Showing papers in "Mass Communication and Society in 2004"
TL;DR: In this article, a cross-cultural comparison of newspaper coverage of global warming in France and in the United States (1987-1997) as a case study to analyze the impact of culturally bound journalistic practices on media attention cycles is presented.
Abstract: We present a cross-cultural comparison of newspaper coverage of global warming in France and in the United States (1987-1997) as a case study to analyze the impact of culturally bound journalistic practices on media attention cycles. Based on the results of a content analysis, we show that France's coverage was more event-based, focused more on international relations, and presented a more restricted range of viewpoints on global warming than American coverage did. American coverage emphasized conflicts between scientists and politicians. Downs's "quot;media-attention cycle,"quot; which is apparent for the American coverage, does not manifest as visibly in French coverage. Our findings suggest that research on media coverage of global environmental issues needs to move beyond studies at the national level; cross-cultural comparisons are essential to understand how different news regimes might affect public opinion.
326Â citations
TL;DR: In the weeks following the September 11, 2001, tragedy, President George W. Bush gave several addresses to the nation as discussed by the authors, which reflected an identifiable model of enemy image construction that had, and continues to have, important human rights implications for Arab American citizens and noncitizens.
Abstract: In the weeks following the September 11, 2001, tragedy, President George W. Bush gave several addresses to the nation. His rhetoric built on stereotypical words and images already established in more than 20 years of media and popular culture portrayals of Arabs as evil, bloodthirsty, animalistic terrorists. Textual analysis reveals that Bush's speeches, from his public statements on September 11, 2001, to the January 29, 2002, State of the Union address, reflected an identifiable model of enemy image construction that had, and continues to have, important human rights implications for Arab American citizens and noncitizens.
188Â citations
TL;DR: This article investigated the effects of strategic television news coverage of a routine political issue in a nonelectoral context on political cynicism, issue evaluation, and policy support, and found that exposure to strategic news fuelled political cynicism and activated negative associations with the enlargement issue.
Abstract: This study investigated the effects of strategic television news coverage of a routine political issue in a nonelectoral context on political cynicism, issue evaluation, and policy support. An experimentally manipulated television news story about the enlargement of the European Union was produced in a strategy version and an issue-framed version, which were embedded in an experimental bulletin of a national news program. Results showed that exposure to strategic news fuelled political cynicism and activated negative associations with the enlargement issue. Politically knowledgeable participants displayed higher levels of cynicism and were more negative in their evaluation. Strategic news did not suppress policy support. A 2-wave experimental design with a second posttest was employed to test the longevity of effects. The effects of exposure to strategic news on political cynicism muted between the immediate and delayed posttest. These findings suggest that effects may not persist unless participants are ...
165Â citations
TL;DR: This article used media systems dependency theory to examine dependencies on media after the September 11 terrorist attacks and found that degree of perceived threat and age are the key predictors of overall media dependency.
Abstract: This pilot study uses media systems dependency theory to examine dependencies on media after the September 11 terrorist attacks Survey findings show degree of perceived threat and age are the key predictors of overall media dependency, and threat is a particularly important predictor of interpersonal communication about the event Media use patterns prior to September 11 most strongly predict dependencies on individual media types Degree of dependency is a significant predictor of attitude and behavior change in the wake of the attacks, as is perceived threat Contrary to expectations, socioeconomic status and degree of social capital and connectedness matter little either to degree of dependency or to subsequent effects from dependency
135Â citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the portrayal of gender and violence in the images and text of the ads, as well as the representation of race and ethnicity, the genre of the game, the rating/label, and the use of advertising appeals such as user identification.
Abstract: Video games are increasing in popularity and use, with 42% of households in the United States owning a video game console (Interactive Digital Software Association, 2001a, 2001b). Children and young adults are frequent users (Roberts, Foehr, Rideout, & Brodie, 1999). Yet social scientific investigation of the advertising messages used to promote the games is rare. This study attempts to fill that gap with a quantitative content analysis of 1,054 advertisements for video games appearing in large-circulation video game magazines. The study examines the portrayal of gender and violence in the images and text of the ads, as well as the representation of race and ethnicity, the genre of the game, the rating/label, and the use of advertising appeals such as user identification. Results show that 55.8% of the games contained violence, an average of 2.5 weapons appeared per ad, and males outnumbered females by more than 3 to 1.
