Department of Journalism and Creative Media

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Black women's body image and Black-oriented media consumption
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2017) Armer, Taylor I.; Parrott, Scott; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The proposed study examined the relationship between Black women, their body image and their Black-oriented media consumption. The literature review indicated there was a dearth of scholarship devoted to understanding the relationship between this population and their media consumption. Using social comparison as theoretical framework, nine hypotheses and two research questions were posited. A quantitative survey was administered to college-age women at a Predominantly White Institution. Major contributions from the results indicate Black-oriented media communicates a beauty ideal that is unattainable, and body part dissatisfaction was lowest when consuming media–regardless of type.
Changes in media coverage of adoption: a content analysis comparing newspaper coverage from 1992 and 2007
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Gresham, Anna; Bissell, Kimberly L.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
A content analysis of newspaper articles about adoption of children was conducted. Several items were noted including mentions of all members of the adoption triad - birthparent, adopted child, and adoptive parent - and the valence of those mentions, and the type of adoption mentioned in the article. The results showed that the members of the triad were covered fairly equally and fairly, which differed from many studies in the literature review. One of the most interesting findings is in the change in coverage of international adoption. There was significantly more coverage in the 2007 time period compared with the 1992 time period. Future research should examine the relationship between foster care and adoption and how often that relationship is portrayed in the media. Also, research should be conducted that covers a longer time span to include a more varied sample in the types of articles. Further research is also needed to assess the use of negative adoption language. The results of a study of that nature will show subtle and perhaps unintentional negative bias in the reporting of adoption of children.
Credibility of photojournalism in changing times
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2017) Norris, Jonathan Michael; Bissell, Kimberly L.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
With the constant growth of the internet and the explosion of hand-held devices, the news industry is in a continuous state of evolution. Although citizens desire news feeds of what is happening now, there is also a fundamental need for content that is accurate, unbiased, and in the public’s best interest. The demand for immediate news, however, raises several critical ques- tions: How credible is the information, who is reporting it, and is there a relationship between credibility of information and the reporter? Credibility has been one of the cornerstones of the news industry, and the area of interest for this study messenger credibility (Roberts, 2010). The central focus of this study was to identify how the credibility of news photographs is influenced by the source’s organization (who published the photo) and the source photographer (the affiliation of the photographer to the source). A news credibility scale was used as the de- pendent variable. The independent measures of “Media Source Organization” — which contained 3 types, and “Photographer Affiliation” — which contained 2 types, were then compared to the dependent variable. Specifically, the independent variable of source organized had three factors — “Mainstream” (New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post); “Online-focused” (BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, Elite Daily); and “Fictitious” (Daily Post, Citizen Times, Peoples’ Constitution). The two factors for the independent variable of “Photographer affiliation with the source organization” were: “Staff” and “Contributor.” A univariate ANOVA determined that respondents rated photographs from mainstream sources as more credible than photographs from online or fictitious sources. Additionally, a staff photographer from fictitious media was rated significantly more credible than contributor pho- tographer from fictitious media. Survey respondents rated media from mainstream sources significantly more credible than online or fictitious sources. These findings indicate it does make a difference who provides the content and photograph when “credibility” is essential to the content. These findings are significant to the evolving field of visual journalism and messenger credibility in that photos, which are entry points to news coverage, differ in their credibility to read- ers based upon who is the “messenger” or provider of the photo.
Female perception of comic book superheroines
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2017) Bowen, Deanna Kaylin; Bissell, Kimberly L.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
An increase in comic book popularity through television and movies using original print characters and storylines is occurring. There are millions of dedicated fans and a billion-dollar industry riding on the success of superheroes that have their origins in the comic books. As such, the characters are highly influential to today’s youths. Using the principles of Social Identity Theory and Identity Theory researchers can begin to understand the differences between perception and identification within groups of involved fans. This study measured female participants’ perception and identification with comic book characters based on their grouping as a comic book reader, as cosplay participants, and as convention attendants through an analytical survey. Using 120 t-test with adjusted alpha levels, this study found that female comic book readers and convention attendants have a more positive perception of female comic book superheroes than female participants who do not read comics or attend conventions.
How does Olympic and biographical media coverage affect fan and social identification with Mo Farah?
