O objetivo desta tese é mostrar como o discurso dos telejornais pode construir determinada memória social de um acontecimento, pelo entrelaçamento de vozes, imagens e designações. Para isso, partimos da análise de elementos lingüísticos, argumentativos e enunciativos desse tipo de discurso, que tem papel fundamental na mediação dos demais discursos sociais. Procuramos mostrar como os telejornais articulam as várias vozes tornadas públicas no espaço da mídia e organizam as estratégias de referenciação dos fatos num processo de construção de um mundo textual homogêneo, que se tornará material simbólico a ser captado pela memória social. Como se trata de um discurso verbo-visual, investigamos também a confluência de elementos lingüísticos e imagéticos na trama discursiva, que a nosso ver aumenta o poder de penetração na memória social pela via da memória eletrônica da televisão, que controla lembranças e esquecimentos por meio da seleção e da edição de acontecimentos, fixando-lhes determinados sentidos e construindo modos de recordação. Empreendemos o exame do discurso de telejornais mediante um estudo de caso, o episódio dos ataques aos Estados Unidos em 11 de setembro de 2001, tendo como base teorias da argumentação, conceitos da análise do discurso, como o de polifonia, estudos sobre os processos de referenciação, concepções a respeito da imagem e teorias da memória social. O corpus da tese é constituído pelas edições de 11 de setembro de 2001, 2002, 2003 e 2004 do Jornal Nacional e do Jornal da Record, o que possibilitou analisar a cobertura televisiva sob uma dupla perspectiva: uma dimensão sincrônica e sua extensão diacrônica. Assim pudemos avaliar as estratégias de manipulação cognitiva e afetiva pelas quais se construiu uma versão paradigmática dos fatos, com pouca reflexão sobre seu contexto ou suas implicações históricas, o que por si só pode ter resultado em significativos efeitos sobre a memória social dos eventos. A análise resultou também na observação de muitos pontos de contato entre os dois telejornais, sobretudo no que se refere aos padrões de mediação da realidade e de distribuição dos conteúdos simbólicos, marcas inequívocas da poderosa máquina televisiva, que reinventa a esfera pública ao controlar o intercâmbio de signos e ideologias e posicionar-se como testemunha de um presente perpétuo. / The objective of this dissertation is to show how the discourse of television news programs may build a certain social memory of an event due to the interminglement of voices, images and designations. To this end, we based ourselves on the analysis of the linguistic, argumentative and enunciative elements of this type of discourse, which has a critical role in the mediation of other social discourses. We tried to show how television news programs articulate the many voices that are made public in the media space and organize the strategies of fact referentiation in a process of construction of a homogenous contextual world, which will become symbolic material to be captured by social memory. As this is a verbal and visual discourse, we also investigated the confluence of linguistic and imagery elements in the contrived discourse, which, in our opinion, increases the power of penetration into social memory by way of television\'s electronic memory, which controls memories and forgetfulnesses by means of the selection and edition of events, giving them certain meanings and building ways to remember. We undertook the examination of the discourse of television news programs by way of a case study, the episode of the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, based on argumentation theories, discourse analysis concepts, such as polyphony, studies on the referentiation processes, conceptions of image, and social memory theories. The corpus of this dissertation is made up of the editions of September 11, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 of the Jornal Nacional and Jornal da Record, which allowed us to analyze the television coverage under two perspectives: a synchronic dimension and its diachronic extension. Therefore, we could evaluate the strategies of cognitive and affective manipulation by way of which a paradigmatic version of the facts was built, with little reflection about their context or historical implications, which, alone, may have had a significant effect on the social memory of the events. The analysis also resulted in the observation of many points of contact between the two television news programs, particularly with respect to the standards of mediation of reality and distribution of the symbolic contents, unmistakable hallmarks of the powerful television media, which reinvents the public sphere by controlling the exchange of signals and ideologies and standing as a witness of a perpetual present.

