The purpose of this study is to investigate how local and foreign newspapers used the war journalism and peace journalism frames when covering the Sri Lankan civil war, and to uncover subframes specific to the conflict. The first part of the thesis provides an in- depth literature review that addresses the history of the conflict and media freedom in Sri Lanka. The newspaper articles for the textual analysis were selected from mainstream Sri Lankan and U.S newspapers: the Daily News (a state sponsored newspaper) and Daily Mirror from Sri Lanka, and the New York Times and Washington Post from the U.S. A total of 185 articles were analyzed and categorized into war journalism and peace journalism. Next, subframes specific to the Sri Lankan conflict were identified. The overall coverage is dominated by the peace journalism frame, and the strongest war journalism frame is visible in local newspaper articles. Furthermore, two subframes specific to the Sri Lanka conflict were identified: war justification subframe and humanitarian crisis subframe. In conclusion, the study reveals that in the selected newspapers, the peace journalism frame dominated the coverage of the Sri Lankan civil war. All in all, while adding to the growing scholarship of media …

The transgender community in India, commonly known as hijras, consists of people who were born as males but address themselves as females. They have been considered as the third gender in India for millennia and have had specific religious and sociocultural values and roles, but are forced to live in shadows in this day and age. Isolation of this community is also reflected in the way transgender characters are represented in Indian entertainment media. The study analyses two transgender themed films semiotically and the audience reception of those representations by 20 members of the transgender community. Semiotics is a helpful tool to understand the ways signs communicate ideas to viewers. This study applies syntagmatic and paradigmatic analyses to understand how images are used to represent and relay information to the audience. Reception theory along with double colonization has been incorporated in this study to analyse the ways in which the transgender community interprets the representations in entertainment media.

This study focuses on the transgender community's presence and portrayal in advertisements that reach a broad, mainstream audience base. Through a mixed-methods use of focus groups and qualitative content analysis, the content, context, and framings of ads between the years 2015 and 2018 are explored to illustrate current portrayals of the trans community and how the industry is approaching this subcultural group. Its findings contribute to advertising research by exploring current trends in trans portrayals in the cultural context they exist. Because trans advertising in both LGBTQ+ publications and to mainstream audience is largely unexplored, this study seeks to begin a conversation among advertising professionals. The main objective is to ultimately improve the number of genuine, positive portrayals of trans people in advertising and hold the industry accountable for the role they play in serving this community.

The study seeks to find a baseline of Twitter usage of traditional media. Findings suggest that traditional media are using Twitter (a non-traditional medium) in a traditional way. The study explores why a tool like Twitter needs to be approached by journalists in ways to which they may not be accustomed. The study additionally finds that newsrooms are underutilizing Twitter's potential for audience interactivity and have not established guidelines for journalists in the use of Twitter for work purposes. Conclusions include the need for more understanding of Twitter on the part of managers, a usage of Twitter that fits the medium, rather than traditional journalism models and more study in the future so that the journalism business can stay ahead of the curve when new communication technologies are introduced.

In order to survive in a hyper-competitive media marketplace, managers must constantly evaluate new technologies and their potential impact on the industry. Using theories on innovation management in organization, this study examined the processes used by managers at daily newspaper in the U.S. during the time period of 1992-2005 to plan for publishing content online. Fourteen subjects, all of whom held management positions during this time, were interviewed at length about their experiences. Their responses reveal that the processes were generally haphazard. This was a result of several factors, some of which were external to the newspaper industry, and others which were cultural, internal forces. Despite a general level of disorganization in the processes, the responses do identify some practices that can be used as blueprints for media organizations that wish to rethink their approach to potentially disruptive technologies.