133Â citations
TL;DR: A replication of Tuggle's original study to determine whether the existence of two women's professional sports leagues has resulted in increased coverage of female athletics was conducted by as discussed by the authors, who found that the answer is no.
Abstract: Since the passage of Title IX in 1972, participation in women's sports has grown dramatically. But despite the growing level of participation by female athletes at all competition levels and documented fan interest in women's athletics, coverage of women's sports remains inferior to that given male sports across all media. Tuggle's (1997) study showed that two national highlights programs (CNN's Sports Tonight and ESPN's SportsCenter) devoted only 5% of their airtime to women's athletics. This study is a replication of Tuggle's original study to determine whether the existence of two women's professional sports leagues has resulted in increased coverage of female athletics. Results of the 2002 study show that the answer is no. Indeed there was less coverage of women on SportsCenter during the 2002 study than there was during the earlier examination.
103Â citations
TL;DR: This article investigated the role that age plays in gender portrayals in contemporary television commercials and found significant differences among same-age gender representations and same-gender age representations in prime-time advertising.
Abstract: This study investigated the role that age plays in gender portrayals in contemporary television commercials. A content analysis of 2,315 characters appearing in commercials aired during a composite week of prime-time programming on 6 major broadcast networks was conducted. The study compared images of female participants from childhood through the senior years to identify the extent to which female members of different age groups replicate conclusions drawn about images of females-in-general in advertising. The study also contrasted images of female characters from different age groups with their same-age male counterparts to shed additional light on the complexity of gender portrayals in prime-time commercials. The findings indicate significant differences among same-age gender portrayals and same-gender age portrayals. Results are interpreted within a social cognitive theory framework and directions for future research are articulated.
84Â citations
TL;DR: The authors conducted an experiment to examine the effects of balanced and imbalanced conflict story structure on perceived story bias and news organization credibility and found that balanced stories favored either the pro or con side on each issue.
Abstract: An experiment was conducted to illuminate the effects of balanced and imbalanced conflict story structure on perceived story bias and news organization credibility. Participants read mock newspaper stories on capital punishment, flat income tax rate, and drinking age that were systematically manipulated to be balanced or imbalanced. Imbalanced stories favored either the pro or the con side on each issue. Participants were randomly assigned to read one story about each issue. Results showed participants perceived imbalanced stories as biased and correctly identified the side favored by the story's imbalance. Participants evaluated newspapers apparently responsible for balanced stories as more credible than newspapers apparently publishing stories imbalanced to favor one side or the other on the issue. Imbalanced story structure directly led to perceived story bias, and perceived story bias in turn led to negative evaluation of the credibility of the newspaper publishing the imbalanced story.
83Â citations
TL;DR: Wang et al. as mentioned in this paper found that exposure to consumption-related and West-originated media contents and advertisements contributes to a more ready acceptance of the two consumerist values such as quality consumption and innovative consumption.
Abstract: This study aims to demonstrate that advertisements and the types of media content related to consumption and/or originated from the West play a significant role in shaping consumerist orientations among China's urban residents More specifically, it examines how the acceptance of 2 newly emerged consumerist values-quality consumption and innovative consumption-is related to exposure to advertisements and media By analyzing data from large-scale consumer surveys conducted in the 3 most economically advanced cities in China, this study finds that exposure to consumption-related and West-originated media contents and advertisements contributes to a more ready acceptance of the 2 consumerist values Such exposure also contributes to the development of more positive attitudes toward advertising that are found to potentially mediate and moderate the effects of exposure to consumption- and market-related media content on consumerist values Implications of the findings and directions for future studies are disc
74Â citations
TL;DR: For instance, this article found that when college sports media did cover female athletes, the quality of the coverage was equivalent to that given to men, and that there was no significant difference in the average number of words per print story or the average numbers of...
