Department of Communication (CIS), General

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A survey and analysis of the methods and philosophies of selected directors of intercollegiate tournament debating
(University of Alabama Libraries, 1953) Carter, Jack Melton; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
In 1947 the United States Military Academy began the practice of holding an annual intercollegiate debate tournament in which schools from all geographical regions of the United States participated. In order for a school to participate in the West Point Tournament, it was necessary for that school to be recognized within its own region as having a debate team or debate squad with an excellent record of performance in tournament competition. The intercollegiate debate programs in such schools were effective in this sense: each intercollegiate program at the time of the school's selection for the West Point Tournament ·had produced a debate team and/or debate teams which were capable or winning in tournament competition within the school's geographical region. From these facts it was recognized that if the definition of effective debating were limited to mean "capable of winning; superior on a five point rating scale, such as is used widely in evaluating debating performance," the directors of debate whose teams had participated in the West Point Tournament would represent some of the directors of effective intercollegiate debate programs in all regions of the United States. Such a definition of effective debating was therefore determined, and the schools attending the West Point Tournament were selected for study.
Assessing social support at the university level: the relationship between a supportive educational environment and student success/satisfaction
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Joiner, Ashley Elizabeth; Mills, Carol B.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Social support is a widely studied topic among communication scholars, and one environment in which it deems even more attention is the classroom. In this study, I aim to uncover how prevalent perceived available social support is among university instructors (as perceived by students) as well as factors that affect a student's willingness to seek support from a given instructor. Also, I will uncover whether or not a student's perception (or lack thereof) of available social support from an instructor indicates his or her success in the classroom and/or overall satisfaction with his or her college experience. Moreover, I will explore the relationships among variables such as teacher caring, teacher support, teacher credibility, willingness of students to seek support, students' success in the classroom, and students' satisfaction with their university experience.
Being an effective custodian of communication theory: an examination of theory construction, methodological streamlining, and special population use between constitutive rhetoric, attribution theory, and the third person effect
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Turnipseed, Thomas Robert Ian; Bissell, Kimberly L.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The area of media effects research is important to understanding how one interacts with and is affected by the different forms of media in society. Since this age is called the information age, one is almost always in constant contact with some form of media, whether receiving or transmitting information. As the area of media effects research grows, it is important to reconsider accepted theory and methodology in the hopes of improving on previous research to provide a deeper and more meaningful understanding of society through media. The Third Person Effect, as explained by Davison (1983), is a very good example of this idea. This present study examines the metaconcepts, theoretical terms, and methodological concerns surrounding the third person effect, which have been identified through the previous 26 years of study. To do this, the theoretical terms, metaconcepts, and methodology used to test the perceptual and behavioral hypotheses outlined in the third person effect are examined, and alternatives are offered and tested. Attribution theory, coupled with the constitutive rhetorical processes of othering and interpellation, are examined as more useable theoretical underpinnings for the perceptual hypothesis, and attribution theory is examined in conjunction with the sports communication understanding of fandom and the identification of such. Methodologically, the perceptual and behavioral hypotheses are tested first through a pilot test using a focus group to garner qualitative data for analysis and then to help create quantitative scales for a pre- and post-test experiment. With an N of 40 for the pilot test and 237 for the pre- and post-test experiment, eight research questions were assessed. The overall results show that attribution coupled with constitutive rhetoric serves as a more explanative theoretical position for the third person effect, but methodologically the testing method provides more, better, and deeper data to examine perception. The behavioral hypothesis is benefited by the perceptual data, and consistent data is found to suggest that studying behavior through attribution will finally produce generalizable data. The findings in this study contribute to future scholarship in the areas of media effects research in general, third person effect research, sports communication research, metatheoretical research, perceptual research, behavioral research, and rhetorical theory. From the position of a scholar, this research will hopefully help fuel investigation that will show this model working across all different populations and different theories as well.