A foreign country's positive or negative image in the U.S. media can influence public attitudes toward that country. The way U.S. media covers sex crimes from countries like India and Pakistan has a direct effect on the global image of these countries. This qualitative content analysis examined the coverage of two rape victims, Jyoti Singh Pandey and Mukhtar Mai in two mainstream U.S. newspapers, the New York Times and the Washington Post. Frames identified in the study include cultural differences, nationality and male patriarchy. The results revealed that while U.S. media was sensitive to both victims, Indian culture was portrayed in a favorable light than Pakistani culture. This study recommends that reporters and newsrooms need to be sensitive in reporting foreign cultures and refrain from perpetuating cultural stereotypes through reporting. The study also recommends developing training and understanding methodology when covering sex crimes so that journalists are aware of the rape myths and narratives that trap them into unfair coverage.

Governor John B. Connally Jr., who served as chief executive of the State of Texas from 1963.to 1969, made extensive use of the mass communication media to further both his programs and his own political fortune. It is the purpose of this study to examine the history of Connally's use of the media, to evaluate the degree of success he achieved in the use of the media, and to present evidence of how he was able to achieve success in the use of the media. The study was done in three phases. In the first phase, microfilm files of two newspapers, the Dallas News and the Houston Chronicle, were studied in detail for the years 1962 through 1968. Clipping files of the Associated Press in Austin and the Dallas Times Herald also were studied for the years in question. Also, the New York Times Index was examined for references to Connally during these years. Such references were then checked on microfilm files of the Times. In the second phase, key members of Connally's staff for those years and key members of the capitol press corps in Austin were interviewed. As a third step, a questionnaire was mailed to 25 selected …

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.

About 30 million women in the U.S. are estimated to be victims of sex crimes in their lifetimes. However, sex crimes, especially those committed against immigrants are the least reported crime in the country. Some sex crime victims say the fear of media criticism discourages them from reporting the crime. in May 2011, an African maid working at a New York hotel accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former director of the International Monetary Fund, of sexually assaulting her. This qualitative content analysis examined the coverage of the DSK case, by three leading international newspapers: the New York Times, the Guardian and Le Monde. Findings suggest that Strauss-Kahn received more favorable coverage than Diallo. Frames identified in the coverage include the importance of status/prominence, race, culture differences, victim-blaming, male privilege, socioeconomic differences and focus on appearance. the study recommends that news organizations avoid judgmental coverage of sex crimes and consider identifying victims by allowing them to tell their side of the story.

In an attempt to shed light on the further sophistication of opinion leadership in online communities, this study examined the forces and structures that affect their formation in the League of Legends subreddit. By investigating what users thought about the various types of individuals with which the communicate, the researcher hoped to begin to understand and record how those forces work bother on this particular subreddit and in mass media beyond. Opinion leadership continues to be an integral force in deciding what information is consumed by a public and under what frames and agendas it is contextualized. If researchers can operationalize formal definitions for the influences and structures that occur online, they can better navigate the deep waters that are global communication on the internet.

Since abolition, women have used the media to bring attention to causes and injustices in society. Issues faced by these women are some of the same issues faced by women in public relations today and possibly the future. This paper is the history of the women of pre-professional public relations in relation to their use of the media to bring about change and communicate with an audience. It also discusses the evolution of the public relations profession as it pertains to the parallel issues that the women of the first wave faced in relation to the second wave, or professional era. The paper will then synthesize these two eras in public relations and discuss the future of women in the profession as seen by researchers and women practicing at this time.

Today’s journalism students are learning in a time in which new technology innovations, including online news sites, blogs, and social media, have become a prominent part of the journalism industry. Whether it’s newspapers, public relations, or broadcast, technology has become a part of every area of journalism. While several studies have focused on how journalism classes should be taught in lieu of this change, how students are learning and how they feel about this changing industry has yet to be shared. This research uses both a survey of 203 current, undergraduate pre-journalism students at a large, Southwestern university, as well as focus group interviews with several subgroups of 11 of those students. The results show, not surprisingly, that journalism students are heavy users of technology and social media. They also show that a majority of journalism students prefers consuming media online. However, although students use technology and social media frequently, and also consume media online, there is evidence that suggests that they would rather learn face-to-face with an instructor than take online classes. In addition, they feel positive about their future in the changing industry.