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2018) Simpson, Oliver; Bissell, Kimberly L.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Mo Farah is a quadruple Olympic gold medalist who has won distance gold medals in track competition in the London and Rio De Janeiro Summer Olympic Games, in 2012 and 2016, respectively. Farah’s national and ethnic identity are complex. Often, news coverage of him has mentioned his heritage. Using media clips, one of Farah winning a race at the Olympics and two clips from a documentary about Farah – one where Farah is at home with family Oregon, where he trains, and one where Farah is visiting his roots in Somalia, where he was born – this study asked survey participants which clip scored highest on several scales. Those scores included how well Farah represented his country, his likability, his relatability to the American college student audience, and how positively the participants felt about him. Findings show that participants reacted most positively toward Farah when he was described as Somali in the media, even though he left Somalia at age eight, was officially a British athlete in the Olympics, and now lives in the United States. Participants on the whole responded better to personable documentary coverage than news coverage, and they seemed to embrace Farah based on what they perceived his national identity to be. Keywords: Social identity, national identity, ethnic identity, nuanced national identity, media coverage, sport and Olympic media, Mo Farah.
The influence of risky and sexy video game content on motivational activation, emotional responding and cognition
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Miesse, Sarah E.; Sparks, Johnny V.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Humans are limited in what they can encode, store and retrieve. Humans also enjoy media such as video games, and usually video games contain the same type of information as other media do, including television, film, magazines and billboards. The Limited Capacity Model of Motivated Mediated Message Processing (LC4MP) offers a theoretical framework in explaining the approach and avoid systems within human beings, as well as their ability to encode, store and retrieve such information. This study examined both risky and sexy content within video games and asks how it influences the encoding of the content as well as the motivational activation of the content within video games. The results were gathered from 69 participants and proved interesting results. It seems that video game characters and situations may give off separate meanings of sexy and risky than do human characters and situations from other types of media. Similar studies have been used in looking at other sources such as television, film, magazines and billboards to understand how sexy content and/or risky content influence individuals in various ways. However, video games are a somewhat neglected part of our world within these realms, as violence seems to dominate the study of video games. Further testing should allow for in depth analysis in categories of violence with other variables, such as risky and sexy.
A longitudinal content analysis of topic coverage and elitist frames in Gourmet magazine: 1945-2008
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2010) Norville, Grace Lanier; Greer, Jennifer D.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
A content analysis of Gourmet magazine was performed to explore topic coverage and dominant frames in the content. The first part of the study, which examined topic coverage, was informed by agenda setting theory. It was found that Gourmet set the agenda for its readers by making cooking, international travel, restaurants, and travel in the United States the most prominent topics in its pages. According to agenda setting theory, Gourmet told its readers to think about these topics when thinking about the gourmet. The second part of the study, which examined framing of feature articles, was informed by frame analysis. Articles were scanned for presence of a list of attributes that suggested either an elitist or accessible frame. It was found that most articles in Gourmet were framed as elitist, suggesting that Gourmet influenced readers' perception of the gourmet as elite. However, nearly 40% of articles were framed as accessible, suggesting that the magazine did achieve some balance between the two frames. Because the gourmet is traditionally associated with the elite, this data suggests that Gourmet was somewhat successful in making the gourmet world accessible for its readers. Making the gourmet, a lifestyle once reserved for the elite, more accessible to Americans was the magazine's founding principle.
Narrative and frame in health communication: the influence of narrative transportation to promote detection behavior
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Hong, Yangsun; Zhou, Shuhua; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The purpose of thesis is to test two types of persuasive message strategies including narrative message type and message frame in health context and to investigate the potential interplay of those strategies when health message contain multiple persuasive strategies that combine various categories (e.g., gain-framed narrative message or loss-framed statistical evidence). In fact, the combination of strategies seems likely to intensify or diminish the effect of health message on persuasion. The results are congruent with the transportation theory. Narrative message produces higher transportation experience into the message than statistical evidence, and higher transportation yields positive attitude and intention toward skin cancer detection behaviors than low transportation. Moreover, the results also indicate that loss frame elicits no effect on attitude and intention toward skin cancer detection behaviors compared to gain frame. The findings support the meta-analyses of message frame literature, arguing that loss frame is only effective in promoting breast cancer detection behavior but not for other detection behaviors such as HIV test and blood test. This study is also designed to explore the possible moderating role of transportation in different message frame. It hypothesizes that for highly transported participants, loss frame will be more effective than gain frame in promoting positive attitude and intention to engage in detection behavior. The findings show that message frame has no effect for those who highly transported people.
