2007 AEJMC National Convention Paper Abstracts

							2007 AEJMC National Convention Paper Abstracts
Advertising Division Where Would Ads Work During Multi-Segment Broadcasts? A Four-Year Research Of Advertising Position Effects In Super Bowl Broadcasts • Yongick Jeong and Hai Tran, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This study examined the impacts of ad positions on advertising effectiveness in Super Bowl broadcast, a multi-segment television program. The results support general primacy effects. The brands advertised during the first half are better recognized than those appeared in the second half. The findings also indicate that the brands shown in earlier quarters are better remembered than those in later quarters. However, advertising liking was not related to the positions of commercials. Appeals and Physician Portrayals in Cosmetic Surgery Magazine Advertisements from 1985 to 2004 • Heidi Hennink-Kaminski, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Although increased marketing activity has contributed to the rise in cosmetic surgery, little is known about the content of advertising messages. This study examines physical properties, appeals, and portrayals of physicians in cosmetic surgery advertisements in city magazines for four markets from 1985-2004 and finds that promotional activity has increased significantly over time, that most ads continue to use rational vs. emotional appeals, and that physicians credentials play a central role in such ads.

Communication Technology Division (CTEC) Does the Internet add value to traditional print products? An analysis of newspaper Web sites and their relationship with the print version • Jennifer Kowalewski, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This study investigated how traditional newspapers used their online Web sites to reach readers. Results indicated that larger circulation newspapers added more value to their online product then smaller circulation newspapers. Newspapers with higher household penetration offered a higher level of interactivity online. Newspapers used their online product similarly especially when dealing with offering breaking news, sports and advertising. Editors used Web sites slightly differently when dealing with interactivity. The perceived ethicality of Web sites and its implication for persuasion processes • Robert Magee, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and Sriram Kalyanaraman, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill • Evidence was found that people can attribute ethicality to a Web site, and differential perceptions of ethicality can lead to related perceptions being realized, as well. This study also extended the scope of previous findings in the Computers Are Social Actors paradigm, which have normally not examined deeper variables, such as extent of persuasion. Impression Formation Effects in Computer-Mediated Communication and HumanComputer Interaction • Sriram Kalyanaraman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and S. Shyam Sundar, Penn State University • In this conceptual article, we outline the importance of impression formation effects in online environments. Unlike traditional impression formation research, we identify the importance of studying impression formation effects of not just online interactants or communicators, but also impression formation effects of the technology itself.

Communication Theory & Methodology Division Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors Associated with U.S. Early Adolescents' Exposure to Sexually Explicit Media • Jane Brown, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Correlates of use and subsequent sexual attitudes and behaviors related to use of sexually explicit content in magazines, movies and the Internet were examined in a diverse sample of early adolescents (Ave. age = 13.6 years; N = 967). Two-thirds (66%) of males and more than one-third (39%) of females had seen at least one form of sexually explicit media in the past year. Whistling While You Work Might Hurt: An Experiment on the Effects of Music when Evaluating Job Applicants • Francesca Dillman Carpentier, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • As consumption of music in the workplace increases, and as popular music becomes more explicit in violent and sexual themes, it is important to understand how prevalent musical themes influence listeners as they make work decisions. This experiment evaluates the ability popular music with a sexual, aggressive, or thoughtful theme to prime individuals, biasing their evaluations of job applicants toward the music theme. Applicability of the Informational Utility Model for Radio News • Francesca Dillman Carpentier, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • The informational utility model proposes that information will appear more useful, and become more salient to individuals, if the information conveys increased magnitude, likelihood, and immediacy of consequences for the individual. This model has been tested primarily with online news using selective exposure as the outcome. This study tests applicability of the model to radio news using perceived attention and retention of information as outcomes. Story valence influenced effectiveness of the model for both outcomes.

