Journalism and Communication Theses and Dissertations

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Open Access
Who’s Behind the Lens? An Exploration of Access, Relationships, and Storytelling in the Production of Photographs of U.S. Presidents
(University of Oregon, 2024-12-19) Jackson, Emilee; Newton, Julianne
This dissertation investigates the lived experiences and perspectives of 14 U.S. presidential photographers – both those granted access within the "velvet rope" at the White House and those who remain outside it. The study illuminates the roles of Official White House photographers and still news photographers in the press corps, their perceptions of their role, and the potential impact of their work on the American public. Based on a multifaceted qualitative approach incorporating historical context, theoretical perspectives, interviews with renowned photographers, exploratory focus groups, and a close reading of selected photographs, analysis uncovered core themes of access, relationships, and storytelling as critical factors in presidential photography. By using elements of grounded theory, this research integrates framing and visual rhetoric theories through the lens of symbolic interactionism theory. Findings reveal how access to the inner circle of the presidency provides photographers with unique perspectives, enabling them to create compelling narratives that can impact public perceptions. Through both journalistic and documentary photography, these photographers function as storytellers and documenters of history. Furthermore, collaborative relationships between photographers and presidents emphasize the intricate interplay of trust, authenticity, and representation. Focus group findings suggest that the viewing public is likely unaware of the differences between the roles of news photographers and Official White House photographers and why the roles matter and that viewers/readers rely on their own interpretations of visual indicators in photographs to determine the role of the photographer. Participants interpreted behind-the-scenes moments to have different tones than photographers believed they were conveying. They also expected to see the president in professional moments rather than in relaxed moments. A close reading of selected photographs confirmed that, although similarities and differences in photos taken by White House and news photographers are difficult to interpret in small sets, differences in their framing and the visual narratives presented are evident. This dissertation addresses a gap in research by exploring the connections among photojournalism ethics, the history of presidential photography, and the creation of political imagery of U.S. presidents.
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Eudaimonic Entertainment in Board Games: Serious Interactions in Playful Simulations
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Rahman, Md Waseq Ur; Davis, Donna
This dissertation studies the formation of pleasurable and meaningful entertainment experiences during playing board games using a media psychological lens. It sheds light on players’ psychological and emotional substrates during play and the potential links between them that predict entertainment gratifications. Following the dual process model of entertainment framework that describes mechanisms behind pleasurable and meaningful gratifications (Oliver & Raney, 2011; Elson et al., 2014; Lewis et al., 2014; Bartsch et al., 2014; Bartsch & Schneider, 2014; Rieger et al., 2014; Vorderer & Reinecke, 2015; Weinmann, 2017; Raney et al., 2020), the study scrutinizes how playful interaction with analog elements of board games are connected to hedonic and eudaimonic forms of experiences that facilitate thought-provoking and self-reflective contemplation about the game’s meaning and purpose. Theoretically, it explores the question of how players come to appreciate the experience of board game play (as opposed to playing for fun) and traces the connection between eudaimonic outcomes of playing board games and affective and psychological gratifications. The study first argues and empirically investigates the notion that board games present a unique media context to facilitate meaningful and enduring experiences that can involve both psychological gratifications as well as complex emotional deliberations. In addition, the study evaluates the potential downstream effects of the eudaimonic entertainment experience in influencing deep engagement and issue interest in socio-political issues. Specifically, it scrutinizes board games that feature environmental, ecological, or natural themes in provoking reflective thoughts and issue interest about the environment (Fjællingsdal & Klöckner, 2017, 2020). Together, the study evaluates the value of playful interactions with analog simulations in board games in facilitating meaningful entertainment in general and its effects on engagement with environmental science rhetoric and their advocacy value. To do so, it asks three overarching research questions. First, how do hedonic, non-hedonic, and eudaimonic mechanisms of entertainment experiences predict enjoyment and appreciation of board games? Second, how are board game elements linked to the experience of enjoyment and appreciation, and the specific mechanisms that underlie these outcomes? Third, how do eudaimonic experiences from playing environmental board games influence cognitive elaboration or reflective thoughts about the games themselves, as well as broader implications of the games’ environmental theme outside of the game? To answer these questions, a first survey study on board game players takes stock of the play experience in board games using the dual process model of media entertainment (Oliver & Raney, 2011; Elson et al., 2014; Oliver et al., 2016; Bartsch et al., 2014). Based on