ad campaign. The WTA constructs a collective identity of women’s professional tennis players that is empowering, yet contradictory. Instead of promoting the athletic event itself, the WTA follows the financially effective advertising model of product endorsement which deemphasizes the legitimacy of female athleticism and reifies the struggle for female athletes to justify their respective athletic credentials.
Digital Manipulations of the Human Body as a Form of Schema Incongruity in Print Ads • Mark Callister, Brigham Young University; Lesa Stern, Westmont College; Melissa Seipel, Brigham Young University; Matt Lewis • This study explores a popular form of schema violation in print advertising wherein advertisers digitally manipulate the human body through removing, adding, distorting, replacing, reshaping, or disfiguring body parts. Such manipulations are termed body disturbances and introduce a unique form on schema incongruity designed to draw attention to the ad and mark message content. Based on our lifetime of exposure to the human body’s appearance, properties, and capabilities, our schema is quite established, and the disfiguring or distorting of human body parts can carry strong emotional and physiological reactions. Results reveal that compared to non-disturbance, body disturbance ads function similar to schema incongruity reported in previous research in that violations lead to greater eye fixation duration of the visuals and motivate higher elaboration. However, the added elaboration does not result in greater recall of the body disturbance image, copy, logo, brand name, or product. While such disturbance ads are better liked, such liking does not extend to the actual brand, and actually evokes more aversive reactions than non-disturbance ads. Nonetheless, such ads were viewed as more unexpected, original, intriguing, and entertaining, but not more enjoyed than non-disturbance ads. Implications for advertisers are discussed.
Characteristics of High-Engagement Facebook Ads: A Data-Analytics Approach to Engagement, Content and Sentiment Analysis • Chetra Chap, Ohio University • In the light of two-way symmetrical communication framework (TSC), this study measured engagement of—and conducted content and sentiment analysis on—200 randomly selected Facebook advertisements (ads) to identify the characteristics of high-engagement Facebook ads. Confirming previous literature, the findings showed that advertising messages that encourage open and dialogic communication, as explained in TSC, increase ad engagement. Other ad characteristics like featured video, and positive ad sentiment were also found to create high ad engagement.
Is Snapchat a Better Place than Facebook to Advertise? • Huan Chen, University of Florida; Yoon-Joo Lee, Washington State University • The study investigated young consumers’ perception and receptivity of Snapchat advertising by using a mixed method research design. Specifically, a qualitative study was conducted to explore young consumers’ perception toward Snapchat advertising and an online survey was launched to examine young consumers’ receptivity of Snapchat advertising compared to Facebook advertising. The qualitative study revealed that young consumers showed relatively positive evaluation toward Snapchat advertising. Their preference of Snapchat advertising comes from the sense of freedom of choice. Their fondness of Snapchat advertising also comes from the subtle nature of this marketing strategy. Based on the nature and characteristic of Snapchat, events, festivals, and travel related products are perceived to be more appropriated to advertise via Snapchat. The quantitative study confirmed some findings from the qualitative study. The quantitative study further uncovered that while young consumers have a more positive attitude toward advertising on Snapchat, advertising on Facebook works better to motivate their behavioral intention of consumption. Theoretical and practical implications were offered.
Cultural difference and message strategy of global brands • Su Yeon Cho; Suman Lee • This study investigated the global brands’ Facebook message strategy and their Facebook fans’ response by assuming that there are cultural differences of message strategy and people’s response between the US (individualistic and low-context culture) and South Korea (collectivistic and high-context culture). A total of 867 Facebook messages posted by seven global brands operating in both the U.S. and South Korea were analyzed. The results showed that (1) sales/marketing messages appeared more frequently in the US Facebook than South Korea; (2) conversational messages appeared more frequently in the Korea Facebook than the US; and (3) Korean Facebook users respond more actively on sales/marketing messages than conversational messages.
Effects of Multicultural Advertising Strategies on Consumer Attitudes and Purchase Intentions • Carolyn, A. Lin, University of Connnecticut; Linda Dam, California State University, Dominguez Hills • Literature on the effects of racial congruence between consumers and spokespersons on multicultural advertising strategies demonstrates a need for a more comprehensive understanding of the social dynamics between racial groups and advertising effectiveness. Specifically, the potential role of perceived social distance – or individual acceptance of people from another racial background – has not been explored to assess consumer responses toward advertising spokespersons from different racial groups. The current study investigates whether perceived social distance between consumers and multiracial advertising spokespersons will influence consumer attitudes and purchase intentions. This research also applies two theoretical correlates of social distance – social identity and a reconceptualized perceived similarity construct – to help explain consumer decision-making processes. Using a quasi-experimental design, Caucasian participants were randomly exposed to one of three ads that featured a Caucasian, Asian or African American spokesperson. Findings indicated that perceived similarity is a positive predictor of consumer attitudes toward the spokesperson but not perceived social distance. They also showed that participants have the most positive attitudes toward the spokesperson in the African American spokesperson condition and the most favorable attitudes toward the product in the Asian American spokesperson condition. Discussion and implications are also discussed.
Tracing the Emergence and Dominance of Visual Solution Advertising: A Preliminary Study • Mel White; Sreyoshi Dey; Arthur Badalian • This preliminary research focuses upon the emergence of visual solution advertising. Analyzing print and outdoor advertisements since the 1970s, using the method of content analysis, it was observed that with the establishment of the European Union (1993) and Eurozone (1999), there was a shift towards creating advertisements that could be interpreted and understood by a diverse audience. Advertisements were found to have moved away from predominantly language based concepts to more culturally relevant visual concepts.
