Department of Journalism and Creative Media

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History of the Alabama Negro Press, Post-Reconstruction to 1901
(University of Alabama Libraries, 1964) Wilder, James Chapman; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
A survey of Alabama history books shows nothing significant to have been written about the early Alabama Negro press. However, Alabama's Negro press was founded immediately after Reconstruction, the period in which almost a half million bewildered and confused Negroes sought to find a place in a society which they did not fully comprehend. Their struggles were mirrored in the newspapers they created and consumed. Thus, a failure to study this press constitutes a serious omission on the part of the historians of the period. This is also apparent in their treatment of the former slave in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. "After investigating the periods of slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction in lengthy and scholarly detail, the historians have ceased to study the Negro. . . . Just what happened to the Negro people between the end of Reconstruction and the beginning of the present century remains unclear." In fact, the general reaction to any serious study of Alabama's early Negro press is one of incredulity that there was such a press. However, at least sixty-seven Negro newspapers were published in Alabama in the period from the fall of the Reconstruction government to the advent of the twentieth century. Admittedly, most survived for short periods of time --- sometimes for only a few issues --- yet three still exist today. Moreover, as many as four newspapers were printed simultaneously in some cities. Negroes wanted to learn about each other; they wanted the stories of their progress, conflicts and issues told; they wanted to express their aspirations and their anguish. Since the white press was not an available medium for the Negro, he founded his own press and voiced his feelings there. The thesis of this paper is that a significant Negro press existed in Alabama in the nineteenth century.
The evolution of broadcasting in Alabama, 1900-1934
(University of Alabama Libraries, 1969) McSwain, Joseph Earl; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
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.
Tomorrow is forever: examining narrative structure and cultural archetypes in three Mexican telenovelas
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) De Anda, Marissa Carolina; Butler, Jeremy G.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Telenovelas are a staple of Mexican popular culture and their narratives communicate discursive, ideological meanings stemming from the history and myths of that culture. The current study provides an in-depth textual analysis of three Mexican telenovelas currently airing on the US Spanish-language network, Univision: Las Tontas No Van al Cielo, Cuidado con el Ángel, and Mañana Es Para Siempre. One week's worth of episodes, from Wednesday to Wednesday, February 25-March 4, 2009, was analyzed. The purpose of this textual analysis is to examine how narrative is constructed and what culturally specific elements are expressed and promoted through the narrative elements, character archetypes, theme songs, and imagery of these telenovelas and their opening credits. This study offers an understanding of the historical roots of the archetypes seen in these telenovela as well as a framework for understanding their narrative structure. A structuralist approach is used to facilitate analyzing both the narrative structure and character archetypes. Ultimately, a framework was created to explain how specific narrative functions are used on a daily basis to forestall the main couple's happiness until the very last episode. Examining the functions in telenovelas reveals how, in many ways, the storylines are variations of similar plots with similar character archetypes. This thesis also contributes to the small body of literature that exists in examining and understanding how historical figures and gender roles are presented and promoted within telenovelas. Telenovelas' elaborate title sequences are also analyzed to see how they express narrative elements and specific cultural meanings in compressed form. Finally, the distinctive manner in which title sequences promote the stars associated with the telenovelas is considered.
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.
Explicating para-social interaction: how para-social interaction interact with identification, similarity, affinity/liking, and imitation
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Shen, Bin; Zhou, Shuhua; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This study examined associations between para-social interaction and the four other interactive phenomena in the media: identification, similarity, affinity/liking, and imitation. The results of a survey of 150 undergraduate students showed that para-social interaction did have high positive associations with identification, affinity/liking, similarity, and imitation. Furthermore, the correlations between para-social interaction and identification and affinity/liking were relatively higher than those between para-social interaction and similarity/imitation. With regard to the impact of participant's age, no significant correlation was found. As for the gender's influence, no significant difference was found in identification, similarity, and imitation. However, female participants had stronger para-social interaction and affinity/liking than male participants. Exposure levels were also examined. While general frequency of exposure was a significant predictor for both para-social interaction and imitation, frequency of exposure to favorite media characters and media programs was only significant with imitation. Maslow's hierarchy of needs and other various psychological theories were applied to explain these findings. In addition, a model of para-social interaction was designed for better understanding and more effective application of this phenomenon.
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.