Antecedents and consequences of ethical leadership of PR practitioners
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Kang, Jin-Ae; Berger, Bruce K.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The purpose of this research was to explore antecedents and consequences of public relations practitioners' ethical leadership behavior. Before doing so, this study integrated practitioners' ethical behavior into the concept of ethical leadership behaviors. Ethical leadership behavior in public relations is not only the application of ethical standards in day-to-day work, but is also the promotion of ethics: A practitioner promotes ethics by acting as an ethics counselor, and an activist. I administered an online survey to the 252 members of Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) in August and September of 2008. I mainly used factor analysis and regression analyses to test the research questions and hypotheses. Ethical behavior of public relations practitioners are composed of two dimensions - applying ethical standards, and promoting ethics within an organization. This result is consistent with the conceptual definition of ethical leadership. In addition, ethical autonomy was found to be a prerequisite of ethical leadership. The findings suggested that organizational environment and individual factors affect ethical leadership behaviors. Regarding organizational environment, the ethics of the top management were found to be a fundamental source of an organization's ethical culture. Top management's support for ethical behavior facilitated the establishment of formal ethics systems, such as codes of ethics, ethics training programs, and ethics officers. It also fostered an open communication environment. Among formal and informal ethics systems, only an open communication environment significantly affected the level of ethical autonomy. The organizational environment also fostered dissent actions against unethical decisions. If top management did not encourage ethical behavior, public relations practitioners were more likely to confront management against unethical decisions. Agitating tactics were more often used in the organizations which did not have an ethics code. In an organization that repressed discussion, practitioners were more likely to use information selectively to make their own arguments against unethical decisions, and to sabotage the unethical decisions. On the other hand, individual ethical positions affected practitioners. Practitioners with a high level of idealism and low relativisitic ethical stances were more likely to apply ethics standards at work, and to act as ethics counselors. Practitioners with high idealistic and low relativistic ethical stances preferred confrontational actions. Advocates of ethical relativism were more likely to collect information to make their own arguments, use sabotage and even leak information about unethical decisions. As consequences of ethical leadership behaviors, the levels of ethical influence and job satisfaction were examined. The more practitioners perceived that they applied ethical principles to their work; the more likely they were to perceive that their views about ethics were influential. The perceived level of ethical influence was also strong among practitioners who confronted management over unethical decisions. These behaviors appeared to increase job satisfaction through an increase in ethical influence. However, enacting the ethics counselor role was not positively associated with the level of ethical influence. Lastly, answers to the open-ended question suggest that ethical conflicts decrease practitioners' job satisfaction.
Fake news: a survey on video news releases and their implications on journalistic ethics, integrity, independence, professionalism, credibility, and commercialization of broadcast news
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Clark, Judith Chandra; Copeland, Gary; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Public relations practitioners have a very influential role on the content consumers see every day in newspapers and on news broadcasts. The traditional lines between journalism and public relations are now intertwined. This survey looked at video news releases and their implications about journalists' ethics, integrity, professionalism, independence, credibility, and commercialization. 533 participants from three different populations (average viewers, communication college students, and journalists) responded to a 54-question survey that employed two predictors 1) level of experience and 2) years of journalism experience. The results indicated that average viewers found the use of VNRs more unethical than journalists and communication college students. Although, experienced journalists indicated that they believe VNR use is having an impact on journalistic independence and illustrating commercialization in news. This study shows that most people turn to television and the Internet for their main source of news information, but they do not watch local, network, or cable news more than an average of three days a week and for less than 30 minutes a day. The impact of VNRs on news content is becoming an important issue to study as news managers face layoffs and try to figure out how to supplement content at a low cost. VNRs can be downloaded from satellite services for free, but possibly at a cost to traditional journalistic practices.
An initial examination of leadership and team communication behaviors within the organizational environment of a dental practice
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Chilcutt, Alexa Stough; Harris, Thomas E.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The purpose of this study was to discover, through qualitative analysis, the current leadership behaviors and team communication practices of today's dentists and their teams. In-depth interviews of the/a dentist, the most senior, and the newest staff member were conducted in each of ten dental practices. Simple thematic analysis found dentist leadership behaviors as consisting of: heirarchical or team-oriented organizational role perspectives, proactive or laissez-faire leadership styles, and autocratic or participative decision-making processes. Findings concluded that the leadership style of the dentist, to a great degree, affected the types of communication practices employed within the organization. Subsequently, the interview language of each dental team was analyzed using Donnellon's (1996) American model of team work to discover the relationship between decision-making processes and communication patterns and the resulting degrees of team interdependence, identity, social distance, and conflict management style. The most significant findings in this study were that the inclusion of staff in the decision-making process along with the facilitation of open communication and accepted methods of collaboration and confrontation as forms of conflict management are the two leadership and communication behaviors that create a real team culture.
