Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2024, Sociology

Beginning around 2020, conservative politicians and media outlets have launched an aggressive campaign against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives via the symbolic vilification of critical race theory. Several scholars have observed that this crusade has largely taken the form of a conservative media-driven disinformation campaign that seeks to obscure the true intent and scope of critical race theory's influence on American society for political gains. Drawing upon critical race literature, framing theory, and various scholarship pertaining to the relationship between media and cultural hegemony, this project sought to qualitatively interrogate the frames used to discuss critical race theory within live Fox News broadcastings. Upon analysis of 50 randomly selected live Fox News transcripts, I found that Fox News commentators regularly invoked 6 common frames in discourses surrounding critical race theory. Therein, critical race theory was often projected to be: 1.) Divisive, 2.) Governmental Overreach, 3.) Indoctrination, 4.) a Marxist/Communist Agenda, and 5.) as Racist, with 6.) people of color (POC) often being used as legitimizers of these narratives. To conclude, I contemplated the implications of these frames, particularly in regard to what they unveil about mass media's influence over knowledge production and dissemination processes, as well as what they project for future social and racial justice strategies in light of the impending direction of the conservative political agenda.

Committee: Michael Vuolo (Advisor); Vincent Roscigno (Committee Member); Dana Haynie (Committee Member) Subjects: Journalism; Mass Communications; Mass Media; Social Research; Sociology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2024, Journalism (Communication)

This thesis examines how three major American newspapers reported on paleontology during the 1990s. Paleontology experienced a popularity spike in the 1990s with the Jurassic Park films breaking film records and bringing dinosaurs to the forefront of the public consciousness. A number of important specimens were found and improving technology revolutionized the field, leading to numerous discoveries. This study documents which topics within paleontology the media reported on the most and what news values drove this reporting. Additionally, this study analyzes the occurrence rate of a few common tropes, metaphors and mistakes often associated with paleontology within news articles. This thesis examines USA Today, The New York Times, and The Associated Press's coverage of paleontology due to their status as being amongst the largest news organizations and running wire services which distributed their work across the United States. This study applies the revised news values proposed by Harcup and O'Neill to gauge which news values are used by reporters and editors when covering paleontology and to determine if these revised news values are applicable to science journalism.

Committee: Bernhard Debatin (Committee Chair); Lawerence Witmer (Committee Member); Parul Jain (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Journalism; Multimedia Communications; Paleoclimate Science; Paleoecology; Paleontology; Science Education; Science History

Bachelor of Science (BS), Ohio University, 2019, Journalism

Coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is widespread and far-reaching. Many international outlets are covering the conflict alongside local media, and the conflict has intense political ramifications that spread far past the Middle East. In this thesis, I examine two points of coverage during the Second Intifada in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and compare coverage amongst three different news outlets. The intifada broke out right after the turn of the century and was covered in a heavily global context. There is a sufficient existing literature examining media coverage of the Second Intifada, but my research focuses on two periods of involving the disengagement plan brought forth by then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. My research will examine the connection between politics and journalism in the conflict by taking political role conception theories and applying them to Israeli and U.S. media outlets covering the conflict. I will examine how these media outlets crafted certain political role conceptions in their coverage and also analyze the framing devices through which they were conveyed.

Committee: Andrew Alexander (Advisor); Nukhet Sandal (Advisor) Subjects: Journalism; Political Science

