Graduate Education 1998 Abstracts
Graduate Education Interest Group
Public Perceptions of a Media Saturated Crime: The Case of Mary Kay LeTourneau • Sean Baker, Washington • This paper examines an agenda-setting relationship between a media saturated statutory rape case and public perceptions of the case and issues surrounding it. A survey was conducted asking respondents’ news media exposure and perceptions of statutory rape. It is argued that a non-traditional statutory rape case would increase respondent awareness of this type of crime. The agenda-setting hypothesis was moderately supported. The primary factor which increased respondent’s salience perceptions was amount of television use.
Constructing the Face of AIDS: Debby Feyerick and the Wayne Fischer Story • Che Baysinger, Rutgers University • The following research paper examines a televised weekly news series, which puts a human face on the issue of AIDS. Unlike many news stories today which are sanitized and formulamatic, this story looks take a personal look at one man’s existence and its ultimate end. The series is an excellent example of accountable television news coverage that constructs meaning as it is created rather than sensationalizing events and placing facts into pre-existing contexts which merely reinforce stereotypes.
The Clash of Values Underlying U.S. Credit Unions’ and Banks’ Arguments in Their Public Relations Campaigns • Julie W. O’Neil, Utah • Whether U.S. credit unions should be able to extend their membership beyond traditional groups has been the focus of recent arguments between credit unions and banks. A careful analysis of credit unions’ and banks’ public relations rhetoric provides a clear picture of clash of values underlying either sides’ appeals to the American public and legislators, and established the relevancy of using a value analysis to better understand how the rhetoric of public relations campaigns functions.
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