Cynthia-Lou Coleman

Framing of Kennewick Man against the Backdrop of a Scientific and Cultural Controversy

The authors examine news coverage surrounding the unearthing of an ancient skeleton known as Kennewick Man. The skeleton was the focus of legal arguments from 1996 to 2004, with a group of scientists countering Indian claims that the skeleton should be rightfully repatriated to the North American tribes. The authors take a case-study approach, examining the theoretical underpinnings of scientific and cultural rationality in contemporary ways of knowing and linking them with communitarian ethics offered by Clifford Christians and others. Through an examination of mass media framing, the authors show how coverage has resulted in a discourse that has limited discussion to a division of rationalities. In this case, rationalist and cultural value sunfold with scant attendance to ethical or pluralistic considerations.

Examining Claimsmakers' Frames in News Coverage of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising

This study examines mainstream news coverage of the direct-to-consumer advertising phenomenon since FDA deregulation of such ads in 1997, and helps illuminate framing of stakeholder claims. The authors found that prominent frames describe drawbacks and benefits of DTC ads in addition to power relationships between the Food and Drug Administration and drug companies. Sources most likely to be quoted were representatives of the pharmaceutical industry. The authors argue that issues such as consumer interests and ethics are overshadowed by special interests, and that balanced coverage is narrow in scope. The authors use both qualitative and quantitative methods to examine frames in-depth and to explore relationships among frames.

The social construction of depression in news stories: An exploratory study

Depression is the topic of this exploratory study that examined whether and how news content stigmatises the mentally ill. In their 16-month examination of depression coverage in the US, the authors found that violence and suicide were mentioned in the majority of stories, which may promote stigma. While the mentally ill were not necessarily denigrated with specific labels such as crazy or nutty, individuals did appear to shoulder the blame for their illnesses with very few attributions of blame aimed at community, society or culture. Solutions to mental illness were more likely be framed as prescription medicines rather than counselling therapy, thus supporting the interests of pharmaceutical companies. Die tema van hierdie verkennende studie is om te bepaal hoe nuusinhoud mense met ‘n geestesongesteldheid stigmatiseer. Tydens :‘n ondersoek van mediadekking van depressie in die VSA oor ‘n tydperk van 16 maande is bevind dat geweld en selfmoord in die meerderheid stories genoem is – wat moontlik die stigma kan vergroot. Hoewel hierdie pasiënte nie noodwendig spesifiek geëttiketeer is as ‘mal’ nie, het dit voorgekom of individue (eerder as die samelewing, die gemeenskap of kultuur) aanspreeklik gehou word vir hul ongesteldhede. Oplossings is meer dikwels gevind in voorgeskrewe medisyne eerder as berading tot voordeel van farmaseutiese maatskappye.

Examining the Effects of Photographic Attributes on Sympathy, Emotions, and Donation Behavior

We tested assumptions about emotional and behavioral effects of persuasive photography, exploring to what extent photographic attributes regarding expression, gaze, and the number of subjects in images influence sympathy. In addition, we examined whether sympathetic responses were associated with impure altruism, moral disengagement, and willingness to donate money to charitable organizations. We found that sympathetic responses were associated with sad imagery, moral disengagement (negative), feelings of altruism, and willingness to donate. We also found the emotions evoked by exposure to the sad expression of the child converged with negative affect after viewing the photos. However, participants who were exposed to the happy visage did not appear to generate significantly greater feelings of happiness when compared with feelings of sadness.