Minorities and Communication 2018 Abstracts
Faculty Research Competition
Acculturation, Pluralism, Empowerment: Cultural Images as Strategic Communication on Hispanic Nonprofit Websites • Melissa Adams; Melissa Johnson, North Carolina State University • This quantitative visual content analysis investigated the use of acculturation, pluralism, empowerment, and resistance-themed messages and images in nonprofit strategic communication and digital intercultural communication. The study analyzed data from 135 U.S.-based Latino nonprofit websites. Based on study findings, the authors argue that these nonprofits may be missing opportunities to strengthen relationships and cultural ties with target publics. This analysis applies acculturation theory to visual communication and extends the literature on digital intercultural public relations.
Racially Framed: A content analysis of media frames in the coverage of the Ferguson controversy • Kris Boyle, Brigham Young University • After the death of Michael Brown in 2014, protests in Ferguson, Missouri, sparked nationwide discussion about race, police use of force, and police militarization. This study analyzes the media’s framing of the events in Ferguson, comparing coverage from local media (The St. Louis Dispatch) with national media (The New York Times). Both framed the events as a conflict between police and protesters. However, the Times used more race-based terms in its coverage than the Post-Dispatch.
‘Sharing Hope and Healing’: A culturally tailored social media campaign serving Native Americans • Rebecca Britt, The University of Alabama; Brian Britt; Jenn Anderson, South Dakota State University; Nancy Fahrenwald; Shana Harming • Social media campaigns designed to promote health can be effective when tailored appropriately and can successfully improve quality of life, including an increased number of living kidney donors among ethnic minorities. In the current manuscript, the authors discuss the results of a social media campaign designed to promote communication and education about living kidney donation and transplantation (LKDT) among Native Americans, who experience a uniquely great need for increased transplantation and suffer from a disproportionate number of related health burdens. Engagement, reach, and impressions were measured within the campaign for its duration via a set of hierarchical linear regressions. Notable results indicated that success stories about LKDT were statistically significant predictors of campaign engagement, reach, impressions, as well as negative feedback. Implications, limitations, and future directions for partnering with tribal communities, relevant stakeholders, and developing advertising and mass communication efforts are outlined.
Racist Media Representations of Police Shootings: The Problem of Primary Definition • Alfred Cotton, University of Cincinnati • The purpose of this paper is to analyze the narratives of two cases of police-involved shootings of Black men as presented in mass media to show how, if left unchecked, allowing elites and officials (particularly when they are representative of the individuals in the case) to define the narratives of such events can lead to misrepresentation of the narrative of the events. Only when video evidence disputing the police officers’ version of events did mainstream journalists begin to question the veracity of the officers’ claims their decisions to shoot these men were justified. The analysis examines the shifting discursive positions of the police, public officials, and media representatives over time and how those evidence a racist system of journalistic practices in American mainstream news media.
Impact of Media Use and Pro-Environmental Orientations on Racial/Ethnic Groups’ Attitudes Towards Ecobranding • Troy Elias, University of Oregon • This research uses national survey data from 1,180 Hispanics, African-American, non-Hispanic White, and Asian-Americans to explore the comparative likelihood of Hispanic, African-American, White, and Asian Americans engaging in pro-environmental behaviors and harboring pro-environmental orientations, in particular attitudes towards eco-branding. The results of the study indicate that Hispanic, African-American, White, and Asian-American respondents did not significantly differ in their attitudes towards eco-branding. Additional results indicate that Asian-Americans and Hispanics, to a relative extent, outpace everyone else in terms of pro-environmental attitudes, behaviors, and attitudes towards green purchasing. These results further disconfirm the notion that ethnic/racial minorities care less about the environment than racial minorities.
More than a Black and White Issue: Racialized Identity Constructs and Support for the Black Lives Matter Movement • Lanier Holt, The Ohio State University; Matthew Sweitzer, The Ohio State University • We examine which factors guide opinions about Black Lives Matter. We find ethnic identity predicts why African Americans’ have positive attitudes towards BLM, but is a poor predictor of Whites’ beliefs. Attitudes about social dominance better predicts which Whites will oppose BLM. However, when Whites discuss racial issues, the impact of social dominance is negated, leading them to more positively evaluate BLM. These processes have implications for communication about racial issues.
How Race, Gender, and American Politics Influenced User Discourse Surrounding the Jemele Hill Controversy • Guy Harrison, Youngstown State University; Ann Pegoraro, Laurentian University; Miles Romney, Brigham Young University; Kevin Hull, University of South Carolina • On September 11, 2017, ESPN’s Jemele Hill tweeted that United States President Donald Trump was a “white supremacist.” Online reaction was swift and divided. The purpose of this study was to analyze how people were discussing the incident on Facebook using the theoretical lens of framing. Results demonstrate that discussions devolved into stereotypical tropes and uncivil discourse. Ultimately, Hill’s race and gender became as much of a topic of contention as did her comments about Trump.
