International Communication 2005 Abstracts
International Communication Division
Monitoring the Other: An Assessment of South Africa’s Mail and Guardian’s Coverage and Analysis of the Conflict in Darfur, Western Sudan • Emmanuel C. Alozie, Governor’s State University • This study examined how the /Mail and Guardian/ (a.k.a. /Mail and Guardian Online/), a leading African news outlet, covered and analyzed the conflict in Darfur, Western Sudan. It used framing as its theoretical framework and methodological approach. Framing allowed the author to be holistic in his analysis by offering the historical perspective of the conflict through an exploration of the role of African mass media, presentation of factors that influenced African foreign policy and a discussion of Sudan‚Äôs profile and historical causes and implications of the crisis. The exploration produced five frames and two sub-frames: Genesis, resolution/intransigence, humanitarian (African cataclysm and world benevolence), international ambivalence and African impotence.
Slavery Framed: Coverage of Slavery in Sudan through the Sources of the New York Times and Washington Post 1986-2001 A Qualitative Approach • Maha Bashri, Roger Williams University • Sociologists contend that both media and the public are parts of the same cultural system. Therefore, “media agents use frames that are familiar and resonate with both themselves and the public” (Baylor, 1996). Since the outbreak of the second civil war in the Sudan in March 1983, the world has been witness to the country’s many atrocities–including slavery.
A New Newspaper with a New Formula Succeeds in Slovenia’s Emergent Democracy: A Case Study of Finance • Martine Robinson Beachboard and John C. Beachboard, Idaho State University • As post-communist societies emerge from Eastern Europe, journalists learn to cope with both political and financial pressures. The transition to market-driven print media evokes questions about the viability of quality journalism serving public interest and promoting democracy and plurality of voice. This paper investigates Slovenia’s post-independence start-up newspaper Finance and offers some provocative insights to the proposition that investment by foreign media conglomerates might provide independence from local political and advertiser influence.
Cultural Appropriateness of Music Video Clips in the Middle East • Ralph D. Berenger and Dalia El Nimr, The American University in Cairo • The advent of satellite television stations and the proliferation of transnational broadcasting in the 22-country Middle East region have spawned dozens of channels offering “glocalized” programming. Following the success of MTV in the US and elsewhere, Arabic music videos have become popular with Middle East young people, with resultant concerns about the effects on the conservative culture’s traditional view of female deportment. This exploratory study examines how females are portrayed in MTV-style video clips.
A Comparative Study of Naming Juveniles in Youth Crime Coverage in Japan and the U.S. • Tom Brislin, University of Hawaii and Yasuhiro Inoue, Hiroshima City University • This study examines the underlying values and practices in journalistic policies and decision-making between Japan and the United States on whether to identify youth offenders in serious, capital crimes. Benchmarks in youth crime coverage, particularly in Japan, are examined. Base-line comparative data is presented from a survey of U.S. and Japanese journalists on factors that might influence naming of youth offenders, and on opinions of the handling of specific youth crime cases.
Framing SARS: A Comparative Content Analysis of the Coverage of SARS by Two Major Chinese Newspapers • Yong Cao, Dennis T. Lowry, and Limin Zheng Southern Illinois University Carbondale • This study compared press coverage of SARS by two newspapers: the People’s Daily, and a leading commercialized newspaper, the Beijing Youth Daily. The study found both newspapers used a significant proportion of news sources attributed to government agencies, and positively portrayed government agencies. This study reveals the commercialized newspaper could not deviate significantly from the party line in covering SARS. The SARS case suggests even the commercialized press in China is far from an independent press.
Military Alliance, Media Difference: A Comparison of Framing Devices Implemented in UK versus US Press Coverage of Iraq War Protest • Frank E. Dardis, Penn State University • Even though the UK and US were staunch governmental and military allies in the Iraq War, differing sociopolitical milieus existed in the countries regarding the war. This cross-national content analysis compares stories on antiwar protest by leading newspapers in each country to determine if the differing political environments were reflected in press coverage.