International Communication Division Asia in Mass Communication Research: A Meta-Analysis of Peer-Reviewed Journals (1990-2005) • Hai Tran, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This paper represents a status report on Asian communication studies from 1990 to 2005. Findings indicate that the growth in this body of literature remained modest given an abundance of research opportunities in the area. The meta-analysis, conducted on the census of relevant journal articles in fifteen years, provides a unique window to understand how Asian communication has been studied in the United States and where the research is heading. ***Second Place, Student Paper Competition The Role of Superstructures in Globalization: Political, Socio-Economic, and Cultural Determination of Worldwide Public Interests on the Internet • Yongick Jeong and Reaz Mahmood, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This study examines global public interests through a new methodological approach that enables the public to speak for itself. Analyzing the actual search terms people used in gathering information online, it determines the impact of globalization and cultural imperialism on public interests. Significant differences were detected among countries in differing categories of political freedom (politically free, partially free, and not free), socio-economic status (high, medium, and low SES), and cultural differences (masculine, mixed/neutral, and feminine). In Search of an Explanation for Press Freedom as a Function of Culture and Development: Myths and Realities • Hai Tran, Reaz Mahmood, Ying Du and Andrei Khrapavitski, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This study examines assumptions about factors that influence global press freedom, with the impetus being a lack of sufficient evidence for both traditional and postmodern arguments in the field. Using aggregate empirical data, the findings challenge the established conception of development linked with communication, reveal the nonsignificance of cultural differences, and indicate the influence of the most widely used press freedom indices themselves on comparative research.

Law and Policy Division National Security and the Role of the Press: The Government’s Ability to Prosecute Journalists for the Possession or Publication of National Security Information • Derigan Silver, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This paper identifies existing laws under which the press could be criminally prosecuted for the unauthorized disclosure of classified information, describes how the courts have addressed those laws, and considers First Amendment issues that may arise if the Attorney General sought to apply current law to punish newspapers that publish leaked classified information. ***First Place, Student Paper Competition Overlooking the Presumption of Openness for State Freedom of Information Laws: State Court Applications of the Central Purpose Doctrine • Erin Coyle, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Freedom of Information Act experts contend that federal courts inappropriately favored privacy interests over disclosure interests by applying the central purpose doctrine since Congress arguably nullified the doctrine in 1996. Case and statutory analysis revealed that state courts have continued applying the doctrine, which contradicts the statutory purposes for numerous state freedom of information laws. Don’t Even Ask! A Two-Level Analysis of Government Lawsuits Against Citizen and Media Access Requestors • Cathy Packer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This article examines cases in which government entities sued citizen and media access requestors under state open meetings and public records statutes. These cases are analyzed on both the level of the individual complaint and the level of social architecture. Social architecture is the idea that law, in addition to settling individual complaints, defines power relationships between various groups in society. The conclusion calls for legislative and judicial change.

Mass Communication and Society Division Conceptualizations of Female Empowerment and Enjoyment of Sexualized Characters on Reality Television • Mackenzie Cato and Francesca Dillman Carpentier, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Now more than ever, media images have become increasingly focused on women and sex-as-power imagery. Specifically, reality-based television commonly portrays a type of female empowerment that seems to equal sexual power. This study examines audience reaction to the images seen on the popular reality show The Girls Next Door, which documents the life and fun-times of Hugh Hefner’s three sexy live-in girlfriends. Watching Network News and Supporting a Woman Presidential Candidate: Implications from a Non-Election Year Poll • Hai Tran, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This paper explores the relationships between news use and willingness to support a female candidate for president. Cross-sectional survey data in a non-election year were analyzed to examine the differential effects of media channels on political learning and voting behavior. Findings suggest that exposure to network TV news contributes to opinions about the likelihood of voting for a woman seeking presidency.

Media Ethics Division The Third Person Effect and Reporting Sexual Assault Victims’ Private Information: Applying Mass Communication Theory to an Ethical Dilemma • Erin Coyle, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • In the wake of high profile sexual assaults, some journalists claim it is time to reconsider policies that perpetuate the stigma of sexual assault. For decades, most American newspapers have withheld victims’ names, recognizing that naming victims could deepen their devastation and prevent others from reporting the crime. Little empirical research

uses mass communication theory to inform the debate. This paper provides a roadmap for research to apply mass communication theory to the ethical dilemma. An Ethical Exploration of Free Expression and the Problem of Hate Speech • Mark Slagle, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • The traditional Western notion of freedom of expression has been criticized in recent years by critical race theorists who argue that this ethos ignores the gross power imbalance between the users of hate speech and their victims. This paper examines the arguments put forth by both the proponents of the classical libertarian model and the critical race theorists and the competing ethical models behind these arguments in an effort to mediate between the two.