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

Since March 2011, Syria has been embroiled in a brutal civil war. Since the start of the war, over 470,000 Syrians have lost their lives. This conflict has led to over 13.5 million Syrians who are in need of humanitarian aid. Over 6 million Syrians have been internally displaced and more than 5 million are refugees living outside of Syria, resulting in the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II. Syrian citizens and refugees have faced arduous conditions, as evidenced by three-year-old Syrian child Aylan Kurdi's body washing ashore in Bodrum, Turkey in September 2015 as his family attempted to flee their homeland. To date, no studies have examined refugees through the scope of alternative media. Responding to this lack of research, this dissertation examines media framing of Syrian refugees. Informed by Orientalism, Framing Theory, and Critical Race Theory, the dissertation employs qualitative content analysis to analyze language and images used in 473 articles from a strategic selection of alternative media organizations. It incorporates diachronic analysis of media articles released during the two-week period preceding and succeeding three distinct critical incidents: first, the body of three-year-old Syrian child, Aylan Kurdi, washing ashore in Bodrum, Turkey; second, the Paris massacre; and, third, Donald Trump's first executive order attempting to ban refugees from Syria and six other predominantly Muslim countries. This analysis of change in a phenomenon over time repositions framing by considering it as a changing concept rather than a fixed thought. Additionally, this dissertation advances Oliver Boyd-Barrett's definition of alternative media by considering their role in operating on the fringes of political spheres. Overall, U.S. political right media emphasized refugee threat, while the left focused on refugee victimization. As such, both left and right media removed refugees' humanity and agency. Furthermore, of the 473 articles analyzed, onl (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lara Lengel PhD (Advisor); Nicole Kalaf-Hughes PhD (Other); Ellen Gorsevski PhD (Committee Member); Lisa Hanasono PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication

Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2017, Communication

This study examines the media discourse surrounding the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, specifically to determine if a gender bias existed in the way first time female nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was described. Research shows that gender-specific language is used to predict leader ability and define leader success in business and in politics. As the first female nominee of a major political party for president, Hillary Clinton enacted a role that has typically been filled by a man and, therefore, defined in masculine terms. Through the use of emergent coding, the study identifies themes in the way two key media outlets - New York Times and Washington Post - set the political agenda related to the 2016 presidential election particularly in terms of language used to define the leadership style of Secretary Clinton. Four main themes emerged: Women in Leadership, Faithfulness and Weakness, Privacy and Caution, and Credibility. These themes are defined and implications described. Directions for future research are presented.

Committee: Kelly Vibber Ph.D. (Advisor); Jason Combs Ph.D. (Committee Member); Joseph Valenzano III Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Gender; Mass Media

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2015, Mass Communication (Communication)

Motorcycle taxi workers are a relatively new phenomenon in the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) informal public transportation sector. However, their ability to conduct work is challenged by a legacy of violence and hazards stemming from the role of motorcyclists in insurgent activities, robberies, as well as road traffic injuries and fatalities. Consequently, the country's growing motorcycle taxi workforce operates in a largely unfavorable socio-political environment as mass mediated messages, public perceptions and governmental policies challenge their identity, legitimacy and ultimately their right to generate income through organized labor. An eleven-week ethnographic inquiry among the Comite de Motard Kisima (CMK) motorcycle taxi club of Lubumbashi, DRC produced data to inform this study. Structuration Theory, Grounded Theory, and Social Identity Theory were consulted as analytical frames to examine the methods employed by the CMK as they negotiate structures to legitimize their work-life. Grounded Theory analysis revealed that the CMK reproduces structures of leadership, cooperation and identity management to construct and relay their legitimacy in the DRC's public transportation environment. Each structure is constituted by modalities and structural properties that impart meaning to the CMK's perceptions and conceptualizations of legitimacy. The leadership structure constitutes legitimacy for the CMK as a means for account giving for citizenship; transformation and growth; active inclusivity, and proven integrity. The cooperation structure embodies legitimacy for the CMK as it facilitates criminal disembodiment and diplomacy. The identity management structure forges legitimacy for the CMK by way of story-making and the possibility of a Manseba movement. This study bears significance for entities tasked with maintaining relations with the DRC's motorcycle taxi workers. It is also relevant to studies concerned with locating meaning in groups' o (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Roger Cooper PhD (Committee Chair); Laura Black PhD (Committee Member); Karen Riggs PhD (Committee Member); Edna Wangui PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: African History; African Studies; Area Planning and Development; Black History; Black Studies; Communication; Cultural Anthropology; Gender Studies; Geography; Mass Communications; Mass Media; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Organizational Behavior; Personal Relationships; Public Policy; Regional Studies; Rhetoric; Social Research; Social Structure; Sub Saharan Africa Studies; Transportation; Transportation Planning; Urban Planning