A Tale of Two Wars: Framing Analysis of Online News Sites in Coalition Countries and the Arab World during the Iraq War • Daniela V. Dimitrova, Iowa State University and Colleen Connolly-Ahern, Pennsylvania State University • The Iraq War was a defining media event. This study used quantitative content analysis to explore the Web sites of prestige news media in the United States and the U.K. as well as Egypt and Qatar, examining both the frames employed by news media in their coverage of the conflict, as well as the voices heard – and unheard – throughout the coverage. The analysis showed that the “tale of war” was constructed differently by the different international media.
Framing Globalization: The Financial Times’ Coverage of the 1997 Thai Currency Crisis • Frank Durham, University of Iowa • Abstract not available.
Mapping the Geography of On-line News • Mike Gasher and Reisa Klein, Concordia University • This paper is part of a larger research project whose express purpose is to assess the Internet’s potential to foster a new communications geography on a global scale. It begins by theorizing the relationship between news and geography, then describes and analyzes the results of a news-flow study of the Web sites of three international newspapers with extensive on-line editions: The Times of London, Liberation of Paris and Ha ‘aretz of Tel Aviv.
Credibility Deficits: Why Some News Media Don’t Pay The Price • Cherian George, Nanyang Technological University • Conventional wisdom suggests that journalism benefits from the self-righting principle, such that newspapers that lack credibility will eventually fail in the marketplace of ideas. However, in some political contexts, newspapers may continue to thrive despite authoritarian controls, at the expense of more independent media. The case of Singapore illustrates this paradox, and suggests that astute authoritarian control of the press can subvert the self-righting principle, enabling unfree media to endure chronic credibility deficits.
A Comparison of The New York Times’ and Al Ahram’s Coverage of the War in Iraq • Salma I. Ghanem, University of Texas-Pan American & Marquette University • An examination of newspaper coverage in an American newspaper and an Arabic paper revealed that the coverage of the war in Iraq was framed differently in each newspaper. These differences lend credence to the idea that frames are ideologically based and that the war was seen differently in different parts of the world. Editorials were equally anti-war in both newspapers and the amount of coverage given to anti-war demonstrations was equivalent as well.
Romani Media in Post-1989 Eastern Europe: A Prolegomena to the Study of a Contemporary Phenomenon • Peter Gross, Oklahoma, Norman • Among the wealth of ethnic media outlets in Eastern Europe, the Romani media have grown faster than all others despite small audiences, and the poverty, illiteracy, and absence of social, political and linguistic cohesiveness of their natural constituency in the region. Yet, except for their potential symbolic value, the growth of the Romani media appear to defy the customary explanations of the functions, roles, and their effects in a region where the ethnic media aid minority identity, cultural preservation, and participation.
The Bright and Dark Side of Cyberspace: Internet Use and Internet Addiction among Taiwan’s Net-Generation • Anthony S. C. Huang, and Josephine T. C. Nio, Southern Taiwan University of Technology • This exploratory study examined the uses and misuses of the Internet among Taiwan’s Net generation (aged 13-24). A cross-sectional research design and a proportionate stratified random sampling were used, yielding 1, 119 completed questionnaires. Results found Internet use, Internet displacement and motives were significant predictors. High Internet use predicted Internet addiction and, greater affective gratifications predicted Internet addiction. Taiwan’s Net-Generation experienced both the “bright and dark” side of cyberspace.
The Role of the Latin American News Media in the Policymaking Process: A First Look • Sallie Hughes, University of Miami • This paper presents a first approximation of the role of the news media in the policymaking process in Latin America based on empirical comparative literature on media and policymaking, and observations of media behavior in Latin America. These roles include influence on the policy agenda, the pace and level of decision making, the symbolic or substantive nature of policy responses, the incentives for rent seeking, the legitimacy of the direct players and policy options considered, and the nature of evaluation of policies in operation.