Abstract: Title IX has encouraged school administrators to work toward gender equity in athletics spending, and now many more women participate in college sports and earn college athletics scholarships than in the time before Title IX. This study was designed to assess whether Title IX has translated into equal coverage of men's and women's athletics by campus media. Based on these exploratory findings, the answer is no. College newspapers in the study covered male athletes and events in 72.7% of their sports stories, and college television operations devoted 81.5% of their sports stories to males. The overall amount of time or space devoted to comments from female or male participants or observers mirrored the discrepancy in the number of stories devoted to male versus female athletes. However, when college sports media did cover female athletes, the quality of the coverage was equivalent to that given to men. There was no significant difference in the average number of words per print story or the average number ...
68Â citations
TL;DR: This article examined the relationship of attitudes about pornography and hate speech to a variety of demographic, psychological, and sociopolitical variables (including age, gender, education, political affiliation, religiosity, media use, need for cognition, authoritarianism, neuroticism, openness, extroversion, and commitment to democratic principles).
Abstract: Attitudes about censorship have been studied across a diverse range of disciplines, including mass communication, political science, social psychology, education, and library science. Despite varied origins, this research has two things in common: (a) seeking to understand how and where the public draws lines in limiting free expression, and (b) a normative desire to be able to predict and modify such opinions when needed. To influence public attitudes about hate speech and pornography (in either direction), one must understand the characteristics of people who do and do not wish to censor such expression. This article examines the relationship of attitudes about pornography and hate speech to a variety of demographic, psychological, and sociopolitical variables (including age, gender, education, political affiliation, religiosity, media use, need for cognition, authoritarianism, neuroticism, openness, extroversion, and commitment to democratic principles). The similarities and differences of the relation...
TL;DR: The authors found that when young adults are more highly involved in public affairs, and when they have a strong sense of efficacy, they appear to be less likely to lapse into political apathy.
Abstract: Although eligible to vote, college-age citizens are notorious for their failure to engage in even the most basic forms of public affairs participation. A survey (N = 420) conducted during the final days of the fall 2000 presidential election campaign examined associations between young adults' political apathy and their perceptions and use of the media. Study results indicated that participants' involvement, efficacy, and television news use-measured as attention to and time spent with television news programs-negatively predicted political apathy. Cynicism and perceptions that television news was a beneficial source of information positively associated with apathy. Negativism toward campaigns had no relationship to apathy. The results show that when young people are more highly involved in public affairs, and when they have a strong sense of efficacy, they appear to be less likely to lapse into political apathy. The effects of television-the primary source of news for most young Americans-are double-edge...
TL;DR: The authors examined the relationship between the nature of newspaper coverage of social protests and the level of deviance and type of protest and found that moderate reform and radical reform protests were more likely to be treated critically in both the headline and main body of the article as well as have greater emphasis placed on specific events rather than themes and goals.
Abstract: This research examined the relationship between the nature of newspaper coverage of social protests and the level of deviance and type of protest. A content analysis of 280 protest news stories from the Milwaukee Journal, Wisconsin State Journal, Sauk Prairie Star, Watertown Times, and Park Falls Herald from 1960 to 1999 was conducted to compare indicators of the protest paradigm between protests that either support the status quo, endorse moderate reform, or seek radical reform. Additional analyses looked at the role that the type of protest played in adherence to the protest paradigm. Results of analyses indicate that moderate reform and radical reform protests were more likely to be treated critically in both the headline and main body of the article as well as have greater emphasis placed on specific events rather than themes and goals.
TL;DR: In this paper, an analysis of the social context of journalistic deception is presented, based on interviews with journalists, where deception is located in a moral-pragmatic framework based on harm-benefit, the altruism of the act, and instrumental utilities such as convenience, personal safety, and the bottom line.
Abstract: This study, based on depth interviews with journalists, is an analysis of the social context of journalistic deception. Borrowing from Elliot and Culver's (1992) comprehensive definition of journalistic deception that covered not only newsgathering practices but also the potential for deception in journalists' relationships with news audiences, as well as the omission-commission distinction, this research is an empirical attempt to locate the occupational and individual-grounded bases for deception. Why do journalists use deceptive methods such as impersonations, nonidentifications, and fabrication in their work? Deception is located in a moral-pragmatic framework based on harm-benefit, the altruism of the act, and instrumental utilities such as convenience, personal safety, and the bottom line. Woven into the journalists' accounts are attempts to normalize deceptive behavior-consistent with the notion of deception as a prima facie wrong-and the salience of organizational pressures such as legal and busin...