this theoretical framework, the study links the intrinsic elements of the analog medium, such as game mechanics, narrative themes, and social context of play to hedonic enjoyment and eudaimonic appreciation during board game play (Elson et al., 2014; Oliver et al., 2016). Second, the study evaluates the experience of commercially available environmental board games to understand the downstream effects of non-hedonic and eudaimonic forms of entertainment from environmental-themed board games in influencing environmental issue interest (LaMarre & Landreville, 2009; Bartsch et al., 2014; Bartsch & Schneider, 2014; Vorderer & Reinecke, 2015; Weinmann, 2017; Raney et al., 2020). It considers how non-hedonic forms of emotions during media entertainment can influence cognitive depth and its effects on reflective contemplation, environmental issue interest, and connectedness to nature. The evidence presented for the study consists of two separate sets of sample populations investigated. To understand whether games can proffer meaningful emotional experiences, data was collected from general people who play board games. On the other hand, the examination of the experience of environmental science simulations in board games sought to understand the perspectives of players familiar with popular games that feature environmental/ecological themes. The findings suggest analog games may indeed provide a space for discursive learning to unfold and for players to feel equipped to tackle critical issues relating to the environment through deliberative co-construction of playful simulations with others. The two studies together present converging evidence for how board games facilitate meaningful experiences. It reports evidence for the continuum that psychological gratifications lie on and that certain need satisfactions are crucial in delivering eudaimonic entertainment while others tend to coincide. The findings also indicate that a meaningful appreciation of board games can facilitate cognitive elaboration in the form of reflective thoughts. Certain types of reflective thoughts while playing games can lead to issue interest and connectedness to nature. Overall, player interactions with environmental board games and the resulting entertainment experience (e.g., satisfaction of self-determination needs, eudaimonic affect) may aid in negotiating challenging emotions arising from dissonance experienced during play. While these findings are constrained within the bounds of the limitations that exist in the study they can inform environmental science communication strategies to engage audiences with climate science.
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The Ru-volution will be Televised: Unveiling the Commercialization of Drag in RuPaul's Drag Race through Bourdieu's Theory of Practice
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Guzman, John; Chávez, Christopher
This dissertation explores the commodification of drag by exploring the reality competition series RuPaul’s Drag Race. Using Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice, the show draws its data from the first fourteen seasons of the show, as well as the first season seasons of RuPaul’s Drag: All-Stars, and the show’s behind-the-scenes series Untucked, as case studies to examine the impact of the show’s major sponsors. As a third case study, this project also focuses on RuPaul’s Drag Con, the show’s official drag convention. In using these case studies, I argue that although initially the show’s sponsors had a major impact in how drag was performed within the show, these corporate demands of drag became embedded within the program and became self-regulating. Such, the show’s popularity and the sponsor’s impact ultimately changed the field of drag and made it more palatable for a mainstream audience and advertisers. Further, since Drag Race is seen as the apex of what drag is, the show becomes a gatekeeper for those who wish to make a career out of the art form, thereby demanding people conform to the show’s limited interpretation of drag.
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“Who am I, without…?” Identity, geopolitics, and Palestinian film in the 21st century: Toward a fifth cinematic period
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Abuhmaid, Hadil; Martinez, Gabriela
Since the production of the first Palestinian film in the 1930s, cinema in Palestine has unfolded into four different periods, each shaped by the political climate of its era: (1) Al-Nakba or “Catastrophe” (1935 - 1948); (2) Epoch of Silence (1948 - 1967); (3) Al-Naksa or “Setback” (1968 - 1982) and (4) Palestinian Autor’s Individual Initiatives (1982 – 2020). In this dissertation, I argue that the aftermath of second Intifada of 2000 has marked the beginning of a fifth cinematic period: Palestinian Fictional Realism. In the fifth period, Palestinian filmmakers feature “typical” Palestinians living within the historical map of Palestine. They move the historic trauma of the Nakba to the background and move to the foreground fictional-realistic stories of Palestinians of often problematic attempts to working through Palestinian trauma. In so doing, Palestinian filmmakers enact their agency and that of the Palestinian people by refusing to allow traumatic history or contemporary realities define the present and future. The dissertation is based on four case studies that include semi-structured, in-depth interviews with Muayad Alayan, Maha Haj, Ameen Nayfeh, and Arab Nasser. Each filmmaker’s case represents a theme that is present in many Palestinian films which are as follows: Sumud, collective memory, identity crisis, and lived experience. My research draws from a combination of theoretical frameworks including film theory, collective memory, political economy of communication, and theories of race, trauma, and identity.