The Duality of Traits and Goals: An Examination of the Interplay between Consumer Personality and Regulatory Focus in Predicting Consumer Responses to Social Media Ads • Naa Amponsah Dodoo; Cynthia Morton • Along with the growth of social media has been an equal rise of social media advertising. Although personalized advertising appears to be on the rise particularly in social media, the psychological determinants of consumer responses to social media ads still warrant further inquiry. Building on three research streams, this study investigated the effect of consumer personality traits, regulatory focus and product appeal on consumer responses to social media ads. Specifically, this study assessed whether extraversion and conscientiousness functioned to influence how consumers respond to social media ads that employed message strategies highlighting regulatory focus (promotion vs. prevention) and product appeal (hedonic vs. utilitarian). Experimental results indicate the main effects of personality traits on responses to social media ads. Furthermore, interaction effects were found which indicated that consumers who scored higher in extraversion were more likely to prefer prevention focus messages combined with a utilitarian product appeal relative to eWOM and purchase intention, in contrast to the proposed findings. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Measuring the Content Characteristics of Augmented Reality Advertising • Yang Feng, San Diego State University; Quan Xie, Bradley University • Despite the rise of featuring AR technology in advertising, generally accepted definitions of the content characteristics of AR advertising do not exist. This study develops and validates a measurement instrument to gauge the content characteristics of AR advertising and to provide a deep understanding of the relationship between each content feature of AR advertising and ad efficacy. To this end, possible items were generated via a review of prior literature, supplemented by content analysis, and a free-association task. The measurement instrument was then refined and validated using a pretest of a general consumer sample, and further validated using a second general consumer sample. Results indicate that the content characteristics of AR advertising can be measured using a 15-item, 4-construct (informativeness, novelty, entertainment, and complexity) index.
Factors Affecting the Performance of China’s Advertising Agencies: A Time Series Cross-Sectional Analysis • Guangchao Feng, Shenzhen University; Yuting Zhang, Jinan University; Qiuyu Hu, Jinan University; Hong Cheng, Virginia Commonwealth University • China is the world’s second-largest advertising market after the United States in terms of advertising spending since 2006. Nevertheless, how advertising agencies in China have performed and what factors have determined their performance have been understudied. Using the Structure-Conduct-Performance (SCP) model incorporating the agency theory and through time series cross-sectional (TSCS) analysis, we found that concentration in the advertising industry and the number of regulations have had significant negative effects on agencies’ performance. In addition, agencies with mainly foreign capital performed better did than those with only Chinese capitals. Agencies adopting strategies of going public (IPO) and ‘having name changes and merges’ performed better than those doing nothing. Implications are also discussed.
Danger or Fear? Examining Consumers’ Blocking Intention of Online Behavioral Advertising: Integration of the Persuasion Knowledge Model and the Extended Parallel Processing Model • Chang-Dae Ham, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Joonghwa Lee, University of North Dakota; Soojung Kim, University of North Dakota • This study examines how consumers intend to block online behavioral advertising, looking at the role of persuasion knowledge in the simultaneous control processes of privacy infringement thereat and preventable efficacy. Integrating the Persuasion Knowledge Model (PKM) with the Extended Parallel Processing Model (EPPM), this study proposes a hypothetical model that explains how consumers’ recognition of online behavioral tracking technology elicits danger and fear control processes, which in turn, motivate them to block online behavioral tracking. Using quasi-experimental design, the results revealed that consumers intended to block online behavioral tracking only when they appraised the danger of privacy infringement was significantly harmful and when they perceived they could control the blocking technology. Interestingly, perceived severity, vulnerability, and self-efficacy significantly mediated the impact of persuasion knowledge on the blocking intention; but response efficacy did not mediate the relationship. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Catching Eyes: Dissecting Ad Disclosures of Native Advertising • Jun Heo, Louisiana State University; Soojin Kim, Louisiana State University; A-Reum Jung • This study explored how people discover, attend to, process, and identify native advertising by the types of ad disclosure. FTC’s disclosure guideline was used to identify components of ad disclosure (e.g., wording, placement, proximity, font style, size, color, effects, background, and repetition). The results of an eye-tracking experiment revealed that each of the components is related, to a different degree, to the cognitive responses to native advertising. Implications are discussed for regulators and marketers.
All They Want for Christmas: The Agenda-Setting Influence of Television Advertising on Parents’ Gift-Giving Perceptions • Steven Holiday, Texas Tech University; Mary Norman, Texas Tech University; Terri Manley, Texas Tech University; Derrick Holland, Texas Tech University; Glenn Cummins; Eric Rasmussen, Texas Tech University • This study examines the agenda-setting role of advertising in influencing parents’ Christmas season gift-giving perceptions. A content analysis of commercials in children’s programming was compared with a questionnaire of parents to test agenda-setting’s transfer of salience and contingent condition of interpersonal communication through advertising mediation and child purchase requests. Results indicate a significant transfer of salience from advertising agenda to parents’ perceptions of the most important gifts to give during the Christmas season.
The Influence of Self-Brand Congruity and Ad Position on Emotional Responses to Online Video Ads • Todd Holmes, State University of New York at New Paltz • The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of self-brand congruity and ad position and how these factors impact emotional responses to embedded online video advertisements. To achieve these aims, an online experiment was conducted based on a two (self-brand congruity) X two (ad position) between-subjects design. Self-brand congruity and ad position were found to significantly impact the pleasure and arousal dimensions of emotional response.