A level playing field?: a comparison of job satisfaction and male and female sportswriters
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2010) Jones, Jessie Patterson; Greer, Jennifer D.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This study examined male and female sports journalists at the 100 largest U.S. newspapers to see if they differed in their job satisfaction, feelings of empowerment, and outlook toward the profession. It also examined if they differed in personal demographics and career paths. Finally, all of these factors were examined in relation to plans to leave the profession before retirement. This is one of the first studies to compare men and women working in sports departments. Data was collected for 193 sports journalists through an Internet survey. The results suggest that sportswriters are satisfied with many aspects of their jobs and fairly satisfied overall. Men and women did not differ on any aspect of job satisfaction. Male and female sportswriters also scored similarly in feelings of empowerment and outlook toward the profession. For personal characteristics, women were significantly younger, more likely to be single, and were less likely to have children. The women also reported less time in the profession, not surprising given their age. Men and women were similar on all other personal and career variables studied, including positions held, income, education and preparation for their jobs. The only demographic or career variable related to decision to leave sports journalism before retirement was gender. Women were significantly more likely to say they planned to leave the field. Women were more than twice as likely as men to say they would leave the field within the next two years. Age, race, income, marital status and other career variables did not statistically emerge as significant predictor variables in why a sportswriter would choose to leave the industry. When attitudinal measures were added, only outlook toward the profession and goal internalization emerged with gender as related to decision to leave the profession. Those with more positive outlooks and higher internalization of their newspaper's goals said they would stay longer, but gender was still the dominant factor in variability within the decision to leave. Future research should examine reasons, beyond those investigated in this study, related to why women are more likely to leave sports journalism.
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.
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.
Children's cognitive processing of educational television messages
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2010) Dains, Nathan Ray; Zhou, Shuhua; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This study used the Limited Capacity Model of Information Processing to provide more understanding about how children process information in a television program by looking at the effects of information density and structural complexity on attention and memory in children. Video clips from an episode of the show Little Bill selected according to levels of information density and structural complexity. Four video clips were selected for each of four categories. 58 children were recruited from a local pre-school and a local elementary school. Each child was shown video clips from one of the four categories. Attention, recognition memory, and recall memory were measured. This study found that the interaction between information density and structural complexity in video messages had significant effect on children's storage and retrieval memory processes in general. This study also found differences in information processing between pre-schoolers and 2nd graders.
The effect of online news story comments on other readers' attitudes: focusing on the case of incongruence between news tone and comments
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Ahn, Hyonjin; Zhou, Shuhua; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
As people read news on the Internet, they are also exposed to other readers' comments in response to the news stories. The comment forums on news websites offer a sphere where readers can communicate as both providers and receivers, and the comments provided may influence how news readers shape their opinions. The purpose of this study is to investigate if comments in response to an Internet news story influence other readers' opinions and to determine the extent to which readers' evaluation of the news story and perception of public opinion vary when these comments either affirm or are in conflict with the tone of the story. The experiment for this study exposed 120 participants to a news story manipulated according to two types of news tones (pro and con) and two types of comments (pro and con). Individuals who read comments in conflict with the tone of the news story perceived the news story less positively than did those who read comments affirming the story. However, individuals' perceptions of public opinion based on the third-person effect showed no change in response to comments in conflict with the news story's tone. Furthermore, the hostile media effect did not cause the partisan group who read news conflicting with the opinions expressed in the comments to perceive the story as biased and to evaluate the story's news value as low.
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.
Factors influencing occupational commitment among students pursuing careers in journalism
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Vernon, Emily; Lowrey, Wilson Hugh; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This study evaluated factors that influenced students' decisions to pursue a journalism career and their commitment to the field. Students from two Alabama universities were surveyed. A quantitative analysis was used to analyze factors that explained students' decision to pursue journalism and their commitment to the field based on three types of occupational motivation -- affective, normative and continuance motivation. Statistical analysis compared factors of decisions to pursue and commitment among students whose emphasis of study was journalism and students studying in other areas of communication and enrolled in journalism classes. Findings revealed that student perceptions about the current health of the journalism industry were not influential in their decisions to pursue journalism or their commitment to the field compared to other factors such as journalist skills like writing, reporting, etc., and perceptions of the media, salary expectations and involvement in journalism activities in high school and college.
Community structure, the media and child molestation news stories: what happens to objectivity when it goes to trial?
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Harris, Pamela Dawn; Lowrey, Wilson Hugh; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This study evaluated the effects of structural pluralism on the objective reporting of newspapers when covering cases of child molestation by teachers. Eight newspapers were selected covering four different molestation cases. A content analysis was conducted to analyze the usage of frames, hard or soft news, and the objective balance of assertions. Statistical analysis showed no difference in objective sourcing between the newspapers in the low pluralistic community and the high pluralistic community. Also, the newspapers showed little difference in the use of conflict frames, consent frames and story type (hard or soft news). While the results cannot be generalized beyond the sample used, the results do suggest some ramifications for structural pluralism research in the future, and also suggest it may be important to study the ability of small newspapers to mimic larger papers in the Internet age.
