International Communication 2012 Abstracts
Bob Stevenson Open Paper Competition
Gatekeeping & Citizen Journalism: The use of social media during the recent uprisings in Iran, Egypt, and Libya • Sadaf Ali, Wayne State University; Shahira Fahmy, U of Arizona • This critical study focuses on major conflicts involving protests in the Middle East and North Africa: 1) The unsuccessful 2009 uprising in Iran 2) the 2011 successful Egyptian revolution; 3) and the recent successful uprising in Libya. From a theoretical perspective this research expands the study of gatekeeping theory by examining the characteristics of gatekeeping practices by citizen journalists. Overall findings suggest traditional ‘gatekeepers’ continue to maintain the status quo regarding news about conflict zones.
Agenda setting and microblog use in China • Yanfang Wu; David Atkin, University of Connecticut; Yi Mou; Carolyn Lin; Tuenyu Lau • With the proliferation of micro-blogs, micro-blogging has been quickly gaining popularity and become an effective tool of citizen journalists for the quick organization of protests, help/advice, and the sharing information from media sources. This potential ability to disseminate information among social networks that lie outside the control of institutions such as the traditional media has had a profound impact on traditional media’s agenda setting power immediately after an accident or crisis.
El Salvador and Costa Rica: Two Central American Opposite Cases in Their State-Diaspora Relations • Vanessa Bravo, Elon University • Through a qualitative case study that includes 20 in-depth interviews with key informants, this study compares the state-diaspora relations of two Central American countries, one where the state considers the diaspora a key transnational public (El Salvador), and one where the state basically ignores the diaspora in its policies (Costa Rica).
Media Use and Political Trust in an Emerging Democracy: Setting the institutional trust agenda • Lindita Camaj, University of Houston • This study explores the role of mass media in democratization processes in Kosovo, a post-conflict transitional society in South-Eastern Europe, by examining media effects on citizens’ trust in political institutions. The results confirm general assumptions that in societies undergoing political transitions, a free and plural media system keeps the governing institutions under public opinion scrutiny while contributing to the citizens’ political learning and trust.
Moving images of revolution: Social media and the 2011 Tunisian intifada • Catherine Cassara, Bowling Green State University • It has been called a Facebook revolution, a Twitter revolution, even a Wikileaks revolution. But many factors drove the Tunisian Intifada, and first and foremost what mattered were people protesting for weeks in the streets of cities and towns in the country’s marginalized hinterlands sending cellphone videos of via Facebook to Al Jazeera, the world, and back to the TVs of their neighbor’s and to those protesters in Tunis who would drive out the president.
Mediating the African Message: Social Influences on a Ugandan Newspaper • Steve Collins, University of Central Florida • Using in-depth interviews and participant observation, the author identified numerous factors that influence news production at Uganda’s leading independent newspaper. The factors include ethnicity (of journalists and sources), a pay system that rewards quantity over quality, a reliance on sources willing to “facilitate” reporters, and a newsroom culture that promotes self-censorship. The findings have implications for Gatekeeping Theory and journalism training in developing nations.
Covering news with provincial characteristics? Comparing health news coverage in China’s Guangdong and Henan provinces • Dong Dong; Qiuyuan Huang; Ziwei Shen; Lingyue Tang; Chenyang Wang • In this research we try to use news coverage on two health incidents as an example to illustrate how the Chinese newspapers at different levels differentiate on news construction. We will compare the contents of news stories sampled from six Chinese newspapers in order to provide empirical evidence to support a recent theoretical call on “scaling” and “rescaling” media in China.
Muslim Bloggers in Germany: An Emerging Counterpublic? • Stine Eckert; Kalyani Chadha, University of Maryland College Park • The Muslim minority in Germany has been historically misrepresented and excluded from the mainstream public sphere. In response, some Muslims have turned to blogs as an alternative space to challenge the dominant public discourse through varied discursive practices. In this exploratory study, we examine these practices through interviews with Muslim bloggers. Applying Nancy Fraser’s theory of counterpublics, we posit that this group, which seeks to challenge mainstream representations and offer oppositional counterdiscourses, represents an emerging counterpublic.
Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya Framing of the Israel-Palestine Conflict During War and Calm Periods • Mohamad Elmasry, The American University in Cairo; Alaa El Shamy, Ain Shams University; Peter Manning; Andrew Mills, Northwestern University; Phil Auter, University of Louisiana at Lafayette • This framing study compared Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict during the 2008/2009 Gaza conflict and one year later, during a period of calm. Findings suggest that both networks used framing mechanisms to highlight Palestinian perspectives over Israeli ones and frame Palestinians as victims of Israeli aggression. The networks regularly described Palestinian casualties and showed images of Palestinian grief, provided more voice to Palestinian sources, and personalized Palestinian deaths.
High Drama on the High Seas: Peace vs. War Journalism Framing of the Mavi Marmara Incident • Britain Eakin, U of Arizona; Shahira Fahmy, The University of Arizona • Based on Galtung’s groundbreaking concept of peace journalism we content analyzed the extent to which the coverage of the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident used war versus peace frames in online stories that ran in Haaretz, The Guardian, and The New York Times. Results show differences in coverage among the three newspapers. Findings build upon existing literature to further study peace versus war journalism specifically regarding the Israeili/Plaestinian conflict. Finally limitations and future research are addressed.
Domestic, International, and Foreign News Content on ABC, CBS and NBC Television Network News from 1971 to 2007 • Katherine Bradshaw, Bowling Green State University; James Foust • The results of a content analysis show the mean story length and number of international and foreign news stories on network television news decreased steadily from 1971 on, and markedly in the 1990s. Previous content research on this topic is flawed by non-random samples and inconsistent definition of variables. This research is the first to attempt to correct those flaws. It used consistent variable definitions applied to randomly selected content and produced generalizable results.
Availability and Individual Cognitions: Exploring How Framing Effects Vary Across Cultures • Timothy Fung; Dietram A. Scheufele • The purpose of this research is to explore the role of availability of a value construct in framing process and to delineate how the processes underlying framing effects across cultural groups for whom particular value constructs are more or less available in memory. Using the values of filial piety, independence and elderly care policy as the case study, we conducted two experiments to examine monocultural individuals’ responses to cultural value framing.
Communication Styles: Their Role in Understanding Autism in Korea and the United States • Myna German, Delaware State University; Keonhee Kim • Relying on a contemporary interpretation of hybridity of communication styles in the classroom, this study takes a cross-cultural look at educators in selected inclusive education classrooms in the United States and South Korea. It examines how educators interpret and construct communication with students labeled with autism. The social requirements for, and interpretation of, communicative behaviors differ between the United States, a primarily individualist culture, South Korea, which is primarily collectivist and dominated by a high-context communication style.
How they cover the world: A comparison of news predictors for The Associated Press, The New York Times and Reuters • Beverly Horvit, University of Missouri; peter gade; Liz Lance; Youn-Joo Park, University of Missouri • Logistics variables such as characteristics of the world’s countries and their ties to the United States successfully predict which countries will receive coverage by The Associated Press, Reuters and The New York Times. Economic predictors are more important for Reuters, and U.S. ties are more important for the U.S. news organizations. The analysis is based on regression models using a content analysis of 5,301 news items, paired with a data set for 191 countries.
Manufacturing professional honor: Official journalism award as social control in China • Chin-Chuan Lee, Department of Media and Communication, City University of Hong Kong; Shunming HUANG, College of Literature and Journalism, Sichuan University, China • The institution of journalism award in China is a post-Mao cultural phenomenon. This article performs an exploratory analysis of official journalism awards as a mechanism of social control. It first traces the institutional process, then explores the opportunity structure and gatekeeping practice, and finally examines effects on the journalist.