Media Effects and Marginalized Ideas: Relationships Among Media Consumption and Support for Black Lives Matter • Danielle Kilgo, Indiana University; Rachel Mourao, Michigan State University • Building research analyses of Black Lives Matter media portrayals, this inquiry uses a two-wave panel survey to examine the effects coverage has on the evaluation of the core ideas from the BLM agenda. Results show conservative media use increases negative evaluations; models suggest this relationship works as a multidirectional feedback loop. Mainstream and liberal media consumptions do not lead to more positive views on BLM.
An Examination of Non-White Crime Portrayals in Local Broadcast News • Jeniece Jamison, University of Memphis; Stephanie Madden, Pennsylvania State University • The purpose of this study is to examine trends in the coverage of crime stories in local broadcast television news. Findings showed that while whites may have been underrepresented as criminal actors, non-whites’ representation in crime stories were on par with their representation within the market area. Interviews from newsroom employees revealed newsrooms try to eliminate bias by hiring individuals from a variety of backgrounds, creating open dialogue concerning diversity in the newsroom, and considering the effects of crime on their communities before deciding to air a crime-related story.
Civil Rights and Sports: Jackie Robinson’s Continuing Crusade as a Newspaper Columnist • Raymond McCaffrey, University of Arkansas • This historical study explores the journalistic career of Jackie Robinson, who began writing a newspaper column for the African-American press after retiring from the Brooklyn Dodgers, the team with which he broke Major League Baseball’s so-called “color line” in 1947. Of particular interest is a consideration of Robinson’s use of his column to advance the growing movement of athletes fighting for civil rights on the sports field in the 1960s. This study involves a reading of hundreds of Robinson columns. This examination focused on the period after Robinson’s retirement from baseball in 1957, when the civil-rights trailblazer came to be labeled by some as an “Uncle Tom” because of what was viewed as a too conciliatory approach to race relations. This study suggests that a review of his columns throughout the 1960s reveals that not only did Robinson’s positions on numerous civil-rights issues evolve through the decade. He was strategic in his taking of positions, coming out early in support of key battles to advance civil rights on the sports field. Robinson ultimately came to take almost militant stands on major issues, a revelation considering he had once backed Richard Nixon and had been an outspoken critic of Malcolm X.
Old Stereotypes Made New: A Textual Analysis on the Tragic Mulatto Stereotype in Contemporary Hollywood • Brandale Mills, Norfolk State University • Historically, Black women’s most persistent images on-screen have typically neither been Black nor that of a woman, partly because of media’s love affair with damaging stereotypes such as the Tragic Mulatto, marked by gendered racism (Cartier, 2014; Mask, 2015). Media representations of Black culture, people and their communities have been a major force in shaping their portrayals in popular culture (Barnett & Flynn, 2014) and this has especially been true for fostering an environment of racial (in)tolerance and acceptance. While Black characters have historically shaped audience member’s perceptions, biracial representations in the media have provided a space for discussion and at times the disregard of multicultural politics. This study examined biracial female characters in films directed by Black women, using Black Feminist Thought to assess whether these depiction strayed from the historic portrayals of the tragic mulatto. The study’s finding illustrated evidence of the traditional tragic mulatto with elements of empowerment and liberation.
The Effects of Latino Cultural Identity and Media Use on Political Engagement and Vote Choice in Election 2016 • Maria Len-Rios, The University of Georgia; Patricia Moy • Using a post-2016 U.S. presidential election national Qualtrics panel survey (N = 720), we examined individual, cultural-identity and media variables predicting political knowledge, political participation and vote choice among Latino voters. Findings show acculturation was associated with greater political knowledge. Social dominance orientation decreased both political knowledge and participation. Print news and social media use fostered participation, while TV use eroded it. Spanish-language news negatively predicted knowledge. Gender was strongly associated with vote choice.
Representation of Minorities in Hospitals’ Online Platforms: Manifestation of Diversity in Images and Videos • Taryn Myers; Finie Richardson; Jae Eun Chung, Communication • While hospitals’ health promotion via social media has the potential to be a critical source of health information, research shows racial and ethnic disparities exist in health-related knowledge that may be, in part, related to media representation. The purpose of this study is to examine the racial and ethnic representation of people featured on Washington, D.C. hospitals’ social media platforms to understand how hospitals embed cultural competency into their health communication. By comparing the diversity of images on hospitals’ social media platforms with the demographics of hospitals’ neighboring communities, the researchers intend to highlight opportunities to improve targeted health messaging to underserved communities, particularly Black and Latino communities. Among the 1,305 images coded, the researchers found that Whites and Asians were over-represented while Latinos were severely under-represented in hospitals’ social media representation as compared to the community demographics. Enhancing minority representation on hospitals’ social media-based health promotion may contribute to addressing the disparities in healthcare.