Caught Between East And West? Portrayals Of Women And Gender In Bulgarian Television Advertisements • Elza Ibroscheva, Southern Illinois University • This study conducted a content analysis of Bulgarian television advertisements to examine the prevailing portrayals of women and gender in the media environment of the post-communist, market-driven and consumer-based Bulgarian society. This study aimed to examine whether Bulgarian woman’s identity is influenced by European or Oriental concepts of gender roles. The study found that gender stereotypes are still prevalent and highly biased against women’s strife towards equity in the social and economic realm.
Hostile Imagination At Work: American Opinion Makers’ Perceptions Of The Media Role In Stereotypes Of Russians And Eastern Europeans • Elza Ibroscheva, Southern Illinois University • This study looked at the stereotypical beliefs about and attitudes towards Russians and Eastern Europeans held by American opinion makers and the role of the mass media in creating these stereotypes. Using the theoretical framework of social construction of reality, this study proposed a model of relationships among factors determining stereotypes. The mass media were the major factors that can directly or indirectly influence the perceptions of opinion makers, and thus, have an impact on foreign policy.
The Impact of Liberalization on External Broadcasting in Eastern Europe: Changes, Contributing Factors, and Implications • Jang Hyun Kim and Junhao Hong, State University of New York at Buffalo • As studies about Eastern European external broadcastings are rare, exploring their transition may contribute to the discipline of mass communication. Liberalization of Eastern Europe affected the forms and contents of external broadcasting. The contents are more diversified and focused on economic issues, European community, and peculiar culture of each nation. However, content regulation and funding are still under significant influence of government, because its essential function as an instrument of international public relations have not been changed.
A Victory of the Internet over Mass Media?: Examining the effects of online media on political attitudes in the most wired country around the world • Daekyung Kim and Thomas J. Johnson, Southern Illinois University Carbondale • This study employed an online survey of 249 politically interested Internet users during the 2004 national Assembly election in Korea to examine if reliance on online news media for political news and information influences political attitudes after controlling for demographics and use of the traditional media. Reliance on independent Web-based newspapers appeared stronger predictors than traditional media and their online counterparts. Based on the findings, a media power shift in Korea was discussed.
Bridging The Digital Divide In South Africa: Using Community Radio To Extend Information And Communication Technology Benefits To Rural Communities. • Eronini R. Megwa, California State University, Bakersfield Antelope Valley Campus • This study explored the potential of community radio to extend information and communication technology benefits to rural communities in South Africa. Using face-to-face interviews, document analysis, observation method and community conversations, the study examined community radio stations in ten rural communities in South Africa and found that they are popular, accessible and affordable, and enjoy the support of their owner-communities, but lack the human and material resources necessary for extending ICT benefits to rural communities.
Democracy Delivery: How do the New York Times and the Arab News frame American policy of promoting democracy in the Middle East? • Smeeta Mishra, University of Texas at Austin • This study compares framing of the American policy of promoting democracy in the Middle East in the New York Times and the Arab News, the oldest English language daily of Saudi Arabia. Results show that the New York Times framed the issue assuming the intrinsic rightness of American declarations of democracy promotion and often limited its debate to strategies and feasibility of the project.
The Liberal Struggle For Press Freedom • Kirsten Mogensen, Roskilde University • In this paper, the public debate following the religion-motivated assassination of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh in November 2004 is examined. The paper aims at describing religious as well as secular positions in the Danish debate about freedom of speech and press in relation to religious issues. Historically, the concept of press freedom was linked to a fight for religious freedom in London, as described by Siebert.
Voice of America’s Kinyarwanda/Kirundi Service As an Example of Peace Journalism in Rwanda • Carol Pauli, Marist College • Hate radio was employed to orchestrate the Rwandan genocide of 1994. In subsequent years, several Western governments and non-governmental organizations have attempted to use radio in Rwanda to promote peace and reconciliation. This paper takes a preliminary look at Voice of America’s service to Rwanda, as reflected by its staff members and VOA documents, and compares it to five types of media intervention that have been outlined by practitioners in the emerging field of “peace journalism.”