The Effects of Self-Imagery on Advertisement Evaluations: The Mediating Role of Sense of Presence • Wonseok (Eric) Jang, Texas Tech University; Sun Young Lee, Texas Tech University; Akira Asada • The results indicate that when consumers imagined themselves as the main characters in the scene depicted in the advertisement, such imagery experience created a sense of presence in the scene, which in turn enhanced consumers’ engagement with the imagery and their evaluation of the advertisement. However, when the advertisement promoted a high-risk activity, self-imagery decreased consumers’ evaluations of the advertisement because a greater sense of presence evoked by self-imagery induced a feeling of fear.
What Components Should Be Included in Advertising Media Literacy Education?: Effect of Component Types and the Moderating Role of Age • Se-Hoon Jeong; Yoori Hwang • Exposure to advertising could result in multiple health risks, such as obesity or anorexia/bulimia. Ad media literacy education could help audiences view ads critically, and prevent the negative effects of ads. This study examined the effects of different literacy education components in an ad literacy program on children’s knowledge and criticism, and the moderating role of age. An experiment was designed with varying literacy components: (a) content literacy only, (b) content + grammar literacy, and (c) content + grammar + structure literacy. Results showed that, for younger children, there was inverted-U shaped relationship between literacy components and knowledge such that the content + grammar literacy condition was more effective than the content literacy condition and the content + grammar + structure literacy condition. However, this relationship was not observed for older children. Implications for designing effective ad literacy education programs are further discussed.
Firearms, Brass Knuckles… and Instagram: Interactive Effects of Social Media and Violent Media on Gun Control Support • Valerie Jones, Ms.; Ming Wang, University of Nebraska-Lincoln • As visual social networking sites keep growing, advertising professionals and researchers are beginning to solve the puzzle of how visuals can best inform and influence audiences. Drawing up priming and desensitization theories, this study explores the mechanism through which Instagram content consumption and prior media use interact in affecting public issue support. A between groups experiment found that the Transportation Security Administration’s Instagram content increases support for gun control depending on levels of crime show and violent video game engagement.
Antecedents of Consumers’ Avoidance of Native Advertising on Social Media: Social Media-related Factors, Institution-based Trust Factors, and Ad Perceptions • Soojung Kim, University of North Dakota; Joonghwa Lee, University of North Dakota; Chang-Dae Ham, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Amanda Pasierb, University of North Dakota • This study examined the antecedents of consumers’ avoidance of native advertising on social media. An online survey with 503 respondents from Amazon MTurk showed heavy social media users and consumers who perceived social media platforms as fair to display native advertising were less likely to avoid it. Trust in online advertisers contributed to reducing ad avoidance. Consumers who found native advertising less intrusive and irritating and more entertaining did not tend to avoid native advertising.
Why we #hashtag brand: Consumer motivations associated with posting brand hashtags • Gu Zhiquao; Eunice Kim, University of Florida • Hashtags (#) have received a great deal of attention from academia and industry as an effective tool for engaging consumers and facilitating electronic word-of-mouth for brands. The present study delved into motivations concerning consumers’ brand-related hashtag-posting behavior on social media. The findings revealed three consumer motivations for posting brand-related hashtags on social media: social acceptance, brand related altruism, and incentive seeking. Additionally, the study examined the relationships between motivations and consumer-brand relationship variables.
Antecedents of Skepticism toward Pro-Environmental Advertising: Application of the Persuasion Knowledge Model • Jinhee Lee; Eric Haley, University of Tennessee • The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of consumer prior experience and their coping knowledge on skepticism toward pro-environmental advertising, and to examine the mediation effects of consumer coping knowledge between consumer prior experience and skepticism. An online survey was conducted and a total 186 respondents participated in the survey. The study revealed that three types of consumer coping knowledge, such as persuasion, agent, and topic knowledge, were significantly related to their skepticism, and were interrelated to each other. In addition, the results showed that consumer prior experience with pro-environmental advertising and products affected three types of coping knowledge. Lastly, the mediation effects of consumer coping knowledge were revealed. . Based on the results, there were several theoretical and practical implications.
Is it the Ad or What Precedes it?: Responses to Ads Following Emotional Content, an Excitation Transfer Perspective • Kristen Lynch, Michigan State University; Tao Deng, Michigan State University; Olivia JuYoung Lee; Ali Hussain, Michigan State University; Emily Clark, Michigan State University; Alex Torres; Saleem Alhabash, Michigan State University • Based on excitation transfer theory, arousal evoked from a prior stimulus can impact the perception and emotional response subsequent stimuli (Zillman, 1971). Prior advertising research largely focused on ad-elicited emotions and memory outcomes (Bakalash, & Riemer, 2013; Hartmann, Apaolaza, D’Souza, Barrutia & Echebarria, 2014). Little attention has been given to the effects of prior emotional stimuli on processing advertising messages. This study uses a 2 (arousal: low vs. high) x 2 (valence: positive vs. negative) x 3 (ad repetition) x 3 (order) mixed factorial design to investigate the effects of prior exposure of emotional stimuli on later cognitive and affective processing of ads. It is hypothesized that exposure to prior stimuli that are high in arousal and negative valance will produce negative emotions for the preceding ad evidenced by increased heart deceleration, increased skin conductance levels, and increased orbicularis oculi muscle activation; thus resulting in lower ad evaluations. Participant (N=45) were exposed to arousing or calm images that vary in positive or negative emotional valence—selected from the International Affective Picture System (Lang, Bradley, & Cuthbert, 2008)—followed by an ad of a household products of neutral valence; determined by a pretest. Self-reported attitude towards ad and purchase intentions were measured. Results indict that negative images preceding ads produce lower ad and brand rating, purchase intentions and viral behavioral intentions for the ad.