Mean and strong like liquor and some real fine people: enactments of the progressive white Southern man in the Drive By Truckers' albums Southern rock opera and The dirty south
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Harrison, Vernon Ray; Black, Jason Edward; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The lyrics of Drive By Truckers (DBT), a contemporary Southern Rock band, were critiqued to better understand the concepts of current constructions of Southern white masculine identity. The methodologies used as a lens to critique the lyrics were Kenneth Burke's theory of dramatism and Michael Calvin McGee's notion of the ideograph. The critique found that DBT offers a counter-cultural resistance to dominant "Old South" and "New South" ideologies that have traditionally and historically been adhered to the prototypal Southern white man. The band's response - one that challenges typical constructions of a Southern white man as racist, individually-motivated, and imbricated in Southern mores (such as states' rights) - can be considered a part of what the author deems the "Progressive South." Ultimately, the Southern white man, as envisioned in the lyrics of the DBT, protects his family, opposes racist political and ideological positions, views oppression based in class struggles instead of ethnic differences, and problematizes dominant Southern culture through a newly-fashioned rebel figure.
"Hey guys? there's been a change in the raid": information use and social change in World of Warcraft
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Hulsey, Nathan Lamar; Lowrey, Wilson Hugh; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This study examines public sources of information, their usage and how these factors fect social change in virtual communities, specifically in the MMORPG World of Warcraft. Using the concepts of the "public" and the "public sphere" as developed by Jürgen Habermas, Robert Park, and John Dewey and the weak-tie theory by Granovetter, this study used a loose ethnography coupled with forum monitoring and in-depth interviews to determine public sources of information and information usage by players in in-game decision making. Also, the study seeks to clarify how players use information, and how this information sparks social change both at micro, meso and macro levels within the game and meta-game. This study found that players use internet forums and in-game social tools as their sources of public information to engage in free discussion about issues in the game, their lives and their community. This study also found that social change is influenced by information players retrieve from the forums and that weak ties are often generated in the forums. Guilds that frequently engage in the forums are in the public eye and subject to instability from external pressure. Guilds that do not interact regularly in the forums are less subject to external pressures, but subject to stagnation. These results support that WoW does have a function public sphere, public information sources and weak ties within the game often transmit more information, and with this information a chance for innovation and social change.
Expectations and enjoyment in mediated sports: extended disposition theory in sports entertainment
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Woo, Chang Wan; Bryant, Jennings; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
People tend to seek pleasurable stimuli and avoid unpleasant stimuli. This tendency as reflected in selective exposure theory has come into question when people choose media contents with negative hedonic valance. For example, televised sports games cause viewers to risk being distressed when the affiliated team loses or does not perform well. A theory of expectations is suggested in this study to explain why people act counter theoretically and take this risk. The disposition model suggested in this study integrates expectancy-value theory and expectation-disconfirmation theory. A total of 171 students at the University of Alabama were recruited to watch a recorded Alabama football game. Specially created newspaper articles manipulated the participants' level of expectation, and participants reported their affective response to the success of plays and the result of the game. The results show that a higher level of expectation generally lowered the level of affective response and a lower level of expectation generally heightened the level of affective response for the affiliated team's losing and unsuccessful plays, as hypothesized. However, when the affiliated team won or had a successful play, a higher level of expectation heightened the level of affective response, and a lower level of expectation lowered the level of affective response, which contradicts the hypotheses. In addition, a positive relationship between scores on the sports spectator identification scale and expectation score was found. Limitations include the inability to completely control the suspense value. The discussion of the results contains an explanation of the role of suspense affecting the measures utilized in this study.
