Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications
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ELON JOURNAL OF UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IN COMMUNICATIONS Fall 2019 VOLUME 10, NO. 2 Joining the World of Journals Welcome to the nation’s first and only undergraduate research journal in communications. The website of the Council on Undergraduate Research lists more than 200 undergraduate research journals nationwide (http://www.cur.org/resources/students/undergraduate_journals/). Some of these journals focus on a discipline (e.g., Journal of Undergraduate Research in Physics), some are university-based and multidisciplinary (e.g., MIT Undergraduate Research Journal), and others are university-based and disciplinary (e.g., Harvard Political Review). The Elon Journal focuses on undergraduate research in journalism, media and communications. The School of Communications at Elon University is the creator and publisher of the online journal. The first issue was published in spring 2010 under the editorship of Dr. Byung Lee, associate professor in the School of Communications. The three purposes of the journal are: • To publish the best undergraduate research in Elon’s School of Communications each term, • To serve as a repository for quality work to benefit future students seeking models for how to do undergraduate research well, and • To advance the university’s priority to emphasize undergraduate student research. The Elon Journal is published twice a year, with spring and fall issues. Articles in the journal may be downloaded, reproduced and redistributed without permission for non- commercial purposes as long as the author and source are properly cited. Student authors retain copyright ownership of their works. A Celebration of Student Research I am so proud that Elon University is home to the nation’s only undergraduate research journal in communications. This twice-a-year publication provides opportunities for our students to extend themselves beyond the classroom and investigate new areas of interest tied to their fields of study. Through research, our students further develop critical thinking skills, creativity, problem-solving abilities and intellectual independence. This journal reflects what we enjoy seeing most in our students – continued intellectual maturation. Complemented by video introductions featuring the student authors, these articles make us aware of the solitary hours that students spend in research, as well as the untold hours in which students and teacher- mentors work together to revise a paper for public consumption. These relationships and experiences often transform a student’s future career path, making these projects truly life-changing. This journal is a celebration of undergraduate research, as well as a celebration of learning, critical thinking and exploration. Dr. Rochelle Ford, APR Dean, School of Communications Editorial Board More than 30 faculty members in Elon’s School of Communications served as the Editorial Board that selected eight undergraduate research papers for the fall 2019 issue. From more than 100 research papers written in advanced School of Communications classes, 22 papers were submitted to the journal by Elon communications students through the encouragement and mentoring of capstone teachers and other professors in the school. Professors who served as the Editorial Board were Bill Anderson, David Bockino, Vanessa Bravo, Lee Bush, Naeemah Clark, David Copeland, Vic Costello, Brooks Fuller, Kelly Furnas, Kenn Gaither, Jessica Gisclair, Don Grady, Ben Hannam, Sana Haq, Anthony Hatcher, Dan Haygood, Denise Hill, Jooyun Hwang, Laura Lacy, Byung Lee, Alex Luchsinger, Barbara Miller, William Moner, Phillip Motley, Tom Nelson, Jane O’Boyle, George Padgett, Glenn Scott, Kathleen Stansberry, Jessalyn Strauss, Amanda Sturgill, Hal Vincent, and Qian Xu. Thanks also go to Bryan Baker and Mitch Herndon, who recorded the website’s student introductions; Associate Dean Kenn Gaither, who reviewed articles to help ensure the quality of the journal; and Tommy Kopetskie, who proofread articles, designed the online publication, and updated the publication’s website. Editor’s Note The current issue of the Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications is the 20th since the publication’s inception in 2010. While much has changed since then – the first-generation iPad had just been released that spring, and Instagram was still months away from its public debut – there are striking similarities in research streams between past and present. Young scholars in the spring of 2010 were beginning to grapple with the implications of social media, as are Elon Journal researchers nearly a decade later. In the current issue, there is a particular concentration focused on how organizations use social media to engage consumers or muster support