News frames and attitudes toward mental illness
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2010) Parrott, Michael S.; Bissell, Kimberly L.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Informed by framing theory, the present study tested whether stimulus material designed to include pertinent educational background information about mental illness would result in more favorable or less unfavorable attitudes toward people with mental illness. The study is significant because it tested participant attitudes both before and after exposure to a newspaper article linking violence and mental illness, specifically schizophrenia. Using a simple pre-test/post-test within-subjects experimental design, the study also examined whether exposure to general media, including news and entertainment content, influences attitudes toward people with mental illness. Results indicated no significant relationship between general news and entertainment media exposure and attitudes toward people with mental illness, but suggested other variables such as personal knowledge of mental illness may influence attitudes toward people with mental illness. The study also found that the inclusion of factual, educational material in an otherwise stereotypical article linking mental illness and violence may foster less negative attitudes toward people with mental illness. The study suggests one possible, and practical, method for reporters and editors to help mitigate the stigma attached to mental illness.
The relationship between violent motion-sensing video games and aggression in Taiwanese children
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Lin, Yu-Hsien; Zhou, Shuhua; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The research in the effects of violent motion-sensing video game on aggression is scarce, particularly on Asian children. The first object of this research is to examine whether violent motion-sensing video games is positively correlated with children's aggression in Taiwan, where its cultural values discourage aggressive behaviors. Additionally, this research examines whether the GAM illustrate how violent motion-sensing video game influences aggression among Taiwanese children. A survey study was conducted in 2008. More than nine hundred Taiwanese children were surveyed. Analyses of the data revealed that playing violent motion-sensing video game was not significantly associated with high levels of aggression in Taiwanese children, while controlling the influences of other explanatory variables. It seems that GAM was not effective in illustrating the process of violent motion-sensing video game influencing aggression. Although the result failed to demonstrate the influencing pathway of violent motion-sensing video games, the GAM illustrates the process of biological and social environmental modifiers affecting aggression in Taiwanese children. Some implications and limitations of this research were also discussed.
Schizophrenia in the news
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2016) Gwarjanski, Anna Rae; Parrott, Scott; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This study compared coverage of schizophrenia in online traditional news sites and digital native news sites, or sites lacking a print counterpart. The articles studied were chosen by searching eight sites' online databases using the term “schizophrenia” for articles published between January 1 and December 31, 2015. Researchers coded 558 articles for the presence/absence of stereotypes concerning schizophrenia, the number and type of sources directly quoted, and the valence of source commentary and overall articles. Z-test analyses found that articles from traditional news sites stood greater chance of containing violent or criminal stereotypes about schizophrenia. Articles from traditional news sites stood greater chance of containing an overall negative valence than articles from digital native sites. Digital native sites were more likely to contain articles that were neutral. Articles stood better chance of being positive when they quoted personal sources, which included family, friends, and people with schizophrenia. Stories told from the first-person perspective of an individual with mental illness stood greater likelihood of having positive valence. Finally, personal sources stood greater likelihood of making positive comments about schizophrenia.
Video games and violence: a content analysis of print advertisements and internet trailers
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2010) Combs, Sarah Elizabeth; Zhou, Shuhua; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This study examined the level of violent content in video game advertisements and trailers. For the purposes of this study, violence was defined as an act intended to cause physical harm (Harris, 2004). Violent content was considered to fall into three different categories: weapons, violent actions, and violent words (Scharrer, 2004). The instances of each were coded, including the type of weapons and actions, and compiled to determine violent content along with race and gender of characters, as well as the genre and the rating and the content descriptors designated by the Electronic Software Ratings Board (ESRB). The print video game advertisements were selected from editions from two popular video game magazines published between 2007 and 2010. Each novel advertisement found in a magazine was included in the sample and the corresponding trailer for each game was downloaded from a website dedicated to video games. The resulting sample included 347 print advertisements and 260 trailers (n = 607). The data collected by this content analysis indicated that violence is prevalent in video games, 78.9% of the games included violent content. The genre and rating were each shown to have significant relationships with the number of violent words in the games; however the medium and the number of violent words were not related, indicating that game developers and advertisers rely heavily of exciting images to attract players when creating advertisements. The General Aggression Model, Social Learning Theory, and Cultivation Theory were used as a foundation for this study and indicated the dangers of a media diet that is heavy in violence. These three theories indicated that consuming media riddled with violence leads to an ominous worldview and to aggressive responses to social situation and hostile learned behaviors.

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