The River God as a necessary horizon: myths of origin as hegemonic influences in feature news journalism
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Latta, John; Zhou, Shuhua; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This dissertation examines the presence of America's foundational myths, especially mythicized American capitalism, as sources of base narrative structure for mainstream American news media. A reliance on these myths suggests a hegemonic role for the news media. Identifying hegemonic activity in the public rhetoric of the mainstream news media can help us understand how an institution claiming neutrality in fact specifically influences social dynamics. This dissertation employs mythic criticism, a form of rhetorical criticism, to examine leading American mainstream print news organizations' feature story coverage of immigration and immigrants, legal and illegal. The primary texts examined were news stories. These texts were stories that had won, or had been finalists for, the Pulitzer Prize for print news journalism. Stories with a similar focus, style, and structure from well-regarded print news sources were selected for examination as secondary texts. It was found that America's mainstream news media in newspaper and news magazine feature stories rely on America's foundational myths for narrative structure. Mythicized American capitalism, which misleadingly presents modern capitalism as much the same as the family- and community-based endeavor of the Puritan era, is commonly a narrative defaulted to by those media in the description of immigrants. Such a reliance on America's foundational myths narrows the range of interpretations of events available to news consumers and decreases cultural diversity by relying on an assumption of, and imposition of, a widely-held, common bond as a narrative base.
Does tragic drama have hedonic value?: the social aspects of hedonic motivations and media enjoyment
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Ahn, Dohyun; Bryant, Jennings; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The hedonic principle, approaching pleasure and avoiding pain, governs human behaviors including media selection. However, the enjoyment of tragic drama poses a challenge to the hedonic principle. Two questions arise from this challenge: (1) why do people, particularly lonely individuals, select tragic content, and (2) why is the intensity of sadness positively associated with the degree of enjoyment of such negatively valenced content? Study 1 examined the first question, the selection of tragic drama. Study 2 investigated the second question, the enjoyment of tragic drama. In Study 1, compared to moderate-lonely individuals, high-lonely individuals selected more tragic drama of which the main theme is positive human relationship that can meet the need for relatedness. Low-lonely individuals did not vary from either high- or moderate-lonely individuals in selecting tragic drama. The treatment of social isolation had effects on the selection of tragic drama among moderate lonely individuals, but not among high- and low-lonely individuals. Moderate-lonely individuals in the inclusion condition watched more tragic drama than did individuals in the neutral condition. In Study 2, individuals were placed in two conditions: self- and other-focused motivations. After watching a sad film, other-focused individuals felt more other-centered sadness, experienced more enjoyment, and had better self-regulation than did self-focused individuals. Other-centered sadness correlated with self-centered sadness and enjoyment, whereas self-focused sadness did not correlate with enjoyment. The two studies suggest that other-focused sadness represents the hedonic value of tragic drama. Theoretical implications and limitations were discussed.
Warning--side effects may not include paying attention: visual features that influence attention to warning information in direct-to-consumer pharmeceutical advertisements
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Fondren, Wesley Eugene; Bryant, Jennings; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertisements are required by law to include warning information about possible side effects. The text sizes and text colors for warning information often vary from the headline of the ad. The effects on recall, disposition toward the product, and aesthetic value of matching the text size and color of warning information with the ad headlines were investigated. A computer-based experiment with 192 participants was conducted. Each participant was shown a brief story and an ad, and was given a questionnaire that measured the dependent variables. The procedure was repeated three times for each participant, with the first and third exposure being the critical trials, which were presented in randomized order. No statistically significant relationships were found between altering warning information and recall, disposition toward the product, or aesthetic value. However, secondary analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship between ad order and recall. Whichever critical ad was presented second received significantly higher recall scores. Results suggest that after being questioned about the initial ad, motivation increased to attend to warning in the second ad. Duration of exposure also increased with the second ad, which positively correlated with improved recall scores. Hypotheses were retested controlling for both ad order and duration of exposure. No support was found for the hypotheses. The findings show generally poor recall for warning information in ads, even when the information is in colorful and large text. Results also indicate that motivation to read and remember warning information is a key variable in how well information is recalled.