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.
Film and telephony: the evolution of cinematic communication
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Holt, Travis; Butler, Jeremy G.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The effects mobile technologies have had on world culture are profound. The accessibility to interpersonal communication in nearly any environment has created a society driven by instantaneous access to information. For the purposes of this study, the cinema was used as a lens through which to view the effects of not only mobile technology, but also telephony as a whole. Sixteen films from three film genres (horror, gangster, and action/adventure) were examined to understand the effects that telephony has had on cinematic narrative. The films chosen, in the order discussed below, are When a Stranger Calls; (1979), Scream; (1996), When a Strange Calls; (2006), One Missed Call; (2008) Scarface; (1932), G-Men; (1935), The Big Sleep; (1946), Goodfellas; (1990), The Departed; (2006), Die Hard; (1988), Die Hard 2; (1990), Die Hard with a Vengeance; (1995), Speed; (1994), The Bourne Identity; (2002), The Bourne Supremacy; (2004), and The Bourne Ultimatum; (2007). Specific scenes from each case study were broken down to understand the variations in film narrative made possible through different communication media. Each genre is approached from a historical standpoint, with the earlier films in each category using older methods of communication (e.g., telegraph, telephone, walkie-talkie, and pager) and the latter examples relying heavily on the cell phone. This thesis examines the case studies from a genre and narrative theoretical standpoint, while also discussing cultural issues in conjunction with literature focused on the effects of innovations and mobile technology. This analysis explains the effects that telephony has had on the cinema. Telephony has been an essential component of film narrative going back to the silent era and it is imperative to understand how these two widely used forms of technology have evolved together.
A longitudinal analysis of the New York Times' coverage of the National Organization for Women, 1981-2010
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2012) Dufrechou, Sarah Thomson; Greer, Jennifer D.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
A longitudinal content analysis was performed to examine The New York Times' coverage of the National Organization for Women during 1980 through 2010. Agenda setting and framing were studied as media effects of the coverage; prominence, tone, and issues pertaining to NOW were coded in this study to track change over time. It was found that prominence did change over the three decades in the study. Coverage of NOW decreased by nearly 80% from 1980 to 2010. The tone toward the organization remained positive, and NOW was seen as an advocate for women. However, in the 2000s, the tone grew increasingly neutral. Of the issues coded, women in politics showed a decline, while LGBT issues rose in frequency.
Uncovering the relationship between citizen journalism and development communication
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2012) Jones, Tyler Steven; Lowrey, Wilson Hugh; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This study examined the conditions in which a citizen journalism site may be more or less likely to adopt aspects of development communication, a field that applies communication to socioeconomic betterment. As a participatory media form, citizen journalism overlaps with certain aspects of development theory. Due to various reasons, citizen journalism is increasing in the United States, and several mainstream media institutions are partnering with these outlets. Given the historical tension between the mainstream media and development communication, it was predicted that the more a citizen journalism site was aligned with institutional journalism, the less it would demonstrate traits of development communication. A content analysis was conducted to analyze a random sample of citizen journalism sites. Results from a regression analysis and t-tests showed that, rather than diminishing the presence of development communication, mainstream media alignment increased the likelihood of development communication. Despite low efforts toward development overall, when it was present, there was more openness to it from the mainstream than predicted.
Fragmented knowledge: exploring the relationship between partisan media exposure and liberal, conservative, and nonpartisan political knowledge
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2012) Carbo, Tracey Brooke; Greer, Jennifer D.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The study examined the relationship between three types of political knowledge--liberal, conservative, and nonpartisan--and exposure to partisan news media. An online survey measuring U.S. adults' news media use and political knowledge was conducted in April of 2012. The survey also asked about respondents' political participation, ideology, and demographics. The study found a significant positive relationship between exposure to general political news media and all types of knowledge. Further, exposure to partisan news media was positively related to corresponding knowledge type, but no relationship was found for conflicting knowledge types. A regression analysis of all variables of interest found exposure to partisan media to be the strongest predictor of corresponding political knowledge, more so than exposure to general political news, ideology, political participation, or demographic factors. Although much research has been conducted in the area of partisan media exposure, this study was the first to link partisan selective exposure and different types of political knowledge, a relationship only suggested in past studies. The finding that partisan media exposure, not ideology, is directly linked to adults holding differing types of knowledge about the political system holds strong implications for the future of American participatory democracy.

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