Build it and they will use IT…: Framing E-government in India’s Silicon Valley • Veena V. Raman, Pennsylvania State University • This study examined framing of e-government initiatives in Bangalore, India’s information capital, through content analysis of three local newspapers. Citizens’ frames for c-government initiatives were examined through 23 in-depth interviews. Analysis suggests media frames are event based and episodic rather than thematic, with very little critical assessment of e-government initiatives. Journalists depend on sources from elite power structure that influences their framing of e-government stories. There is marginal correspondence between media frames and audience frames.
Journalism as if the People Mattered: Addressing HIV/AIDS in East Africa • Jyotika Ramaprasad, Southern Illinois University • Within the context of two relatively new concepts, public journalism and social capital, this study assessed perceptions of Ugandan, Kenyan, Tanzanian and Malawian journalists about their role in addressing the HIV/AIDS problem in their respective countries. The journalists perceived a large role for themselves in both the information dissemination and the impact creation, including creating social capital, aspects of public journalism.
Who’s Covering Sustainable Development? Cross-national Differences in the Media Coverage of a Multilateral U.N. Conference. • Jennifer A. Robinson, University of Florida • Civil society groups, including nongovernment organizations, are increasingly important to multilateral policy formation such as the 2002 Earth Summit on Sustainable Development. A content analysis of media coverage in four countries assessed the relative priority given to various groups. The results indicate regional differences in coverage prior to the Summit, sources quoted and the type of stories written. Implications of media coverage for the effectiveness of civil society groups on multilateral issues are discussed.
Does the Internet Affect Attitudes? Comparing Democratic Values Of U. S. Journalism Students With Those in Post-Soviet Nations • Byron T. Scott, Anya Litvak and Irma Guseva, University of Missouri – Columbia and Stanley Ketterer, Oklahoma State University • Two hundred and seventy-eight second-year journalism students in the United States, Russia, Bulgaria, and Albania were given a structured questionnaire identical to that used in a 2001 study of students in Kazakhstan. Focusing on media usage and democratic attitudes, this pilot analysis pays particular attention to differences that might be related to Internet usage between U.S. subjects and the youth of post-Soviet societies.
Obtaining “Better News” Through Better Internal Management – A Survey of First-Line Managerial Competencies in South African Mainstream Media Newsrooms • Elanie Steyn, TFJ (Derik) Steyn, North-West University (Potchefstroorn campus) South Africa and Arnold S de Beer, Stellenbosch University • Changes in the post-apartheid South African mainstream media landscape have far-reaching implications for human resources management. The six managerial competencies found in general management theory (communication; planning and administration; teamwork; strategic action; global awareness; and self-management) were applied on a national sample of first-line news managers and reporters. The central theoretical argument was that first-line news managers might be better equipped to address the human aspects of news management should they implement these six managerial competencies more effectively.
Media Transformation, Press Freedom and Fragmented Authoritarianism: Towards a New Theoretical Perspective in Understanding Chinese Press System in the Reform Era • Zixue Tai, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville • Decades of market-oriented reform have led to an expansion of free space enjoyed by the Chinese media, and the once propagandist press has taken on new audience-pleasing roles in Chinese society. Meanwhile, there still exists state control in various manifestations and at different levels. While this contradictory nature of the current Chinese press system has been a major focus of scholarship, what lacks is the theoretical thrust and explanatory power of a viable conceptual framework.
Framing the SARS Outbreak: A Comparative Study of Press Coverage in the People’s Daily and the New York Times • Song Tian and William R. Davie, University of Louisiana at Lafayette • This study focuses on the SARS coverage combines two conceptual frameworks: framing theory and risk communication to compare how the elite press of China and the United States-the People’s Daily and the New York Times–framed the SARS outbreak and its potential risks for public health. This study showed that there were some similarities but considerable differences in news frames and sources used by the two newspapers.
Misleading Advertising: How it is Regulated in China and in the United States • Yuan Zhang, University of Florida • This study compares legal challenges to misleading advertising in China and the United States. Using the Petty and Kopp framework, the study examines similarities and differences between Chinese and American regulations in the five stages of legal challenges to misleading advertising, namely, initiation, interpretation, deception, verification, and remediation. The analysis indicates that significant differences exist in the initiation, interpretation, and deception stages while convergences seem to be occurring in the verification and remediation stages.
