<p> Since reality TV exploded onto the scene at the turn of the millennium, its impact on culture and society has been evaluated within various disciplines. The televisual phenomenon's influence on the art world, however, has been scarcely examined. This thesis rectifies this omission by exploring the uncharted intersection of reality TV and contemporary art history. Examining the artworks of video/installation artists Gillian Wearing, Phil Collins, Alex Bag, Kalup Linzy, Ryan Trecartin, and Keren Cytter through the theoretical frameworks of Jean Baudrillard, Judith Butler, and Gilles Deleuze and F&eacute;lix Guattari reveals the discursive effects of reality TV on areas such as the simulated nature of reality, gender performativity, and binary structures. The artists recontextualize the codes that structure reality TV in order to provide their viewers with the tools to question the reality of reality TV.</p>

America prides itself on having a free press. Ideally, this free press would look like the communities in which they cover. However, research shows that gender discrepancies are quite common in newsrooms (Anderson 2014; Briscoe 2012; Norris 1997; Willnat and Weaver 2014). Women often have a marginal presence in newsrooms, and this is troublesome, because scholars have noted that men and women approach newsgathering and reporting differently (Beam and Cicco 2010; Briscoe 2012; Grabe et al. 2011; Weaver 1997). While research has focused on gender discrepancies in various types of media, little to no research has looked at the field of photojournalism specifically. This research aims to examine the gender demographics of photojournalism in American newspapers, as well as the organizational factors that could influence the amount of women in the field. Using census data provided by the American Society of News Editors, I was able to find support for three out of four hypotheses. Women are quite rare in the field of photojournalism, and factors such as the previous years demographics and a newspapers circulation impact the amount of women present in photo departments. With this research, I hope individuals working in newspapers examine their news organizations approach to women in photojournalism, and that newsrooms will aim to create a newsroom that is friendly to both genders and that reflects the communities in which they cover.

<p> Abstract not available</p>

This dissertation examines how institutional, individual, and situational variables work to influence the volume of national broadcast and cable television news coverage members of the 109th, 110th, 111th, and 112th U.S. Houses of Representatives received. Analysis combines public data on House structure, member characteristics, member effort, and member circumstances with original computer-aided content analysis of the 38,430 transcripts in which members spoke and the 243,205 statements members made on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC between January 3, 2005 and January 3, 2013, the full terms of these four congresses. The results presented in this dissertation yield important information about which House members are most and least successful in garnering news coverage and how the effects of specific institutional, individual, and situational variables vary across different news organizations and across news organizations type. Implications for citizens, Congress, and democracy are discussed.

This dissertation examines communication processes surrounding political scandal. It demonstrates that scandal coverage is improperly calibrated to the severity of scandal accusations, with trivial but salacious sex scandals tending to receive inordinate amounts of press attention while deeper forms of financial corruption go unreported or underreported. Patterns of scandal coverage, in turn, result in real-world effects on public perceptions and electoral outcomes. Specifically, sex scandals generate such intense media scrutiny that accused officials often resign their offices rather than generate unwanted publicity. Financial scandals are often downplayed, resulting in little or no ramifications for the accused. Recognizing basic differences in scandal typology is key to understanding press coverage and political ramifications of scandal. Previous efforts to explain and predict scandal coverage tend to take a one size fits all approach, assuming that different types of scandal create basically the same type of effects on public opinion and electoral outcomes. Rather than taking an all scandals are created equal approach, this study sheds new light on how different types of scandals sexual and financial are covered by the press, how voters react to news of these scandals, and how differential coverage decides electoral fortunes. Chapter 1 outlines factors that influence press coverage of political scandals. A variety of economic and partisan incentives, and institutional journalistic routines are considered. Chapter 2 analyzes over five years of scandal news from the Pew News Coverage Index (NCI), showing differential patterns of coverage across a wide range of scandals. Chapter 3 uses a survey-based experiment to determine the influence of financial and sexual misconduct on judgments of accused officials. Using aggregated data collected on members of the U.S. House from 1996 to 2012, Chapter 4 explores how the interplay of press coverage and scandal type relate to electoral outcomes. Chapter 5s conclusion suggests that patterns of scandal coverage actually make it electorally safer for public officials to be accused of bribery or extortion than cheating on a spouse. The findings present a challenge to journalistic accounts of official misconduct, suggesting the need for scandal reporting to actively address scope and severity.