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The Ongoing Pursuit of Health Equity in Oregon: A Case Study of Health Communication and Community Partnerships During the COVID-19 Pandemic
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Clark, Kisa; Martinez, Gabriela
In the U.S. and Oregon, Latinx communities have experienced some of the most disparate health, social, and economic consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic due to existing structural and environmental inequities. In the state of Oregon, many Latinx-serving community-based organizations (CBOs), local public health authorities (LPHAs), and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) have worked to respond creating culturally appropriate messages to disproportionately impacted Latinx communities during the pandemic and to advocate for critical resources and support. Since LPHAs serve as a direct communication source to local communities and CBOs in addition to acting as intermediaries between state and national health officials, their unique and critical position in public health work warrants distinctive consideration. Drawing from traditional health communication theory, critical and cultural health communication theory, and theorization of structural violence and vulnerability, this dissertation focuses on Oregon’s LPHAs as a case study to respond to questions that examine health communication and community partnerships work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, it explores how lessons from the pandemic are informing their ongoing work to improve health equity in the state. The study utilizes a mixed-method approach including critical discourse analysis of health communication materials (i.e. videos, posters, social media posts) from Latinx serving CBOs, LPHAs and OHA during the pandemic, semi-structured participant interviews with LPHA leaders from across the state, and focused insights from participatory observation with one LPHA. The dissertations’ critical discourse analysis reveals that the OHA, LPHAs and CBOs recognized the significant role of various health communication strategies to reach Latinx communities during the pandemic and significant efforts were made to communicate effectively on a wide range of issues. While traditional, individualistic health communication theories were reflected in many health behavior-focused messaging, culture-centered approaches were also widely incorporated to reach highly marginalized community members. Health communication from CBOs suggested the most explicit health activism motivations, especially in the initial stages of the pandemic. Participatory interviews with state LPHA leaders and staff confirmed the importance of effective and clear communication and strong relationships with community partners, including an increase in staffing positions dedicated to this work. Longstanding gaps in public health infrastructure and funding of LPHAs continues to cause challenges and highlights the need for more sustainable funding and improved collaboration with the OHA. Participant observation of Lane County Public Health’s innovative Community Partnership Program and a collaborative multi-phase survey project of Latinx community members serve as key examples of community-driven local public health equity work. The findings of this case study provide recommendations for future public health communication and health equity efforts. It suggests ways in which the public health modernization model should be further fulfilled, community engagement may be improved, the establishment of long-term and sustainable support, more focus on policy and systems, and health communication that enables a cultural shift in our understanding of public health and health equity.
Open Access
Caring for Caregivers: How Alzheimer’s Disease Communication is Associated with Caregiver Knowledge, Stress, and Coping Strategies
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Cole, Cassandra; Shafer, Autumn
Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that significantly impacts one’s memory, behavior, and motor functions—ultimately, a person with Alzheimer’s disease requires constant care. Caregivers are often unpaid relatives, sacrificing their own time, money, and personal lives to care for a loved one with a debilitating disease. Previous research suggests that caregivers experience detrimental effects to their mental health resulting from caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease, including increased stress, depression, and isolation. The study survey draws on questions from the Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, Ways of Coping Questionnaire, and a newly designed Caregiver Communication Scale to understand the relationship between caregiving communication and the caregiver’s own mental health. The findings indicate that increased communication is associated with a decrease in perceived stress and an increase in the use of active coping strategies among caregivers. English language preference was also found to be associated with the caregiver’s level of Alzheimer’s disease knowledge.
Open Access
“My Pleasure, I am Carol Bandida!” A Negotiation of Brazilian Funk and Feminism on Social Media
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) De Azevedo, Suenia Aline; Martinez, Gabriela
This thesis comprehended the negotiation between feminism and music on social media, focusing on the discourse of the Brazilian feminist funk genre on TikTok. Through the qualitative method of textual analysis, 60 videos of TikTok’s profile of Brazilian feminist funk singer MC Carol were analyzed. The investigation was conducted from a post-structuralist perspective in order to answer the MC Carol's use of TikTok to promote her music within feminist discourse, her negotiation of feminism on social media, and the perception of the feminist discourse of the Brazilian funk singer MC Carol by her audience. The results showed that the bandida performance is acknowledged as the MC Carol’s feminist discourse on TikTok, her audience perceives the singer’s feminism as of a real woman, and visual communication and emphasis on songs’ lyrics are the main element of promotion of feminist discourse in MC Carol’s music on TikTok. The present research demonstrates a contribution in expanding the context of the resistance of Afro-Brazilian feminist funk singers on social media in the academic field.
