PHD, Kent State University, 2021, College of Communication and Information / School of Media and Journalism

Guided by the gatekeeping theory and the hierarchy of influences model, this study explored factors that influence student comfort level in publishing controversial content. Variables were studied at the individual, routine, organizational, social institutional, and social systems levels of the theoretical model. Results indicate that factors on the routine, organizational, and social systems level of the model significantly predict student comfort level in publishing controversial material, while factors on the individual and social institutional level were not significant predictors. In other words, the level of perceived administrative censorship, as well as the students' individual willingness to self-censor, did not significantly predict student comfort level in publishing controversial material. However, the students' role on staff (whether they served in an editor role), how they viewed the societal role of journalists, and who they perceived as having final say over content decisions, were significant predictors of student comfort level in publishing controversial content.

Committee: Tang Tang Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Hoak Gretchen Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair) Subjects: Journalism; Mass Communications

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2020, Journalism (Communication)

This paper examines how social media metrics and website traffic have influenced journalists' perceptions of what is newsworthy. Drawing on research that establishes a tendency for editors to adjust stories on their website based on audience preferences, the researcher hypothesizes journalists at higher levels of newsroom production will view metrics and traffic as more important than journalists at lower levels of newsroom production. This paper also examines if shareability can be considered its own news value. A survey of journalists indicates that news workers at all levels of production rely on more traditional news values to shape their coverage, though they do prefer for their stories to do well online.

Committee: Hans Meyer (Advisor) Subjects: Journalism

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2018, Media and Communication

This dissertation study applies the Hierarchy of Influences Model proposed by Pamela Shoemaker and Stephen Reese, to examine how the advent of social media has affected journalistic gatekeeping practices in India as the largest non-Western democratic country, identify the emerging challenges for the journalism industry, and explore sustainable strategies to address these challenges. Nearly 2,700 journalists belonging to three of the largest press clubs in India were invited to complete an online survey. The survey examined journalists' perceptions about social media's usefulness and credibility as a professional tool. The questions further investigated the factors that influenced their decisions to source or select breaking crime stories from social media platforms and upload such crime stories both on their organization's website, as well as their organization's official Facebook or Twitter pages. The survey was completed by 274 journalists from 15 Indian cities, and their responses analyzed for this study. In addition, for a deeper and insightful understanding of the research problem, and for purposes of corroboration, elaboration and development, in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 print, television, and online editors from five of India's largest metropolitan cities. The research results can be described in three parts: (a) The survey results showed that journalists consider social media to be an extremely useful professional tool, yet they do not find the platforms credible or trustworthy. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that while individual beliefs, organizational constraints, and social institutional influences impacted journalists' web uploading decisions, such choices were also influenced significantly by journalists' perceived usefulness and credibility of information available on social media. When sharing breaking crime news on organizational social media handles, journalists were only influenced by social system factors such as (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Louisa Ha (Advisor); Jill Zeilstra-Ryalls (Committee Member); Srinivas Melkote (Committee Member); Lisa Hanasono (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Journalism; Mass Communications

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2008, Mass Communication (Communication)

This study's focus, the tragic December 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami, took more than 31,000 lives in Sri Lanka alone. All 543 stories about the island nation in 3 elite and influential U.S. newspapers, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Christian Science Monitor, were analyzed 18 months before and 18 months after the tsunami (excluding the tsunami itself) by comparing Keesing's Record of World Events (the "menu") to covered events (the "diet"). Results showed that 43% of pre and 76% of post-tsunami Keesing's events were covered. Military/defense was the number 1 topic both pre and post-tsunami. After grouping 4 topics into a violence dimension, the researcher found a four-fold increase in the violence coverage post-tsunami, due to a sharp increase in actual violence. Research questions addressed 3 levels of the Shoemaker and Reese Hierarchy of Influences model. Regarding Level 2 (news routines), results indicated a spike in coverage on the anniversary of the tsunami, December 26, 2005. Regarding Level 3 (the organization), the study examined organizational differences, Level 3 of the Shoemaker and Reese Hierarchy of Influences model. Each news organization's coverage of Sri Lanka was found to be unique, reflecting different newsroom policies and different economic realities. In addition to many more newsworthy events being covered post-tsunami, the significant post-tsunami increase in discretionary coverage, feature stories, editorials, and local news, likewise shows a heightened attention to Sri Lanka. Finally, the study found that U.S. elite newspapers had more prominent (e.g., page 1) coverage of Sri Lanka post-tsunami than pre -tsunami. In other words, the tragedy seems to have pushed Sri Lanka onto the media agenda. Thus this study posits the addition of a new element, a (cataclysmic) event itself, to Level 4 (extra-media influences) of the Shoemaker and Reese model.

Committee: Anne M. Cooper (Committee Chair); Hong Cheng (Committee Member); Drew McDaniel (Committee Member); Patricia Weitsman (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Journalism; Mass Media