Showing papers in "Journal of Communication in 2001"
TL;DR: This paper outlines and extends a theory of uncertainty management and reviews current theory and research in this area and describes applications to health communication practice.
Abstract: The fundamental challenge for refining theories of communication and uncertainty is to abandon the assumption that uncertainty will produce anxiety. To better explain processes of communication and uncertainty management the authors must answer questions about a) the experience and meaning of uncertainty b) the role of appraisal and emotion in uncertainty management and c) the range of behavioral and psychological responses to uncertainty. This paper outlines and extends a theory of uncertainty management and reviews current theory and research in this area. In addition to the theoretical advances promised by this perspective the paper describes applications to health communication practice. The drive in disease prevention to reduce uncertainty about the state of health and illness has led to a "culture of chronic illness". Constant surveillance of peoples health combined with improved methods for screening and monitoring virtually guarantee finding something wrong with every person creating a society divided into the chronically ill and the worried well (i.e. those waiting to be diagnosed). (authors)
1,072 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a survey of 572 students at a large public university showed that heavy recreational Internet use was correlated highly with impaired academic performance, and loneliness, staying up late, tiredness, and missing class were also intercorrelated with self-reports of Internet-caused impairment.
Abstract: Recent research at colleges and universities has suggested that some college students’ academic performance might be impaired by heavier use of the Internet. This study reviews the relevant literature and presents data from a survey of 572 students at a large public university. Heavier recreational Internet use was shown to be correlated highly with impaired academic performance. Loneliness, staying up late, tiredness, and missing class were also intercorrelated with self-reports of Internet-caused impairment. Self-reported Internet dependency and impaired academic performance were both associated with greater use of all Internet applications, but particularly with much greater use of synchronous communication applications such as chat rooms and MUDs, as opposed to asynchronous applications such as email and Usenet newsgroups.
545 citations
TL;DR: This paper proposed a typology of sources that would apply not only to traditional media but also to new online media and investigated the effects of different types of source attributions upon receivers' perception of online news content.
Abstract: This study attempts a new conceptualization of communication “sources” by proposing a typology of sources that would apply not only to traditional media but also to new online media. Ontological rationale for the distinctions in the typology is supplemented by psychological evidence via an experiment that investigated the effects of different types of source attributions upon receivers’ perception of online news content. Participants (N = 48) in a 4-condition, between-participants experiment read 6 identical news stories each through an online service. Participants were told that the stories were selected by 1 of 4 sources: news editors, the computer terminal on which they were accessing the stories, other audience members (or users) of the online news service, or (using a pseudo-selection task) the individual user (self). After reading each online news story, all participants filled out a paperand-pencil questionnaire indicating their perceptions of the story they had just read. In confirmation of the distinctions made in the typology, attribution of identical content to 4 different types of online sources was associated with significant variation in news story perception. Theoretical implications of the results as well as the typology are discussed.
436 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the complementary nature of face-to-face and computer-mediated social support and the development of a context through which hyperpersonal communication can develop within online communities was investigated.
Abstract: This study investigates the complementary nature of face-to-face and computer-mediated social support and the development of a context through which hyperpersonal communication can develop within online communities. Optimal matching theory is used as a framework for explaining how hyperpersonal communication develops within online cancer support communities. We compared online participants' perceptions of illness support from the list with the support they received from a nonmediated relationship. Respondents participated more within the online community only when they perceived that the depth and support that they received from the online community was high, and when the depth and support they received from the specific person in their life was low.
308 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identified four groups of individuals according to their perceived risk and self-efficacy: responsive (high perceived risk, high efficacy), proactive, avoidance, and indifference.
Abstract: Using Witte's (1992) extended parallel process model, this study identifies 4 groups of individuals according to their perceived risk and self-efficacy: responsive (high perceived risk, high efficacy), proactive (low perceived risk, high efficacy), avoidance (high perceived risk, low efficacy), and indifference (low perceived risk, low efficacy). Membership in these groups is hypothesized to influence motivation to think about cardiovascular diseases (CVD), use of CVD-related information, and knowledge acquisition. In the cross-sectional data waves, there was a significant interaction between risk perception and self-efficacy on individuals' (a) motivation to think about CVD issues, (b) use of health information, and (c) knowledge acquisition. This study also found similar results longitudinally over a 2-year and a 6-year period.
