Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications
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ELON JOURNAL OF UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IN COMMUNICATIONS Spring 2017 VOLUME 8, NO. 1 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. Celebrating Student Research This journal reflects what we enjoy seeing in our students -- intellectual maturing. As 18-year-olds, some students enter college possibly wanting to earn a degree more than they want to earn an education. They may question whether communication theory and research have anything to do with their future. But they get excited at studying great ideas and topical issues. These published articles make us aware of the solitary hours that students spend in research and the untold hours in which student and teacher-mentor work together to revise a paper for public consumption. This journal celebrates the life of the intellect through undergraduate research. It represents the intellectual maturing that occurs by the senior year, reinforcing all that we think a university should be. Dr. Paul Parsons, Dean School of Communications Editorial Board Thirty-two faculty members in Elon’s School of Communications served as the Editorial Board that selected 13 undergraduate research papers for the 2017 spring issue. From more than 100 research papers written in advanced School of Communications classes, 33 papers were submitted to the journal for blind review by 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, Janna Anderson, Lee Bush, Naeemah Clark, David Copeland, Vic Costello, Kelly Furnas, Kenn Gaither, Jessica Gisclair, Don Grady, Sana Haq, Anthony Hatcher, Dan Haygood, Jooyun Hwang, Jonathan Jones, Derek Lackaff, Julie Lellis, Harlen Makemson, Barbara Miller, William Moner, Phillip Motley, Max Negin, Tom Nelson, George Padgett, Paul Parsons, Glenn Scott, Michael Skube, Jessalynn Strauss, Amanda Sturgill, Hal Vincent, Frances Ward-Johnson, and Qian Xu. Thanks also go to Bryan Baker, who recorded the website’s student introductions; Associate Dean Don Grady, who reviewed articles to help ensure the quality of the journal; and Tommy Kopetskie, who proofread articles and updated the publication’s website. Editor’s Note This edition of the journal covered many communications-related topics. Five articles dealt with portrayal of people in newspapers, social media, and a TV drama. Two articles investigated the responses of corporations to a social event or corporate crisis while four others covered promotion for restaurants, a Broadway musical, musicians, and universities. The two final articles analyzed advertisements. Through content analysis of published print articles in The New York Times and ESPN during the 2016 Summer Olympics, Killoran found articles mentioned female stereotypes, which detracted from their athletic ability and performance. Dzilenski also analyzed the content of online news coverage of migration by national news media in the U.S., Germany, and Spain. She found that journalists used different frames and offered multiple narratives even within individual articles, reflecting the complexity of the migrant or refugee experience. Bohjalian investigated Instagram posts that tried to inspire followers to attain their fitness goals. The majority of the so-called fitspiration posts did not relate to fitness, but rather featured non-workout related content. After analyzing 10 episodes of a telenovela, Jane the Virgin, Grell found Latino stereotypes were minimal in comparison with progressive ideas and positive representations. Jackson analyzed YouTube videos emphasizing Black natural hair, and these videos revealed that content creators provide a positive discourse surrounding natural hair, and that content consumers tend to express gratitude and use the platform to deepen their understanding of hair care. Schulz examined corporate responses to the Black Lives Matter movement and concluded that companies should consider main stakeholders before responding to polarizing social movements. Koehler analyzed Abercrombie & Fitch’s responses to public criticism of its refusal to sell oversized clothing for women, which, she found, were not up to the level suggested by Robert Sims in a Redressive Actions framework. After analyzing websites and social media accounts of regional fast food restaurants, Condon found they succeeded based on development of a strong brand and ability to cater to the specific tastes of regional consumers. A survey and an interview led Ackman to conclude that Broadway’s hit musical, Hamilton, offered online content to engage audiences that could not directly watch the musical in the theater. Berk interviewed music industry professionals and found promotions have become focused on digital marketing and streaming sites, but traditional methods of promotion are still relevant. After analyzing images on the webpages of universities in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, Del Vecchio found overrepresentation of non-White students on their websites. Fusco analyzed 36 New York Times articles containing sponsored content and found the paper complied with the disclosure and distinguishability standard most of the time, but that FTC guidelines have become blurred with evolving technology. Halle analyzed Hillary Clinton campaign advertisements during the 2016 presidential election and showed that the ad strategy shifted from focusing on policies to attacking characters as Election Day drew nearer. These students should be congratulated for writing an excellent research paper within a short period of time for publication in this journal. Of course, as they acknowledged, it would not be possible without their mentors’ effective guidance. I hope the articles in this issue will inspire students in future semesters to commit to examining important research questions and submit their papers to this journal. Dr. Byung Lee Journal Editor Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications Volume 8, No. 1 • Spring 2017 A Content Analysis of Online Coverage of Female Athletes in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics Graceanne Killoran 6 Crossing the Border: The Framing of Global Migration by National News Media Emily Dzilenski 14 The Self-Presentation of Popular Fitspiration Experts on Instagram Ellie Bohjalian 23 The Fight for Equality: The Role of Latino Stereotypes in Jane the Virgin Caroline Grell 35 YouTube Communities and the Promotion of Natural Hair Acceptance Among Black Women Cameron Jackson 45 An Analysis of Corporate Responses to the Black Lives Matter Movement MaryClaire Schulz 55 Reputation Management: A Case Study of Abercrombie & Fitch Isabel Koehler 66 How Regional Fast Food Restaurants Build Brand Identity to Reach Local Consumers Katie Condon 76 Ticket Scarcity and the Marketing of Broadway’s Smash Hit Hamilton Nicole Ackman 86 Talent Representation and Promotion in Today’s Music Industry Jason Berk 96 Examining Ethnic Minority Representation in Higher Education Website Imagery Joe Del Vecchio 105 Examining The New York Times’ Compliance with Government-Issued Guidelines on Native Ads Jordan L. Fusco 112 An Analysis of Hillary Clinton-Sponsored Advertisements during the 2016 Presidential Election Joelle Halle 125 6 — Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, Vol. 8, No. 1 • Spring 2017 A Content Analysis of Online Coverage of Female Athletes in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics Graceanne Killoran Strategic Communications Elon University Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements in an undergraduate senior capstone course in communications Abstract News coverage of the Olympic Games, considered one of the largest planned media events in the world, can play a prominent role in influencing audience perception across the globe. Past studies have concluded that women athletes are often marginalized within the Olympic sportscast. This paper studied common stereotypes that surrounded female Olympians in the online coverage of the 2016 Summer Rio Olympics. The author performed a content analysis on 40 articles from ESPN and The New York Times written