The Michael Fay conflict in 1994 provided an opportunity to use Singapore as a subject for mass communication research.Three prominent U.S. newspapers, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, were chosen for content analysis of their coverage of Singaporean news eight months before, six months during and eight months after the Fay trial proceedings. The amount of news space devoted to Singaporean news ray the three newspapers during the three periods was also studied.The objective of the study was to determine if the coverage of Singaporean news by U.S. newspapers changed as a result of the Fay case.Results of the study showed that U.S. newspapers provided a negative coverage of Singaporean news as a result of the Fay controversy. In terms of news space alloted to Singaporean news, the New York Times remained fairly constant throughout the three periods. The Los Angeles Times first decreased its coverage during the trial proceedings, but expanded its coverage after the case ended. Conversely, the Chicago Tribune increased its coverage of Singaporean news during the case, but its coverage dwindled with the conclusion of the case. / Department of Journalism

This qualitative research study explores the relationship between reducing uncertainty and assigning source credibility in the context of social media sites (SMS) and examines the effect of uncertainty reduction within the social media environment on the development of relationships between journalists and their sources. For this study, interviews were conducted with professional journalists to determine whether uncertainty was reduced and credibility was established with sources via SMS (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn) and what theoretical strategies journalists used to reduce their uncertainty. The study also aims to determine if correlations exist between a reporter's age, beat, and/or personal adoption of SMS and the reporter's usage of SMS for source development. The interviews were conducted with 15 journalists of The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, Florida), using a standardized interview protocol. Subjects were asked to voluntarily participate in a face-to-face interview with the researcher. Reporters were selected based upon their gender and cultural ethnicity, which was representative of the newsroom demographics of The Palm Beach Post at that time. This research aims to contribute to the uncertainty reduction theory in the realm of computer-mediated communications, specifically with regard to the use of SMS in forming and maintaining journalist-source relationships. / by Michelle D. Brown. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.