University teachers' perceptions and evaluations of ethics instruction in public relations curriculum
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Erzikova, Elina; Berger, Bruce K.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This study examined the present state of teaching ethics in university public relations departments in the U.S. and abroad. The results indicated that public relations teachers perceived ethics instruction in public relations education to be essential, and they believed in a close tie between general morality and professional ethics. However, as the results of a quantitative survey suggested, foreign participants believed that ethics instruction helps students make right choices on the job less so than did participants who were born and teach in the U.S. A series of qualitative interviews with communication teachers in Western European universities revealed that the foreign teachers did not perceive themselves as direct contributors to the public relations industry. Instead, they saw themselves as individuals who are responsible for general liberal education of the youth, not specialized training. Multiple regression analysis of a number of respondents' demographics showed that the higher the participants' rank, the less favorable attitude they held toward the value of ethics education to students. This result is a subject of a future investigation. The majority of participants recognized ethics instruction incorporated in courses throughout the PR curriculum as the most valuable format of ethics instruction delivery. The most used pedagogies--teacher lectures, case studies, and group discussion--appeared to be the most effective approaches, whereas the most used resources in teaching ethics--textbooks, trade magazine articles, and newspaper or magazine stories--were perceived as the most effective material in teaching ethics. Future research should focus on the content of ethics courses; theoretical systems (e.g., Judeo-Christian ethics, Kantian deontology, utilitarianism, and others) examined in the course; whether and to what extent ethics is not only a teaching, but also a research interest of public relations teachers; and, the most important, whether and to what extent ethics instruction affects public relations graduates' future as individuals and professionals. This study makes a pedagogical and theoretical contribution to a thin literature on ethics education. Research based on examination of teachers' perceptions and preferences may help public relations educators see trends in contemporary education, better understand their underpinnings, and possibly enhance their own teaching and educational curricula.
Can newscasts reduce prejudice?: television's potential impact upon the malleability of implicit attitudes
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Loggins, Ginger Miller; Evans, William A.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Despite a preponderance of evidence that news reports increase negative racial attitudes, some researchers have demonstrated that the print media can reduce such effects. Research has yet to examine television news can similarly reduce negative racial attitudes among viewers, even though television suffers from a worse reputation for encouraging such biases than does print. Building upon psychological research into the malleability of prejudice, the present research explores television's potential to affect viewer prejudice. Psychological research (e.g., Dasgupta and Greenwald, 2001; Wittenbrink, Judd, and Park, 2001) shows that targeted manipulations can both positively and negatively affect implicit prejudices. Media research (e.g. Power, Murphy, and Coover, 1996; Casas & Dixon, 2003; Ramasubramanian, 2005) demonstrates that print media can produce positive and negative effects upon stereotypes and prejudice, though such research remains somewhat contradictory. Capitalizing on psychology's differentiation between implicit and explicit attitudes, this study is the first specifically to explore the potential for television news to prime counter-prejudicial attitudes. Specifically, the study uses an Implicit Association Test (IAT) to measure television news' facility to serve as a prime to strengthen or weaken racial schema and impact racial attitudes. After recording base-level prejudice through the IAT, researchers showed national news segments featuring famous and infamous Whites and Blacks to 130 White participants. Each segment was chosen either for visual impact or for the potential emotional impact of its subject. Pairs of segments served as either stereotypical or counterstereotypical manipulations. Following presentation of the segments, researchers measured post-manipulation implicit prejudice using the IAT and recorded levels of explicit prejudice as responses to semantic differentials and feeling thermometers. Data did not support initial hypotheses concerning the segments' effects upon explicit and implicit prejudice, but the experiment did yield interesting results that should help future media researchers. This dissertation provides a guide for future media research designs utilizing the IAT, suggests that television may possess a positive capacity to curb pro-White biases in society, and implies that television's propensity to increase anti-Black attitudes may be more limited than previous media research studies seem to suggest.
Effects of attributional style and health locus of control on emotional support: young adult partnerships shaped by mental illness
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Russell, Jennifer Michelle; Mills, Carol B.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The purpose of the research was to investigate the effects of both attributional style and health locus of control on emotional support within potential partnerships that are affected by mental illness. The research focused on the young adult population due to the prevalence of mental illness. Based on previous scholarship, the research posed two central research questions: How does the perceived controllability of a mental illness influence people's willingness to give emotional support to a partner living with a mental illness? How does the attribution of the mentally ill partner's actions affect the supporter partner's willingness to lend emotional support? Using an experimental design with participants (N=136) answering the established measures based on hypothetical scenarios, the research manipulated the mental disorder presented (i.e., Bipolar Disorder and Substance Abuse Disorder), and how the potential actions associated with the illness could be attributed (i.e., internal or external). Independent measures included health locus of control, attributional style, perceived controllability, and willingness to lend emotional support. The results suggested several important implications. Participants reported that the mental illnesses presented were moderately to highly controllable. The results also inferred that their willingness to lend emotional support is effected by the perceived controllability of the illness. Lastly, the research suggested that being able to attribute certain behaviors to the diagnosis is a factor in the participants' willingness to lend emotional support.
