Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly

Zurcher, Jessica D.; Brubaker, Pamela Jo; Speed, Abbie; Shawcroft, Jane; Sheppard, J. Andan; Coyne, Sarah M.; Christensen-Duerden, Chenae; Adams, Dallin R.

2024 Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly

doi: 10.1177/10776990241284795

This study examined Disney studios’ portrayals of race as it relates to the physical, mental, and social characteristics of major characters (N = 319) within Disney animated films released from 1937 to 2021 (N = 59). Findings revealed most of the characters featured were portrayed as White (68.3%) whereas BIPOC characters made up 31.7% of the total. Results suggest that BIPOC characters were significantly more likely to be featured in supporting character roles, with White characters featured in both the protagonist and antagonist roles. We further observed a limited integration of characters of varying races in a singular film.

Macy Burkett, K.

2024 Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly

doi: 10.1177/10776990241296462

Purity culture, a movement that emphasizes sexual abstinence before marriage, infiltrated American evangelical Christian churches in the 1990s and has been found to induce shame in young women while excluding people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. By using their influencer status to persuade their audiences, American evangelical Christian YouTube creators have brought purity culture back into the U.S. cultural zeitgeist. Through an inductive thematic analysis of 25 YouTube videos by evangelical Christian creators, this study seeks to understand the themes evangelical YouTube channels use to promote purity culture: heteronormativity, patriarchal submission, and naturalizing patriarchy as God’s design.

Yanchenko, Kostiantyn; Kleinen-von Königslöw, Katharina

2024 Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly

doi: 10.1177/10776990241284581

Experimental studies show that public opinion cues shape people’s perceptions of public opinion. However, the full extent of political information these cues comprise and, consequently, communicate remains unexplored. This study utilizes standardized content analysis to examine the political values in applauded statements (n = 1,722) from Ukraine’s major political talk shows. The results suggest that applauded statements embody a complex mix of identity- and governance-oriented values, signaling to the broader audience the preferred type of political debate among those within the studio. The study enhances the literature on public opinion cues by demonstrating the significance of analyzing their underlying content.

Perreault, Gregory; Dienlin, Tobias

2024 Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly

doi: 10.1177/10776990241262346

Communication research has recently entered the discussion on open science. Through the lens of Normalization Process Theory, this preregistered qualitative study addresses how open science has been normalized within the field of mass communication. Through 19 semistructured in-depth interviews with communication scholars from across the globe and different career stages, the results reflect that scholars are driven to implement open science for idealistic, research-oriented, and political reasons. Yet, scholars have reservations regarding open science’s feasibility and concerns for participant privacy. In particular, this study identifies issues of coherence in open science that are key to its implementation.

Badurak, Morgan

2024 Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly

doi: 10.1177/10776990241292081

Donaway, Rebecca R.; Silva, David E.; Hutchens, Myiah J.

2024 Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly

doi: 10.1177/10776990241260832

Presidential elections typically follow a consistent pattern of news coverage. After the 2016 election, the news media faced intense criticism, a process called metajournalistic discourse. This research seeks to understand how election coverage may have shifted in 2020 considering this public scrutiny. By conducting a quantitative content analysis of news posted on Facebook during the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential campaigns, we show that despite self-reflective calls to do better, much of the campaign coverage remained unchanged in 2020. Finally, we detail how election coverage from traditional, partisan, and online-first networks evolved (or not) between 2016 and 2020.

Deavours, Danielle; Roberts, Chris

2024 Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly

doi: 10.1177/10776990241233670

Credibility is an ancient, well-studied, complicated construct. Most credibility measurements consider messenger (ethos) and/or message (logos). Aristotle’s definition includes pathos—the speaker’s emotion, important in visual journalism but rarely applied to visual mediums. This experimental research seeks to fill that gap. It analyzed 45 variables representing ethos, logos, and pathos. High correlations among Aristotle’s three concepts suggest the need to consider each when measuring visual journalism credibility. Factor analysis yielded a three-pronged credibility measure for visual journalists, with 15 variables representing the three concepts. The scale can be used with studies of visual reporting, adding the nuance of pathos-derived credibility.

Đorđević, Jasmina P.

2024 Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly

doi: 10.1177/10776990241253805

Based on Framing Theory and Sociocognitive Discourse Studies, the study analyzes 1,010 comments following 15 news articles on four Serbian news websites about a Serbian actress accusing her acting teacher of rape. The hate speech in the comments results from five frames evident in the news headlines and includes discourse structures indicating victim blaming, victim shaming, and the lack of sympathy for the victim. The discourse structures are openly telling victims to remain silent about their experience, establishing a specific relationship between certain news frames, online hate speech that rape victims face, and the sociocognitive dimension forcing them into silence.

Nowak-Teter, Ewa

2024 Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly

doi: 10.1177/10776990241263005

This study explores how social media logic combined with mass media logic challenges the practice of news journalism. By operationalizing different media logics through the relevant sets of news factors and using in-depth expert interviews with journalists (social media editors, SMEs; 24) on Facebook, we examine the practical side of applying social media logic principles in news journalism. The findings highlight a conflict between professional independence and the need to practice news journalism according to Facebook’s principles, arising from editorial ambitions for original reporting, and the pressure to deliver metrics-driven stories.

Yim, Myungok Chris; Kim, Taeyoung

2024 Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly

doi: 10.1177/10776990241296460

This study examines public expectations regarding Corporate Social Advocacy (CSA) using the framework of strategic issue management (SIM). A 14-item, single-factor scale was developed to measure CSA expectations, which was validated through four surveys. The CSA expectancy scale will assist businesses in effectively navigating CSA initiatives, preventing stakeholder support withdrawal, and thus bolstering organizational sustainability and social impact.