Open Access
The New Black Press: An Examination of Black News Podcasts and Networks in the Context of Black Media History and the Evolving Media Ecosystem
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Quick, Rachel; Chavez, Christopher
This dissertation critically examines Black news podcasts through the lens of Black media history, political economy, and platformization, highlighting their socio-economic role and the emergence of Black creators in the digital media ecosystem. It explores the historical progression of Black news organizations from the Black Press to Black news podcasting, and the current economic practices of Black news podcasts, emphasizing its socio-political relevance, cultural impact, and funding strategies. By utilizing innovative models like crowdfunding, these platforms prioritize community engagement over profitability, challenging conventional media paradigms and advocating for media diversity and cultural autonomy. This dissertation poses questions on the impact of ownership and digital platforms on narrative control, funding and sustainability of Black podcasts, and their role in political discourse and representation. This inquiry contributes to understanding Black podcasts’ economic viability and social impact, enriching discussions on media’s political economy and Black media’s future in cultural production and representation.
Open Access
Are You Still Watching: An Overview of Streaming in India
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Biswas, Indroneil Bir; Sen, Biswarup
The rise of the internet and digital technologies in the last three decades has transformed how individuals and societies consume, and make sense of, media. Digital penetration affects almost every aspect of social life, including the form, content and affordances offered by transnational media conglomerates. The post-2000s shift from traditional broadcasting to digital streaming has raised a new set of questions about contemporary media technologies. This study, rooted in the theoretical framework of global media, political economy and cultural studies, enhances the existing scholarship around the concepts of hybridity and glocalization by analyzing the effects of the relatively new, dynamic technology of digital streaming in a rapidly digitizing economy of India. I will concurrently analyze the factors behind the global leader Netflix’s relative struggles, and the emergence of Disney+Hotstar and JioCinema as the domestic leader in India. The present investigation argues that in the arena of global media, conglomerates, technologies, platforms need to localize their message, agendas, ideology for effective consumption, interpretation and adoption.
Open Access
Reproducing the Frontier: How Media Images Shape Perceptions of Natural Environments of Wilderness.
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Wilson, Travis; Foxman, Maxwell
The visual image has long been renowned for its world-shaping abilities. This study argues that the worlds of images give life to visual cultures for how audiences go about “visualizing” physical space through images that blur the line between fiction and reality. This study attempts to uncover a longstanding myth of how visual culture has led to the social and physical change of the state of Montana, specifically in how the cultural myth of the American Frontier has been creatively reproduced through visualized entertainment to promote fantasy over reality for the purpose of creating and regulating power relations among territories, races, and genders. An analysis of the television show, Yellowstone, is analyzed to deconstructs how visual biopolitics shape and dictate a new frontier, maintaining oppressive structures throughout the natural landscape that imply relations of purification, exemption, and expulsion. This study begins by understanding what the Frontier Myth is and how it came to be, followed by understanding how it is utilized in the entertainment show Yellowstone, whereby the portrayals of territorialization, race, gender and agriculture are analyzed. Lastly, the study will suggest further research opportunities for future studies.