Media Management and Economics Division Coverage and Editorial Framing of the FCC's 2003 Relaxation of Media Ownership Rules: A Comparison of the Cross-Owners and the Print Purists • Rita Colistra, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This paper examines editorial coverage and framing of the FCC's 2003 review of media ownership rules by ownership situation. Findings suggest that companies that did not stand to benefit provided significantly more and more negative editorial coverage, while those that stood to benefit provided significantly more positive editorial coverage of the proposed relaxation of rules. Thus, financial interests of media owners may affect editorial coverage of issues that could potentially affect their company's bottom line. ***Second Place, Student Paper Competition

Minorities and Communication Division Using Critical Race Theory to Investigate Major U.S. Newspaper Discourse on Affirmative Action • Terri Ann Bailey, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Critical race theory was used as the basis of this content analysis of discourse on affirmative action that occurred in major U.S. newspapers during a one year period (April 1, 2005 – March 30, 2006). One hundred and twelve articles were investigated for elements of discourse that could be considered as promoting, or countering/resisting, institutionalized racism from the lens of critical race theory. In addition, the article tone in regard to affirmative action was also analyzed.

Newspaper Division Public Opinion Formation of a President: An Agenda Setting study of newspaper coverage of George W. Bush and how it associated with Gallup Poll • Jennifer Kowalewski, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This study examined 15 newspapers to determine the relationship between the supportive tone and Gallup Poll approval ratings. The study showed a positive correlation between public approval rating and supportive newspaper coverage, including an increase in supportive tone following the terrorist attacks, and a decrease in supportive tone leading up to Hurricane Katrina. In a presidency where public approval rating has shifted, newspaper supportive coverage and Gallup Poll relate in their view of the president. Researchers Are Writing the Obituary, but Geography Is Not Dead Yet • Rachel Davis Mersey, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • The idea of geography is fundamental to the local newspaper, which covers both community news and news from a community perspective. But now scholars suggest that “geography is dead.” A survey of 1,171 adults living in Maricopa County, Ariz., uses geographic and online sense of community measures in order to determine the importance of geography in today’s Internet-rich environment. Results rebuff scholars’ suggestions and indicate that respondents are still attached to their geographic communities.

Maybe the Internet Can Not Save Journalism: The Geographic Sense of Community Gap • Rachel Davis Mersey, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This research, a survey of 1,171 adults living in Maricopa County, Ariz., is rooted in the idea that there is a virtuous cycle linking newspaper readership to sense of community for the benefit of social capital. Using psychological sense of community measures, it is designed to address what is happening to this relationship when news and news consumers move online. Evidence suggests that newspapers still have a stronger hold than the Web over geographic communities. Legal qualifications and perceived ideologies: How the New York Times framed the Supreme Court nomination of John Roberts • Derigan Silver, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Today, the Supreme Court nomination process is one of the most confrontational aspects of American politics and garners wide media coverage. Despite its importance, little research has focused on how the media covers the nomination process. This research used framing analysis to identify how the New York Times and politicians set the agenda for John Roberts’ 2005 nomination hearings and represented the debate over his nomination.

Public Relations Division A Model for Teaching Public Relations Students a Continuum of Power Distribution between Organizations and Publics in Two-way Web Site Communication Tools • Terri Ann Bailey, North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Noting the importance of two-way communication in relationship building, this study presents a model of power distribution in two-way web site communication tools, related considerations, and supporting literature that can be used by instructors to present a teaching module to students on the subject of organization-public communication on the web from a power-differential standpoint. How Do Past Crises Affect Current Events?: An Experiment Testing Corporate Reputation During a Crisis • Drew Elliot, North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Research has shown that a corporation's history of crises has a damaging effect on reputation during a current crisis. This experiment tests not only the effect of a corporation's own crises on reputation, but also the effect of a corporation without a crisis history but in an industry with a history of similar crises, called extraorganizational crisis history. Findings show that publics' knowledge of extraorganizational crisis history may protect an organization's reputation in a crisis.

Visual Communication Division “Snowflake” White and Politically “Right”: Photographic Framing in News Media Coverage of Stem Cell Research • Nicole Elise Smith, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • At any given time, there are a number of issues on the media, and subsequent public, agenda. Currently, stem cell research is one such issue. This study seeks to understand the photographic frames in news media coverage about stem cell research. Previous research has indicated that examining news media photos is a valid way to understand how the media frame a particular issue.