283 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss problematic integration (PI) theory, a general perspective on the nature of the dynamic relationship between communication and tensions among expectations and desires and consider the relevance and potential value of PI theory to questions foundational to the field of communication research.
Abstract: This essay discusses problematic integration (PI) theory, a general perspective on the nature of the dynamic relationship between communication and tensions among expectations and desires and considers the relevance and potential value of PI theory to questions foundational to the field of communication research. The paper begins with a discussion of the main propositions of PI theory, then considers the relationship between the theory and emerging analyses of uncertainty, attending in particular to the meanings of uncertainty and the tensions among uncertainties, wants, and wishes.
240 citations
TL;DR: This paper compares 3 theories examining the role of communication in producing and coping with subjective uncertainty as well as the roles played by natural language in the communication-uncertainty interface.
Abstract: This paper compares 3 theories examining the role of communication in producing and coping with subjective uncertainty. Uncertainty reduction theory offers axioms and derived theorems that describe communicative and noncommunicative causes and consequences of uncertainty. The narrow scope of the theory and its axiomatic form are both advantageous and disadvantageous. Problematic integration and uncertainty management theories are comparatively broad, and they exhibit an open, web-like structure. The former theory scrutinizes the complex intersection of probability assessments and evaluations of the objects of these assessments, whereas the latter examines the various ways in which people cope with uncertainty, including sometimes attempting to increase it. The paper also compares meanings of “uncertainty” in the 3 theories as well as the roles played by natural language in the communication-uncertainty interface.
234 citations
TL;DR: This article investigated factors related to two types of judgments that make up the third-person perception: media effects on others and effects on self, and found that paternalistic attitudes were the strongest predictor of support for censorship.
Abstract: This study investigated factors related to two types of judgments that make up the third-person perception: media effects on others and effects on self. Specifically, separate regression path models revealed that estimates of effects on others are based on a relatively naive schema for media effects that is similar to the “magic bullet” model of media effects (i.e., more exposure leads to greater effects). On the other hand, assessing effects on self involves a more complex, conditional effects model. The different pattern of results for the self and other models reflect the “fundamental attribution error” from attribution theory. The path models also extend results from the perceptual component to the behavioral component of the third-person effect by linking the explanatory variables to support for censorship. Both models showed that paternalistic attitudes were the strongest predictor of support for censorship.
180 citations
TL;DR: Germans spend an average of more than 3 hours watching television each day as mentioned in this paper. But they also turn on their TV sets for less than 1.5 hours a day, and others who do this for more than 8 hours per day.
Abstract: Germans spend an average of more than 3 hours watching television each day. Among them, there are many who turn on their TV sets for less than 1.5 hours a day, and others who do this for more than 8 hours a day. What accounts for these differences? The central thesis in this paper is that individuals may be distinguished by their attitude toward thinking and that differences in their need for cognition explain the differences in their time spent with TV. The lower viewers’ need for cognition is, the less pleasant they feel when they have nothing to do because there is nothing left to do but think. The easiest way for individuals to escape this pressure to think is by watching TV. Thus, individuals will watch more TV when they have a lower need for cognition. Results of a survey study show that the concept of escapism proves to be useful in explaining TV use when it takes over a psychological perspective as well as a sociological one.