This study simulated a fan extension of the Broadway-renowned musical Les Miserables on a community level and measured the effects of fan interactionsboth online and with the characters narratives as performed at Theatre Baton Rouge during summer 2013. The stimulus materials in this study were Tweets distributed via Twitter identities for each of the lead characters whereby their thoughts and narratives were communicated with audiences and Twitter followerscoinciding with the opening of the live theatrical production. Patrons of Theatre Baton Rouge were surveyed online after the closing of the production. This study served as a practical use of Twitter for Theatre Baton Rouge and promoting the live production as well as an examination of the aforementioned media theories. The goal was that greater audience engagement with the narratives would result in more interest in attending the actual production. This theoretical approach also had very real-world implications and usefulness for the organization and its operations. Through a quasi-experimental, post-test only design, this study observed the significant predictive relationship between audiences empathy, connectedness, identification, and perceived realism of the characters of Les Miserables and their attitudes towards the narratives, their personal involvement with Les Miserables, as well as their behavioral intention to attend the live production. This study also found a significant predictive relationship between audiences familiarity, or fan activity, with Les Miserables and the parasocial interactions (PSIs) and audience-persona interactions they experienced. While the hope of this study was that there would be real-world implications of this digital performance or campaign on Twitter for a traditionally non-digital theatre, the expectation was that data collected would also offer an opportunity to apply media theories in new and creative ways.

As social media becomes a more prominent tool for mass communication, nonprofit organizations are using social networking sites as a means to communicate with their target audiences and recruit supporters. This study explores how nonprofits are using Twitter, a microblogging website, to communicate with their audiences during the year-end charitable giving period and investigate which messaging acquires audience engagement. This was determined by investigating nonprofit organizations use of Twitters multimedia features and the different types of message appeals used when tweeting about their organizations year-end campaign. Another aim of this study was to identify which message appeals in online charitable giving campaigns are most successful at engaging Twitter users. A content analysis was conducted to determine which multimedia features and message appeals nonprofits are using on Twitter in their year-end tweeting. Tweets were sampled from five nonprofit organizations: United Way, American Red Cross, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Salvation Army and American Heart Association. These organizations were chosen, because of their top-rated efforts in online fundraising. The study investigated which multimedia features and message appeals were used by these nonprofits in year-end tweets and which multimedia features and message appeals stimulate the most user engagement. Interactions between an organization and Twitter users are considered engagement; thus, engagement increases awareness of the nonprofit organizations mission. This study found that rational appeals were more frequently used among nonprofits organizations and were more likely to increase engagement than emotional appeals. The sample nonprofit organizations appeared to differ in their use of rational and emotional message appeals on Twitter. Results also showed differences in nonprofits use of multimedia features. Nonprofit organizations tend to use hashtags and links more frequently than photos and videos; however photos and hashtags seem to be more likely to increase engagement.

Technology is enhancing our amateur culture, which may provide counter-stereotype depictions. The present study reexamined the continuum model of impression formation by investigating how the mechanism of an amateur technology platform interacts with the depiction of amateur content created by social minority members to redirect peoples cognitive process of impression formation of minority members in the online amateur setting. More specifically, conducting a 2 (Stereotype Depiction) x 2 (Platform) experiment, this study looked at whether amateur platform YouTube encouraged people to go beyond stereotyping to form an counter-stereotypic impression of the mediated transgender person featured in the amateur content. Moreover, it examined whether the outcome of the impression formation would be transformed into attitudes toward the featured transgender person and transgender people as a whole. Furthermore, this study explored the psychological responses that caused the transformation from impression to attitudes in the impression formation process in the digital amateur phenomenon, integrating the theoretical framework of elevation. The findings revealed that the counter-stereotypic depiction in amateur content would encourage peoples counter-stereotypic labeling individuation. Regardless of stereotype depiction, the amateur platform encouraged information seeking individuation. However, the consequent increased information seeking individuation might lead to less positive attitudes towards both the featured transgender person and transgender people as a whole. For attitudes towards the featured person, the regular platform and counter-stereotypic depiction optimized the viewers counter-stereotyping outcome. Aligned with platforms influence on attitudes towards transgender people, the regular platform elicited significantly higher levels of elevation responses (i.e. affective responses, physical responses, motivational responses).

Journalists inform residents living on or near Native American reservations about key policy issues. Since most tribal councils own and operate their news outlets, retaliation towards journalists working for the tribe is a real concern if the leadership does not appreciate the message. In response to the threat of retaliation, some tribes, like the Cherokee Nation, have legal protections for journalists. The Cherokee Nations newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix, operates under the guidelines of the Cherokee Independent Press Act (CIPA) originally passed in 2000 and amended in 2009. CIPA was the first of its kind in Indian Country. This thesis analyzes the adoption of CIPA and its efficacy within the context of an issue dividing the Cherokee Nation membership.

No description available.