Video killed the news article? Comparing multimodal framing effects in news videos and articles

The recent proliferation of online videos captured at the scene of news events begs the question: Do news videos have a meaningful impact on citizens’ political opinions and behaviors that is different than that of news articles? This was examined in an experiment using carefully matched videos and articles about the European refugee crisis. Findings show that articles generated stronger intentions to help refugees than videos, and this was mediated by the depth with which the news story was processed. Despite their increasing prominence and intuitively impactful qualities, news videos do not deliver more powerful effects than news articles

A clearer picture: the contribution of visuals and text to framing effects

Visuals in news media help define, or frame issues, but less is known about how they influence opinions and behavior. The authors use an experiment to present image and text exemplars of frames from war and conflict news in isolation and in image-text congruent and incongruent pairs. Results show that, when presented alone, images generate stronger framing effects on opinions and behavioral intentions than text. When images and text are presented together, as in a typical news report, the frame carried by the text influences opinions regardless of the accompanying image, whereas the frame carried by the image drives behavioral intentions irrespective of the linked text. These effects are explained by the salience enhancing and emotional consequences of visuals

‘Vox Twitterati’: Investigating the effects of social media exemplars in online news articles

There is a growing trend among online news outlets to include Twitter posts as an equivalent to the traditional “vox pop” or “man-on-the-street” interview. Media effects research has documented the ability of vox pops to influence consumer perceptions of news issues within the traditional media environment, but there is limited research on the possible effects that including social media exemplars as vox pops within editorially curated articles might have on issue perceptions. Drawing on the exemplification effects literature to inform the experimental design, we conduct two studies on two topics of either low or high national salience and find strong evidence that vox pop tweets can influence perceptions of public opinion and, indirectly, readers’ own opinions on an issue. Results are discussed in light of implications for journalistic practice, media effects research and the wider democratic process

Hard and soft news: A review of concepts, operationalizations and key findings

Over 30 years, a large body of research on what is often called ‘hard’ and ‘soft news’ has accumulated in communication studies. However, there is no consensus about what hard and soft news exactly is, or how it should be defined or measured. Moreover, the concept has not been clearly differentiated from or systematically related to concepts addressing very similar phenomena – tabloidization and ‘infotainment’. Consequently, the results of various studies are hard to compare and different scientific discourses on related issues remain unconnected. Against this backdrop, this article offers a conceptual analysis of the concept based on studies in English and other languages. We identify key dimensions of the concept and make suggestions for a standardized definition and multi-dimensional measurement of harder and softer news. In doing so, we propose to distinguish thematic, focus and style features as basic dimensions that – in their combination – make up harder and softer types of news

Cigarette smoke exposure facilitates allergic sensitization in mice

BACKGROUND: Active and passive smoking are considered as risk factors for asthma development. The mechanisms involved are currently unexplained. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine if cigarette smoke exposure could facilitate primary allergic sensitization. METHODS: BALB/c mice were exposed to aerosolized ovalbumin (OVA) combined with air or tobacco smoke (4 exposures/day) daily for three weeks. Serology, lung cytopathology, cytokine profiles in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and on mediastinal lymph node cultures as well as lung function tests were performed after the last exposure. The natural history and the immune memory of allergic sensitization were studied with in vivo recall experiments. RESULTS: Exposure to OVA induced a small increase in OVA-specific serum IgE as compared with exposure to PBS (P < 0.05), while no inflammatory reaction was observed in the airways. Exposure to cigarette smoke did not induce IgE, but was characterized by a small but significant neutrophilic inflammatory reaction. Combining OVA with cigarette smoke not only induced a significant increase in OVA-specific IgE but also a distinct eosinophil and goblet cell enriched airway inflammation albeit that airway hyperresponsiveness was not evidenced. FACS analysis showed in these mice increases in dendritic cells (DC) and CD4(+ )T-lymphocytes along with a marked increase in IL-5 measured in the supernatant of lymph node cell cultures. Immune memory experiments evidenced the transient nature of these phenomena. CONCLUSION: In this study we show that mainstream cigarette smoke temporary disrupts the normal lung homeostatic tolerance to innocuous inhaled allergens, thereby inducing primary allergic sensitization. This is characterized not only by the development of persistent IgE, but also by the emergence of an eosinophil rich pulmonary inflammatory reaction

Role of the tachykinin NK1 receptor in a murine model of cigarette smoke-induced pulmonary inflammation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The tachykinins, substance P and neurokinin A, present in sensory nerves and inflammatory cells such as macrophages and dendritic cells, are considered as pro-inflammatory agents. Inflammation of the airways and lung parenchyma plays a major role in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and increased tachykinin levels are recovered from the airways of COPD patients. The aim of our study was to clarify the involvement of the tachykinin NK₁receptor, the preferential receptor for substance P, in cigarette smoke (CS)-induced pulmonary inflammation and emphysema in a mouse model of COPD.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Tachykinin NK₁receptor knockout (NK₁-R^-/-) mice and their wild type controls (all in a mixed 129/sv-C57BL/6 background) were subjected to sub acute (4 weeks) or chronic (24 weeks) exposure to air or CS. 24 hours after the last exposure, pulmonary inflammation and development of emphysema were evaluated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Sub acute and chronic exposure to CS resulted in a substantial accumulation of inflammatory cells in the airways of both WT and NK₁-R^-/-mice. However, the CS-induced increase in macrophages and dendritic cells was significantly impaired in NK₁-R^-/-mice, compared to WT controls, and correlated with an attenuated release of MIP-3α/CCL20 and TGF-β1. Chronic exposure to CS resulted in development of pulmonary emphysema in WT mice. NK₁-R^-/-mice showed already enlarged airspaces upon air-exposure. Upon CS-exposure, the NK₁-R^-/-mice did not develop additional destruction of the lung parenchyma. Moreover, an impaired production of MMP-12 by alveolar macrophages upon CS-exposure was observed in these KO mice. In a pharmacological validation experiment using the NK₁receptor antagonist RP 67580, we confirmed the protective effect of absence of the NK₁receptor on CS-induced pulmonary inflammation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These data suggest that the tachykinin NK₁receptor is involved in the accumulation of macrophages and dendritic cells in the airways upon CS-exposure and in the development of smoking-induced emphysema. As both inflammation of the airways and parenchymal destruction are important characteristics of COPD, these findings may have implications in the future treatment of this devastating disease.</p

The neurogenic bladder: medical treatment

Neurogenic bladder sphincter dysfunction (NBSD) can cause severe and irreversible renal damage and bladder-wall destruction years before incontinence becomes an issue. Therefore, the first step in adequate management is to recognize early the bladder at risk for upper- and lower-tract deterioration and to start adequate medical treatment proactively. Clean intermittent catheterization combined with anticholinergics (oral or intravesical) is the standard therapy for NBSD. Early institution of such treatment can prevent both renal damage and secondary bladder-wall changes, thereby potentially improving long-term outcomes. In children with severe side effects or with insufficient suppression of detrusor overactivity despite maximal dosage of oral oxybutynin, intravesical instillation is an effective alternative. Intravesical instillation eliminates systemic side effects by reducing the first-pass metabolism and, compared with oral oxybutynin, intravesical oxybutynin is a more potent and long-acting detrusor suppressor. There is growing evidence that with early adequate treatment, kidneys are saved and normal bladder growth can be achieved in children so they will no longer need surgical bladder augmentation to achieve safe urinary continence in adolescence and adulthood