172 citations
TL;DR: Uncertainty reduction theory (Berger & Calabrese, 1975) was formulated to explain relationships between the frequency of communication behaviors, level of uncertainty, and level of relational qualities as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Uncertainty reduction theory (Berger & Calabrese, 1975) was formulated to explain relationships between the frequency of communication behaviors, level of uncertainty, and level of relational qualities. In this essay, I advocate attention to an alternative set of research questions addressed to the meanings and evaluations of uncertainty and communicative responses to uncertainty. This normative approach entails a shift in focus from measuring level of uncertainty to examining multiple and potentially conflicting meanings of uncertainty, a shift from measuring communication behaviors to evaluating communication practices, and a shift from predicting what people will do to predicting and explaining the effectiveness and appropriateness of what they do in response to uncertainty. Four case studies from various sociocultural contexts illustrate phenomena that are explained by a normative approach to uncertainty and communication. Since its formulation in 1975, uncertainty reduction theory has produced a steady stream of literature examining the experience of uncertainty, the ways in which individuals respond to uncertainty, and the outcomes associated with uncertainty. The theory began as an explanation of initial interaction between strangers, but interest has expanded far beyond these boundary conditions to include examination of uncertainty in ongoing personal relationships, organizational settings, health care interactions, and interactions among individuals from different sociocultural backgrounds. This steady interest in uncertainty reduction theory has occurred despite the original theory’s rather mixed track record of predictions (for reviews, see Sunnafrank, 1986, 1989). Clearly, one of the greatest contributions of uncertainty reduction theory has been its heuristic value in directing our attention to the role of uncertainty in various communication situations and to practical concerns with how individuals manage uncertainty in problematic situations. Uncertainty reduction theory was intended as a covering law theory (cf. Berger, 1977), designed to predict and explain the frequency with which various communicative behaviors would occur, the relationship between frequency of behaviors and amounts or degrees of uncertainty, and ways in which this might
140 citations
TL;DR: When the fit is too tight, there may be only one mutual position that is compatible with the binding of the two molecules; the probability for binding is low and hence the information required for finding that position is high as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: When the fit is too tight, there may be only one mutual position that is compatible with the binding of the two molecules; the probability for binding is low and, hence, the information required for finding that position is high. On the other hand, when the fit is too loose, we again get a low probability for binding. Somewhere in between lies the optimal, sloppy fit where the binding probability is highest and the information required, lowest
TL;DR: The actual problem presenter emerges as the result of a process of interactional negotiation rather than dominance or control, and this study suggests communication resources that may increase the child’s participation in presenting the problem.
Abstract: Using audio- and videotapes of acute pediatric encounters, this study (a) identifies pediatricians’ practices of next speaker selection when soliciting the problem presentation, (b) identifies factors that bear on next speaker selection, and (c) examines the consequences of physicians’ selection practices for who ultimately presents the problem. Although doctors most frequently select children as problem presenters, parents are the most likely to actually present the child’s problem. However, parents nonetheless orient to their children’s rights to answer questions that select them as next speaker. Thus, the actual problem presenter emerges as the result of a process of interactional negotiation rather than dominance or control. This study also suggests communication resources that may increase the child’s participation in presenting the problem. When sick children visit their pediatricians, their participation in the interaction is important both in terms of the child’s socialization into the role of autonomous patient and in terms of understanding the child’s actual illness experience. However, children do not always communicate readily or lucidly with their doctors, and doctors must make real-time decisions about their interactions with child patients, including whether or not to ask them questions about their illness, what kinds of questions to ask, and whether to pursue particular topics with them. This paper examines one particular context of such decision making—the activity of establishing the reason for the child’s visit—and explores some of the ways doctors can and do attempt to engage children in the interaction. Two features of the pediatric encounter create interactional complications. First, the child may not be a fully competent interactant. In deciding whether to ask
TL;DR: For example, the authors examined the third-person effect for two different effects of televised violence, mean world perceptions and aggression, using attribution theory as an explanatory framework, and found that those who compared themselves favorably with others perceived a larger effect for aggression and more distant others (in the U.S. rather than the local community).
Abstract: This study examines the third-person effect (the belief that others are more affected by media messages than oneself) for two different effects of televised violence, mean world perceptions and aggression, using attribution theory as an explanatory framework. In telephone interviews with a random sample of 253 community residents, third-person effects, as predicted, were observed for both aggression and mean world perceptions, but were larger for the more socially undesirable influence on aggression and for more distant others (in the U.S. rather than the local community). In addition, those who compared themselves favorably with others perceived a larger third-person effect for aggression. The study also explores the role of other factors in the third-person effect, including demographics and liking for and exposure to televised violence.
TL;DR: In this paper, a study of possible effects of daily talk shows on adolescents involved a prolonged-exposure experiment designed to evaluate effects of exposure to sequences dealing with lesbian or gay male relationships between the content of a specific genre and cultivation measures, independent of third variables.