The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was among the first legislative responses to the financial and mortgage crises of 2008 and allowed the U.S. government to alleviate distressed financial institutions of equity and assets that were straining the housing and financial markets. However, the underlying economic events that precipitated the legislative intervention, including rising foreclosure rates in specific states, had been disproportionately affecting Americans months before the bill was signed into law. The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the parameters of the issue public that was supportive of TARP by studying how demographic and geographic disparities of the recession were related to selective exposure to news media and the formation of this issue public. The news effects theoretical perspectives of agenda setting and media priming, including attribute agenda setting and attribute priming, along with the theoretical framework of the public opinion concept of issue publics, particularly state-specific issue publics, guided and informed the execution of this research. This dissertation entailed two research approaches: a content analysis of national television news six months prior to and up until the passage of TARP in early October 2008, and a secondary analysis of select data from the 2008 National Annenberg Election Survey, a rolling cross-sectional phone survey conducted from late 2007 until Election Day 2008. Results from the content analysis study suggest national television news of the economy in 2008 predominantly covered the presidential election, the economic attributes of taxes and inflation, and presented the economic crisis as a national issue. As for the public opinion study, economic attitudes were predictive of support for TARP, but exposure to the news and demographics, including geography, were not associated with support for TARP. Overall, the unfolding recession was not frequently covered on national television news in 2008, and support for TARP was found to be associated with an individual's attitudes as opposed to demographic identity or geographic location. Findings suggest attribute agenda-setting effects were most likely for individual views of blame for the crisis, while the issue public that was supportive of TARP appeared to be based upon economic attitudes.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Television is the favoured news source for most Australians and is regarded as having the potential to influence public opinion. From its inception however, television has been regarded as ill-suited to cover economic and business issues because of a perceived reliance on visual material and an inability to deal with complex issues. This tyranny of vision has been mitigated by technological developments such as electronic news gathering (ENG) and satellites that provide large amounts of varied material as well as improvements in production tools that assist the visual presentation of abstract concepts. The presentation of complex issues has also been enhanced by the increased skills and knowledge among newsworkers. Economic and business news has become a staple in television news programs and has evolved from ritualised reporting of data such as market indices and exchange rates to a genre that shares broader news values such as consequence, conflict, proximity, human interest, novelty, prominence, political controversy and scandal. Economic and business news also shares the normal imperatives of television such as a strong reliance on scheduled occasions and reliable and prolific sources. In between occasions of economic, business and political controversy or scandal, these programs are able to rely on a steady supply of economic, business and investment information. Dedicated economic and business segments and programs and now even whole channels meet two sets of demands. One is those of niche audiences seeking news and information on economic and business conditions, economic debate and policy making, the activities of economic and business leaders and an opportunity to hear and observe economic and business leaders. The other is from broadcasters seeking to maximise their profits by attracting viewers in the AB demographic (those with the greatest disposal income) to otherwise poorly-performing time slots, by broadcasters seeking an inexpensive and dependable supply of programming material and by broadcasters seeking to promote their institutional role and specific programs through presenting material that is followed up by other media. Economic and business reports however, continue to portray issues in a limited way that neglects business’s interaction with workers and the larger social environment. Economic events are often framed as political competition. These reports present a hierarchy of sources and privilege political and business elites. Television news favours debate that is presented by individuals as contrasting causal narratives. Political and economic sources have become adept at presenting brief causal narratives in response to the requirements of television. This approach highlights celebrities and favours the promotion of agency over structure. The increase in total economic and business reporting boosts the interdependence of television and political and economic sources. Technological development is continuing and traditional free-to-air television audiences are being eroded by pay television and the internet. Although these are altering the nature of political, economic and business debate their overall influence is difficult to determine.

¡@¡@¡@This study aimed to examine the third-person effect of product placement in the television news, for clarifying the effect of persuasiveness of news with product placement and comparing the assessment of the impact on others and themselves. The study also concerned about the media literacy if it can help the audience to identify the messages of persuasive intention, to evaluate the impact of product placement in the television news is greater on others than on themselves, and to support the government to prohibit product placement in the television news. ¡@¡@¡@In this study, the main research method was questionnaire survey, and the research participants were junior high school students from three sections in Kaohsiung. There were 476 valid questionnaires totally. Data were analyzed by methods of independent t-test, paired t-test, correlation and hierarchical regression analysis. The results found that product placement of television news would cause the third-person effect: messages of product placement of different levels would result in different intensities of third-person perception. Compared to implicit-style placements in the television news, obvious ones triggered strong media impact on others, but did not trigger third-person perception differential. It meant people tend to view product placement in the television news had impact on others as well as on themselves. ¡@¡@¡@Another focus of this study was personal media literacy ability. Analytic results showed that literacy ability was a better predictor of the third-person effect perception. The result of the study was similar to the findings of the past research: media literacy could assist in identifying the purpose of product placement in the television news, and could avoid the perceived effect of media messages on themselves (Cohen, 1982; Rucinski & Salmon, 1990; Wei, Lo & Lu, 2008). ¡@¡@¡@Most importantly, this study contributed to the growing literature on behavioral component of the third-person effect by demonstrating that the third-person effect perception was a great predictor of support for restriction of product placement in the televiton news than the third-person perception differential. The reason was that the third-person perception differential could not distinguish perceived effects of product placement in the television news on others as well as themselves (Wen-Hui Luo, 2000b). As research result of Xu and Gonzenbach on the behavioral component of the third-person effect, third-person perception differential was the most significant predictor of support for media censorship. Therefore, this study suggests that future research could probe into the mechanisms through which the third-person effect of product placement in the television news occurs.