for causes. Fletcher Rowe’s examination of how the corporate entities of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter each make use of all three platforms; Gilbert Schultz’s study of YouTube channel banners; and Jill Watkins’s comparison of aid organization strategies on Instagram each examine how these platforms can be employed effectively. While not strictly speaking a social media study, Ashlyn Sawyer’s article on how Corporate Social Responsibility may influence buying behavior also sheds light on companies can mold perceptions in a hyperconnected world. Back in 2010, the first student researchers published in the Elon Journal were curious about how groups were portrayed by both journalistic and fictional means, concerns that are also addressed in the current issue. Molly Herman-Gallow’s study of adoption in film, Ian Kunsey’s exploration of female representations in cinema, Cammie Behnke’s examination of press coverage surrounding African elections, and Kimberly Asin Wilson’s analysis of how presidents address refugee issues each demonstrate that communications have a powerful influence on how citizens may see people unlike themselves. Please enjoy the work of our student scholars in the fall 2019 edition. May the next decade of the journal be as intellectually fruitful as the past one. Harlen Makemson Professor Editor, Elon Journal Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications Volume 10, No. 2 • Fall 2019 Hopeless Republics: An Exploration of International Media Frames in Coverage of African Elections Cammie Behnke 5 Happily Ever After? The Portrayal of Adoption in Visual Narrative Media Molly Herman-Gallow 16 Representations of Women in Popular Film: A Study of Gender Inequality in 2018 Ian Kunsey 27 Social Synergy: How Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Use Integrated Marketing Communications Fletcher Rowe 39 Consumer Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility Campaigns: The Impact on Organizational Reputation and Buying Behavior Ashlyn Sawyer 48 How YouTube Streamers Present Their Brand on Channel Banners Gilbert Schultz 56 Aid Organizations on Instagram: Do Government-Funded Groups Differ from Non-Government-Funded Groups? Jill Watkins 66 The Framing of Refugees and Refugee Status Through U.S. Presidential Discourse Kimberly Asin Wilson 75 An Exploration of Media Frames in Coverage of African Elections by Cammie Behnke — 5 Hopeless Republics: An Exploration of International Media Frames in Coverage of African Elections Cammie Behnke Journalism Elon University Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements in an undergraduate senior capstone course in communications Abstract Countries in Africa have long endured underreported or sensationalized news coverage as images of violence, poverty, and corruption often dominate the international press. Coverage of election processes in the developing world also portrays the continent as hopeless and incapable of democratic elections. This study explored news frames in presidential election coverage in Nigeria, Kenya, and Zimbabwe by three renowned international news organizations: CNN International, BBC World News, and Al Jazeera. The study applied a two-step content analysis by identifying keywords, sources, news frames, and visual elements like images and videos, in 135 news articles. The author concluded that repetitive news frames of violence, corruption, and regression versus progression reinforce audience perceptions that democracy in these countries is unachievable. Additionally, the author found repeated elements, sources, and narratives of the state of democracy in the sampled African nations across each international network, prolonging stereotypes and narratives that these African countries are hopeless republics. I. Introduction On May 11, 2000, the British magazine The Economist published a series of controversial articles in an issue titled “Hopeless Africa.” The cover’s artwork featured a civilian holding a large gun in the center of the continent’s layout. One of the articles inside the edition described the continent as one that is ravaged by disease and poverty whose “few candles of hope are flickering weakly” (“The Heart of the Matter,” 2000). It also asserted that Africa is especially susceptible to corruption, brutality, and despotism, suggesting “the world might just give up on the entire continent.” Eleven years later, the publication changed its tone on Africa and published a special report titled “Africa Rising,” with a cover featuring an illustration of a boy flying a rainbow- colored kite in the shape of the continent. In an article titled “A Hopeful Continent,” the publication lists foreign investment as an avenue for salvation (“A Hopeful Continent,” 2011). The magazine’s contrasting reports reveal two recurrent perceptions of Africa in the news media. The first narrative