Abstract: The traditional cultivation approach assumes (a) a uniform message across all television genres, (b) a nonselective viewing pattern in the audience, and (c) longterm effects. This study of possible effects of daily talk shows on adolescents involved a prolonged-exposure experiment designed to evaluate effects of exposure to sequences dealing with lesbian or gay male relationships between the content of a specific genre and cultivation measures, independent of third variables. The results show that cultivation effects occurred at both first- and second-order level. However, these effects were restricted to the particular issues. No transfer effects pertaining to a general change of attitudes were observed. It is concluded that cultivation effects are limited to both the genre and issue in question. Accordingly, the identification of cultivating messages within and across different televison genres should be emphasized.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors extend Bourdieu's analysis of taste, cultural capital, and habitus to address the identification of and appeal to gay consumers in the Advocate magazine between 1967 and 1992.
Abstract: This essay extends Bourdieu's analysis of taste, cultural capital, and habitus to address the identification of and appeal to gay consumers in the Advocate magazine between 1967 and 1992. From its humble beginnings as a local activist newspaper to its incarnation as a gay and lesbian, glossy, lifestyle magazine in the early 1990s, the Advocate consolidated the image of the ideal gay consumer, his (occasionally her) tastes, pleasures, and concerns, for readers and advertisers alike. The magazine thus helped to construct a dominant gay habitus that would increasingly characterize an openly gay, professional-managerial class. This process provides both opportunities and costs for a diverse gay citizenship and for a lively, heterogeneous, sex-positive gay politics.
TL;DR: This paper examined the potential impact of the English-only movement on linguistic minorities and Anglos' perceptions of their own and minority groups' language vitality, and examined how Anglo support for Englishonly policies limits the use, promotion, and saliency of minority languages like Spanish in institutional settings and in the linguistic landscape and suggest directions for future research.
Abstract: This paper reexamines the potential impact of the English-only movement on linguistic minorities and Anglos' perceptions of their own and minority groups' language vitality. Of particular interest is the Hispanic population - the fastest growing minority in the U.S. Communication scholars have paid only scant attention to the English-only movement and how it affects the social and communication climate for Latinos. However, literature reviews prepared for the American Psychological Association and for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (in 1991 and 1995, respectively) concluded that English-only initiatives have negative consequences for limited-English proficiency groups. Revisiting this still-growing issue in the light of more recent studies across disciplines and media reports, we examine how Anglo support for English-only policies limits the use, promotion, and salience of minority languages like Spanish in institutional settings and in the linguistic landscape and suggest directions for future research.
TL;DR: The U.S. media frame the transfer of Hong Kong from British to Chinese sovereignty in terms of four dominant ideological packages, that is, the United States (a) is a new guardian for Hong Kong (b) in an emerging cold war between the West and China, whereas Hong Kong will suffer from the erosion of freedom and democracy under Chinese rule on the one hand, and (c) will be a "Trojan horse" to spearhead China's political and economic change on the other.
Abstract: In the shadow of globalization, international newsmaking remains inherently ethnocentric, nationalistic, and even state-centered. Major U.S. media frame the transfer of Hong Kong from British to Chinese sovereignty in terms of four dominant ideological packages, that is, the United States (a) is a ‘new guardian’ of Hong Kong (b) in an emerging cold war between the West and China, whereas Hong Kong will suffer from the erosion of freedom and democracy under Chinese rule on the one hand, and (d) will be a ‘Trojan horse’ to spearhead China's political and economic change on the other. In sum, the media rally around the ‘star spangled banner’ to bang the democracy drum in consonance with elite consensus and foreign policy. Their news net is narrowly cast. To rescue the handover from being a dull media event, the media seek to hype up their stories. Even the lighthearted pieces flaunt ideological messages.
TL;DR: This paper explored how college students, a primary audience for alcohol-related messages, evaluate antidrinking public service announcements and alcohol advertisements and found that perceived realism and themes that students could identify with are important factors in increasing the salience and persuasiveness of PSAs.
Abstract: This study, based on the message interpretation process (MIP) model, explored how college students, a primary audience for alcohol-related messages, evaluate antidrinking public service announcements and alcohol advertisements. Evaluations from 246 respondents regarding 10 alcohol-related ads and PSAs produced differences in quantitative and qualitative responses. Results suggested that perceived realism and themes that students could identify with are important factors in increasing the salience and persuasiveness of PSAs. The respondents’ free-recall responses suggested that realistic but logic-based PSAs were not as effective as unrealistic but enjoyable ads. Low production quality, though noticed, was not related to the persuasive value of PSAs.
