Andrea Miller

A Citizen-Eye View of Television News Source Credibility

This experimental study used 244 participants to investigate citizen perceptions of news sources focusing on source credibility. Ten television news stories were created with varying source affiliation (officials or citizens), source race (African American or Caucasian), and type of story (hard or soft news). For the first time, results showed viewers do distinguish between the credibility of official and citizen sources. No difference was found in credibility on the basis of race. Results are discussed within the frameworks of civic journalism, hidden racism, and citizen sources.

News Organizations and Information Gathering During a Natural Disaster: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina

News organizations are uniquely situated to gather and transmit information during times of natural disaster, which can help citizens and policy-makers understand the scope, causes, and consequences of the unfolding disaster. Yet, news organizations are also subject to institutional biases that may lead to distorted presentations of reality and that perpetuate misinformation, stereotypes, and misunderstanding. In this article, we utilize examples from Hurricane Katrina to critically examine the role of the television news media during natural disasters. We contend that the institutional characteristics of news organizations are invaluable in the reporting of ‘breaking news’ and developments on the ground but hinder their ability to gather contextually rich information on the causes and consequences of natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina.

Visual Agenda-Setting & Proximity after Hurricane Katrina: A Study of Those Closest to the Event

Within the framework of visual agenda-setting, this study identifies the most memorable media images of Hurricane Katrina chosen by those closest to the event. Four hundred and sixty six Louisiana State University students responded to a qualitative survey 6 weeks after Katrina. Most participants chose the conventional, compelling, and repetitious imagery the media provided; thus visual agenda-setting was reflected in their choices. However, the closer the participants were to the news event, the more likely they were to abandon the dominant media image for one that struck closer to home: those affected chose personal images. Proximity appeared to mediate visuals and limit agenda-setting. This study also considered emotions evoked by the images as well as individual differences such as gender and ethnicity.

Redefining Iconicity: A Five-Year Study of Visual Themes of Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster of cataclysmic proportions. The images of such devastation were unprecedented and unforgettable. Using both content analysis and survey data, the current research takes a longitudinal approach to understanding the most memorable images of Hurricane Katrina in order to determine iconicity. We conclude that media technology has complicated the formation of a visual collective consciousness and thus the scholarly study of iconic images. With this finding, we propose a redefinition of the tenets of iconicity.

Communicating with Key Publics in Crisis Communication: The Synthetic Approach to the Public Segmentation in CAPS (Communicative Action in Problem Solving)

The purpose of this study is to identify and understand key publics and their communication behaviours in crisis communication, using the public segmentation framework which has been rarely used in crisis communication. In doing so, the study quantitatively tests a new theoretical framework of Communicative Action in Problem Solving, classifying eight types of aware and active publics. Through the new framework of public segmentation, the survey results from 1,113 participants substantiate eight types of active and aware publics, as well as their communicative characteristics in a crisis situation. The study finds that the aware and active publics are, as the key publics, more likely to have negative behavioural intentions toward an organization. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Visual Agenda-Setting, Emotion, and the BP Oil Disaster

This study seeks to identify the most memorable visual imagery of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill by comparing a content analysis of television images and a survey of the most-remembered images. The study compared visuals from weeks 1 and 6 of the disaster to a survey conducted a year later that asked respondents to freely recall the most memorable images of the disaster. The comparison showed respondents did indeed choose as the most memorable images the visuals coded with greatest frequency in the content analysis. However, the emotions evoked by the oil-soaked animals elevated that set of images to the most memorable—chosen by almost half of respondents. This set of images was number one with the respondents yet number eight in frequency in the content analysis. This study shows a visual agenda-setting effect heightened by emotion.

The Depth of Hurricane Katrina Imagery: A Longitudinal Study Through the Lens of Commemorative Journalism and Iconicity

This longitudinal research uses content analysis and survey data to consider both news media presentation and audience interpretation of images from the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina within the theoretical frameworks of iconic imagery and commemorative journalism. The data show that imagery themes, rather than select images, are remembered regarding Hurricane Katrina. Comparing print and digital news as sites of media content, and in consideration of commemorative journalism, the data showed that while print news focused on current visual imagery best classified as “moving forward,” digital news galleries focused on original visual imagery best classified as “looking back,” with internet space functioning in such a way as to make historic images ubiquitous, and, in a sense, permanent.

TV Anchors, Elections & Bias: A Longitudinal Study of the Facial Expressions of Brokaw Rather Jennings

This study of nonverbal bias in political campaign coverage is the first longitudinal study to produce the same results in different elections: Ordinary TV viewers can and do perceive bias in the facial expressions of television news anchors, specifically NBCs Tom Brokaw, CBSs Dan Rather, and ABCs Peter Jennings. Two of the three anchors exhibited significantly more positive facial expressions when they mentioned one presidential candidate than the other in the 1996 election, whereas all three exhibited bias for one candidate in both 2000 and 2004. Viewers who continue to perceive media bias when content analyses find none may be picking up on the more subtle, nonverbal elements of media coverage that are captured only in visual studies.