Journalist as citizen

Dissertation supervisor: Dr. Ryan J. Thomas.Includes vita.On Memorial Day weekend 2015, between the hours of 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. the Blanco River crested at 42 feet, drowning the town of Wimberley, Texas. The Memorial Day flood resulted in the death of 11 people and damage to more than 300 homes and businesses. Journalists flocked to Wimberley to report the destruction, but as the hype from national news organizations died down, only a few local journalists remained to tell the story of the town's struggle for recovery. Using case study methods and narrative theory this study combined an examination of local news stories, interviews and observations of local journalists, and conversations with community members to evaluate how local journalists consider their roles in long-term recovery and resilience. Conversations with local journalists revealed the level of accountability they have to their communities, and the challenges they face to remain critical of events surrounding the disaster. Journalists also expressed a pressure created by geographic proximity, to change the focus of stories as more time passed after the disaster. An evaluation of the narratives expressed by journalists and how those transfer in to their newswork brings a deeper understanding to the tensions created when a journalist is also a citizen stakeholder in his or her community. Through the development of the journalist as citizen model, this study addresses the way local journalists practice strategic communication in the narratives they adopt in the six months after a natural disaster.Includes bibliographical references (pages 148-177)

Parents’ News Consumption and COVID Sources in Their Decisions to Vaccinate

In Fall 2021, the COVID-19 Delta Variant produced yet another surge of cases and deaths. Many parents eagerly awaited the official emergency authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for younger children. However, other parents had already planned to delay or refuse vaccination. To ascertain how news and information consumption may impact vaccination decisions, a survey questionnaire of parents was conducted in the beginning of September through online posts to social media parenting groups. Of the (n= 1004) surveys completed, 966 parents indicated their vaccination decisions or intent to vaccinate through both closed and open ended questions. Most participants were in favor of vaccinating their children and used a variety of local and national news and other types of information to make their decisions. While there was no significant relationship between news consumption and intentions to vaccinate, participants against vaccination indicated lower levels of news engagement and were more likely to dismiss news media content as a credible source. This study has implications for creating effective campaigns based on news consumption, primarily for those uncertain or against vaccinating children

Indices of insulin sensitivity and secretion from a standard liquid meal test in subjects with type 2 diabetes, impaired or normal fasting glucose

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To provide an initial evaluation of insulin sensitivity and secretion indices derived from a standard liquid meal tolerance test protocol in subjects with normal (NFG), impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or type 2 diabetes mellitus.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Areas under the curve (AUC) for glucose, insulin and C-peptide from pre-meal to 120 min after consumption of a liquid meal were calculated, as were homeostasis model assessments of insulin resistance (HOMA2-IR) and the Matsuda index of insulin sensitivity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Subjects with NFG (n = 19), IFG (n = 19), and diabetes (n = 35) had mean ± SEM HOMA2-IR values of 1.0 ± 0.1, 1.6 ± 0.2 and 2.5 ± 0.3 and Matsuda insulin sensitivity index values of 15.6 ± 2.0, 8.8 ± 1.2 and 6.0 ± 0.6, respectively. The log-transformed values for these variables were highly correlated overall and within each fasting glucose category (r = -0.91 to -0.94, all p < 0.001). Values for the product of the insulin/glucose AUC ratio and the Matsuda index, an indicator of the ability of the pancreas to match insulin secretion to the degree of insulin resistance, were 995.6 ± 80.7 (NFG), 684.0 ± 57.3 (IFG) and 188.3 ± 16.1 (diabetes) and discriminated significantly between fasting glucose categories (p < 0.001 for each comparison).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results provide initial evidence to support the usefulness of a standard liquid meal tolerance test for evaluation of insulin secretion and sensitivity in clinical and population studies.</p

Symbolic Convergence in the 2015 Duggar Scandal Crisis Communication

In May 2015, a crisis erupted for the Duggar family from the TLC reality show “19 Kids and Counting” after InTouch Magazine published an article detailing how Josh Duggar–the eldest son in the well-known evangelical family–molested several underage girls in 2006. In August, a data leak of the extra-marital affair website Ashley Madison revealed that Josh Duggar had been a user, actively cheating on his wife Anna. Media events like the Duggar scandal are narrated in social media through the use of symbols, such as memes and Instagram photos. This study analyzed the crisis response using Symbolic Convergence Theory (SCT) to shed light on the social media practices used in reputation management, specifically among religious celebrities. The researchers used fantasy theme analysis to reveal the shared rhetorical vision of the event as it progressed through different crisis communication phases

“I Stand by the Comments I Made”: The 2019 FIFA Women’s Soccer Championship: Images, Commentary and Narratives Made with Memes

Through the lens of performativity and narrative, this chapter examines the memes regarding the women’s soccer team distributed in June and July 2019 during the FIFA World Cup. The authors find that while women are visually narrated in a manner more akin to that of male athletes—emphasizing strength, competency and confidence—this is in part a result of a heteronormative discomfort with Megan Rapinoe’s sexuality. Hence, the memes—in an attempt to address this discomfort—narratively place her in a male role. This continued connection to masculinity further evidences that even when strides are made in female representations, the strides occur within familiar, acceptable frames—those in which men still have a central role to play

eSports as a News Specialty Gold Rush: Communication Ecology in the Domination of Traditional Journalism Over Lifestyle Journalism

The news coverage of eSports presents an attractive avenue to a new audience for business, sports, and gaming journalists. The audience\u27s interest is understandable given the financial vibrancy of the hobby. This chapter reflects an analysis of news articles (n=406) published in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, and Business Insider from January 2018 to December 2020. Researchers analyzed these articles for specific marketing and public relations messages and identified how various entertainment businesses were reflected in the news coverage of eSports. This chapter argues that eSports represents a topic typically covered through lifestyle journalism that has instead been dominated by traditional business reporting. Both gaming and sports are predominantly lifestyle specialties—hence, the dominant role of business journalism in reporting the specialty means that the emphasis on the niche has primarily been on awards and financing