Joseph M. Valenzano

Framing the War on Terror in Canadian Newspapers: Cascading Activation, Canadian Leaders, and Newspapers

This essay examines the differences in coverage of the Afghanistan and the Second Persian Gulf War within the Toronto Star, Winnipeg Free Press, and Vancouver Sun. I examine Robert M. Entmans model by exploring the role foreign news outlets play in the dissemination of American foreign policy frames across the globe. In cases where the frame offered by the White House is accepted by the foreign leaders, journalists extend and enhance it, but in instances where there is disagreement with the White House frame reporters enhance the elite criticism offered toward the White House. This essay contributes to a better understanding of Entmans cascading activation model for news framing as it explores how White House frames cascade through foreign leaders and foreign media.

Consistency and Change: The (R)Evolution of the Basic Communication Course

The basic communication course, with its roots in classical Greece and Rome, is frequently a required course in general education. The course often serves as our “front porch,” welcoming new students to the Communication discipline. This essay first outlines early traditions in oral communication instruction and their influence on future iterations of the course. In addition, because fundamental changes in higher education in more modern times affected emphases and delivery of the course, we focus on the relationship between general education and the basic course and the significant curricular changes to the course during the latter part of the 20th century. Finally, we discuss ramifications of the evolution of the basic course, as the discipline moves forward into the 21st century.

Demon Hunters and Hegemony: Portrayal of Religion on the CW's Supernatural

The authors analyze the religious themes and portrayals in the television program Supernatural, aired on the CW television network since 2005. As fictional entertainment programming, Supernatural incorporates various religions and lore into its episodes, which feature its protagonists fighting monsters, demons, and the occasional evil human. Findings from a content analysis of 60 episodes from the first 3 seasons illustrate a religious hegemony that forwards Catholicism, in the form of weapons used to fight evil, such as holy water, and depictions of priests, as the main and most powerful opponent of evil. Non-Catholic, “other” religions, and their associated villainous characters, in contrast, serve as distractions for the protagonists, thus contributing even more to their marginal stature.

Why communication education is important: a third study on the centrality of the discipline’s content and pedagogy

ABSTRACT The results of this study argue that communication, and specifically oral communication education, is critical to students’ future personal and professional success. Similar to two earlier studies, thematic analysis of 679 documents in academic and popular press publications, published from 2008 to 2015, provide support for the centrality of the communication discipline’s content and pedagogy. These results reinforce the importance of communication to enhancing organizational processes and organizational life; promoting health communication; enriching the educational enterprise; understanding crisis, safety, risk, and security; improving interpersonal communication and relationships; influencing diplomacy and government relations; being a responsible participant in the world, socially and culturally; developing as a whole person; and succeeding as an individual in one’s career and in business. The kinds of communication addressed as important in each of these nine general themes are outlined, and the results are compared with those in the first two iterations of the study.

Religion and the Representative Anecdote: Replacement and Revenge in AMC’s The Walking Dead

ABSTRACT The current study examines how the horror-based AMC television series The Walking Dead portrays religion in terms of a reframing of the role, if any, of faith in a higher power, and the portrayal of the faithful. The religious-themed discourse of this highly successful story about survivors of a zombie apocalypse as presented through dialogic and visual imagery serves as the text analyzed here; specifically, related episodes set in churches at two separate points in the series that combine to offer a metaphor of “structure” used to disassemble and reconstruct the role of religion. These episodes interlace religious themes to develop an overarching message that forms a representative anecdote of replacement in which the notion of “faith” becomes redefined.

Forum: The Common Core

The subject of how to strengthen primary and secondary education in the United States is widely discussed in news and popular media. While an extensive range of opinions have been expressed, the common thread is that these issues are normally situated in the domain of politicians and K-12 teachers. Primary and secondary education are rarely addressed by scholars who publish in Communication Education. This divide between Communication researchers in higher education and K-12 practitioners reflects generally weak connections between the two domains. As seems fitting for our changing times, that situation is also ripe for change. In tandem with the rapid evolution of higher education, primary and secondary education are undergoing a transformation of their own. One of the more significant events in recent years is the adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) by many states. This new set of standards has the potential to significantly impact our discipline either positively or negatively, depending on how we respond during this implementation phase. At present, it appears that few scholars are paying careful attention. Implementation of the CCSS represents an opportunity for our discipline. Oral communication has historically had little place in the K-12 curriculum despite its acknowledged centrality in both social and workplace contexts. The inclusion of oral communication in the CCSS marks the first time our discipline can play a significant role in the curriculum students take prior to college. That inclusion is a major victory for our discipline, and if the copious evidence of our subject matter’s importance is to be believed, it is also a major victory for the American public. The adoption of the CCSS presents a golden opportunity for our discipline to contribute in new and important ways. At the same time, prevailing structures will not automatically insert Communication programs into this process. Without a proactive effort by scholars in our field while curriculum is being created, the oral communication elements of the curriculum will likely be developed by personnel from English and other disciplines who are more strongly connected to K-12 education. Will they provide the same quality of knowledge, teacher development, and curriculum planning our discipline could provide? I am skeptical. At the same time, without a clear vision of how Communication Education Vol. 64, No. 2, April 2015, pp. 241–260

The Peacekeeping Mission: Bringing Stability to a Chaotic Scene

This article examines the military intervention called the peacekeeping mission. This article argues that this particular intervention is qualitatively different than war and crisis rhetoric. A tentative model of the rhetoric of peacekeeping that involves 2 elements is proffered. First, it is found that peacekeeping mission rhetors emphasize a chaotic scene that drives American action. Second, and perhaps most important, American intervention is characterized as facilitating security to allow larger political, economic, and cultural stability to take hold within a particular state. Further, peacekeeping mission rhetors highlight the constraints of the intervention to make it more palpable to the American public. Exploring peacekeeping mission rhetoric has implications related to presidential justifications for the use of military force and U.S. foreign policy in general.

Benedict the Bifurcated: Secular and Sacred Framing of the Pope and Turkey

We contend that the unique audience of the Turkish Daily News (TDN), a national English language daily newspaper in Turkey, drove the newspapers framing of its coverage of the popes Regensburg comments and subsequent visit to Turkey. We claim the TDN used three frames that helped readers make sense of and balance the sacred and secular tensions surrounding Pope Benedict and his visit: 1) an emphasis on the popes role as a political official over his role as a religious leader; 2) an emphasis on the political invitation to visit Turkey over the religious invitation; and 3) a narrative that enfolds the multi-faceted reasons for the popes visit into the story of a religious leader previously unsupportive of Turkeys political aspirations maturing into a political leader who supports both Turkey and inter-faith dialogue. The TDNs framing of the papal crisis is consistent with the national identity and cultural values of the newspapers readers and, as such, illustrates how framing is an analytic tool that helps us better understand the ways in which the media reflect and reinforce the relationship between government, audience, and religious culture.