Open Access
Mino-Bimaadiziwin: Culturally Responsive Health Messaging in Ojibwe Communities
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Mahliaire, Nii; Mundy, Dean
In response to the opioid crisis disproportionately affecting Native American populations, this dissertation examines the communication preferences of the Ojibwe community in Northern Minnesota for addiction recovery program materials. It seeks to answer the question: What preferences do Ojibwe community members have for messaging within addiction recovery program materials, and in what ways can their preferences inform the creation of effective communication tools that encourage engagement with available recovery resources?Employing grounded theory and Indigenous Standpoint Theory, the study unfolds in phases, each contributing to a comprehensive understanding of effective communication strategies within Ojibwe communities. Initial pretesting at Northern Minnesota Addiction Wellness Center informed the development of culturally sensitive research tools, laying the groundwork for future phases and ensuring the study's approach resonated with the cultural context and recovery practices of the Ojibwe community. The first phase gathers insights through interviews with a diverse group of participants: healthcare professionals who treat opioid use disorder, community Elders, and Ojibwe individuals who have experienced addiction recovery. These interviews aim to identify the specific barriers and facilitators to effective communication, revealing the complexities of addressing substance use disorder within this cultural context. The second phase shifts toward active community involvement through Collaborative Creation Circles. This approach engages Ojibwe members who are currently clients at Northern Minnesota Addiction Wellness Center in the process of designing culturally resonant recovery materials. This participatory co-design method ensures the materials reflect genuine recovery narratives and empower participants to share authentically. The final result of this research was the creation of a comprehensive website named Mino-Bimaadiziwin, a digital resource platform inspired by the insights from the community. It features several key components: Personal Stories, offering narratives of recovery; a Decolonial Perspective, which challenges conventional narratives around addiction; Cultural Practices, highlighting traditional healing and recovery methods; Artistic Representations, showcasing community art; and an interactive map of Resources. Each element is crafted to address the distinct needs of the Ojibwe community, aiming to provide a holistic and accessible repository of recovery resources. This dissertation contributes to the broader field of communication and public health by illustrating the importance of incorporating Indigenous knowledge and perspectives into health messaging. Through a detailed exploration of the Ojibwe community's communication preferences, the study highlights the potential for culturally tailored messaging to enhance engagement with recovery programs. Ultimately, it seeks to offer pathways for improving health outcomes and well-being in Ojibwe communities, advocating for a respectful integration of cultural values and practices in public health initiatives. This work not only addresses a critical health issue but also reinforces the value of culturally informed research methodologies in creating meaningful and effective health communication strategies.
Open Access
Daring to Define Televisual Defiance: Investigating queerness, trauma, and identity on the CW post-2016
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Caprioglio, Teresa; Chatman, Dayna
In 2016, the CW network series The 100 came under fire for the on-screen death of a lesbian series regular, immediately following a queer sexual encounter. In the aftermath, fans, trade press, and even network insiders themselves made statements seeking an alternate mode of engaging queerness on television, ever more distant from the “Bury Your Gays” trope of queer death. In this dissertation, the question is: what, if anything, has changed?This queer- and trauma-theory-focused critical analysis of three separate case studies, including five different superhero and speculative fiction CW series for whom all or the majority of their episodes aired post-spring 2016, investigates the ways in which queer identity and trauma are interwoven in the development of queer characters and queer storytelling. Often subject to similar modes of investigation and necessary confession as a facet of characterization as sexuality and the ever-present coming out narrative, trauma and recovery form key identity categories for TV characters—and, this dissertation asserts, queer characters especially. The act of claiming these identities is key to the character-focused style of primetime drama, connecting the confession of trauma with the confession of sexuality and the experience of trauma with the possibility of queer identity. Despite the otherworldly and occasionally universe-altering content of these speculative fiction series, existing tropes of queer representation, queer trauma, and queerphobic violence are utilized alongside more open, nuanced queer identity markers in a way that both reinforces and suggests routes of possibility outside longstanding industrial queercoding, queerphobia, and queer death for queer characters and queer storylines on television. However, even in constructing these new forms of meaning making, additional intersecting pressures of racial stereotyping, classism, and sexism enact restrictions on the possibilities of constructing new articulations of identity, self, and family. This dissertation posits that the spaces between these historical industrial norms and new horizons for queer storytelling are a result of integrative, nearly defiant representative strategies, which provide for the pushing of boundaries while largely retaining existing norms. The lack of profitability that the CW has apparently experienced, however, suggests that this integrative representation as an industrial strategy is not a sustainable one. Nevertheless, continuing to link queerness, trauma, and speculative fiction demonstrates an unfortunate baseline of queerphobic violence and queer trauma as “to be expected” or otherwise key to forming a queer identity. While the spaces for defiance have been opened, this dissertation contends that there is still considerable work to be done, largely in refiguring and reimagining what slow-changing, conservative industrial structures concede to producing.