The social meaning of television news has been under transformation since the successes of cable news in the final years of the previous century. In their attempts to preserve viewership and to remain relevant, traditional broadcast news outlets increasingly emulate the conventions of cable news. Instead of retaining audiences, the result has been declining news content and a continued loss of viewers. Amid these industry transformations, the concept of “journalist” continues to undergo change. This evolution of the news allows for a decidedly unique response to news programming in The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. Though advertised as a half-hour comedy show, it has established itself as a consistent re-teller and producer of news, only possible in a postmodern era of journalism after objectivity. Amid the industry’s shift in priorities from objectivity and reporting to influencing, framing and re-telling the news, The Daily Show is considered as much an example of journalism as many of the shows currently in the news sphere. Although our society is currently saturated with information, this information often fails to penetrate the surface of the issues covered. Too much information is as paralytic as ignorance. Recently, attention has shifted towards a re-evaluation of television news into something that will both help the public find the information they are searching for and give them the tools to make sense of and utilize that information. This concept of journalism as tool is present in every episode of The Daily Show. The show encourages viewers to peel away the layers of mediation of traditional newscasts, to recognize substance and the lack thereof, and become active consumers of information rather than passive receptacles submersed in irrelevant information. The Daily Show proves that a news show can inform, entertain and teach audiences how to critically process television as an informational medium.

The social meaning of television news has been under transformation since the successes of cable news in the final years of the previous century. In their attempts to preserve viewership and to remain relevant, traditional broadcast news outlets increasingly emulate the conventions of cable news. Instead of retaining audiences, the result has been declining news content and a continued loss of viewers. Amid these industry transformations, the concept of "journalist" continues to undergo change. This evolution of the news allows for a decidedly unique response to news programming in The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. Though advertised as a half-hour comedy show, it has established itself as a consistent re-teller and producer of news, only possible in a post-modern era of journalism after objectivity. Amid the industry's shift in priorities from objectivity and reporting to influencing, framing and re-telling the news, The Daily Show is considered as much an example of journalism as many of the shows currently in the news sphere. Although our society is currently saturated with information, this information often fails to penetrate the surface of the issues covered. Too much information is as paralytic as ignorance. Recently, attention has shifted towards a re-evaluation of television news into something that will both help the public find the information they are searching for and give them the tools to make sense of and utilize that information. This concept of journalism as tool is present in every episode of The Daily Show. The show encourages viewers to peel away the layers of mediation of traditional newscasts, to recognize substance and the lack thereof, and become active consumers of information rather than passive receptacles submersed in irrelevant information. The Daily Show proves that a news show can inform, entertain and teach audiences how to critically process television as an informational medium.

