Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University

I examine the determinants and implications of false news on client business risk and firm credibility. False news is defined as information presented as factually accurate, but which contains fabricated facts and is deliberately made public to mislead the reader. Importantly, it is later denied by a credible source. There is a significant concern about the influence of false news on individuals’ decision-making and judgment processes. However, our knowledge regarding false news and its implications for financial markets is minimal. I investigate false news by focusing on negative false news that is not initiated from within the company. Building on financial and political motives behind incidents of false news, I examine whether industry competition and media coverage play a role in making a firm a target for false news. I further examine the impact of false news on the firm’s financial reporting behavior and investigate whether the firm’s auditor prices false news. Lastly, based on the argument that false news increases distrust and uncertainty, I examine whether false news decreases the credibility of the firm’s disclosures and test whether the earnings response coefficient (ERC) is lower after the release of false news. I find that lower competition and higher media coverage are associated with higher likelihood of false news. Consistent with my predictions, I also find that false news target firms have higher abnormal accruals, higher abnormal real earnings activities, and higher audit fees. However, I do not find support for the notion that false news reduces credibility of firm’s disclosure. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2019. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

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.S.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2005. / "August, 2005." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-100). Library also has microfilm. Ann Arbor, Mich. : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [2005]. 1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm. Online version available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006.

In the literature researchers don't agree whether news content in China in an era of media commercialization still functions to promote the dominant ideology of the ruling Communist Party. The thesis is a theoretical discussion of ideology, ideological hegemony and its evolving nature, with the consideration of Chinese situations. The theoretical discussion concludes that the dominant ideology in China is changing with the demands of a changing world, and so is media's representation of ideology. With some explorative data of crime news on three domestic and non-domestic news web sites to illustrate the theoretical discussion, the author of the thesis finds that in an era of media commercialization the ideological influence still plays a bigger role than the commercial influence in shaping crime news content of domestic media. Moreover, ideological messages are distributed through crime news in such subtle and indirect forms as the selection of official news sources, the frequent indication of the death penalty, the positive presentation of the police, and the attribution of individual causes to crime.

The main aim of this essay is to examine the extent to which journalists choose certain emotional words in order to influence public opinion in a certain political direction. A number of headlines about the nuclear accident in Fukushima on 11th March 2011 in three British broadsheets with different political alignment form the basis of my analysis. To identify emotional language, I have used a method developed by Professor Friedrich Ungerer: the “emotional inferencing system”. There are emotional triggers in all the broadsheets. In most cases, the triggers in the different broadsheets are quite similar. There seem to be no clear connections between emotions, or the strength of emotions, and the political alignment of the newspapers. A larger corpus or a corpus on a different issue would possibly imply a different result.

The purpose of this study is focused on The Study of the Relationship Among the Crisis Incident of the Enterprise and News Coverage. The Content report analysis and semi-structured interviews were adopted in the study. In the Content report analysis,the samples were come from HANSHIN Department Store¡BGRAND HI-LAI Hotel and Kaohsinug Pacific SOGO Department Store. This study was used Semi-structured interviews for further investigation from 3 business¡¦s PR related personnel and 4 different planes media reporter. Therefore,7 persons were interviewed for this study. The following results were derived: Business owner and the media rechallenges the ordinary familiar outside person, the matter, the thing, the environment, the variable which the increase crisis links up.otherwises, The benefit sponsor's role possibly turns the key which the danger thing sends, The crisis cause existence is indefinite, cause troubles the status to form the migration -like trend, also changes the crisis already to have condition, presents the mobilized development. Reporter and the news originate the interaction relates into the parallel pattern, the strengthening "the scene principle" report.And the picture has become various media competition new stage, Gradually substitutes for the frame news fact another tool. The news originates the multiplication, the information czar's phenomenon gradually blurs. Eventually, this study was concluded the valuable analyzed results and also provide the references for business¡BPR and the future investigation. Keywords¡GCrisis Incident¡ANews Coverage

In the literature researchers don't agree whether news content in China in an era of media commercialization still functions to promote the dominant ideology of the ruling Communist Party. The thesis is a theoretical discussion of ideology, ideological hegemony and its evolving nature, with the consideration of Chinese situations. The theoretical discussion concludes that the dominant ideology in China is changing with the demands of a changing world, and so is media's representation of ideology. With some explorative data of crime news on three domestic and non-domestic news web sites to illustrate the theoretical discussion, the author of the thesis finds that in an era of media commercialization the ideological influence still plays a bigger role than the commercial influence in shaping crime news content of domestic media. Moreover, ideological messages are distributed through crime news in such subtle and indirect forms as the selection of official news sources, the frequent indication of the death penalty, the positive presentation of the police, and the attribution of individual causes to crime.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on September 22, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.