TL;DR: A study of 1,670 letters argues the online forum is a public space and identifies four characteristics of the space as it relates to public sphere theories: access, freedom of communication, structure of deliberation, and the public use of reason as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Chileans from around the world discussed the October 1998 arrest of ex-dictator Augusto Pinochet in London and debated the legacy of the military government over an Internet forum associated with the publication La Tercera. This study of 1,670 letters argues the online forum is a public space and identifies 4 characteristics of the space as it relates to public sphere theories: access, freedom of communication, structure of deliberation, and the public use of reason. Participants in forum debates generated both public opinion and collective memories of the recent past, thus becoming part of the broader Chilean reconciliation process
TL;DR: In this article, the authors extend problematic integration theory and related theories of uncertainty management to communication about serious illness and death, and suggest concrete changes derived from this framework that can improve the advance care planning process and enhance the quality of end-of-life care.
Abstract: This essay extends problematic integration theory and related theories of uncertainty management to communication about serious illness and death. These extensions (a) note that theorizing must focus on multiple, interrelated uncertainties rather than a single such uncertainty; (b) explain how communication with others often problematizes efforts to cope with illness-related uncertainties; and (c) identify specific factors that may influence how persons choose to cope with these uncertainties. The essay describes implications for ongoing efforts to improve communication with persons nearing death. Specifically, they point to 5 incorrect assumptions that limit the effectiveness of current efforts to encourage persons to talk about their end-of-life preferences with others in a process referred to as advance care planning and then suggest concrete changes derived from this framework that can improve the advance care planning process and enhance the quality of end-of- life care.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that three traditions of theory about organizational communication have special relevance to the ideas of problematic integration theory, and they argue that the diverse values of organizational groups are treated as emerging and being resolved in many ways in local practice.
Abstract: In this paper we argue that 3 traditions of theory about organizational communication have special relevance to the ideas of problematic integration theory. In the rational structure tradition, organizations are described as mechanisms for suppressing or overcoming integration problems, as rationally designed communication processes achieve a system-level resolution that may ignore or override any individually experienced integration problems. In the organizing process theory tradition, values are recognized as important elements guiding organizational sense making or emerging through organizing or learning, but amazingly diverse and unintegrated social structures can stand as resolutions (broadly defined) of integration problems. Finally, in the structurational tradition, the diverse values of organizational groups are treated as emerging and being resolved in many ways in local practice, whereas structural constraints imply that local resolutions will enter into a body of generally relevant organizational knowledge only in limited ways.
TL;DR: This paper examined the effect of a child's age on his or her interpretation of an act of interpersonal violence on television and found that younger children thought that unpunished violence was more right than punished violence.
Abstract: This experiment examined the effect of a child's age on his or her interpretation of an act of interpersonal violence on television. One hundred eighty-four children in 2 age groups were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 viewing conditions in which they watched a violent video clip. The clips depicted identical violent acts; however, punishment (yes/no) of the violent act and provocation (yes/no) for the violent act were manipulated to create the 4 conditions. Following the video clip, children were asked to judge whether the act was right or wrong and why. They then engaged in a test of their willingness to choose aggression as a solution to a hypothetical interpersonal conflict. As predicted, younger children thought that unpunished violence was more right than punished violence. Older children thought that provoked violence was more right than unprovoked violence, although this result only approached significance. Children's willingness to choose a violent story ending to a hypothetical interpersonal conflict was related to their experimental condition for older children but not for younger children.
TL;DR: This paper examined public perceptions of the characteristics of a typical welfare recipient and of welfare programs, and how these perceptions reflect differences in individuals' media use, and found that contextually poor, event-centered, and personalized media content use, represented by exposure and attention to television cable news, and entertainment shows, works in the direction of introducing typical biases in welfare perceptions: perception of welfare recipients as non-White, female, of younger age, and of higher federal spending on welfare programs.
Abstract: This study examines public perceptions of the characteristics of a typical welfare recipient and of welfare programs, and how these perceptions reflect differences in individuals' media use. The evidence shows that contextually poor, event-centered, and personalized media content use, represented by exposure and attention to television cable news, and entertainment shows, works in the direction of introducing typical biases in welfare perceptions: perception of welfare recipients as non-White, female, of younger age, and of higher federal spending on welfare programs. In contrast, watching more thematic television stories about welfare and poverty, as well as reading public affairs content in newspapers, has overall positive effects on the accuracy of perceptions of welfare. In turn, perceptions of welfare recipients and welfare programs affect individual's support for welfare programs.