Experimental tests of terror management and psychological responses to TV news of immigrant criminals: implications for hostility, risk vulnerability, and issue judgment
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Pan, Po-Lin; Zhou, Shuhua; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The purpose of this study was to explore social and psychological effects of mortality salience in TV news and social group difference between news viewers and news protagonists. Using terror management theory and social identity theory as theoretical frameworks, the study assumed that news viewers would be significantly influenced by mortality primes in TV news as well as the social group to which the criminals belonged in TV news. The assumptions in this study were investigated by two experiments: One designed to examine the social influences of TV news on news viewers' mortality thought, hostility toward the criminals, risk vulnerability and judgment of the immigration issue, and the other one devised to explore viewer's moment-to-moment responses, namely emotional responses, news evaluations, and crime perceptions. Experiment 1 demonstrated that mortality primes in TV news activated (1) viewers' mortality thoughts, (2) increasingly hostile attitudes toward the criminals, and (3) more negative judgments on the immigration issue. There is evidence that terror management theory can be used to clarify the social influences of mortality salience on viewers. Additionally, Experiment 1 found the social influences of social group difference on viewers' judgment of the immigration issue, but not on their hostility and risk vulnerability. That is, viewers may hold negative attitudes toward the immigration issue because out-group criminals in the coverage were shaped as a negative prime in viewers, which activated viewers' negative perspectives on the immigration issue. Experiment 2 indicated that (1) mortality primes in TV news significantly led viewers to more negative emotional responses, more newsworthy evaluations of news stories, and more severe perceptions of the criminal acts in the coverage, (2) the coverage of in-group criminals significantly activated viewers to more severe perceptions of the criminal acts than that of out-group criminals, (3) the interactions between mortality salience and social group difference significantly affected viewers' emotional responses, news evaluations, and crime perceptions, and (4) the interactions between self-esteem and mortality primes partially generated influences on viewers' emotional responses. Therefore, mortality effects in TV news were more powerful than social group difference effects. News viewers may purposely process some news information closely related to themselves, but not react to the stories based upon the social group of the protagonists in TV news.
Toward a stakeholder model of corporate governance: evidence from U.S. media companies
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Shao, Guosong; Zhou, Shuhua; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
It has been widely recognized that corporate governance can play a key role in improving corporate performance. When implementing various governance mechanisms, however, corporations must address a fundamental question: should corporate governance focus on protecting the interests of only shareholders or should corporate governance expand its focus and consider the interests of other groups? While agency theory asserts that the exclusive focus of corporate governance is to ensure the interests of shareholders, stakeholder theory proposes that corporations should serve all groups or individuals who have a stake in the corporation. Like that of other industries, corporate governance of media industries has generally followed the agency model of maximizing shareholder wealth. But the weakness and failure of such a model in recent years suggest that it may be meaningful to approach the issue from an alternative, stakeholder perspective. Focusing on 75 publicly traded media companies continuously filed with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission between 2004 and 2007, this dissertation examined the effects of ownership structure, board structure, compensation structure, and takeover control on corporate performance. It found that stakeholder-oriented governance mechanisms, including reduced institutional ownership, increased insider ownership, enlarged board representativeness, increased board interlocks, fixed compensation for CEO and directors, and certain takeover controls like dual class shares and poison pills, were positively associated with media firms' performance. This dissertation thus suggested that corporate governance of media companies go beyond the pure shareholder-maximization goal and consider the interests of such stakeholders as employees, audience, and local communities because the stakeholder approach was not only socially desirable but also economically efficient. This dissertation theoretically contributed: (1) to the media management literatures through offering a systematic examination on the governance mechanisms of media companies; (2) to the stakeholder perspective through opening up a new and empirical line of inquiry; and (3) to the corporate governance research through challenging its traditional shareholder-maximizing paradigm. Moreover, this dissertation had important implications for media practitioners and regulators since it proposed and verified a number of better governance mechanisms that can be put into practice.
