Fall 2017

In 2015, the Greek prime minister announced a referendum on the country’s proposed debt bailout. Media outlets shaped the referendum into “YES” and “NO” frames based on their political spectrum. A week after the referendum announcement, the Greek people overwhelmingly voted to oppose the creditors’ measures. This study analyzed 14 articles each from two major Greek newspapers, Kathimerini and Ta Nea. The results showed that both papers portrayed the referendum along the frames of “YES” and “NO” referendum campaigns. Kathimerini used more frames than Ta Nea, but overall neither paper strictly adhered to their campaign’s framing. Faculty mentor: Don Grady

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Helen Gurley Brown turned Cosmopolitan magazine into a successful and profitable publication, and it was influential throughout the second-wave feminist movement. This research explored how Brown, as editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, framed feminism and how those messages aligned with the second-wave feminist movement using a qualitative content analysis of 24 issues of the magazine from 1966 to 1989. Findings suggest that the dialogue in Cosmopolitan fluctuated between negative and positive framing of feminist ideas and that these messages mostly did not align with the movement. Faculty mentor: Naeemah Clark

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The United States has witnessed a massive rise in opioid-related overdoses and users seeking treatment. Media narratives surrounding drug-related issues have historically set a precedent for how the issues are addressed and handled publicly. Through content analysis, this study found that print media framed opioid addiction as a public health issue and associated it much less with crime than typical drug-related coverage. This study also examined how favorable the public policy response was to opioid cases in comparison with the crack epidemics in the late 1980s. This is partly because white, rural communities are most heavily affected, and pharmaceutical companies played a significant role in the rise of addicts. Faculty mentor: Glenn Scott

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Twitter has become one of the most prominent forms of modern communication, allowing users to curate information, update followers, and report news in real time, among other actions. Most recently, Twitter has provided an intimate look into the day-to-day thinking of the president of the United States. Donald Trump is among the most prolific users of the platform, expressing himself in front of a wide audience. Through a content analysis of Trump’s tweets during his first seven months in the Oval Office, this study found that he has criticized more Republican lawmakers than Democrats, retweets Fox television shows at unprecedented levels, and employs tactics to delegitimize the press. Faculty mentor: Harlen Makemson

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Thanks to its decade-long TV show, profitable business ventures, and robust social media platforms, the Kardashian-Jenner family has an incredible digital media presence. The family, centered on strong, independent women, is “unapologetically sex- and body-positive” and more trans-aware than most other celebrities – three characteristics that are staples of fourth-wave feminism. This study examined if the Kardashian-Jenners encourage their target audience to adapt these traits. The study found that while they partially encourage body-positivity and sex-positivity, they have led the general population to be trans-aware. This research suggests the Kardashian-Jenners are serious media influencers who share a semi-positive, non-purposeful feminist message. Faculty mentor: George Padgett

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Seinfeld, a wildly popular sitcom broadcast in the 1990s, has been subject to countless reviews, explorations, and critiques—a testament to its far-reaching impact. Through humor, the sitcom often criticized capitalism and materialism, while also endorsing communality. This study examined the relationship between American sitcoms like Seinfeld and the recent rise in Marxist/socialist values among the millennial generation. It is hypothesized that sitcoms had a significant effect on their viewers, particularly in the realm of social class-consciousness and economic outlook. A literature review found emphasis on consumption and communality within the show, poor representation of accurate class structure in sitcoms, and a trend toward feelings of inequality as a result of cultivation theory. Faculty mentor: Byung Lee

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Television has recently received praise for portraying bipolar protagonists who defy stereotypes commonly associated with mental illness. Through a content analysis, the author coded one season of six television shows based on the presence of five stereotypes. The author sought to determine the prevalence, frequency, and accuracy of negative bipolar disorder stereotypes in contemporary TV dramas. Overall, the television programs portrayed violence and criminal behavior relatively inaccurately, while depicting professional competence, medical noncompliance, and the absence of instantaneous recovery more accurately. Despite recent progress, contemporary bipolar protagonists still have progress to make before depictions can be classified as wholly realistic. Faculty mentor: Glenn Scott

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Influencer marketing, the process of identifying, engaging and supporting individuals who create conversations with a brand’s customers, is a growing trend used in public relations initiatives. In recent years, this strategy has become predominantly centered around social media, creating an opportunity for brands to market through social media influencers. To investigate this phenomenon, the author conducted pentadic analysis as well as qualitative content analyses of posts by social media influencers. Findings revealed that the use of social media influencer marketing in public relations initiatives has broken the wall down between the consumer and the brand, changing the way the two interact. Faculty mentor: David Copeland

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The digital age has brought a new form of integrated advertising through social media content. Today, users no longer want to be advertised to, but advertisers still need to attract consumers. Using Tasty videos as an example, this study examined how social media content is used to integrate advertisements into a medium popular with consumers. Utilizing a survey and focus group, the researcher studied social media users’ motivations for watching Tasty videos, and how the integration of an ad affects the viewer. While users enjoy and often seek out this short-form video content, the study found that most viewers consider it entertainment, and don’t it consume for its intended educational purposes. Faculty mentor: George Padgett

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With yearly revenue in the billions and countless dedicated fans across the globe, the National Football League is the largest and most profitable professional sports league in the United States. Each team has a distinct brand personality that is communicated to fans to increase consumer recognition and strengthen fan loyalty. A content analysis was conducted to identify key elements of branding of NFL teams, examining the websites of the three highest valued franchises to identify their branding strategies. The research found that these teams incorporate comprehensive branding strategies on their websites to showcase their brand personality and interact with fans. Faculty mentor: Don Grady

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Food companies strategically use packaging design to capture the attention of consumers and communicate their brand’s messages. This study analyzed two brands’ packaging design within the breakfast food categories of granola bars and cereal over a 10-year time period. The fronts of the packaging were analyzed based on four design elements—layout, colors, typography, and graphics—to describe any similarities and differences among the brand’s messages and visuals. The findings indicated that brands used the packaging design to communicate specific messages and that those messages shift over time. Faculty mentor: Vanessa Bravo

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While the development of technology and its impact on the social media space may seem unclear, one idea is widely agreed upon: The ways individuals use and interact with social media applications will change dramatically as technologies infiltrate the space. This study explored how evolving technologies will impact the user experience (UX) of social media applications. Three interviews were conducted with futurists and members of Elon communications faculty, as well as a thorough case study of Facebook’s 2017 F8 conference. Findings suggest that evolving technology will rapidly transform the components of the UX framework and enhance consumer convenience, but may create challenges with corporate trust. Faculty mentor: David Copeland

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