Philip Merrill College of Journalism
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/1629
The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations.
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Item NEWS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE: ASSESSING THE EFFICACY OF FEMINIST INTERVENTIONS ON JOURNALISTIC PRACTICES(2024) Mulupi, Dinfin Koyonjo; Steiner, Linda; Journalism; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation intervenes in news coverage of sexual violence by examining pathways to better journalistic practices from a feminist perspective. This is accomplished through a transnational multi-method approach combining qualitative data analyses and experimental surveys. The study begins by examining recommendations for better news coverage of sexual violence as articulated by feminist scholars, feminist NGOs and anti-gender violence activists. This is followed by analysis of feminist media coverage of sexual violence to determine to what extent they adhere to the best practices recommended by feminist scholars and activists. The dissertation then employs experimental surveys to test the effectiveness of feminist best practices in altering audiences’ attitudes toward victims and perpetrators. The data analyzed in this study include scientific/academic journal articles, book chapters and books grounded in feminist theories (N =42), institutional reports published by feminist NGOs and other anti-sexual violence collective groups (N =25), news and commentary of sexual violence (N = 122) published by five feminist media outlets (Jezebel, Ms., The 19th, New African Woman, and gal-dem), and surveys administered to participants in the US and South Africa (N =496). The study focuses on three feminist theories that prescribe alternatives to normative journalistic practices; advocates argue that intersectionality, feminist ethics of care, and Feminist Standpoint Epistemology (FSE) potential could reform news coverage of sexual violence and other important social issues. A fourth feminist concept, counterpublics, is used to theorize the journalism produced by feminist media outlets serving subaltern communities/audiences. This dissertation advances journalism theory and practice. The majority of extant literature has pointed at what is wrong in news accounts of sexual violence (Ndhlovu, 2020; Noetzel et al., 2023; Mulupi & Blumell, 2023, 2024). This study deviates from the norm by focusing on solutions and “highlighting steps toward improved coverage” (Cuklanz, 2022, p.322). By emphasizing on recommendations made by feminist scholarship/activism (as opposed to say everybody that has something to say about journalistic guidelines), the study crystallized a feminist vision of how to achieve better journalism on sexual violence. The best practices recommended by feminist scholars and anti-gender violence activists articulated an alternative model of journalism — a feminist, trauma-informed, decolonial, survivor-centered praxis committed to social justice goals. Furthermore, this dissertation contributes to the theory and literature on feminist counterpublics by illuminating how feminist media offer discursive arenas to challenge dominant ideologies on sexual violence and gender norms. The study also contributes to feminist theorization of journalism by demonstrating the applicability of feminist theories in the everyday journalism practiced by feminist media. Furthermore, findings of the quasi-experimental surveys administered to participants in the US and South Africa support the effectiveness of applying feminist perspectives in news coverage of sexual violence: news coverage that includes feminist best practices (e.g., survivor centered framing, diverse sources, intersectionality, use of statistics etc) may indeed help audiences believe the complaints of victim-survivors, be less likely to victim-blame, and have greater levels of empathy toward the victim. This dissertation also offers practical contributions by compiling and presenting recommendations for news coverage to journalists, copy editors and editors. Overall, this study advances knowledge and theory about journalism practice, and demonstrates practical application and effectiveness of feminist theorizing in improving journalistic practices.Item NAME, IMAGE AND LIKENESS: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF HOW WOMEN STUDENT ATHLETES SHARE THEIR STORIES AND LIVED EXPERIENCES ON SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE AGE OF NIL(2023) Scovel, Shannon Marie; Oates, Sarah A; Journalism; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation assesses the self-representation and representation of ten elite collegiate women athletes during the first year of the NCAA’s new ‘name, image and likeness’ policies. Building on theories of representation, gender performance, self-presentation and intersectionality, this study explores how women athletes reproduce notions of feminism, femininity and athleticism on their public TikTok, Instagram and Twitter accounts. Each of the women in this study have at least 50,000 followers across their social media accounts, and the content they produced on these platforms over the 12-month period from July 1, 2021, to July 1, 2022, serves to both reflect and reject hegemonic norms surrounding women in sport. Previous research has demonstrated that women athletes remain marginalized and underrepresented in sports. Scholars have also noted that women athletes typically represent themselves on social media in ways that highlight their personal lives, as opposed to their athletic experiences. This study explores these questions of self-representation through a content analysis of social media posts produced by ten collegiate women and addresses how these women navigated digital storytelling within the neoliberal, capitalist, patriarchal U.S. college sports media ecosystem. The ways in which athlete content was reproduced by journalists during this same period was also assessed. Findings show that journalists rarely engaged with women athletes’ posts during the first year of the NCAA’s new NIL policies and presented women’s success in the NIL era as surprising, unexpected and unrelated to athletic achievements. This dissertation adds to the larger body of research on women’s representation and self-representation in sports but adds a new dimension to this subject by exploring such representations in the collegiate environment, an arena in which athletes were previously denied the opportunity to earn money from their digital storytelling and online brands. The ways in which women challenge and reproduce hegemonic norms in their social media content during this period also contributes to the broader understanding of gender tensions in sports.Item MIKHAIL LESIN’S ROLE IN SHAPING THE RUSSIAN MEDIA LANDSCAPE(2023) Rostova, Nataliya; Yaros, Ronald; Dolbilov, Mikhail; Journalism; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis is one of the first academic attempts to evaluate the career path of Mikhail Lesin (1958-2015), former Minister for Press, Tele- and Radio Broadcasting, and Mass Communications, shortly – Press Minister (1999-2004), Presidential adviser on media (2004- 2009), and one of the founders of Video International, a pioneer in Russia’s nascent advertising market. Lesin used his powerful post to enable the State to wrestle control of the national TV channels – NTV and ORT – from two prominent media tycoons, Vladimir Gusinsky and Boris Berezovsky. The thesis includes four case studies that illustrate Mikhail Lesin methods of influence, as well as 14 qualitative interviews with prominent leaders in journalism. The thesis describes how members of the political elite can influence and create media systems in countries where governing institutions are absent or weak. The interviewees for this thesis provide us with valuable insight into Russian media after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and how crucial the media's role is to the political culture.