TL;DR: This article called on the field to take inventory of multiple and shifting voices in reviews and critiques of the literature, to connect with each other through exploring shifting concepts and theories, and to engage in joint actions in ways that embrace and preserve differences.
Abstract: This address, delivered at ICA's 50th anniversary conference, calls on the association to take stock of where we are and how we should come together. It reviews 3 periods in the field's recent past: fermentation, fragmentation, and legitimation. Then, drawing from several of Bahktin's notions of dialogue, it summons scholars to come together by engaging in alternative modes of discourse - ones that center on multiple and shifting voices and oppositional discourse. It advocates using the construct of voice rather than paradigms, theories, and academic divisions, to develop complementary ways of understanding. In particular, it calls on the field to take inventory of multiple and shifting voices in reviews and critiques of the literature, to connect with each other through exploring shifting concepts and theories, and to engage in joint actions in ways that embrace and preserve differences.
TL;DR: In this article, a regional newspaper, the San Jose (CA) Mercury News unveiled the results of its year-long investigation into links between the spread of crack cocaine in the U.S. and fundraising for the CIA-backed Contra rebels in Central America.
Abstract: In August 1996, a regional newspaper, the San Jose (CA) Mercury News unveiled the results of its year-long investigation into links between the spread of crack cocaine in the U.S. and fundraising for the CIA-backed contra rebels in Central America. ‘Dark Alliance: The Story Behind the Crack Explosion’ was the first investigative report to achieve national prominence primarily via Internet dissemination. Investigations by three of the country's largest dailies, rather than advancing the Mercury's claims, turned into a sustained and damaging critique. Commentators have characterized this sharp scrutiny of a respected regional paper as everything from a defense of journalistic standards to damage control for the CIA. Nearly all, however, have ignored the larger critique of the Internet as a medium of news distribution that emerged in the follow-up coverage. This study examines the controversy as a case of news repair, ad defined by Bennett, Gressett, and Haltom (1985), noting what the case reveals about the operation of news repair itself in an era of Internet-based news delivery. The repair of ‘Dark Alliance’ affirmed a paradigmatic understanding of what is and is not news. More broadly, it defended the authority of established broadsheets over the news media and affirmed the traditional hierarchy of national over regional newspapers. This paper argues that the Internet's role in the publication of this controversial expose created both need and opportunity for repair of institutional boundaries - those violated by the Mercury's use of the new medium and a more general erosion in the ongoing migration of news to the Internet.
TL;DR: A critical review of academic work on negativity in political advertising shows that the concept has been defined in ways that are too broad, insufficiently holistic, and too pejorative.
Abstract: A critical review of academic work on negativity in political advertising shows that the concept has been defined in ways that are too broad, insufficiently holistic, and too pejorative. Data from the American National Election Study demonstrate the disproportionate use of “negative” to describe campaign ads by voters. Exploratory data suggest the component parts of negativity: misleading claims, emotional appeals, one-sided attacks, and a generally loathsome view of politicians. To better understand academic interest in the subject, it is necessary to explore the shared assumptions of the political reform movement of the past century and of reform-minded researchers—specifically their disdain for the emotional underpinnings of political behavior, even as emotion is linked with higher citizen engagement with politics. It is possible to pursue a better informed and less benighted discourse on campaign advertising by eschewing the global conception of negativity by more seriously engaging the theoretical bases of representative government.
TL;DR: The authors argue that the domestic fantasy of class mobility privileges appearance over substance and substitutes the look of luxury for the unattainable class ascension, and that Stewart and her media products appear to play three main roles in the lives of these women: they encourage the fantasy of an upperclass lifestyle of elegance and luxury while providing an escape from their daily lives; they validate the women's interest in domesticity by making domestic work respectable and seem important; and they foster creativity and feelings of accomplishment and pride among those who complete projects and recipes.