Abstract This thesis addresses the issue of the effects of (repeated) exposure to death-related news content systematically and programmatically through a four-phase research project using a Terror Management Theory (TMT) framework. The central research questions that are posed include, ‘What are the effects for individuals of exposure to death in TV news?’; ‘When will individuals personalise death-related TV news as opposed to feel desensitised to it?’; and, ‘How do individuals cope with repeated exposure to death in TV news?’ The first three chapters provide an extensive literature review that integrates current research from the media effects and mass communication literature with that of experimental findings based on TMT. This leads to an overview of the research program. Then, a series of empirical chapters present findings from six experiments, using a mixed methods approach that incorporates both quantitative and qualitative data and analyses. Finally, in Chapter 9 trends within the quantitative and qualitative data across the studies are discussed along with the theoretical and broader implications of the findings. Overall, there are three primary aims of the research. (1.) To examine a) whether death in news media can prime personal mortality salience, thus eliciting death thought accessibility and cultural worldview fluid compensation defensive outcomes as theorised by TMT (increased nationalism, endorsement of affiliation needs and self-esteem bolstering), and b) whether it is only particular portrayals of death in news media that work this way (i.e., whether there are critical factors such as viewer-victim similarity or level of exposure, as identified in the media effects literature) that play a significant moderating role. (2.) To explore whether it is necessary for the outcomes of exposure to death in news media to be defensive or whether there are alternative and more pro-social outcomes related to the extent that the viewer elaborates cognitively on the content or views more rationally (as implicated in Cozzolino, Staples, Meyers, & Sambceti, 2004). This could be as a function of individual differences (e.g., in cognitive thinking style) or as a function of the situational or contextual factors that prompt one to consider death-related news content more personally (emotionally) versus rationally. (3.) To ask about the “repeated” nature of death primes in news media, given that news media is unique in its daily emphasis on death-related content. Towards this aim we seek to answer the following: Does repeated exposure lead to accentuation of the defensive fluid compensation effects or does it lead to diminished effects because of desensitisation and depersonalisation? This third aim is potentially the most complex and is an under-researched area with important real-world implications. Specifically, Study 1 addresses reactions to death in TV news using a written stimulus task for a range of dependent variables– namely, death thought accessibility, cultural worldview endorsement, and cultural worldview defence. Examining the same dependent variables, Studies 2 and 3 explore the effects of actual TV news footage of a bus crash with multiple fatalities and the role of viewer-victim similarity. Study 4 examines what happens when explicit instructions to imagine your own death are given while watching the same TV news footage. Next, Study 5 examines whether more pro-social effects rather than the typical TMT defensive reactions are possible when a method by Cozzolino et al. (2004) that involves deeper death reflection and the role of cognitive elaboration are explored. Finally, Study 6 addresses the question of repeated exposure to death in TV news, with a focus on whether prior death exposure leads to attenuation or heightening of typical TMT defensive outcomes. Together, results from the six studies indicate that exposure to death-related TV news does not lead inevitably to defensive reactions. While there is strong evidence that death in TV news increases death thought accessibility (especially compared to a non-death TV news control), critically, whether personal mortality salience (as evidenced by self and other death thoughts) is resultant is more variable. Qualitative data shows that people have a range of defensive strategies and resources available to them and that we are honed at detecting personal relevance. Rather than viewing desensitisation as a negative by-product of TV news consumption it seems that the self-protective features of desensitisation are note-worthy. Detachment or neutrality seems to help individuals cope with the barrage of death-related images and sound bytes broadcast via TV news. Conversely, a sensitivity to detect personal relevance helps serve an important surveillance function also geared towards self-protection and meaning making. When there is maximal similarity with the victims of TV news stories portraying death, we can expect viewers to perceive high personal relevance, to personalise news content and to process the content more emotionally, as opposed to feeling desensitised. Although the buffering role of high rational thinking was weak overall, contrary to TMT-based predictions higher rational thinkers were found to be more prone to cultural worldview defence in a number of instances. The theoretical implications for TMT, social identity-based theories, Cozzolino et al.s (2004) work, and relevant media effects literature are discussed. The primary implication for TMT is evidence that death-related TV news footage has the capacity to make personal mortality salient and that higher death thought accessibility often can be evoked by death-related TV news. However, when subsequent measurement of cultural worldview defence is undertaken after a three-minute delay, higher death thought accessibility does not necessarily lead to consistent evidence of defensive fluid compensation effects. These two dependent variables have not been measured together in the literature to date, so these findings provide a significant theoretical distinction for TMT. While death in TV news more likely promotes procreation or family-related defensiveness than national bias, a range of factors (such as detecting self-relevance, viewer-victim similarity, and one’s ability to adopt a rational thinking style) moderate effects in various situations. In particular, factors such as contextual news features, rational thinking, shock value or spontaneous realisation of relevance, and reminders of one’s own family or of one’s own or others’ death are important.