Frames Reshaped A Textual Analysis of China’s Image in the New York Times, 1966-1976 • Jianchuan “Henry” Zhou, University of Georgia • This study is a textual analysis of the New York Times coverage on China from 1966 to 1976. Contrast to the wide- held “persistent patterns” concept of framing theory, the analysis demonstrates some changes of the frame in which China was portrayed. The frame was of an “isolated China” in the 1960s, while in the 1970s it was reshaped as a more serious, rational international player.
STUDENT
Media Frames and Foreign Policy: The New York Times’ Editorial Framing of India and Pakistan Before and After the September 1l Terrorist Attacks • Ashish Kumar, Iowa State University • This exploratory study analyzed the New York Times’ editorial coverage of India and Pakistan before and after 9/11 and compared it to the US policies towards the two countries. The study found that a distinct change in US policy and relations with Pakistan were mirrored by a distinct and profound change in the Times’ editorial coverage of the country. US policy towards India did not change and neither did the editorial portrayal of the county.
O, Say, Can You Read? U.S. and Brazilian Online News and Print Media Coverage of U.S. Military Involvement in Post-war Iraqi • Tania H. Cantrell, University of Texas at Austin • This exploratory analysis considers U.S. and Brazilian online newspaper along with U.S. and Brazilian print magazine coverage of the time period marking the one-year anniversary of the War in Iraq. Using a Narrative Paradigm Theory approach, the U.S. themes of Reverence for the U.S. Dead, the American Value of Persistence and Rebuilding Iraq emerge, while the Brazilian topics of Reverence for Life, Powerful Language and Attitude Toward Pres. Bush surface.
News Frames As Meta-Narratives: The Case Of CNN And Al Jazeera’s Coverage Of The Kidnappings In Iraq • Aziz Douai, Penn State University • This paper identifies the dominant news frames (“meta-narrative” frames) in both al Jazeera’s and CNN’s coverage of the kidnappings of Americans and other foreigners in Iraq. I argue that news frames generated in the coverage of international conflict incidents form a “meta-narrative” frame that comments on the frame itself and the nature of the conflict. It concludes that meta-narrative frames in the global media’s coverage of international conflict still remain local.
A Content Analysis of Newspaper Coverage on the Sept 11 Attacks, Bali Bombing and Madrid Train Bombing Tan Li Hoeng Joann, Yang Yanni and Jamaliah Bte Othman, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore • A content analysis of 312 articles from 13 newspapers on the Sept. 11 attacks, Bali bombing and Madrid train bombing was conducted. The study examined which news frames were dominant, and integrated international news flow and framing analysis. Across all events, “threat to political climate” and “coverage of victims and potential victims” were dominant. For Sept. 11, trade and casualty count were significant predictors, of “threat to economy” and “coverage of victims and potential victims” frames respectively.
Antecedents and Impacts of the Internet Activity Scope on Political Engagements: A Case of South Korean Adolescents • Kyun Soo Kim, University of Alabama • This study explores the relationships between political motivations, the Internet activity scope, and political engagements such as political knowledge and political participation among adolescents in South Korea. The results reveal the role of the Internet in satisfying adolescents’ needs. Uses of the Internet for information-related activity such as reading bulletin boards and online newspapers, which are positively related to the guidance and social utility motivations, is a strong and positive predictor of adolescents’ political knowledge.
Framing differences in news coverage of disaster situations: A content analysis of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and South Asian tsunami • Alison Kohler, Shannon Krueger, Jatin Srivastava, and Zin Zin Ting, Kansas State University • This study investigated framing differences in news coverage of disaster situations in the Days following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the South Asian tsunami through content analysis of news stories in online archives. Results reflected that news originating from affected regions used episodic framing more frequently, while news from unaffected regions used thematic framing more frequently.