College Students’ Processing of Non-celebrity Male Athletic Spokespersons in Health PSAs: The Mediational Role of Status • Adrienne Muldrow; Yoon-Joo Lee, Washington State University • Studies suggest that spokespersons are supposed to help drive beneficial behaviors. Athletic spokespersons, in particular, due to their known exercise and nutritional regimens in additional to their status in the eyes of college students, should be germane spokesperson for driving these behaviors. Furthermore, with limited budgets, many non-profit public relations practitioners need practical, cost-effective solutions to driving desirable health behaviors. One cost-effective solution may be the use of an unknown athletic spokesperson in the health advertisement. Hence, this experimental study investigates how college students process non-celebrity athletic spokespersons in advertisements to build their health intentions. In this study, we examined three common features present in athletic spokesperson advertising: athletic identity, ethnicity, and status. In particular, 173 college students were either exposed to an athletic, non-celebrity, White or Black spokesperson in a health PSA and answered similar questions about their athletic identity, commonalities to their ethnicity, status-orientations with regard to health, and health intentions. We used social cognitive theory to form hypotheses stating that more perceived similarities with the athletic spokespersons and thus greater identified advertising appeal would lead to greater intentions to perform health behaviors. We extended knowledge on existing advertising literature by examining how college students’ acknowledgement of reward-oriented, status-seeking through health behaviors could aid processing of health intentions. We used a Hayes’ PROCESS model to reveal the process of how college students interpret characteristics of non-celebrity athletic figures in helping them form health intentions.
Investigating Psychophysiological Processing of Alcohol Advertising on Social Media among Underage Minors: Policy Implications • Juan Mundel, DePaul University; Kristen Lynch, Michigan State University; Michael Nelson, Michigan State University; Emily Clark, Michigan State University; Tao Deng, Michigan State University; Ali Hussain, Michigan State University; Duygu Kanver, Michigan State University; Yadira Nieves-Pizarro, Michigan State University; Saleem Alhabash, Michigan State University; McAlister Anna, Michigan State University; Elizabeth Quilliam, Michigan State University; Jef Richards, Michigan State University • Underage drinking remains a significant health risk among young adults in the United States. Alcohol marketing and advertising has been charged with being one of the most influential factors in consumers’ intentions to drink. With few regulations imposed on the Internet in relation to alcohol marketing, underage youth may receive alcohol promoting messages through electronic word-of-mouth. We hypothesized that alcoholic beverage ads including young models will be more motivationally relevant due to similarities between participant and model. To test this hypothesis, this study relied on psychophysiological and self-reported measures. Our findings showed that when beer ads featured younger (vs. older-looking) models, participants exhibited greater intentions to drink. We outline recommendations for policy changes based on our findings.
Examining E-cigarette Advertising through Social Media: Effects of Consumer-Celebrity Risk-Oriented Image Congruence and Parasocial Identification on Ad Attitude, Electronic Word-of-Mouth, and E-Cigarette Smoking Intentions • Joe Phua, University of Georgia; Jhih-Syuan Elaine Lin, University of Georgia; Dong Jae Lim, University of Georgia • This study examined effects of congruence between consumers’ risk-oriented possible self and celebrity endorsers’ image on attitudes towards an Instagram e-cigarette advertisement, eWOM and smoking intentions. Results indicated consumer-celebrity risk-seeking image congruency led to significantly more positive ad attitudes, eWOM and smoking intentions. Consumer-celebrity risk-averse image congruency, meanwhile, led to significantly more negative ad attitude, eWOM and smoking intentions. Parasocial identification also moderated effects of celebrity-product congruence and consumer-celebrity image congruency on key dependent measures.
Facebook Organic Reach Has Viral Marketers Down: Post Content That Drives Shares, Likes And Comments. • Keith Quesenberry, Messiah College; Michael Coolsen, Shippensburg University • Facebook is a prominent form of viral marketing, yet with declining brand page organic reach, which factors influence virality or engagement? A textual content analysis of 1,000 brand Facebook posts found significant (or marginally significant) effects for: (1) new/now posts on increasing shares and comments, (2) time/date posts on increasing shares, and (3) education posts on decreasing likes and comments. Promotion/contest and social cause/CSR posts produced no significant results. Managerial and theoretical implications are discussed.
Visuals, Inferences, and Consumers’ Biased Information Seeking • Sann Ryu; Patrick Vargas; Sang Ryu, University of Edinburgh • We investigated how varying product visual appeals—package design (plain vs. good design) and image quality (low vs. high resolution)—can influence consumers to generate inferential beliefs about the product and skew their subsequent information search. We also tested consumers’ cognitive responses a mediator between product visuals and brand attitudes, and the moderating role of need for cognition between brand attitudes and selective exposure.
The Influence of Mood States on Information Seeking and Evaluations of Advertised Novel Shaped Fruit: The Moderating Roles of Variety Seeking Trait • Sela Sar; Supathida Kulpavaropas; Lulu Rodriguez • This study investigated the influence of consumers’ pre-existing mood states and variety seeking trait on their information seeking about a novel-shaped product and their attitude and purchase intention toward the product. The results revealed that consumers in a positive mood and with higher variety-seeking trait showed a more favorable attitude toward the product, sought more information and had higher purchase intention than those in the same mood with a lower variety-seeking trait. There were significant main effects of mood on attitude toward the product and information seeking. There were also significant main effects of variety-seeking trait on information seeking and purchase intention. Implications for advertising research and practice are discussed.
What’s Your Favorite Filter? An Exploratory Analysis of Snapchat Advertising • Alexandra Ormond, St. John Fisher College; Morgan van der Horst, St. John Fisher College; Ronen Shay, St. John Fisher College; Lainie Lucas, St. John Fisher College; Kyle Cataldo, St. John Fisher College • Snapchat presents advertisers with a variety of interactive formats by which to engage consumers with relevant and thoughtful ad experiences. Through the use of three focus groups (n = 21) this study examines the perceptions young adults (18-24) have towards Snapchat advertising by exploring themes that include the temporary nature of communication on the platform; factors that contribute to a user’s engagement with geofilters, interactive lenses, and snap ads; tolerance towards the high volume of advertising on the platform; and why the lack of traditional like or share features can both help and hinder advertisers.
