Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2011 Audience Use of New Media Applications on npr.org: An Exploratory Study Kristine Johnson Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact
[email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION AUDIENCE USE OF NEW MEDIA APPLICATIONS ON NPR.ORG: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY By KRISTINE JOHNSON A Dissertation submitted to the School of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2011 The members of the committee approve the dissertation of Kristine Johnson defended on November 12, 2010. _______________________________________ Dr. Steven McClung Professor Co-Directing Dissertation _______________________________________ Dr. Jennifer Proffitt Professor Co-Directing Dissertation _______________________________________ Dr. Jeanine Turner University Representative _______________________________________ Dr. Jay Rayburn Committee Member Approved: _____________________________________ Stephen McDowell, Chair, School of Communication _____________________________________ Larry Dennis, Dean, College of Communication and Information The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members. ii This dissertation is dedicated to my loving parents, Dale and Monica. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to Dr. Steven McClung for being such a dedicated, insightful, and practical mentor. He helped me in ways that I can only describe as being well above and beyond any expectations. Dr. McClung continued to work with me after pursuing an opportunity at another university, and he always made sure I was on track to ultimately ―find a job.‖ Plus, I also enjoyed our meetings at the ―lunchbox‖ office during the summer months. Thank you, Dr.