TL;DR: Results show that TV viewing (exposure) is indirectly related to perceptions of public support for smoking, and TV exposure is positively related to prevalence estimates of smoking, which in turn are related to support for a smoking ban and to perceptions for such a ban.
Abstract: Public opinion about regulating smoking is characterized by considerable ambivalence. On the one hand, more than 80% of Americans recognize the health risks of smoking cigarettes; the majority of the public favors various antismoking policies, such as restricting smoking in public places. On the other hand, a majority also agrees that a person should have the right to smoke in public. Studies about communication and media effects on smoking are mostly concerned about the effectiveness of antismoking campaigns. How general media use, where fewer intentional antismoking messages are present, might affect attitudes about smoking is less studied. This study compares the relative impact of mass media on attitudes about smoking behavior and on various smoking-related policy stances. In particular, we are interested in the role that mass media play in influencing perceptions of the social climate surrounding cigarette smoking. Data come from a survey of 794 respondents about media use, smoking behaviors, and att...
TL;DR: This article investigated Division I female athletes' exposure to two types of media-entertainment and sports-and looked for possible associations with body image distortion and eating disorders, finding that exposure to "thin ideal" television content was a significant predictor of disordered eating for women of all races.
Abstract: This study investigated Division I female athletes' exposure to 2 types of media-entertainment and sports-and looked for possible associations with body image distortion and eating disorders. Sports participation and interest in sports media were important control factors for this study. Exposure to "thin ideal" television content was a significant predictor of 4 dimensions of disordered eating for women of all races. However, sports media exposure was only marginally related to lower degrees of disordered-eating symptomatology.
TL;DR: The authors applied Ball-Rokeach and DeFleur's (1976) media system dependency theory to the analysis of public opinion regarding the performance of the news media and the president before and after the September 11th attacks.
Abstract: This study applies Ball-Rokeach and DeFleur's (1976) media system dependency theory to the analysis of public opinion regarding the performance of the news media and the president before and after the September 11th attacks. Contrary to the "rally 'round the flag" effect, but consistent with system dependency theory, partisan differences become stronger predictors of presidential approval following the terrorist attacks.
TL;DR: The authors examined the frequency and types of offensive language spoken on prime-time television in 2001, particularly on programs rated acceptable for children and teenagers, and the use of profane language by characters under the age of 21.
Abstract: This study examines the frequency and types of offensive language spoken on prime-time television in 2001, particularly on programs rated acceptable for children and teenagers, and the use of profane language by characters under the age of 21. The findings are compared to similar studies conducted in 1990, 1994, and 1997 to determine whether the use of profanity by child and young adult characters has increased over an 11-year period. Age and content warnings inadequately protect children from profanity. TV-PG programs contain as much off-color language as TV-14 programs, and more coarse language could be found in programs not given an L warning. Further, the earliest hour of prime time, when children are more likely to be viewing, contains significantly more instances of profanity than the time period of 10 to 11 p.m. However, characters under the age of 21 rarely utter profane words, and they are just as infrequently spoken to with such language.
TL;DR: The authors traces the development and diffusion of four basic normative assumptions in the political communication literature identified by Chaffee and Hochheimer (1985) and examines how these assumptions were brought into the field by Paul Lazarsfeld and his Columbia School colleagues under the guiding principles of democratic realism.
Abstract: This article traces the development and diffusion of 4 basic normative assumptions in the political communication literature identified by Chaffee and Hochheimer (1985) and examines how these assumptions were brought into the field by Paul Lazarsfeld and his Columbia School colleagues under the guiding principles of democratic realism. As this article demonstrates, these assumptions continue to operate in the literature today. In updating the normative orientations that inform political communication research, the analysis focuses on certain research agendas as exemplar efforts of a changed philosophical position, called neoconservatism, which undergirds and structures studies critical of press performance. In particular, we critically examine 3 research programs in political communication that adhere to the field's formative intellectual assumptions as enduring critiques of media and democracy: the videomalaise hypothesis, media intrusion theory, and the social erosion thesis. Suggestions are made for a ...