Revolutionary Medium? Portrayals of Social Media in American and Egyptian Newspapers’ Coverage of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution • Margaret A. Fesenmaier, Virginia Tech; Luay Kaloumeh, Università della Svizzera italiana; Yuxi Zhuang, Virginia Tech; James Ivory, Virginia Tech • To examine whether widespread speculation in the U.S. press about the role of social media in the 2011 Egyptian revolution was consistent with Egyptian coverage, a content analysis compared portrayals of social media and protestors in articles (n = 300) from major Egyptian and U.S. newspapers. U.S. articles mentioned social media and described social media as contributing to the revolution more frequently than Egyptian articles. Portrayals of protestors were similar between U.S. and Egyptian newspapers.
Cultural Imperialism Revisited: Empirical Determination of the Role of Superstructures on Internet Searches of International Issues • Mia Kamal; Yongick Jeong • By content-analyzing public searches on international issues, this research conducted two studies to empirically determine the role of superstructures on overall cultural imperialism, cultural imperialism by U.S. and that by other nations. The results indicate that Internet searches for international political, entertainment, education, and non-contact sports issues were significantly influenced by each country’s distinct superstructure. This study also found a different pattern in searching U.S. issues from non-U.S. issues.
Internet Addiction among Young People in China: Internet Connectedness, Online Gaming, and Academic Performance Decrement • Qiaolei Jiang, Nanyang Technological University • Internet addiction has become a prominent issue in China, especially among the young. This study is among the first few focusing on the Internet-dependent young people in China. Based on data collected in one of the earliest and largest Internet addiction clinics in Mainland China, this study investigated the interrelationships between Internet connectedness, online gaming, Internet addiction symptoms, and academic performance decrement. The findings showed that Internet connectedness and online gaming are positively associated with Internet addiction symptoms.
Online Social Networking Profiles and Self-presentation of Indian Youths • Peddiboyina Vijaya Lakshmi, Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam; Sagar Atre, Ohio University, E.W. Scripps School of Journalism; Yusuf Kalyango, Ohio University • This central aim of this study is to determine whether online social interactions, online postings and self-presentations in profiles of Indian teenagers between the ages of 16 and 18 years conform to the previously well-guarded culture and traditional norms of India. It is based on the analysis of user profiles on ten social networking sites: Facebook, MySpace, Hi5, Orkut, Ibibo, Perfspot, Google+, LinkedIn, Bharatstudent and Twitter.
‘My Little Girl’: The Ethics of News Coverage of an Intersex South African Athlete • Rick Kenney, Florida Gulf Coast University; Kimiko Akita, University of Central Florida • South African sprinter Caster Semenya’s victory in the 2009 track World Championships set off a firestorm of controversy over whether she was a woman—by sex, not gender. Competitors claimed she was a man, and the sports’ governing body conducted sex-verification tests on Semenya without her knowledge.
Gender Digital Divide? Facebook Uses and Gratifications Among Kuwaiti College Students • Anastasia Kononova, American University of Kuwait; Saleem Alhabash, Michigan State University • A cross sectional survey (N = 169) of Kuwaiti college students explored the uses and gratifications of Facebook as a function of gender. Results showed that respondents, in general, were mostly motivated to use Facebook for social connectivity and posting and following status updates. Results also showed that a greater proportion of male respondents reported having a Facebook account compared to their female counterparts.
Creation of transnational media culture in a digital diaspora space: Analysis of media sharing web board of an online community of female Korean im/migrants in the U.S. • EunKyung Lee, Rutgers University • This study explores an online community (www.MissyUSA.com) formed among female Korean im/migrants in the U.S. as an example of a digital diasporic space in the new media age. Employing multiple research methods including in-depth interviews, textual analysis, and grounded theory this study examined the media culture on a media sharing web board of the online community.