Abstract: In-depth interviews with 10 women who are Martha Stewart fans addressed the roles Stewart and her media products play in their lives and why and how they use her media products. Stewart and her media products appear to play 3 main roles in the lives of these women: They encourage the fantasy of an upper-class lifestyle of elegance and luxury while providing an escape from their daily lives; they validate the women's interest in domesticity by making domestic work respectable and seem important; and they foster creativity and feelings of accomplishment and pride among those who complete projects and recipes. In addition, the women were able to use Stewart's media products flexibly to fit individual schedules, budgets, tastes, and desires. This paper argues that the domestic fantasy of class mobility privileges appearance over substance and substitutes the look of luxury for the unattainable class ascension. However, rather than condemning fans for embracing this fantasy, it is necessary to understand the pleasures provided and desires met by Stewart's media products, as well as the contradictions in the lives of Stewart's fans.
TL;DR: In this paper, an analysis of accident, crime, and health news reports was conducted to determine how story drama is increased by using quantitative data depicting threatening trends, such as frequency data to characterize worsening trends and rate data to illustrate improving trends.
Abstract: An analysis of accident, crime, and health news reports sought to determine how story drama is increased by using quantitative data depicting threatening trends. These reports often used frequency data to characterize worsening trends and rate data to illustrate improving trends. Increasing magnitudes signified worsening trends, and decreasing magnitudes signified improving trends. Worsening trends and frequency data depictions were more likely to be accompanied by specific exemplars. Television stories showing worsening trends or those including frequency data were longer than those reporting improving trends or rate data. Newspaper story length was unrelated to trend direction or data type.
TL;DR: The authors utilized a theoretical framework of the media's role in reporting conflict and uncertain science, and feminism and science in a thematic analysis of magazine coverage given Rachel Carson and “the Rachel Carson of the ’90s,” Theo Colborn.
Abstract: This study utilized a theoretical framework of the media’s role in reporting conflict and uncertain science, and feminism and science in a thematic analysis of magazine coverage given Rachel Carson and “the Rachel Carson of the ’90s,” Theo Colborn. Carson and Colborn’s identities as women, scientists, and agitators led critics to charge that their work was nonscience or they were nonfeminine. Their scientific claims, which were essentially co-opted, blurred nature/culture boundaries and challenged the power structure and scientific authority. Discussion centers on the media’s role in reifying the epistemic authority of science and media portrayal of female scientist-agitators who step outside the boundaries of traditional science. When Theo Colborn, a woman zoologist in her 50s, wrote a book in 1996 about the dangers of chemicals to wildlife and humans, it was only natural that she was compared with Rachel Carson. After all, Carson was a woman zoologist in her 50s when she published Silent Spring in 1962. Both women called for thorough investigations of the effects of commonly used chemicals on soil, water, wildlife, and humans. Carson was concerned about DDT—but also about 2,4-D, 2,4-T, DDE, aldrin, dieldrin, malathion, and heptachlor—and the ability of these chemicals to kill wildlife and disrupt reproduction and to cause health problems and cancer in humans. In Colborn’s book, Our Stolen Future (1996), this “modern-day Rachel Carson” discussed virtually all of the same chemicals plus the newer PCBs, DES, and dioxin, concluding that these substances—referred to as endocrine disruptors— sent chemical messages capable of mimicking hormones and disrupting reproductive and endocrine systems in both wildlife and humans. Despite the similarities between the women and their work, the 34 years between Silent Spring and Our Stolen Future were marked by tremendous amounts of social change. On the heels of the women’s movement, women scientists gained
TL;DR: This article examined the racial ideologies present in coverage by 14 mainstream newspapers of U.S. Supreme Court decisions in 1883 and 1896 that allowed and then institutionalized "separate but equal" race relations.
Abstract: Scholars from varying perspectives have suggested that discourse in media content may play an important role in shaping and reinforcing perceptions of race relations, particularly among White Americans. However, there has been relatively little systematic consideration of whether and, if so, how discourse in the press has contributed over time to relations between Whites and Blacks. With this in mind, this research examined the racial ideologies present in coverage by 14 mainstream newspapers of U.S. Supreme Court decisions in 1883 and 1896 that allowed and then institutionalized ‘separate but equal’ race relations. Findings suggest that discourse in the mainstream press encouraged racial values and attitudes that were simultaneously being institutionalized in several cultural arenas by social Darwinism, Booker T. Washington's accommodationism, and legalized segregation.