TL;DR: The authors explored how an interpretive community of Mormons employs secularization defense strategies in the media environment of Las Vegas, Nevada, and found that participants defined their environment as faith-building rather than faith-damaging.
Abstract: This study explores how an interpretive community of Mormons employs secularization defense strategies in the media environment of Las Vegas, Nevada. Focus groups, nonparticipant observations, and semistructured interviews reveal a psychological separation from media when messages cannot be physically avoided. Study participants also redefine their environment as faith-building rather than faith-damaging. This article explains how interpretive community can be built around shared strategies of media adjustment.
TL;DR: This content analysis explored tobacco and alcohol exposure in 24 Disney G-rated, animated, feature-length motion pictures from 1937 to 2000 and found 381 incidents of substance use.
Abstract: Disney films have long interested effects researchers, who have consistently shown the "quot;wholesome"quot; image generated by the company is misrepresentative. This content analysis explored tobacco and alcohol exposure in 24 Disney G-rated, animated, feature-length motion pictures from 1937 to 2000 and found 381 incidents of substance use. Over the decades, tobacco use tended to decrease while alcohol use increased. Virtually no antiuse messages were seen in these films directed to young children.
TL;DR: The authors found that those who lived in battleground states had significantly more issue knowledge and issue salience than citizens from other states, and the results suggest that the Electoral College may have a pernicious effect on representative democracy.
Abstract: Every 4 years presidential candidates devote months and hundreds of millions of dollars campaigning for the highest office in the land. Some question whether these presidential campaigns actually make a difference in election outcomes. In 2000, the Bush and Gore campaigns provided a golden opportunity to empirically assess campaign effects because both candidates focused their campaigns on a set of "battleground" states. Data from the 2000 National Election Survey indicate that those who lived in battleground states had significantly more issue knowledge and issue salience than citizens from other states. Because the Electoral College, with its winner-take-all rules, encourages candidates to concentrate on battleground states, the results suggest that the Electoral College may have a pernicious effect on representative democracy.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared the quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire as it has been produced in 7 different countries-the United States, Russia, Poland, Norway, Finland, Israel, and Saudi Arabia through content analysis of 2,233 questions collected from 73 programs.
Abstract: This article compares the quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire as it has been produced in 7 different countries-the United States, Russia, Poland, Norway, Finland, Israel, and Saudi Arabia Through content analysis of 2,233 questions collected from 73 programs, the study aims to ascertain globalization and knowledge hierarchy as they manifest in a successful television program The Nordic productions of Millionaire were rather similar to one another, as were shows from Russia and Poland, and-to a lesser extent-programs from the United States and Israel Cultural proximity between nations correlated with similarity in content The quiz show in larger nations included more questions about universal issues and fewer questions about local issues, in contrast to quiz shows from smaller European countries Western quiz shows emphasized light entertainment, whereas the Saudi show and those from Russia and Poland brought to the foreground language and history In terms of knowledge hierarchy, in all the countr
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined how exposure to media messages about drugs leads to curiosity about illicit drugs, which, in turn, can lead to illicit drug trial among interested college students.
Abstract: This study examines how exposure to media messages about drugs leads to curiosity about illicit drugs, which, in turn, can lead to illicit drug trial among interested college students. The Model of Product Curiosity (MPC; Smith & Swinyard, 1988) was used to predict the effects of exposure to drug messages on intention to try a "new" illegal drug. An experiment was performed with 172 undergraduate students to determine whether awareness, interest, and product curiosity affected intention to try a fictitious drug, MCA. Students were asked to listen to 1 of 4 radio segments with drug messages embedded in them. The results suggest that among students predisposed to try illicit drugs, repeated exposure to drug messages heightens awareness, interest, and curiosity about drugs, which, in turn, leads to an intention to try new drugs.