Blowing smoke: Uncovering and addressing college students perceptions, use and knowledge of e-cigarettes • Debbie Treise, University of Florida; Summer Shelton, University of Florida; Nicki Karimipour; Vaughan James, University of Florida • Electronic cigarette use is rising dramatically among young people, and advertising is thought to be one of the contributors to those increases. This study employed focus groups and in-depth interviews to determine user and potential user knowledge of product ingredients, risk assessments and uses. Findings showed a general lack of understanding, creative uses for the devices and an emerging community of vapers. Recommendations for PSA informational campaigns and future research are discussed.
“Really Being There?”: Telepresence in Virtual Reality Branded Content • JIE SHEN, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Michelle Stenger, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Julia Lechowicz, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Chen Chen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Rachel Yang, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Aparna Sivasakaran, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Yanyun Wang, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Ji Zhang, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Yixin Zou, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Helen Katz, Publicis Media Analytics & Insight; Michelle Nelson, UIUC Department of Advertising • Despite the growing interest of immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR) among both professionals and academics, few studies have assessed consumers’ awareness of or attitudes toward VR media or witnessed reactions to VR brand experiences. Eighteen in-depth interviews were conducted to observe how participants perceived VR in general and to gauge their reactions to a branded VR experience for a university. Findings revealed individual differences in awareness of VR experiences. Varying levels of ‘telepresence’ (feeling present in the mediated environment) were noted in interviews and on the telepresence scale. Emerging themes that contributed to or detracted from telepresence included feelings of control, observations of sensory/media richness, seeing the virtual as a ‘microcosm’, and desire for a social experience. The ramifications of VR technology for advertising and branding are discussed.
The Psychological Processes of Mixed Valence Images: Emotional Response, Visual Attention and Memory • Jing (Taylor) Wen, University of Florida; Jon Morris, University of Florida; Mark Sherwood, University of Florida; Alissa Meyer, University of Florida; Nicole Rosenberg, University of Florida • Despite the growing significance of emotional images in advertising, the psychological and physiological responses toward multiple opposite valence images presenting simultaneously remain somewhat unexplored. This research examined the relationship between emotional response, visual attention, and recall. The results showed that individuals were more likely to gaze toward the positive images than the negative ones when exposed to the both simultaneously. More importantly, longer gaze duration translated into their emotional response toward the images. Gaze duration and the Empowerment dimension of emotional response together significantly predicted the recall of the images. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Examining consumers’ identification of native and display advertising on news websites • Kasey Windels, Louisiana State University; Lance Porter • Consumers are spending more time with digital media, causing advertisers to invest more heavily in digital advertising. This has shaken up the newspaper industry, as advertisers have abandoned the high costs and shrinking readership of print newspapers and turned to digital advertising. In conjunction, click through rates on banner ads continue to decline. As digital publishers seek ad revenues and advertisers seek more effective advertising options, native advertising, which is advertising designed to mimic the style and content formats of the publisher’s content, has grown tremendously. Using an eye-tracking method, this study examined whether consumers could identify native and display ads on digital news websites with similar speed and effectiveness. Results suggest that native ads are more discoverable, or more quickly noticed on digital websites. However, only 68% of participants could identify native ads, and those who did took significantly longer to do so. The implications for the news and advertising industries are discussed.
Understanding the Effectiveness of Meaningful Advertisements: The Influence of Mortality Salience and Age Difference • Linwan Wu, University of South Carolina • Meaningful advertisements, which portray moral virtues and life meaning, have been widely produced around the world, but attracted limited academic attention. Based on the Terror Management Theory (TMT), this research investigates how mortality salience (Study 1 & Study 2) and age difference (Study 2) influence the effectiveness of meaningful advertisements. Results from Study 1 indicated that people expressed more favorable attitudes to the meaningful ad under mortality salience compared to the control condition. Study 2 further demonstrated that such a phenomenon was more salient among young participants. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
Does Interactivity Benefit New Product Acceptance? The Influence of Desire for Control • Linwan Wu, University of South Carolina; Denetra Walker • The failure rates of new products are surprisingly high in general. Previous advertising research has identified a number of message strategies of encouraging consumers to accept new products. However, little attention has been paid to media interface in this area. To fill this gap, this study investigates how interactivity influences evaluations of new products among consumers with different levels of desire for control. The results indicated that participants high in desire for control expressed more favorable attitudes toward the new product when the level of interactivity was high versus low. Their attitudes toward the classic product didn’t differ across distinctive levels of interactivity. Participants low in desire for control expressed similar attitudes toward both the new and classic product across different interactivity conditions. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Native Advertising on Social Media: the Effects of Company Reputation, Perceived Relevanc and Privacy Concerns • Anli Xiao, the Pennsylvania State University; Ruobing Li; Guolan Yang; MICHAIL VAFEIADIS, Auburn University • “Through an online experiment (N = 207), this study examines native advertisings on social media by investigating the impact of a company’s reputation, the perceived relevance of the sponsored post and the role of social media privacy concerns on consumers’ attitudes toward the sponsored post, perceive brand credibility, company trust and social media engagement intentions. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.