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Television is the favoured news source for most Australians and is regarded as having the potential to influence public opinion. From its inception however, television has been regarded as ill-suited to cover economic and business issues because of a perceived reliance on visual material and an inability to deal with complex issues. This tyranny of vision has been mitigated by technological developments such as electronic news gathering (ENG) and satellites that provide large amounts of varied material as well as improvements in production tools that assist the visual presentation of abstract concepts. The presentation of complex issues has also been enhanced by the increased skills and knowledge among newsworkers. Economic and business news has become a staple in television news programs and has evolved from ritualised reporting of data such as market indices and exchange rates to a genre that shares broader news values such as consequence, conflict, proximity, human interest, novelty, prominence, political controversy and scandal. Economic and business news also shares the normal imperatives of television such as a strong reliance on scheduled occasions and reliable and prolific sources. In between occasions of economic, business and political controversy or scandal, these programs are able to rely on a steady supply of economic, business and investment information. Dedicated economic and business segments and programs and now even whole channels meet two sets of demands. One is those of niche audiences seeking news and information on economic and business conditions, economic debate and policy making, the activities of economic and business leaders and an opportunity to hear and observe economic and business leaders. The other is from broadcasters seeking to maximise their profits by attracting viewers in the AB demographic (those with the greatest disposal income) to otherwise poorly-performing time slots, by broadcasters seeking an inexpensive and dependable supply of programming material and by broadcasters seeking to promote their institutional role and specific programs through presenting material that is followed up by other media. Economic and business reports however, continue to portray issues in a limited way that neglects business’s interaction with workers and the larger social environment. Economic events are often framed as political competition. These reports present a hierarchy of sources and privilege political and business elites. Television news favours debate that is presented by individuals as contrasting causal narratives. Political and economic sources have become adept at presenting brief causal narratives in response to the requirements of television. This approach highlights celebrities and favours the promotion of agency over structure. The increase in total economic and business reporting boosts the interdependence of television and political and economic sources. Technological development is continuing and traditional free-to-air television audiences are being eroded by pay television and the internet. Although these are altering the nature of political, economic and business debate their overall influence is difficult to determine.

Thesis (M.A.)--Rhodes University, 2005. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on May 6, 2006). Includes bibliographical references (p. 124-135).

[pt] Como pode uma caixa gerar imagens? Esta era a dúvida de muitos brasileiros em relação à televisão, quando chegou ao Brasil. Durante mais de cinqüenta anos em nosso país, a TV passou por diversas transformações. Com o aumento do número de canais, e por conseqüência a variedade de programas, novas linguagens foram criadas. O que fez com que este novo veículo exibisse uma programação mais rica em relação às linguagens, uma vez que nos primórdios o rádio e o cinema eram as referências. O primeiro telejornal foi exibido no Brasil dois dias depois da estréia do sistema e fazia uso de poucos recursos. Hoje, diversos profissionais estão envolvidos na produção e no design da notícia. Basta olhar para os cenários de alguns telejornais que utilizam a redação como ambientação. Como é o caso do Jornal Hoje, Jornal Nacional, Jornal da Globo entre outros. A questão proposta para esta pesquisa surge a partir desta estética. Será que estes profissionais que aparecem atrás dos âncoras são percebidos pelos telespectadores? A movimentação dessas pessoas durante a transmissão do telejornal chamaria mais a atenção de quem está assistindo, de modo que a notícia não fosse compreendida? Para responder a estas perguntas foi realizado um estudo com dez telespectadores que assistem à televisão durante mais de três horas e quatorze minutos, tempo gasto em média com este veículo por dia, por aqueles que habitam a América Latina. Foi utilizado o Método de Explicitação do Discurso Subjacente. Os resultados alcançados mostram a importância da relação entre a linguagem visual e verbal oral nos telejornais. / [en] How can a box generate images? This was the concern of many Brazilians in relation to the television, when it arrived in Brazil. Since the beginning of the transmission, TV has passed for huge transformations. The number of channels has increased, and for consequence new programs and languages were created. These were enough to enrich what was shown on this new vehicle. The radio and the cinema were not the only references anymore. The first TV news was shown in Brazil two days after the system was inaugurated and few resources were used. Today, many professionals are involved in the production and the design of the news. In order to prove this statement, just take a look at the TV news that are anchored from the newsroom. In Brazil, it happens in Jornal Hoje, Jornal Nacional and Jornal da Globo The questions proposed for this research are related to this esthetic. Are those professionals, who appear behind the anchors in the news room, noticed by the viewers? Would the movement of these people, during the transmission of the TV news, call more the attention of the viewers, in a way that the news are not understood by them? To answer these questions, ten viewers, who usually watch more than three hours of television per day (average spent by those who live in Latin America), were interviewed. The Underlying Discourse Unveiling Method (UDUM) created by Nicolaci-da Costa was used. The reached results show the importance of the relation between verbal the visual and verbal language in the TV news.