A Comparative Study of Chiang Mai, Nan, and Pattani Community Radio Stations, Thailand • Chalisa Magpanthong, Ohio University • The Thai Constitution states people’s organizations should operate community radio stations (CRS). Since this has not been operationalized, various groups managed unlicensed CRS. This survey explored audience perceptions of CRS with different owners and locations. Findings suggested that setting and culture mattered in the perception that CRS catered to minorities and provided local connectivity and information. They recommended programming that was based on local culture and research to attract new audiences and maintain old audiences.
The Reception of Japanese Television Programming by Taiwanese Audiences: Examining the Impact of Cultural Proximity in the Regionalization of Television • Goro Oba, University of Florida • This paper explores the applicability of cultural proximity theory to intra-regional television programming trade, taking Japanese programming in Taiwan as case study. A focus group was conducted to address the question of what cultural proximity was found in Japanese programs by Taiwanese viewers and what impact the proximity had on their viewing. The study found that Taiwanese youth might find cultural proximity associated with modernization, such as similar lifestyles and consumption patterns, in Japanese programming.
Cultivating the “Violent America” in the Minds of Koreans: The Potential Effects of American Television Programming on Korean People’s Crime Estimates in America • Jin Seong Park, Hyeri Choi, University of Florida and Jeong Mm Yoon, Korea University • Applying cultivation theory to the context of international communication, this study revealed that Korean students’ exposure to American television programming is positively associated with their higher estimates of the prevalence of violent crimes in America. The study also found that Korean students’ life experiences, particularly their experience of staying in America, moderate the cultivation processes. Specifically, the positive relationship between exposure and crime estimates was stronger for those who had an experience of staying in the U.S.
Hegemonic Framing: A Study of U.S. Newsmagazine Coverage of the 1997 Asian Economic Crisis • Takuya Sakurai, University of Oklahoma • This study examines the U.S. media’s hegemonic framing practices in international news, through an assessment of the U.S. newsmagazines’ coverage of the 1997 Asian economic crisis. Close reading of the texts finds that U.S. newsmagazines reported the economic crisis with the three recurrent clusters of media frames: “disease,” “threat,” and “Asia.” This particular analysis also unveils that dual perspectives play a significant role in framing a home country hegemonically in international reporting.
Exporting Racial Images and U.S. Media Exposure: Perceptions of African Americans in Romania • Adina Schneeweis, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities • This research explored perceptions of African Americans held in Romania, in the context of global media flows exposing cultures to unfamiliar racial images. Exposure to American television programming was expected to shape Romanians’ perceptions of African Americans. The findings suggest that the surveyed Romanian sample holds U.S. stereotypes of blacks, yet a relationship between such racial perceptions and exposure to American television content is problematic to draw at this point.
Hong Kong Cultural Identity in Jackie Chan’s Hong Kong and Hollywood Movies • Jun Wang, University of Minnesota • By studying Jackie Chan’s four movies, two from Hong Kong (Project A and Who Am I?) and two from Hollywood (Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon), this article attempts to compare how Hong Kong cultural identity is represented differently in Hong Kong movies with that in Hollywood movies. The method of framing analysis is used arid seven frames are identified. They are: insignificance of cultural origin, exoticness, uptightness, subservience, ignorance, disrespect and downplaying heroism.
Intermedia Analysis of Foreign News: A Longitudinal Study of The New York Times and NBC Nightly News: 1974-2004 • Miao Zhang, Ohio University • This study examines ways that NBC Nightly News sourced The New York Times for its foreign news coverage. Findings show that the amount of television news quoting the lead newspaper declined over time. Among the several ways of quotations, scoops of the newspaper are most often used. Quotations for foreign news are less than those for domestic news. Most often quoted news topics deal with foreign relations, crime or military.
Mass Media Use and Interpersonal Communication in the Acculturation of International Students • Nan Zheng and Claudia Rojo, University of Texas • Results of an e-mail survey on international students showed: (1) a significant correlation between prior exposure to American mass media content and attitudes toward American culture, (2) a correlation between the type of TV show watched (news and talk shows) and views of American culture, (3) a higher level of interpersonal communication corresponds with a higher degree of acculturation on a behavioral level, and (4) a collective effect of interpersonal contacts and TV viewing on acculturation.
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