Open Access
#Storytime: An Analysis of Health Crisis Narratives, Conspiracies & New Digital Media
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Lorenzo, Samantha; Ofori Parku, S. Senyo
The main objective of this dissertation is to examine health crisis narratives and their relationship to message perception and conspiratorial ideations. Through empirical data and observations, this research investigates the complex interplay among crisis narratives, public trust in institutions, credibility, disinformation, and conspiracism within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, utilizing insights from two distinct yet interconnected studies. Study 1 delves into the construction, communication, and reception of crisis narratives on TikTok, specifically focusing on videos discussing the purported origins of COVID-19 via the hashtag #covidorigin. Employing a content analysis approach, the study examines patterns in content types and their relationship with public engagement metrics such as views, likes, comments, and shares. Study 1 observed that popular TikTok videos discussing the origin of COVID-19 majorly incorporated at least one of the following: a first-hand narrative (a personal account in which the individual user shares a story in the first-person), a second-hand narrative (an account in which the individual user shares a story they heard from other people rather than from their own experience), and/or an informational report (content such as legislative documents, news reports, and book summaries). Additionally, while U.S. intelligence agencies have yet to reach a consensus on COVID-19’s origin, this research detected a surge in #covidorigin videos following a 2023 interview in which FBI Director Wray stated that COVID-19 likely originated from a laboratory incident in China. Overall, this study suggests the influential role public leaders and media sources have in disseminating COVID-19 information and the importance of coherent crisis narratives in shaping public understanding. It also considers the effects of content types and communication formats in terms of how the public engages with speculative claims online. Informed by the Narrative Paradigm, Study 2 investigates COVID-19 narrative gaps within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) messages and their impact on public trust and perceptions. Through a four-condition experimental design, this study examined the implications of the CDC’s confusing and contradictory messages regarding COVID-19 testing protocols. Among the various types of participant conditions, three separate group sets were randomly assigned to versions of CDC messages about COVID-19 testing protocols. The study revealed significant differences in participants' perceptions of COVID-19 messages across experimental conditions. Overall, those exposed to the verbatim contradictory CDC messages exhibited lower perceptions of message reliability, effectiveness, and credibility compared to those who received updated or modified messages. These findings accentuate the detrimental effects of narrative gaps and confusing statements on trust and credibility in health communication. By examining the effects of narrative gaps on perceptions of reliability, effectiveness, credibility, and trust, this research informs the development of communication recommendations aimed at building trust and mitigating the spread of conspiratorial ideations during health-related crises, thus contributing to more effective crisis communication practices moving forward.
Open Access
Neoliberalism and TikTok’s Day in the Life Trend
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Kartalija, Trevor; Philips, Whitney
TikTok’s Day in the Life trend, in which users show a typical day in their work life, provides an example of how neoliberal ideology is reflected through social media content as users’ performances in this trend depict neoliberalism in various ways. A qualitative content analysis was deployed and a coding schema that identified behavioral markers of neoliberalism was created to examine 150 TikTok videos for depictions of neoliberal ideology. By using the folklore concept of conservatism and dynamism, this thesis analyzed videos in the trend for persisting elements of neoliberalism that are ingrained into the trend itself as well as how neoliberalism was presented and performed by the video creators in various ways throughout the trend. This thesis found that neoliberal ideology unified the Day in the Life trend despite the different variations in the way neoliberalism was performed. This thesis connects neoliberalism and TikTok as the platform promotes neoliberal ideology through the DITL trend, adding to literature surrounding platformization, memetics, conservatism and dynamism, and neoliberalism by examining how the platform shapes content creation norms, communicates neoliberal values, unites variations of the trend under the umbrella of neoliberalism, and how this trend reifies neoliberal ideology.