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2014, Organizational Behavior

In this dissertation, I examine the influence of arguments on political decisions related to the legality of two industries in transition: medical marijuana and payday loans. To date, no theoretical explanation exists in the organization theory literature to explain the role of arguments to influence political decisions related to industries that suffer negative or “illegitimate” social evaluations. I propose a model of the sociopolitical status of industries that highlights the often overlooked reality that public perceptions of industry legitimacy seldom perfectly support or endorse existing industry laws and regulations. Arguments made by public figures influence the sociopolitical status of industries by asserting a perspective of industry activities that provide social actors—including political decision makers—with “symbolic resources” to justify and broadcast support or opposition for the industry. Using this framework, I examine the influence of three factors—rhetoric, framing, and logics—that work through arguments to influence political decision making. While prior characterizations of rhetoric, framing, and logic suggest they exist as distinct elements influencing industry legality, I found evidence that all arguments include aspects of rhetoric, framing, and logic. Specifically, I found evidence of rhetoric signaling a perspective of support or opposition towards the industry. In addition, I found evidence of nine frames commonly used to categorize dialectical differences into conventional topics of conversation: enforcement, regulation, taxes, jobs, character, forthrightness, products, administration, and cost. I also found evidence of three overarching logics used to build a perspective of industry activity: the state, the community, and the market. Finally, I found evidence that arguments consisting of distinct configurations of rhetoric, framing, and logics influenced political decision making. These findings supported a number of proposition (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Corinne Coen (Committee Chair); Ronald Fry (Committee Member); Diana Bilimoria (Committee Member); Kalle Lyytinen (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Law; Logic; Management; Mass Media; Organization Theory; Rhetoric; Social Structure; Sociology

Bachelor of Science of Journalism (BSJ), Ohio University, 2010, Journalism

This thesis explores the extent and effects of militarized language in modern American coverage of climate change. Research on framing theory, metaphor theory, and militarized language provides background to original research about the form and prevalence of phrases like “battling climate change” and “war on global warming”. Articles from three leading U.S. newspapers published from 2006-2009 were analyzed for instances of militarized language and the use of specific words were tallied. Militarized language was found in 1.5% of articles published throughout the time period studied. Though there has been no apparent empirical testing on the subject, theoretical research described in this thesis indicates that users should avoid militarized language because leading scholars have proposed few potential benefits and many drawbacks of a metaphorical association with war.

Committee: Bernhard Debatin (Advisor) Subjects: Communication; Journalism; Linguistics; Mass Media

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2011, Journalism (Communication)

This study compared depictions of chronic pain in newspapers and magazines with blogs by people with chronic pain. Using critical discourse analysis, the study identified and compared frames, definitions of people with chronic pain, symbols and metaphors, and depictions of otherness/unhomelikeness. Marked differences were found among blogs and mainstream print media, with lesser differences between newspapers and magazines. By defining people with chronic pain by their illnesses, downplaying the impact of persistent pain on everyday life, and relating chronic pain to character or mental fortitude, magazines and newspapers contributed to the stigmatization and otherization bloggers described. Mainstream print media authors also portrayed chronic pain as less impactful, less agonizing, and less real than bloggers' descriptions. As such, newspapers and magazines made chronic pain more palatable to readers, but deprived them of the knowledge people with chronic pain glean through the lived experience of illness.

Committee: Bernhard Debatin Ph.D. (Advisor); Michael Sweeney Ph.D. (Committee Member); Joseph Bernt Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Health; Journalism; Mass Communications; Mass Media; Social Research