Among the Dallas/Fort Worth theater community, there is a feeling that local press coverage no longer adequately represents the thriving theater scene. This study takes a local look at this pertinent issue through a quantitative examination of press coverage of five major live theaters in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. It is hypothesized that theater coverage has declined in the last fourteen years and that listings have increased as in-depth articles and reviews have decreased. The qualitative aspect of this study attempts to explore the effects of suggested cuts to the arts pages on the local theater community and to potential theater-goers. The implications of the content analysis, focus group, and interviews conducted for this study can contribute to the bodies of knowledge regarding arts journalism and the practice of public relations and marketing for arts practitioners.

While most of the information presented in the classroom or other learning environments is semantically organized (expository presentation), traditional approaches to retention, such as storytelling, are organized episodically and presented as narratives. The current study examines the impact that certain instructional techniques have on audience retention. Variables investigated include the use of narrative versus expository presentation styles and normal versus compressed presentation rates. Results indicate a relationship between presentation style and retention such that audience members retain more information when it is presented in a narrative style and when it is presented at a normal presentation rate. Practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed as well as suggestions for future research.

Local television news producers in Texas do not consider the newsworthiness of the story to be a significant factor when determining whether a particular story in a newscast will be presented live. Producers believe members of the audience determine which newscast they will watch based on live shots, but the results of this study show no correlation between the number of live shots in a newscast and its ratings. Producers were also asked to consider other factors that might determine whether a story is presented live. No correlation was found between the number of live shots in a newscast and the factors considered. ------------- Originally Chapline specified a 2-year embargo. However, email from him on 9/4/2008 indicated that he did not want this thesis to ever be publically available.

ABSTRACT A content analysis of a sample (n= 200) of stories about the murder of Baylor University student athlete Patrick Dennehy in four newspapers The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Waco Tribune-Herald indicates that university officials, including head basketball coach Dave Bliss, were quoted in a greater percentage of paragraphs than other types of sources. After Baylor sources, law officials including police and sheriffs officers, as well as judges and court officials were the next most-often quoted. Statistically significant differences were found between The New York Times and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and between the Times and The Dallas Morning News in the use of media sources. The Times cited other media reports in its articles significantly more often than the Fort Worth and Dallas newspapers. As an elite newspaper, the Times appears to have viewed the Dennehy case as less important than the non-elite newspapers. The study reinforces previous research on source dependency, but also indicates that some newspapers conducted valuable non-routine coverage. For example, investigative reporter Danny Robbins of the Star-Telegram uncovered audio tapes and documents demonstrating misconduct committed by Bliss that might not otherwise have surfaced publicly (or been addressed by the university). In-depth interviews with Robbins and other reporters offer intriguing evidence about the lack of value reporters seem to place on evaluating the credibility of the sources they quote. The reporters indicated that deadlines, competition and other pressures exert a greater influence on source selection than source credibility.

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Using a grounded theory approach (Strauss & Corbin, 1990), this research began with netnographic research exploring the culture of a women's subreddit, TwoXChromosomes, and the motivations 2X members have for participating in this community. Despite criticisms that the reddit culture is misogynistic and not female-friendly (Chen, 2012; Southern Poverty Law Center, 2012; Zuckerman, 2012), and primary data suggesting that many people in 2X share this perception, the theme of 2X existing as a "safe space" or "safe haven" within the hostile environment of reddit emerged from the data as particularly salient. In order to further explore this theme, the author conducted questionnaires of both the 2X community and community moderators along with the continued netnography.

Following recent interest in media multiplexity theory (MMT), this manuscript reports cluster analysis of different media use patterns in extended family networks and results of an experimental study examining how participants respond to hypothetical changes in media use (i.e., increasing or decreasing use frequency) by an extended family member. After contending that MMT addresses both media use patterns and expectations, I employed expectancy violations theory to consider the extent to which communication satisfaction and tie strength moderate evaluations of media use violations. Cluster analysis revealed five different types of media use patterns among extended family ties, and family communication patterns predicted group membership. Results indicated that communication satisfaction served as a more potent and consistent moderator of violations, such that, for example, decreased media use by satisfying communicators was perceived as negative and important (but less negative and less important when committed by unsatisfying communicators). Beyond highlighting possible outcomes of violations, these results commend the nature of the relationship as a motivating force for media selection when organizational norms are absent. Implications for studying media use patterns in interpersonal relationships are discussed.

This thesis reported the communicative constitution of organizational democracy through the use of dissent. Six board meetings that occurred over six months were coded and then analyzed to examine whether dissent was sufficient for the communicative constitution of organizational democracy and, if so, how dissent constituted organizational democracy. Markov chain and phasic analyses were used to characterize the communicative patterns that occurred during these meetings and predict the trajectory of those conversations. The results indicated that dissent was sufficient for the communicative constitution of organizational democracy. Specifically, the results of this thesis evidenced that dissent contributed to the organization of a dissent climate and the dissolution of a mimetic climate; that dissent is less a predictor organizational change than other members' willingness to engage with dissent; and that the dissent climate was characterized by behaviors such as relational integration, engagement, and participation in decision-making processes, each of which were indicative of organizational democracy.

Using Koerner and Fitzpatrick's (2002a) family communication patterns (FCPs) theory and Bandura's (1973) social learning theory, this study explored FCPs (i.e., conversation and conformity orientations) and (inter)parental confirmation as predictors of young adults' confirmation (i.e., acceptance and challenge) in their romantic relationships. Participants included 181 young adults from intact families who completed online questionnaires concerning their perceptions of their family and romantic relationships, including family conversation and conformity, interparental confirmation, parental challenge and acceptance, and romantic partner challenge and acceptance. Results indicated that family conformity orientation was negatively associated with communicating acceptance to a romantic partner, while family conversation orientation was positively associated with both accepting and challenging one's romantic partner. A Hotelling's t-test and partial correlations for (inter)parental confirmation and enacted romantic partner confirmation revealed that young adults' parents may, in fact, serve as influential examples of how to validate and acknowledge a romantic partner's perspective during interpersonal conversations. Furthermore, the results offer evidence that sex differences may exist when considering which parent is more influential in modeling confirming behavior for sons and daughters. Among the more important implications of this study is the finding that FCPs and (inter)parental confirmation were predictive of self-to-partner confirmation even after controlling for the reciprocity effect that may already exist within the romantic relationship.

Catholic hospitals operate their businesses in a different manner than secular hospitals, or at least claim to; this includes taking a stand on certain social issues and refusing to provide patients with certain treatments that are offered at other hospitals. While this differentiates them from secular hospitals, the health care industry as a whole is undergoing changes in the United States due to economic uncertainty and the recent passing of legislation. This research aims to study the construction of identity as a communication process by analyzing mission, vision, and values statements, press releases and news articles of Catholic health care systems in the United States. Maintaining a cohesive identity across internal and external channels is instrumental in\nremaining sustainable in a changing climate.