Open Access
Exploring the strategic use of social media in environmental sanitation campaigns in Ghana
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Bisilki, Isaac; Mundy, Dean
This dissertation explores the strategic use of social media in environmental sanitation campaigns in the sub-Saharan African country Ghana. It offers insights into the phenomenon of social media use by Environmental Sanitation Organizations (ESOs). That is, whether these ESOs are strategic in using social media as powerful, ubiquitous channels of communication to influence pro-environmental sanitation behaviors.The dissertation also addresses gaps in literature on social media use in sanitation campaigns in the global south, where social media have become commonplace, therefore; seen as potential tools for driving social change. It applies the framing theory through the lens of Snow and Benford’s (1988) typology of framing to examine whether the ESOs in Ghana are being strategic in their use of social media in sharing information on sanitation problems. The mixed-methods approach was used in collecting data through interviews with four Chief Public Relations professionals of selected ESOs and a content analysis of these ESOs’ Facebook posts, which underwent thematic analysis with conclusions drawn. Findings show that public relations professionals who use Facebook as a communication tool are strategic in creating messages on sanitation on the platform despite the high number of posts that had no specific frame. The motivational frame was the most used strategic frame while the prognostic frame elicited the highest engagement and positive valence. This preceding finding particularly has implications for the framing theory, specifically the Snow and Benford’s (1988) typology of frames, as it brought to light the potential of the prognostic frame in health messaging. Thus, the study has advanced the application of this typology, which has been mostly applied in the study and analysis of communication by environmental social movement organizations. Recommendations are offered for practical implementation to enhance the understanding and ability of public relations professionals in the environmental sanitation sector to leverage the potentials of social media in advancing sanitation causes, such as positive attitudes and behaviors for improved sanitary conditions and health in Ghana.
Open Access
THE ROLE OF PODCASTS AND THEIR INFLUENCE IN SHAPING AFRICAN DIASPORA RELATIONSHIPS IN THE UNITED STATES
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Apiyo, Robert; Steeves, Leslie
This dissertation examines the role and influence of podcasts in shaping intragroup relationships among African diasporan groups present in the U.S. Based on a qualitative case study analysis of three podcasts -- The Stoop, Caribbean Life in America and Work Bae (including the use of in-depth interviews, document and podcast analysis) -- this research argues that African diaspora podcasters employ various strategies aimed at, among other things, strengthening Afro diasporic consciousness while also challenging mainstream media’s exclusionary practices. These strategies include adopting a mesh of legacy radio broadcast practices, African diaspora communicative practices, weaponizing their own intersecting diasporic identities, and tapping into their diverse histories and lived experiences to offer open, honest, and intimate conversations. These creatives, who are on a mission to entertain, inform, educate, and “democratize journalism,” not only target the African diaspora, but at times also attract listeners from other demographics, including populations considered marginalized in the U.S. Topics featured on their platforms broadly range from building social cohesion, countering stereotypes and misconceptions, creating connections, diversifying narratives, promoting social justice, and voicing their own lived experiences. This dissertation’s findings support those of prior scholars, including Jenkins & Myers (2022), who argue that podcasts serve as an extension of the Black digital public sphere, a role that historically has been played by barbershops (Harris-Lacewall, 2010), the Black press (Berardi & Segady, 1990), the streets, educational institutions, and church (Black public sphere collective, 1995), as well as other expressive cultures including music, dance, and poetry. Each of the podcasts featured in the study is hosted by an African American, African immigrant or an Afro Caribbean based in the U.S., a tactic employed to ensure ethnic diversity and representation during this research exploration. However, as Alpers (2001) notes, individuals seeking to write about the African diaspora are likely to get entangled in the exercise of defining the term. I do struggle with the interchangeable use of the words “African diaspora” and “Black diaspora,” throughout this dissertation. This may be due to the crucial roles that racism, geography, Blackness, the legacies of enslavement and colonialism played during the horrific period of the trans-Atlantic slave trade that has led some individuals to describe those from the “African diaspora as the “Black diaspora” (Palmer, 1998). Findings based on analyzed podcasts confirm these assertions, with both terms applied in multiple contexts.
Open Access
A Voice in the Wilderness: A Political Economic Examination of Three Alaska Public Broadcasting Organizations
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Schroder, Matthew; Wasko, Janet
This dissertation examines three public broadcasting organizations in the state of Alaska. Alaska’s public broadcasting system was defunded by the state government in 2019. Amidst the cuts and during other times of duress, Alaska’s public broadcasters often used narratives like those distributed by national public broadcasting organizations to justify the existence of public broadcasting in the state. The national narratives were often missing a sense of context, history, and purpose about Alaska’s public broadcasters and often left them without an identity and voice of their own. Using a political economy of media and communications framework, this dissertation provides the context, history, and purpose of KUAC in Fairbanks, KYUK in Bethel, and Alaska Public Media in Anchorage. The research explores the general history, operational and programmatical trends, and past and present economic trends of the three organizations.
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The Problem of Publishing an Agricultural and Home Journal in India
(University of Oregon, 1935-06) Raj, Kummar Sri Mohan V.