How can an organization lessen people's anger, blame, and negative behaviors in a crisis?: building the anger management model based on organizational crisis response strategies and news frames
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) An, Seonkyoung; Bryant, Jennings; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The main purpose of this study is to examine how to reduce people's anger, blame, and negative behavioral intentions in a crisis. By focusing on levels of responsibility and a morality news frame, this study attempted to (1) examine the effects of the two factors on blame and anger, (2) identify the role of anger mediating blame and negative behavioral intentions, and (3) test the anger management model. The total of 230 college students participated in this experiment. The experimental design was a 2 (individual vs. organizational responsibility) x 2 (immorality vs. non-immorality frame) between-subject factorial design. Each of four groups was exposed to different types of news scenarios regarding a laptop battery recall crisis caused by human-error. The main effects of the two factors on blame and anger indicated that: (1) participants who read a the individual responsibility exhibited higher levels of blame and anger than did participants who read the organizational responsibility, and (2) participants who were exposed to an immorality frame exhibited higher levels of blame and anger than did participants who did not, (3) significant interaction effects between the two on blame were found when participants were exposed to the immorality frame; no matter what a strategy the company uses, participants showed higher levels of blame in both the individual and the organizational responsibility, (4) the more people blamed the company, the angrier people got toward the company, (5) if people were more likely to be mad at the company, they were less likely to purchase the company's products, and (6) more likely to tell other people about the company negatively. Mediation analyses found that anger mediated (7) blame and negative purchase intention, and (8) blame and negative word-of-mouth communication intention. (9) The anger management model was revised. This study gives practitioners practical implications regarding effective crisis response strategies, the importance of media frame, and anger management in a crisis. Despite limitations regarding generalizability, this study contributes knowledge in the field of crisis communication to (1) better understand the people's emotion in a crisis, and (2) develop specific ways of managing their anger.
A history of weekly community newspapers in the United States: 1900 to 1980
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Garfrerick, Beth H.; Sloan, W. David; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This study is an examination of community weekly newspapers in the United States during the period beginning in 1900 and ending in 1980. For this dissertation, the weekly "community" newspaper is defined as a newspaper operating in small towns and rural areas that placed an emphasis on local news. This study analyzes the nature of the weekly community newspaper and how it reflected American society throughout most of the twentieth century. Despite all of the problems that faced the weekly newspaper industry throughout its long and proud history, the constants that remained were survival tactics in terms of reactive versus proactive responses to content, commercial, and professional concerns. Several times throughout the decades an obituary had been written for community weeklies. But they always found a way to fight back and happen upon a means, a method, or a message that resonated with audiences and advertisers enough so as to allow them to keep their doors open for another business day. Community weeklies told the story of average American daily lives more thoroughly and in a more personal manner than the big-city dailies. In essence, the weekly publisher-editor served as author of his community's life story.
Family and peer communication as determinants
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Poston, Sarah Marisa; Bissell, Kimberly L.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The goal of this study was to better understand the influence of family and peers on HPV vaccination, illuminating specific influences of knowledge, family style, conflict as well as conversation. This study is one of the first in the field of communication addressing communication and vaccination uptake. Considering that much of people's understanding about health and health practices comes from both personal experiences and personal experiences of others, this deficit is notable. The theory of reasoned action was used to guide this study. It proved helpful in examining the relationship between societal norms, attitudes, and intention to vaccinate. It was predicted that peer influence, family influence and increased knowledge would be positive predictors of HPV vaccination. However, none of the variables proved to influence HPV vaccination. Additionally, family style, conflict between family members, conversation as well as determining in what areas family and peers were most influential was addressed. A surprising finding was that individuals who had little conversation with their peers and families about HPV vaccination were most likely to vaccinate. Finally, the study examined in which areas peers and families were most likely to be influential in the individual's decision making process. In rank order, individuals were most likely to be influenced in consumer situations, interpersonally, and last in health situations by their peers and family. These results demonstrate that health issues may still be considered private areas where input from others may be unwanted or unheeded.

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