Journal of Mass Communication & Journalism

Objective: There were two aims: first, to analyze trends in television newsmagazine coverage of child sexual assault (CSA) between 1990 and 2005; and second, to offer comparisons between this study and our previous work on print newsmagazine CSA coverage. Method: A database was created to identify all relevant CSA stories appearing in seven primetime television newsmagazines. The study employs systematic analysis of segments by subject, length, and individual anchoring each broadcast. Results: The results affirm established theories of CSA media coverage. Television segments contain an average of three news worthiness factors, which is more than was found of print newsmagazines. Findings also show differences in slant between the top three anchors (Dan Rather, Stone Phillips, and Barbara Walters), indicating significant editorial control in newsmagazine CSA coverage. Finally, this study shows that television news magazines offer more polarized coverage than print newsmagazines, and on different subjects (i.e. focusing on Michael Jackson, whereas print focuses on the Church sex abuse cover-up story). Conclusions: Television news magazines offer skewed coverage of CSA. Like other media, they focus on "newsworthy" stories ("stranger-danger") rather than the most prevalent forms of CSA (intra-familial abuse). Given that this newsmagazine coverage is more polarized than print, however, we suggest that this coverage may have real impacts upon public policy and its implementation.

The ‘Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam’ project, started in 2011 on Blue Nile (Abay) trans-boundary River with tense political confrontation with Egypt, has received sizeable national and international media coverage in a manner of introducing customers and depicting vital and selected details about the project Nevertheless, it remains understudied, if not neglected, issue in media research. This article examines The Reporter, private owned national circulation newspaper, salient frames pertain to the dam project and how these frames reflect Ethiopian government dominant perspectives on Nile politics. To this end, a longitudinal qualitative content analysis of articles in thereporterethiopia.com dated between 09th March 2013 and 15th March 2014 was conducted. The findings reveal that six dominant frames emerged inductively from the data that rendered certain aspects of the dam construction more salient than others. These are ‘Development’; ‘National Image’; ‘Right’; ‘Victimhood’; ‘Mutual benefit’; and ‘War’ frames. Ecological and environment issues and nearby communities’ livelihood and resettlement concerns caused by the project have been marginalized. Risks of flood and landslide received extremely diminutive media coverage. The article argues that The Reporter newspaper, mostly using official sources, engaged in cautious and selective framing weighting certain aspect of the GERD more salient while excluding others so as to promote a particular interpretation to the project that is consistent with its editorial agenda in corollary with Ethiopian government interest and perspective on Nile politics.

Recently, concussions have become a popular topic among media outlets. Because of the long-term health effects associated with traumatic brain injuries as studied in football players such as Alzheimer’s and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, this health crisis coverage is on the rise. On August 31, 2012, the National Football League (NFL) and the United States Army announced a partnership to raise awareness of traumatic brain injuries, specifically concussions in athletes and those serving in the armed forces. This partnership between the NFL and the Army received enormous media attention and was profiled on most major media outlets. Information concerning concussions is readily available to the public through various media outlets and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) “Heads Up” campaign. Based on this readily available data, do college athletes actively engage and utilize information to become more knowledgeable about concussions and the impact upon their future health? To determine an answer, a 10-question, IRB-approved survey was sent via email to athletes who played football, lacrosse, soccer, basketball, and field hockey at three National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) colleges and universities. Female athletes completed the survey at 52.6% while males completed the survey at 47.4%. The age range of survey respondents was 18 to 22 and the data they provided were descriptively and inferentially analyzed. This study determined there is a relationship between college athletes sustaining concussions and their concussion management though the consumption of the media portrayals of these traumatic brain injuries. In addition, respondents used new media vehicles 69% as compared to traditional media vehicles at 31% to investigate the long term health effects of concussions.

Using Ball-Rokeach and DeFleur's Media System Dependency (MSD) theory that during times of conflict the public looks to the media to answer questions ease uncertainty and effect outcomes, this paper will analyze televised images of the U.S. Civil Rights movement and their impact on demonstrations during the Northern Ireland conflict. Matthew Loveless, discussing media effects, said, "The theory of media dependency states that for societies in states of crisis or instability, citizens are more reliant on mass media for information and as such are more susceptible to their effects." Douglas Blanks Hindman studying media system dependency before and after the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., cites Ball-Rokeach & DeFleur, saying, "The media system dependency model suggests that under conditions of ambiguity, as in the case of social system disruptions resulting from natural or human-made disasters, the mass media will become the public's primary information source, and media effects will become more pronounced." This paper will examine information dissemination (televised images of U.S. Civil Rights marches) as a source of power influencing public perception in Northern Ireland and showing street marches an effective form of demonstration, and will specifically focus on televised news coverage of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches and their influence on demonstrations in Northern Ireland, 1968-69. Marching as a demonstration technique, mediasavvy leaders and the singing of "We Shall Overcome" will be explored through documented news coverage and anecdotal research.

Researchers have contended that the American news media often depict celebrity athletes as the heroes in a narrative that has a schematic familiarity for consumers. The presentation of the athlete at the center of the hero narrative follows a sequence of events operationalized by Hoebeke, Deprez, and Raeymaeckers in 2011. This study assesses the extent that the audience perceived, accepted and retold the hero narrative of cyclist Lance Armstrong and collegiate football player Manti Te'o in the winter of 2012, when both athletes were facing public crises. This study measured the dynamics of Affective Disposition Theory by assessing participants' levels of empathy/ sympathy, liking and identification with the athletes. We discuss the findings in the context of news consumption of the hero narrative as predictive of ADT.

Public communication is extremely challenging and complex in practice. The comment as a public information and communication tool adds to that. Examining the practice of comment and its Infoganda frame by the media and government at the broadcasted news media, the public information and political communication and power frame game in the public sphere is revealed and the challenges and difficulties of public information and communication and civic awareness are indicated. The research analysis is enhanced by the semi-structured personal interviews of persons that are engaged in public information and communication in the political or the media level.