Social information in Facebook news feed ads: Effects of personal relevance and brand familiarity • Fei Xue; Lijie Zhou • The current research examined effects of the “Social Information” feature in Facebook news feed ads, in relation to personal relevance and brand familiarity. Ads with social information did not always lead to more favorable advertising and brand perceptions. However, interaction effects were found among social information, personal relevance, and brand familiarity, in terms of attitude-toward-the-ad and purchase intention. Social information could help create more favorable advertising responses for unfamiliar and low-relevance brands.
ADVERTISING TEACHING
Development of Conceptual and Attitudinal Advertising Literacy and Influencing Factors among College Students in China • Fangfang Gao; Yusi Liu, Zhejiang University; Tao Shan • Given the pervasive role of advertising and commercial culture in the modern society as well as its substantial influence on the younger generation, scholars have called for more evidence of advertising literacy development among college students, i.e., the ability to recognize, evaluate and understand advertising. Notwithstanding the importance of advertising literacy among college students, most of the current studies are in the Western settings. There are limited empirical studies about the development of advertising literacy among Chinese population. The general purpose of the study is to examine the conceptual and attitudinal advertising literacy among college students in China, exploring possible predicting factors that may influence their level of advertising literacy, suggesting possible interventions to enhance media education and strategic communication. Based on a survey of 515 Chinese college students, our study provided empirical evidence to show that product desires, resistance strategies, BMI, self-esteem, and critical attitudes towards food and fitness products, as well as gender, grade and major are important predictors of college students’ advertising literacy. The current study expands the research of media literacy to a more specific area of advertising, exploring the advertising literacy for college students in China. Moreover, when investigating predicting factors for advertising literacy, two dimensions, both conceptual and attitudinal advertising literacy, were analyzed, providing more detailed information concerning the concept of advertising literacy. Implications for academic research and public policy were discussed. Further research is needed to gain understanding of the complex developmental process of advertising literacy among young people in China.
Global Collaboration to Teach Research Methods for Advertising, Public Relations, and Communication Majors: Review of Student Reflections and a Plan • Pamela Morris • This study investigates an innovative way to teach undergraduate research methods courses, specifically by collaborating globally. The paper provides an example of a research methods course taught by pairing U.S. and South Korean university students and an evaluation of the course based on the students’ reactions of the semester. The method of investigation is review of 22 student reflection papers. The student responses suggest that this model created an effective learning environment as seen in several themes, such as a wider perception, better understanding, and more respect for research, acknowledgement of the fun and excitement in conducting research, gaining more confidence, using skills in other classes, and considering how research could be used in their future careers. Culturally, students reported it was an eye-opening experience and that they also learned about themselves. The exploratory study attempts to add to the literature, as well as provide a foundation for new ideas and creative ways to leverage current technology, the globalized world, and students’ interest of other cultures.
Teaching Ad Tech: Assessing Collaborative Teaching in an Advertising, Computer Science, and Design Course • Jay Newell; Wallapak Tavanapong; Sherry Berghefer, Iowa State University • Advertising technology is advancing quickly, incorporating digital techniques that may be beyond the experience of the individual faculty member. Collaborative teaching, where faculty members from different disciplines co-teach a course, may be a solution. This report assesses the learning outcomes of an advertising technology course taught by faculty from advertising, computer science and human-computer interaction programs. Two semesters of pre- and post-tests were analyzed, finding increases in student comfort with preparing and presenting technologically-advanced solutions to marketing challenges.
PROFESSIONAL FREEDOM & RESPONSIBILITY (PF&R)
Mentors and minority advertising students: A survey of the 2017 Most Promising Multicultural Student class • Alice Kendrick; Jami Fullerton • U.S. advertising agencies have struggled to attract and retain ethnic and racial minority talent for decades, and the absence of professional mentors has been cited as an issue in job satisfaction among minority employees in the advertising industry. University advertising programs are recognized as an important pipeline of prospective minority hires, especially for agencies. This paper examines a group of minority advertising college students in terms of whether they currently have a professional mentor, as well as their career preferences and perceptions of advertising industry employment. The role of mentorship for minority advertising students as well as implications for advertising educators and employers who seek to diversify their advertising organizations are discussed.
Aspiring Advertising Professionals: Workplace Expectations Through a Gendered Lens • Jean Grow; Shiyu Yang • Generation Z, whose personal and professional expectations differ from previous generations, are entering our classrooms. Yet, workplace environments, and their structural underpinnings tend to change slowly. The advertising industry is no exception. This research investigates the expectations of 98 aspiring advertising professionals using social capital theory. We study the gaps between Generation Z’s expectations and workplace realities, while exploring the influences of gender; and suggest ways educators might bridge the gap between expectations and reality.
Effects of Cosmetic Surgery Advertisements on Surgery Intention and Attitudes Toward Surgeons • Sung-Yeon Park, Univ. of Nevada, Reno; Sasha Allgayer, Bowling Green State University • The effects of cosmetic surgery advertising on perceived benefits, risks, acceptance of cosmetic surgery and attitudes toward cosmetic were explored. The advertising exposure was positively related to perceived benefits and surgery intention, but unrelated to perceived risk. Compared with doctors in general, cosmetic surgeons were trusted less, though exposure to cosmetic surgery advertisements improved some perceptions about cosmetic surgeons. In addition, consumer evaluation of cosmetic surgery advertising elements revealed many areas of confusion among consumers.
STUDENT RESEARCH
The Use of Search and Display Advertisements in Digital Advertising • Lindsay Bouchacourt • The purpose of the study is to examine search advertisements and display advertisements used in digital advertising and investigate whether one type of advertisement produces a lower cost-per-acquisition. The study also explores the use of different electronic devices (mobile phone versus desktop computers) and whether this has an effect on cost-per-acquisition. The study uses a Paraguayan mortgage company as the advertiser and Google AdWords as the source of media placement.