Entertainment Studies Interest Group Sexuality on Network TV: A Comparison of Sexual References and Behavior by Gay/Lesbian and Heterosexual Characters • Rhonda Gibson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Joe Bob Hester, Texas Tech University • Critics have claimed that although the number of gay and lesbian characters on network television shows is increasing, they are portrayed as less sexual than straight characters because of television executives' fears of offending viewers. This content analysis of references to romance or sexuality and sexual behavior indeed found disparities between heterosexual and homosexual characters.

A Common Media Culture? Patterns of Magazines, Movies, and Music Among Early Adolescents • Carol J. Pardun, Middle Tennessee State University, Jane D. Brown and Kelly Ladin L’Engle, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • A sample of Black and White early adolescents (Mean age: 12.8 years; N= 2,942) completed media use questionnaires, noting which magazines they read, which musicians they listened to regularly, and which movies they had seen recently. Comparisons by race and gender found few commonalities across demographic groups. Blockbuster movies and a few of the most popular rap musicians were consumed by large proportions of males and females and Blacks and Whites.

Graduate Education Interest Group Hiring trends in journalism and mass communication: A content analysis of faculty position advertisements with a new media emphasis • Ying Du, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Recent years have witnessed the striking growth in the demands of new media faculty. This study is a content analysis of positions advertised by JMC programs that are seeking new media faculty. It reports an overview of the hiring trends in the discipline. It attempts to provide useful indicators of the hiring trends for applicants seeking such positions. Additionally, the results of this study may be useful to JMC programs in search of future faculty. Inextricably Intertwined: The Blurring Line Between Constitutional Protection for Political and Commercial Speech in a Democratic Society • Joshua Godwin, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This paper contends that, due to its substantial similarity to noncommercial speech and its evolving role in our democratic society, commercial speech has become virtually indistinguishable from other forms of protected expression. As such, the artificial distinction established and perpetuated by the U.S. Supreme Court should be abandoned and replaced with a strict scrutiny standard for evaluating the constitutionality of content-based regulations on all speech. Measuring Alumni Perceptions of a Required Media Law Course: A Pilot Study • Joshua Godwin and Derigan Silver, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill • Researchers surveyed 405 University of North Carolina alumni regarding their attitudes toward a required media law course. The results showed that while more than 70% of respondents reported using the material covered in the class infrequently in their professional careers, nearly 85% believed that the course should continue to be required for all undergraduate and graduate students.

Religion and Media Interest Group Adolescent Religiosity and Selective Exposure to Television • Piotr Bobkowski, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Relying on the Adolescents’ Media Practice Model (Steele & Brown, 1995), and selective exposure theory (Festinger, 1957; Klapper, 1960), this study investigates the hypothesis that religious adolescents watch less mature television programs than their less religious peers. Drawing on the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) Wave 2 survey data, results are based on responses from 1,317 16- to 18-year-olds. Not bishops but editors: The Gospel Advocate’s role in the 1906 Disciples of Christ schism • Jessica Smith, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • An American religious movement with autonomous congregations and no denominational authority faced divisive questions in the late nineteenth century. These Christians looked to religious newspapers for information and discussion of issues. One newspaper, the Gospel Advocate of Nashville, Tenn., supported Southern conservative voices within the movement and was a decisive influence when this conservative faction broke off from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and formed the Churches of Christ in 1906.

Science Communication Interest Group At the Frontiers of Faith and Science: News Media Framing of Stem Cell Research • Nicole Smith, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Framing research has shown that media framing of issues has real implications for both policy makers and audiences. As the ethical debate surrounding stem cell research presents a problem of choice to the American people, how that choice is framed is a fundamental determinant of what the American people think, and ultimately decide, about the future of stem cell research. This study presents a framing analysis of newspaper coverage of the issue. ***Eason Prize, First Place, Student Paper Competition

Great Ideas for Teachers (GIFT) Program Set the Style: How to Teach Students How Accuracy, Fairness and Word Choice Intersect • Andy Bechtel, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Journalism students are all too familiar with quizzes on Associated Press style. Some of them accept the reasons for adhering to style: consistency and accuracy, among others. Some students, however, see style as a restriction on creativity. How can teachers of writing and editing reach these students, convey the purpose of stylebooks and demonstrate the ethical dimensions of stylebooks? Let the students set the style on a few issues in the news such as refugee vs. evacuee, Mumbai vs. Bombay and sectarian conflict vs. civil war.