Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an emerging concept that continues to play a controversial role in the business world. Different CSR theories and ethical foundations inform different approaches to embedding socially responsible behavior into today's business functions. As technology, globalization, and economic challenges change the corporate world, the meaning and application of CSR also changes. While no empirical evidence of CSR's impact on performance exists, many corporations operate under the assumption that CSR holds significant value. This study examines the framing of CSR in stories published by leading business magazines between 2008 and 2012. By examining the presentation of CSR concepts, the resulting analysis can provide important conclusions for corporations, public relations practitioners, mass media, and consumers. This study resulted in a hierarchical pyramid of frames that organizes the framing of CSR in business magazines into three layers: category, motivation, and classification as either responsible behavior or irresponsible behavior. These results lead to recommendations for future CSR research, including the need for quantitative evidence of a connection or disconnection between CSR and profitability.

Collegiate newsrooms serve two functions: to provide news and information to their campuses and to provide hands-on career preparation for student journalists. Student media professionals face having to do the latter in a way that keeps up with changing demands on entry-level employees, influenced by evolving technology and role consolidation within professional media. This study provides perspective from recent graduates with student media experience on the skills they felt most confident in upon graduating, where they gained those skills, and how they feel their student media experiences prepared them for the workplace. Using Everett Rogers’ theory of innovation diffusion to frame the issue, results show that student media professionals must recognize their roles as the change agent in shaping and pushing the opportunities to develop digital skills expected of entry-level journalists.

The depiction of gender in advertising is a topic of continuous discussion and research. The present study adds to past findings with an updated look at how men are represented in U.S. advertising media and the real effects these portrayals have on the male population under the theoretical framework of hegemony and social cognitive theory. This research is triangulated with a textual analysis of the ads found in the March 2013 editions of four popular print publications and three focus group sessions separated by sex (two all-male, one all-female), each of which is composed of a racially diverse group of undergraduate journalism and communications students from a large Southwestern university. The results of the textual analysis reveal little ethnic or physical diversity among male figures in advertising and distinguish six main profiles of masculinity, the most frequent of which is described as the "sophisticated man." The focus groups identify depictions of extreme muscularity and stereotypical male incompetence as the most negative representations, while humorous and hyperbolic portrayals of sexual prowess and hyper-masculinity are viewed positively as effective means of marketing to men.