It Takes “Less Than U Think”: Implementation Of An Anti Binge-Drinking Campaign Targeting Expectancy • Eric Cooks; Katie Bell • This study analyzed the effectiveness of a student-led anti binge-drinking campaign in influencing alcohol expectancy. Results indicated that several components of social expectations for alcohol use changed significantly at posttest. Negative expectancies increased for alcohol’s ability to make parties fun, and to put people in better moods. Changes were also seen in expectations related to the taste of alcohol. Significant associations were observed in relation to participant gender and Greek affiliation. This campaign represents an integrated communications effort that incorporates psychological theory to address a significant public health concern.
Any Benefits from Anxiety and Curiosity?: Exploring the Impact of Personality Traits in Ad Avoidance on Social Networking Sites • Naa Amponsah Dodoo; Jing (Taylor) Wen, University of Florida • Social network advertising continues to be a prevalent way advertisers employ to deliver their messages to their consumers. In this increasingly cluttered ad environment, consumers may adopt varying strategies, as ad avoidance, to prevent exposure to these ads. Literature suggests the link between personality traits and SNS use. Consumers’ personality traits may be important factors that determine how they engage in SNS ad avoidance. This study investigated potential underlying mechanisms of SNS ad avoidance and how personality traits function to determine consumers’ attitude and behavior toward SNS ads. The results of this study indicate the roles of perceived ad relevance, perceived ad intrusiveness and privacy concern in SNS ad avoidance. Specifically, while perceived ad relevance decreased ad avoidance, perceived intrusiveness and privacy concern increased ad avoidance. Interestingly, neuroticism and openness to experience were found to have significant relationships with perceived ad relevance, perceived ad intrusiveness and privacy concern. Theoretical contributions and implications are discussed.
The effect of celebrity athlete endorser identification on brand attitude in TV advertising • Joongsuk Lee, University of Alabama • This study examined the effect of celebrity endorser identification (ID) on brand attitude under a soccer star’s religious or non-religious goal celebration as well as the reliability, validity, and applicability of Mael and Ashforth’s (1992) organization ID scale in measuring celebrity ID. Goal celebrations are the acts of celebrating a goal scored in a game. Two real and different TV ads, showing a sports drink brand endorsed by a sports celebrity, were used as stimuli to enhance the present results’ generalizability. Findings reported that the effect of celebrity endorser ID on brand attitude is negatively affected by a soccer star’s religious goal celebration (i.e., praying to God without sharing joy of scoring a goal with others) but positively affected by a soccer star’s non-religious goal celebration (sharing such joy with them without praying to God). Other findings showed that five of six items based on Mael and Ashforth’s (1992) organization ID concept were applicable, reliable, and valid in measuring celebrity ID.
Making the unfamiliar the familiar: A qualitative framing analysis of disabilities as inspiration in advertisements • Summer Shelton, University of Florida • Research identified four frames advertising uses to inspirationally portray physical disabilities: inspiration porn, bionic or superhuman, supercrip and pity-heroism or tragedy-charity. Identified as problematic representations among disabled consumers, this study examined the framing of disabilities in advertisements. Because advertisements including models with disabilities are scarce, a purposive sample of 35 advertisements was identified. A qualitative content analysis of these advertisements was conducted. Recommendations for more accurate portrayals of disabilities in advertisements are provided.
Sex, Nudity, and Humor: A Content Analysis of Condom Advertisements and Taboo Content on YouTube • Matthew Struss, Indiana University Of Pennsylvania; Sharon Storch; Mark Beekman, Indiana University of Pennsylvania • YouTube is an ideal media for sharing condom advertisements with taboo content. By conducting a quantitative content analysis of 85 different condom advertisements on YouTube over a 24-hour period we found there were no significant differences in the use of humor in the condom advertisements for birth control and disease control versus advertisements that promoted condoms as pleasure aids. Most condom advertisements with the “be prepared” theme did not employ heavy levels of sex.
Scare’em or Irritate’em: Congruity between Emotions and Message Framing Promotes Advertising Engagement and Message Evaluation • Jing (Taylor) Wen, University of Florida • Emotional messages can capture audience’s attention and therefore be persuasive. Building on prior studies, this research examined the interplay between emotion types (anger vs. fear) and message framing (gain vs. loss) on individuals’ responses to different advertising messages. Experimental results revealed that individuals reported more favorable attitudes toward a fear appeal with a gain-framed message whereas individuals had more positive attitude toward an anger appeal with a loss-framed message. Additionally, increased in advertising engagement drives the observed improvement in attitudes toward the ad. These findings suggest direct implications for advertising design.
From us to me: Cultural value changes from collectivism to individualism in Chinese commercials • Jingyan Zhao • China is generally regarded as a collectivistic society while the United States is treated as a country with individualism. However, Scholars noted that individualism has revealed itself in Chinese younger generation. This change may affect the content of Chinese commercials, as effective advertising must cater to its audience to promote products. This study conducted a content analysis of Chinese commercials in approximately 2006 and 2016 to examine how the cultural value of commercial has changed, with the consideration of merchandise type and production place. Results exhibit an increase of individualism usage in Chinese commercials. Research results exhibited an increase of individualistic factors usage in Chinese commercials. There was no significant difference between imported and domestic merchandise of using individualistic factors around 2006, in 2016 or regardless the time period. In addition, the merchandise usage type affected the percentage of individualistic and collective factors used in commercials. Collective usage merchandise still employed more collective factors regardless the time period. On the contrary, for individual usage merchandise, commercials have begun to apply more individualistic factors than they did ten years ago.