Effects of Real and Fictional Presidential Debates on the Perceived Importance of Issues • Jeongsub Lim • This study investigates how real and fictional presidential debates influence individuals’ perception of the importance of issues by considering the following three main independent variables: need for orientation, emotional arousal, and the credibility of real and fictional presidential candidates. The results of a controlled experiment using a sample of students indicate that older participants who had a need for orientation toward key issues and believed real presidential candidates were more likely to be concerned about the issues discussed by the candidates.
Educating Globally Aware Journalists: What Is It, Why Does It Matter and How Do We Prepare Our Students • Scott Winter, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; R. Bruce Mitchell, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Nancy Mitchell, University of Nebraska-Lincoln • This paper investigates how we prepare students to be globally aware journalists – what it is, why it matters and how educators can foster such learning. Using a case study approach, the authors argue that helping students achieve global competency requires a complex set of outcomes accomplished by multiple media experiences attained domestically and/or abroad, and that the best intercultural learning situations feature cultural mentors who help students reflect on their experiences.
A Framing Analysis of U.S. News Coverage of Diplomatic Relationship between the U.S. and Venezuela • Victor Oliveira Bonomi, Arkansas State University; Po-Lin Pan, Arkansas State University • This study explored U.S. news coverage of the diplomatic relationship between the United States of America and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in three U.S. newspapers—the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Christian Science Monitor. Using media framing theory, this content analysis was conducted over two distinct periods that represented the first hundred days of the first and second presidential periods of Hugo Chavez.
The Press-Enabled Rise of Two Two-Term Presidents: Brazil’s Popular Lula and the US’s Unpopular Bush • Tania Rosas-Moreno, Loyola University Maryland • This qualitative content analysis compares how two democratic countries’ newspapers of record first mythogolized their winning presidential candidates, resulting in two two-term presidents: unpopular Bush and unprecedently popular Lula. The New York Times and Folha de São Paulo candidate mythogolizations occurred within seven myth categories: ideal, experience, leadership, favored, fear, folksy and campaign practicalities. In brief, cross-cultural comparisons analyzing the relationships among national media practices during presidential elections provide insight into journalistic practices.
Examining Traditional and New Media Credibility in Pakistan • KyuJin Shim, Syracuse University; Anita Day, University of South Florida; Guy J Golan, Syracuse University; Sung-Un Yang, Indiana University at Bloomington • Based on a random survey sample, the current study examined audience assessments of different media platforms in Pakistan. Results provide empirical support for a significant relationship between such demographic variables as age, gender, religiosity and ethnicity and overall assessments of either traditional or new media credibility. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that reliance on traditional media was positively associated with assessments of traditional media credibility while reliance on new media was positively associated with assessments of new media credibility.
Framing Tibet: A Comparative Study of U.S. and Chinese Newspapers, 2008-2011 • Xiangyi Shou, Iowa State University; Gang (Kevin) Han, Greenlee School/Iowa State University; Lulu Rodriguez, Iowa State University • The Chinese take-over of Tibet has become an irritant in the relationship between the U.S. and China. This study identifies the visibility of news frames in the coverage of this issue by the elite newspapers of the two countries from 2008 to 2011. Results show that human rights was the most prominent frame in New York Times while attribution of responsibility and human interest were most observed in the People’s Daily.
A Cross-National Comparison of Russian and U.S. Newspaper Coverage of Iran’s Nuclear Program • Diana Sokolova; Carol Schwalbe, School of Journalism, University of Arizona • A content analysis of 318 articles revealed differences in the textual and visual framing of Iran’s nuclear program in two U.S. newspapers and two Russian newspapers during the presidency of George W. Bush (2002-2009). Both The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times presented Iran as an enemy and a threat to U.S. security, thus reflecting the Bush administration’s fear that Iran was building an atomic bomb.
Early Global Media in the Indian Ocean Rim: The Telegraph and Colonial Britain • Sujatha Sosale, The University of Iowa • In this paper, through an initial analysis of archival data, I trace some political and economic questions and challenges faced by colonial Britain in networking the Indian Ocean Rim (IOR) through the telegraph. In the process, I hope to demonstrate that a communication medium contributed to the definition of the IOR as a geographical entity, much of which constitutes the global South today.
Race and Masculinity: A comparison of Asian and Western Models in Men’s Lifestyle Magazine Advertisements • Ping Shaw; Yue Tan • This study examines how men of different races are displayed in terms of masculinity types and product types by analyzing the content of 636 ads collected from the three most popular men’s lifestyle magazines in Taiwan, China, and the United States between 2008 and 2010. Each country was found to have multiple types of masculinities displayed by male models from different racial groups.
Uni-Dimensional Framing of a Multi-Dimensional Organization: Newspaper Frames of Hizbullah • Rebekah Husted; Maureen Taylor, University of Oklahoma; Peter Gade • This article examines how four newspapers framed Hizbullah in its roles as a multidimensional political, humanitarian and terrorist organization. The terrorist frames did not decrease even when the organization became a leader in the Lebanese government. The findings suggest that three-quarters of the articles used some kind of terrorism frame to refer to Hizbullah and 42% of the articles linked it to other terrorist organizations such as Hamas.
Resisting or Reinforcing Western Stereotypes? Queen Rania of Jordan on YouTube • Melissa Wall, California State University-Northridge • This paper explores our understanding of participatory media uses by non-Westerners, particularly Middle Easterners, through a critical discourse analysis of Queen Rania of Jordan’s YouTube channel and its proclaimed mission to combat stereotypes of Muslims and the Middle East. Postcolonial theory is employed to assess the ways in which her videos can provide a means of creating different discourses about Islam and the Middle East and, at the same time, reinforce Western norms and values as well as Middle Eastern elites’ legitimacy and credibility.
Foreign News as Marketable Power Display: Reporting Foreign Disasters by the Chinese Local Media • Haiyan Wang; Francis L. F. Lee, 3303376; Yue Wang • As Western media are cutting back expenditures on foreign news reporting, news organizations in China – both national and local ones – have been investing more resources into international news in recent years. This article provides a critical assessment of foreign news reporting in local Chinese media. Focusing on the Southern city of Guangzhou and using the March 2011 Japanese earthquake as an entry point, this article analyzes the motivations behind and the practices of foreign news reporting at two major Guangzhou newspapers.
Green Sells – Effects of Green Visuals in Advertising on Chinese Consumers’ Brand Perception • Fei Xue, University of Southern Mississippi • The current study examined the effects of green visuals in advertising on Chinese consumers’ perception of the brand’s eco-friendliness, attitude-toward-the-ad, brand attitude and purchase intention, and the possible moderation role of product involvement. Results showed green visuals were the determining factor in consumers’ perception of the brand’s eco-friendliness, but if no visual information was available, the use of verbal environmental claims could generate more positive perception of the brand’s eco-friendliness.
Media Salience and Framing: Sources as a New Dimension of the Frame-Changing Model as Applied to Coverage of the Saddam Hussein Trial • Jin Yang, University of Memphis; Padmini Patwardhan • This study conceptualized a new sources dimension in Chyi and McCombs’ original frame- changing model of time and space to track the appearance, peak, and decline of a news event on the media agenda. With three continua of time, space and sources, the study found that the Saddam Hussein trial was consistently covered in the present tense, oriented toward individuals and alternated between government sources and individual sources.
Nepalese Journalists After the Interim Constitution in 2007: A Survey of Their Profile, Work Condition, and Job Perception • Deepak Neupane; Lily Zeng, Arkansas State University • Media professionals in Nepal have been facing a wide range of threats in recent decades as a result of the political turmoil. In 2007, an interim constitution was finally introduced, which states that the freedom of news and communication is protected in Nepal. This study examines the condition of journalists through a survey of practicing Nepalese journalists from all five regions of this mountainous country.
Audience Speaks Out: Minkaohan Uyghur Response To The Representation Of Uyghurs In Chinese State Media • Liang Zheng • This paper examines media and Chinese ethnic minorities in the context of Uyghurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim people who reside in China’s far west Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Based on eighteen in-depth interviews conducted with Minkaohan Uyghurs, a sub-group among Uyghurs who were educated in Mandarin schools, where the primary language of instruction is Mandarin Chinese. This paper focuses on Uyghur audiences’ response to the representation of Uyghurs in China’s state media.
Public Trust: A Comprehensive Investigation on Perceived Media Credibility in China • Hongzhong Zhang, Beijing Normal University; Shuhua Zhou, University of Alabama; Bin Shen • The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive investigation on perceived media credibility in China. In order to assess people’s attitudes toward six media channels (television, newspapers, radio, magazines, websites and mobile devices), a series of surveys were conducted to a random sample of 5,807 residents in ten cities in China: Beijing, Shenyang, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Nanjing, Xi’an, Chengdu, Chongqing, and Wuhan.
Markham Student Papers
Press censorship of the Indian Emergency of 1975-1977: The response of the underground movement • Sagar Atre, Ohio University, E.W. Scripps School of Journalism • The Indian Emergency of 1975-77 was the first and only time in the history of Indian democracy when press freedom and civil liberties were suspended. This study predominantly outlines the nature of the press censorship, and the response of the underground press. Through a well-connected network of underground volunteers, this nationwide movement established a parallel system to disseminate news and information about the happenings in government and elsewhere in India through letters, bulletins and pamphlets.
Social Media, the Arab Revolution, and Media Frames: A Cross-national Study of Western and Arab Newspapers • Fatima Alsalem, Indiana University; Jihyang Choi, Indiana University; Shuo Tang, Indiana University • The present study compares how social media and the Internet were framed by major Western and pan-Arabic newspapers in their coverage of the Tunisia and Egypt revolutions. In exploring both views from the Outsiders and the Insiders, the study aims to answer the question of whether cultural differences affect media frames, the global public sphere and the flow of international news.
Why do direct quotations matter in South Korean newspaper headlines? • Jiyoung Han, University of Minnesota • Journalism scholars have argued that South Korean newspapers take advantage of quotations-embedded headlines to editorialize the news. As an exemplar of good journalism, they have referred to The New York Times, which never uses direct quotations in its headline. However, as opposed to their claim, The New York Times places direct quotations in its headlines with single quotation marks.
Kenyan Journalists: A Study of Demographics, Job Satisfaction, News Values and Perceived Autonomy • Kioko Ireri, Indiana University-Bloomington • This study strived to examine the situation of Kenyan journalism in the 21st century. A total of 96 Kenyan journalists were surveyed so as to understand their demographic backgrounds, job satisfaction, working conditions, and the use of technology. Their perceptions on journalistic ethics, journalistic freedoms, and forces which influence their work were also explored. Results show that 69.7% of those surveyed were satisfied with their jobs, with income being the main predictor of job satisfaction.
News From Tripoli, Benghazi, Brega and Misrata: How Al-Jazeera and BBC Online News Framed The Libyan Revolution • Kioko Ireri, School of Journalism Indiana University-Bloomington • The purpose of this research, which focuses on the framing of the 2011 Libyan Revolution on Al-Jazeera and BBC online news, is fourfold. First, it examines the use of the human interest frame on BBC and Al-Jazeera English news sites before and after the adoption of Resolution 1973, which paved the way for military intervention in the Libyan crisis.
Where are NGOs in the Global Network Society? An Analysis of Organizational Networking Patterns for Freedom of Expression • Sun Ho Jeong, University of Texas at Austin • The multidimensional nature of globalization, including its effects on politics, economy, society, culture and media, brought notable changes in the international system in many respects. Noting the importance of international cooperation among different forms of institutions, this study attempted to further understand and explain the notion of emerging global civil society by analyzing organizational networking patterns among governmental, inter-governmental, non-governmental, and media organizations focusing on the issue of freedom of expression.
Frames and Fronteras: U.S.-Mexico Migration/Immigration News Coverage on Both Sides of the Border • Christian Kelleher, University of Texas at Austin • Much literature has examined news media framing of migration/immigration issues in the United States, and some in Mexico, but very little has explored the cross-border context. Through a comparative content analysis of common generic and issue-specific news media frames, this study finds that the Mexican press presents more coverage and more positive coverage of migration/immigration than the U.S., and that Mexican framing is universalist compared to the U.S. particularist framing of the issue.
Putting Community First: Mainstreaming CSR for Community Building in India and China • Sarabdeep Kochhar • Community building is studied as the multidimensional process that leads to sustainable improvements in the well-being of individuals, families, communities, and society as a whole. The study looks at the role organizations play in developing countries as an integral function of inter-connectedness between organizations and community as a whole. A total of 100 Indian and Chinese organizations were analyzed for the available CSR information and initiatives using quantitative content analysis.
Amount of coverage, framing, and dramatization in news articles about natural disasters: a content analytical study of the difference in coverage of developed and developing countries • Katharina Lang • This study examined amount of coverage and framing of articles about natural disasters in developing and developed countries. This study found differences in framing of the disasters, with articles about earthquakes in developing countries being more frequently framed with poverty and inefficiency, whereas natural disasters in developed countries included a larger number of frames of tragedy, wealth, and efficiency. Furthermore, articles about natural disasters in developing countries were more often dramatized.
Serving the Party or the Market: Front Page Photos in People’s Daily and Its Commercial Offspring • Zhaoxi Liu, University of Iowa • Through a content analysis of front-page photos of the People’s Daily and its market-oriented offspring, the Shi Chang Bao, this study found that, throughout more than two decades, while the People’s Daily constantly focused on top political leaders, the Shi Chang Bao focused on consumer activities. Such a contrast illuminates a unique character of China’s press system: its need both to remain as the mouthpiece of the Communist Party, and to cater to the market.
The Framing of European Debt Crisis in the Chinese Press: Rethinking Global Risk and Cosmopolitanism • Zhifei Mao, The Chinese University of Hong Kong • This study examined how Chinese media framed the European debt crisis to see whether a state with a strong tradition of nationalism allowed any room for cosmopolitanism when facing international and global risks. It content analyzed 256 news articles from two important Chinese newspapers and found the responsibility frame and economic consequences frame were dominantly used and closely related to cosmopolitanism. Orientations of newspapers and the national interests may also influence the construction of cosmopolitanism.
Military Affairs in Korean News as Media Spectacle: A case study of ROKS Choenan and Yeonpyeong Island Events • Soo-Kwang Oh, University of Maryland • The study applied the theory of media spectacle on a case study of South Korean media coverage of two recent events: 1) The sinking of ROKS Choenan and 2) the bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island by the North Korean Army. The framing analysis approach was used to understand whether such coverage can be called a spectacle as defined in the study. The cases were looked at three different contexts: historical, cultural, and technological.
Framing news across borders: Newspaper coverage of the U.S. immigration debate in U.S. and Mexico from 2004 to 2007 • Paola Pascual-Ferra, University of Miami • Framing analysis compared news coverage of the U.S. immigration debate in U.S. and Mexican newspapers from 2004 to 2007. Patterns of attention, main actors, key frames, and key narratives were identified. Frames used by Mexican news media and state actors supported migration and encouraged political participation of Mexican communities in the U.S. Implications are discussed along with future research directions, including what role, if any, news media across the border play in encouraging U.S. immigration.
Life is Elsewhere: The Use and Effects of the Homeland Media among the Digital Sojourners • Jie Qin; Jie Gao • Given that temporary migrations boom and the global reach of Internet facilitates the continuous use of homeland media, the purpose of the research is to aims to answer what patterns of media use (homeland, ethnic, and host media) do the digital sojourners have, and explore the relationship between the media use patterns, immigration perception, and immigration intention. We found that the global reach of the Internet has facilitated the path dependence in media use.
Power Distance and Trust in News Media: A Comparative Study of America and China • Ivanka Radovic, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Rachel Rui • This study examined the relationship between power distance and trust in news media in China and America using a sample of 620 participants. The findings showed that the two countries are getting closer on the power distance index, and that the relationship between power distance and trust in media is opposite to one found in the literature. The results are interpreted in light of possible changing trends among Chinese youth and differences in measurement methods.
Youth Digital Cultures in Small Town and Rural Gujarat • Manisha Shelat; Cathy DeShano • The paper examines youth digital cultures in rural/ small town Gujarat, India and brings forth a perspective from Global South in understanding the Net generation. We examine how the location and dominant discourses intersect with digital technologies and re-configure aspects of daily lives, such as study, leisure, and friendship; how youth negotiate their interactions with digital media as one aspect of their larger lifeworlds; and how these negotiations influence cultural practices within structural environments.
What’s the bandwidth for democracy? Deconstructing Internet penetration and citizen attitudes about governance • Elizabeth Stoycheff • Empirical studies that closely examine the democratizing potential of the Internet remain underdeveloped. This paper examines how both individual Internet use, when coupled with national Internet penetration, promotes pro-democratic attitudes in citizens in 34 developing countries. Results indicate individual Internet use, as well as the diffusion of Internet hardware and bandwidth, are important for democratic development.
Displacing the Displacement Hypothesis? Does the Internet Really Displace Traditional Media? • Edson Tandoc, University of Missouri-Columbia • Using national surveys in the Philippines in 2003 (n = 76,100) and 2008 (n = 60,817), this study revisits the media displacement hypothesis. It looks at the proportions of media use devoted to traditional media (newspaper, magazine, movies, radio and television) and to the internet. The proportions devoted to newspaper, magazine and radio use decreased while internet increased. But those for movie-going and television also increased.
The Image of the Nation-Brand of the Country of Georgia as Presented by Major American Newspapers between January 1 and July 1, 2010 • Giorgi Topouria, Missouri • Using content analysis of coverage of country of Georgia by major US newspapers in the specified period, this study develops an approach to measurement and analysis of one of the perspectives of nation-brand image and sets ground for further more comprehensive study of nation brand image and relationships between its various perspectives. The study identifies weaknesses of the Georgian nation-brand, suggests ways for improvement and outlines directions for future research.
Not just a pretty face: Changing K-pop idol imagery from 2005 to 2012 • Quan Xie, Ohio University; Mark Walters, Southern Illinois University Carbondale • This study explored the shifting media images that Korean pop music (K-pop) idol groups employed from 2005 to 2012. The researchers conducted a content analysis of the universe of album covers of 20 representative K-pop groups during this period of time. Five hypotheses were proposed to answer how groups’ dominant images changed from the mid-2000s to convey attractiveness to a transnational audience. The results shine a light on Westernization, Asianization, and gender presentations.
Invisible Colleges within Chinese Communication Community: Patterns and Trends of Co-authorship in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, 2006-2011 • Mengmeng Zhao, The Chinese University of Hong Kong • This study examined the co-authorship in Chinese communication research community during 2006-2011. A content analysis of seven top Chinese communication journals selected from CSSCI, SSCI and TSSCI sources was conducted to compare collaboration patterns and co-authorship trends in three “sub-communities” including mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Analysis was based on various dimensions including authors’ gender, academic rank, discipline, affiliation and geographical location, providing a comprehensive picture of “invisible colleges” (Crane, 1972) in Chinese communication scholarship.
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