Stuck in the myth of Model Minority: Representation of self in Asian Indian ethnic newspapers • Somava Pande, Washington State University • Extant literature posits that ethnic media play an important role in constructing their readers’ perception and knowledge of race and ethnicity. This study extends scholarship on Asian Indian ethnic media, by demonstrating how in the recontextualization of social constructs like borders, immigration, etc., in the current socio-political scenario Asian Indian ethnic newspapers construct their own group identity. Critical discourse analysis of 289 news articles revealed the presence of ambivalence as they represent their own group.
“To Ferguson, Love Palestine”: Mediating Life Under Occupation • Cristina Mislan; Sara Shaban, University of Missouri • Palestinian activists and Black protesters in Ferguson, MO created a transnational network of solidarity after recognizing their shared experiences of police brutality. The authors focus on both the online and offline politics of #Ferguson through a textual analysis of the digital media discourse and by conducting interviews with community activists. Findings reveal the shared ‘resistance culture’ made visible through digital media, emphasizing the affective expressions of Brown and Black voices resisting the force of militarization.
Student Paper
A Conceptual Model on Black Consumer-Brand Identity Congruence and Personal Care Purchase Intentions • Yewande Addie, UF; Brett Ball, University of Florida; Kelsy-Ann Adams, University of Florida • Nielsen reports black buying power is expected to increase nearly $1 trillion by 2021. Thus our research is rooted in offering intellectual support to exploring that economic contribution and filling existing gaps in academic literature on black female consumer relationship with brands. This study offers a conceptual model aimed at analyzing the potential impact of brand-consumer identity congruence between personal care brands and black female consumers and its influence on purchase intentions.
Marketing to One Color: An Analysis of the Emergent Themes in Cancer Television Commercials from 2014-2017. • Aqsa Bashir, University of Florida • There is considerable amount of research available on cancer incidence and mortality; however, the role of the media in framing cancer as a health issue has not been analyzed. This paper uses framing analysis approach to analyze cancer television commercials to better understand how the social marketers are portraying cancer to the masses. Four themes emerged from a framing analysis of the ads: emotional appeal, empowerment, social support and research advancements. Additionally, this study explored whether racial disparities and underrepresentation of racial minorities exist in cancer advertisements. The findings revealed that Blacks in particular are underrepresented in cancer advertisement even though cancer incidence and mortality rates are higher in the Black population. This study provides practical implications for cancer organizations and social marketers by offering insights on the popular themes being applied in cancer advertisements.
Racialized Reporting: Newspaper Coverage of Hurricane Harvey vs. Hurricane Maria • STEFANIE DAVIS, The Pennsylvania State Universtiy • There is little that is natural about natural disasters. Storm impact site to relief efforts are rooted in geographical, social, and racial inequalities. News coverage of natural disasters is subject to these same biases. This study aims to tease out the different news frames used in coverage of Hurricane Harvey (Texas) and Hurricane Maria (Puerto Rico). A content analysis of newspaper articles, supplemented by a qualitative textual analysis, suggests significant differences in framing techniques of each storm. Specifically, Maria was framed more politically than Harvey, and coverage of Harvey included more human interest stories than Maria. Implications on issues of geography, race, and citizenship are discussed.
____ Lives Matter: The Impact Of Exemplar Race and Story Frame on Percieved Issue Severity • Robert Jones, Missouri School of Journalism • Exemplification research on minorities has focused on the relationship between stereotypical portrayal of minorities and stereotypical judgments. Research that observes the interaction between exemplar race and frame in news media is lacking. The study observed the relationship between exemplar race and story frame on perceptions. Results show media that focus on the accounts of common folk are perceived as more credible than those that focus on accounts of police officers.
Immigrant frames and responses to mass media identity positioning • Debra Kelley, University of Minnesota, School of Journalism & Mass Communication • Somali-American women research participants call on discourses from mass media to negotiate social status and sexual identity and explain contradictions they exhibit in different discursive situations. For the immigrants in my study, mediation both enables and constrains representations of themselves. This paper provides a voice to these Somali-Americans, adding to a paucity of literature about the Somalis’ trajectory as one of the largest refugee groups in the United States and cultural conflicts inherent in re-locating.
Media Framing of the Movement for Black Lives: Tone and Changes Over Time • Michelle Perkins, University of Houston • Media attention is a vital factor in a social movement’s struggle against hegemonic norms, thus framing can greatly impact their influence. Frequency of coverage within the initial four years of Movement for Black Lives was compared to social occurrences to determine impacts on coverage. Employing a content analysis, the present study examined coverage about the movement to determine overall tone and changes in coverage over time, with results compared by ideology of the media outlet.
Black Masculine Scripts in Hip-Hop Media • Christin Smith • This paper investigates scripts of the Black masculine sexual body and Hip-Hop music based on Jackson’s Scripting the Black Masculine Body (2006). The scripts are the pimp, thug and roughneck, thug misses, stud, player, and baller scripts (Jackson, 2006). Through a textual analysis of Hip-Hop music videos and a semiotic textual analysis of Hip-Hop lyrics, this paper argues that Black bodies in Hip-Hop media have internalized negative inscriptions of their bodies to be true.
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