SPECIAL TOPICS
#Sponsored #Ad: An Agency Perspective on Influencer Marketing Campaigns • COURTNEY CARPENTER CHILDERS, University of Tennessee; Laura Lemon; Mariea Hoy • As social media continues to grow in terms of usage, influence, and ad spending, the advertising industry has been forced to develop innovative strategies to bring strong return on investment to clients. One such strategy to recently emerge is influencer marketing, where the focus is placed on connecting with specific online personas that target audience members trust and engage with regularly. eMarketer (2016) found that 48% of marketers plan to increase their budgets for influencer marketing in 2017. This study seeks to gain insight into strategic decision-making, impact on agency life and understanding of sponsorships and disclosures based on in-depth interviews with 15 U.S. advertising agency professionals. Results show that the billion-dollar influencer marketing industry is still largely unchartered territory that involves high cost but offers high reward; is keenly dependent on an effective vetting process; and reflects an appreciation of adherence to FTC endorser guidelines.
Decoding Engagement: Chinese Advertising Practitioners’ Perspective • Huan Chen, University of Florida; Rang Wang, University of Florida; Xuan Liang • A qualitative study was conducted to examine Chinese advertising practitioners’ perception and interpretation of engagement in the digital age. Twenty three face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted to collect data. Findings revealed that in the life-world of Chinese advertising professionals, the meaning of the imported term “engagement” is multidimensional, fluidly, and diversifying lacking consensus on both conceptualization and execution. The current study also uncovered the perceptional gaps between academia and industry regarding the conceptualization and execution of engagement.
Brand Sponsorship of Sport Officiating Technology: Effects of Social Identity and Schadenfreude on Attitude toward Sponsoring Brand • Jihoon (Jay) Kim, University of Georgia; Jooyoung Kim, University of Georgia • This study examined fan perceptions of an ad embedded in an instant replay video (IRV) and its sponsoring brand, using Social Identity Theory and the concept of schadenfreude. Results revealed that the positive emotion induced by a negative outcome supported by IRV for the opposing team (i.e., schadenfreude) led to a positive attitude toward the advertisement (Aad-IRV) and the sponsoring brand (Ab-IRV). The results also showed the suspense level moderated the schadenfreude’s effects on Aad-IRV.
The Effects of Ad Framing, Regulatory Focus and Processing Fluency on Controlling Sugar Intake • Kang Li • Health authorities has pointed out that Americans consume too many sugar, which causes many health problems. The aim of this research was to examine the effectiveness of ad framing (gain vs. loss vs. neither gain nor loss) on persuading people to control their sugar intake. There were 1,104 participants completed an online experiment study. The results showed that both gain and loss frame were more effective than the neutral frame. Gain frame was the most effective one to persuade people to lower sugar intake. Moreover, individual difference of regulatory focus moderated the effect of ad framing (gain vs. loss). In addition, processing fluency mediated the effects of ad framing (gain vs. neutral/loss vs. neutral) on people’s intention to limit sugar intake. Contributions and implications were discussed.
To Vape or Not to Vape: How E-Cigarette Companies Advertise Via Twitter • Joon Kim, University of South Carolina, Columbia; Carol Pardun, University of South Carolina; Holly Ott, University of South Carolina • This study examines how electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) companies advertise and engage with potential customers on Twitter. Using quantitative content analysis, this exploratory study examined 525 tweets from the top five e-cigarette companies that occurred between July 9, 2016, and September 9, 2016. Results highlight differences in how companies used Twitter as an advocacy role or as a purely commercially driven strategy. Theoretical and practical implications for advertising research and practice are discussed.
Can Inspiring Advertisements Bust the Social Media Blues? The Effect of Inspirational Advertising on Consumer Attitudes and Sharing Intentions • Amanda Bailey, University of Florida; Frank Waddell, University of Florida • Social media has become common for advertising, yet research shows that social media use can negatively affect users’ mood. How can advertisers adapt their appeals to be successful in this advertising context? The present study tested the efficacy of “inspirational” advertising as a form of mood repair. Consistent with mood management theory, an experiment (N = 188) showed that inspirational advertising increased brand attitudes and sharing intentions via heightened photographic transportation and meaningful affect.
Direct-to-consumer advertising, vulnerability and ethics of care • Tara Walker; Erin Schauster • This study conducts a textual analysis of direct-to-consumer advertisements for heart disease and cancer prescription drugs using an ethics of care framework. Direct-to-consumer advertising, (DTCA) is a controversial practice, often critiqued for ethical issues. Ethics of care provides a novel approach to understanding the relationships between patients, ethics and vulnerability within the context of DTCA. Ultimately, findings showed that the DTCA examined in the sample considered audience points of view and lived experiences, but fell short of honoring patient vulnerability and providing accurate, useful health information.
2017 Abstracts
AEJMC 2017 Conference Paper Abstracts
Chicago • August 9 to 12
The following AEJMC groups conducted research competitions for the 2017 conference. The accepted paper abstracts are listed within each section.
Divisions:
- Advertising
- Communicating Science, Health, Environment, and Risk (ComSHER)
- Communication Technology (CTEC)
- Communication Theory and Methodology
- Cultural and Critical Studies
- Electronic News
- History
- International Communication
- Law and Policy
- Magazine
- Mass Communication and Society
- Media Ethics
- Media Management and Economics
- Minorities and Communication (MAC)
- Newspaper and Online News
- Public Relations
- Scholastic Journalism
- Visual Communication (VisCom)
Interest Groups:
- Community Journalism
- Entertainment Studies
- Graduate Student
- Internships and Careers
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer
- Participatory Journalism
- Political Communication
- Religion and Media
- Small Programs (SPIG)
- Sports Communication (SPORTS)
Commissions:
