Radio-TV Journalism 2002 Abstracts
Radio-TV Journalism Division
The Real Ted Baxter: The Rise of the Celebrity Anchorman • Terry Anzur, WPEC-TV • This book chapter traces the rise of the celebrity anchorman in local TV news. The debate over the role of the anchor is symbolized by the two real-life newsmen in Los Angeles who were the models for the character of Ted Baxter, the fictional TV news anchor on the Mary Tyler Moore Show. Local audiences and the increasing complexity of TV newscasts favored news readers like Jerry Dunphy over opinionated personalities like George Putnam.
Cable and Network TV News: Narrowing International Knowledge Gaps related to Education & International Experience • Christopher E. Beaudoin, Indiana-Bloomington • The current study examines the basic antecedents of international knowledge and tests two forms of the knowledge gap hypothesis. Hierarchical regression analyses are conducted on data from a 2001 national telephone survey. Positive associations are found between international knowledge and education, international experience, and international news attention. Also, international news attention — especially for network TV and cable TV news — appears to narrow gaps in international knowledge between people with lesser and higher levels of education and international experience.
The Mentor-mentee Relationship: A Co-orientation Perspective of National Public Radio Training Projects • Michelle Betz, University of Central Florida and Teresa Mastin, Middle Tennessee State University • This study examines the shared perceptions of a group of mentors (i.e., communication professionals) and mentees (i.e., college students) who participated in several short, intensive radio training projects. Though most participants were on the same page regarding the project’s goal, mentors and mentees expressed the need for more guidance in the area of project expectations. Future studies surrounding this topic should compare traditional and less traditional mentor-mentee programs across disciplines to uncover mentoring program qualities that provide beneficial experiences for both mentors and mentees, especially as related to traditionally marginalized groups.
Language and Cultural Sensitivity in Broadcasting Reforms Toward Commercialism and Pluralism: The Case of Private Radio in Ghana • Isaac Abeku Blankson, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville • Since 1995, Ghana’s radio broadcasting environment has been transformed from public broadcast monopoly to a more vibrant commercial and plural system. However, some of the emerging character of commercial radio has called cultural critics to question whether private radio could help promote Ghana’s culture, languages and local programs. This paper examines emerging cultural issues and concerns surrounding the predominant use of English language by the private radio stations to the neglect of local languages as envisaged and the mimicking of foreign American and Caribbean accents by radio presenters, news readers and DJs (termed LAFA in Ghana) in Ghana.
Media, Terrorism, and Emotionality: Affective Dimensions of News Content and Effects after September 11 • Jaeho Cho, Michael P. Boyle, Heejo Keum, Mark Shevy, Douglas M. McLeod and Dhavan V. Shah, Wisconsin-Madison • This study extends medium theory by combining content analysis and survey research to examine differences in emotional responses to the September 11 terrorist attacks. This paper demonstrates that the language used in television news is consistently more emotional than print news for indicators such as motion, tenacity, praise, blame, and satisfaction. In addition, this study used a RDD survey to demonstrate that use of television news was more strongly related to both positive and negative emotional responses to the attacks than use of print news.
Visual Bias and Other Factors Affecting Voting Behavior of TV News Viewers in a Presidential Election • Renita Coleman, Louisiana State University and Donald Granberg, Missouri-Columbia • This study supports the findings of past studies of nonverbal bias in political campaigns in showing that ordinary TV viewers can and do perceive biases in the facial expressions of television newscasters. Two of the five newscasters studied exhibited significantly more positive facial expressions when they mentioned one presidential candidate than the other in coverage of the 1996 election. This is the third study to produce the same results in three different elections.
The Myth of the Five-day Forecast: A Study of Television Weather Accuracy and Audience Perceptions of Accuracy in Columbus, Ohio • Jeffrey M. Demas, Otterbein College • Television weather has not been studied in a communication journal since 1982, despite technological advances and a reliance on forecasts by a transient public. This study measured accuracy of weather forecasts in central Ohio and found that stations were very accurate in predicting within 48 hours, but extended forecasts were quite inaccurate. Telephone interviews with 315 central Ohio residents revealed that they not only rely on the five-day forecasts, but believe them to be accurate.
Stories in Dark Places: David Isay and the New Radio Documentary • Matthew C. Ehrlich, Illinois at Urbana-Champaign • David Isay is one of America’s most honored broadcast journalists, although relatively few have heard of him. This paper provides a critical/cultural analysis of Isay’s radio stories within the context of contemporary scholarly critiques of journalism. It explores whether his stories appeal to social understanding or merely to voyeurism, whether he presents an alternative model of journalistic storytelling, and whether his work signals a new direction in radio’s use as a news medium.
Network and Local Coverage of the Year 2000 Presidential Elections • Frederick Fico and Geri Alumit Zeldes, Michigan State • A content analysis of network and local stories broadcasted during the 2000 presidential election shows that individual stories tended to be unfair and imbalanced, favoring either Bush or Gore, but the news segment tended to be more fair and balanced. Overall, a Bush source was more likely to be the first source presented, but Gore sources received more airtime. Comparisons between networks and local coverage show that the networks coverage was more fair and balanced.
Measuring Newscast Accuracy: Applying a Newspaper Model to Television • Gary Hanson and Stanley T. Wearden, Kent State • Measuring accuracy has been a part of academic literature since the mid-1930s. Most accuracy surveys, even those for television, send printed stories to sources for their evaluation. This study develops a workable design to measure television news accuracy by sending video copies to sources. It also adopts a questionnaire from the newspaper literature for use in television. The research method was used to assess the accuracy of local television in Cleveland.
On Print, Politics & the Public: “Sesame Street’s” Impact Beyond Television • Stephanie Hay, Ohio • In 1966, Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett brainstormed about the future of children’s television programming. Two years later, “Sesame Street” debuted on National Educational Television as the product of their discussion with generous public, private and governmental contributions. This historical analysis describes “Sesame Street” from its inception in 1966 through the end of its third season in 1972. It details how media, public and political responses to “Sesame Street” influenced revisions in the non-commercial program’s format.
Local TV News and Sense of Place: Viewers’ Connections to the News They Love to Hate • Lee Hood, Colorado • Local television news is the U.S. public’s most-used information source. This study examines the meaning local news holds for viewers, arguing that such meaning must be understood apart from viewers’ evaluations of the news programs themselves. Contrasting with notions of global homogenization, the study explores ways in which local news may be implicated in individuals’ conceptions of locality and sense of place. It argues that news is one of the windows through which people experience their locale, and that the connection is particularly vivid with television news.
News Diffusion and Emotional Response to the September 11 Attacks • Stacey Frank Kanihan, University of St. Thomas and Kendra L. Gale, Colorado-Boulder • This study examines the news diffusion process during the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The findings validate other research regarding the rapid diffusion of highly salient information through broadcast media channels in the early diffusion but interpersonal communication quickly becoming the dominant source of information as people begin to talk with others about the events. We also find media coverage in the first days following the attacks made people angry, not more emotionally upset.
Pacing in Television Newscasts: Does Target Audience Make A Difference? • Mark Kelley, Syracuse • Researchers link the pace of television news, i.e., how rapidly the images or shots change, to how well viewers comprehend and remember or learn the information. This study examines the pacing of two television newscasts produced specifically for use as part of the instructional curriculum of primary and secondary schools, to determine if producers utilize pacing that is conducive to learning by children and adolescents.
“Soft” News and “Hard” News — A Reflection of Gender or Culture? • Aliza Lavie, Bar-Ilan University, Israel • In light of the current feminization of the media, we ask if the traditional identity of “soft news” = feminine ad “hard news” = masculine still holds In the treatment of news each gender employs gender-typical modes of operation In dealing with “soft” issues, men inject their typical, objective and disassociated style of reporting. Women, when reporting “hard” news, render salient those specific aspects which are consistent with “feminine” values.
Television Breaking News & the Invalid Application of aUtilitarian Justification: A Practical Plan for Consequential Ethical Dialogue BEFORE Breaking News Occurs • Andrea Miller, Missouri • The common journalistic justification “the people’s right to know” is a basic utilitarian concept. This study argues this old philosophical framework of utilitarianism cannot be applied to the new genre of television breaking news because of the lack of consideration of consequences. When technology brings news to the viewer live, there are an endless number of unexpected situations. Couple the former with the lack of time for adequate consequential consideration (because of technological, competitive and economical pressures) and the result is a complete breakdown of the concept.
Do Sweeps Really Affect A Local News Program? An Analysis of KTVU Evening News During the 2001 May sweeps • Yonghoi Song, Missouri-Columbia • This study was conducted to examine the impact of the sweeps – the period during which viewing rate is measured – on the news programs in a local television station. The findings show that the sweeps do not always increase the proportion of soft news. The results of this study indicate that commercial pressure of the sweeps on the local television newsroom is mitigated by the characteristics of the audience market and the professional tradition of the newsroom.
AWRT and Edy the Meserand: Preparing Women Professionals to Achieve as Individuals • Stacy Spaulding, Maryland • Whether journalism is a profession or an occupation has been the subject of much debate, however the formation of American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT) in 1951 is evidence of attempts at professionalization on behalf of female broadcasters. In this case, however, the process perhaps helped legitimize women’s roles in an industry that they helped pioneer, but faced widespread discrimination and prejudice in.
Live News Reporting: How a Young Demographic Views It • C. A. Tuggle, North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Suzanne Huffman, Texas Christian University and Dana Scott Rosengard, Memphis • Researchers surveyed more than 500 young adults (ages 18-24) to assess their general views about live television news reporting. Findings show that viewers generally do not base their news viewing on the live reporting tendency of stations. Respondents indicated several positive and negative aspects of the tendency of local news operations to go live. They indicate they like the “real feel” of live reporting, but indicate that it is often overdone. There were market-based differences in viewers’ responses.
The Chromakey Ceiling: An Examination of Television Weathercasting and Why the Gender Gap Persists • Kris M. Wilson, Texas-Austin • Consultants advise that weather is the most important part of the local newscast. Yet, a dearth of scholarly research exists on the television weather. In this survey of more than 200 TV weathercasters, baseline data is analyzed to better understand how this group of specialists’ work. Among the findings is the historically low numbers of women employed as TV weathercasters. Despite significant strides in other areas of television news, women remain a small minority of weathercasters and are most often isolated to weekend newscasts.
Media in a Crisis Situation Involving National Interest: A Content Analysis of the TV Networks Coverage of The 9/11 Incident during the First Eight Hours • Xigen Li, Laura F. Lindsay, and Kirsten Mogensen, Louisiana State University • A content analysis of coverage of 9/11 incident during the first 8 hours examined how five television networks framed the news coverage as events unfolded. Media performed their function in a crisis basically as they were expected and coverage and issues do not vary significantly among the networks. This study found variety of sources was used and the influence of government officials was not as great as in the coverage of a crisis with less involvement of U.S. national interest.
Chinese-Language Television News in the U.S.A.: A Cross-Cultural Examination of News Formats and Sources • Yih Ling Liu and Tony Rimmer, California State University-Fullerton • To study the effects of culture on ethnic news content, hypotheses were proposed based on how several cultural dimensions might influence news format and source of U.S., Taiwanese, and Chinese TV news materials broadcast to the southern California Chinese community. Cultural variables used in the hypotheses were power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, high and low context, and mono and polychronic.
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