If National Better Farm and Home Journal is to be self-respecting, it must be self-supporting. Hence the objective in the mind of the writer has been to gather all available data on the business of publishing as practiced in the United States - a country far advanced in technical and business practices. The purpose of this thesis is to lay a solid foundation for the establishment of a farm and home journal in Bombay, with a view to assisting in the re-generation of the masses, who form the basis of our national life in India.
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Power Considerations as Invisible Filters of Local Involvement in Participatory Climate Adaptation: The Case of Ghana's Effutu Municipality
(University of Oregon, 2024-01-10) Koomson, Paul; Ofori-Parku, Senyo
The rising incidence and severity of environmental disasters associated with climate change and the acknowledged failure of adaptation projects to address the priority needs of marginalized and most vulnerable social groups in less resilient communities have necessitated calls for the inclusion of local people and their experiences in climate adaptation initiatives., this dissertation examines how inequalities in external and local actors’ power considerations and expressions shape the actors’ participation and roles in climate adaptation decision making in rural communities. It also explores how existing sociocultural systems and power structures influence the involvement of rural women and the use of local people’s ecological knowledge in climate adaptation project planning and the constraints therein. This dissertation is designed as a three-part case study, using a mixed methods approach. Data was collected primarily through interviews with adaptation actors, including officials of local government agencies and leaders of fishers’ and farmers’ groups in the Effutu Municipality of Ghana in West Africa. Additional data were obtained through field observation, document analysis, and surveys with fishers’ and farmers’ group members. The findings partly support the view in the extant literature that dominant actors dominate local actors, and local elites dominate other local actors in participatory climate adaptation and other development initiatives. The findings also indicate that local women participate in climate adaptation projects, but multiple interlinked sociocultural and structural challenges constrain women’s involvement. The analysis also shows that local and external actors’ differential power and perceptions about local ecological knowledge limit its use in climate adaptation. Contrary to the widely-held unidirectional, top-down view of power flow in participatory climate adaptation processes, the analysis uncovers a multidirectional power flow in the interactions among local and external actors. Local people (including politically and socially marginalized groups like women) also possess and express power by leveraging their agency through diverse strategies to regulate external domination and promote their priorities during adaptation planning and implementation. Theoretical and methodological contributions to the analysis of participatory processes and social inclusion are discussed. The practical implications for inclusive participatory adaptation planning, policymaking, and communication for development and social change are also discussed.
Open Access
Voting Behind Bars: Policy and Predictions of Total Enfranchisement for Incarcerated Voters in the United States
(University of Oregon, 2024-01-09) Tabor, Courtney; Dahmen, Nicole
Nearly five million Americans remain disenfranchised because of their incarceration or felon status. Through this dissertation project, I study two legislative campaigns and conduct a nationwide experiment to better understand the roles of persuasion, framing, and labeling in support for the total enfranchisement of people in prison. Using these two real-world examples (Washington D.C. and Oregon legislation), I conducted two content analyses that coded public comments submitted to the respective legislative bodies examining the use of persuasion and framing tools in crafting their arguments. Findings indicate that comments in support use as many tools as possible all at once, essentially trying every tactic they must to persuade their audiences. Comments in opposition used a unified voice that included fear appeals, highlighting the risks of the bills, and naming the stakeholders they saw as to blame for those risks. Additionally, I found that D.C. was more diverse in tactics, whereas Oregonians used fewer tools, although Oregonians did use a wider variety of labels and referenced more issues outside of enfranchisement. Furthermore, while D.C. focused on their struggle for statehood and distance from prisons, Oregon focused on other bills on the legislative agenda (e.g., gun rights and sustainability) and from their own history (e.g., Measure 11). Supplementing the campaign analysis, I also conducted a nationwide 3 x 2 experiment (i.e., manipulated on persuasive appeals and topic-specific issue framing) using Amazon MTurk that recruited 192 participants. Through this experiment, I found that rational appeals, positive attitudes towards prisoners, low perceived proximal risk, and left-leaning political orientations are most likely to predict support for total enfranchisement. The role of rational appeals as predictive echoed the campaign analysis, as supportive public comments tended to have more rational appeals than those in opposition. The proximal risk finding is additionally interesting, as this variable was crafted to put a name to the “I don’t want those voters to flip my district” sentiment. Importantly, framing and labeling mechanisms were not significant, indicating a need for further research on the roles of these theories in this context.

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