Matthew W. Ragas

Intermedia Agenda-Setting and Political Activism: MoveOn.org and the 2008 Presidential Election

This study tested for intermedia agenda-setting effects among explicitly partisan news media coverage and political activist group, citizen activist, and official campaign advertisements on YouTube—all in support of the same candidate. The setting for this investigation was the political activist organization MoveOn.orgs “Obama in 30 Seconds” online ad contest, which was held during the 2008 U.S. presidential election primaries. The data provided evidence of first- and second-level agenda-setting relationships. Partial correlations revealed that the citizen activist issue agenda, as articulated in the contest ads, was most strongly related to the partisan media coverage, rather than to the issue priorities of the official Obama or MoveOn.org ads on YouTube. These results extend the intermedia agenda-setting framework to political activist communication efforts and consumer-generated content.

Issue and Stakeholder Intercandidate Agenda Setting among Corporate Information Subsidies

This study examined the intercandidate agenda-setting hypothesis in the setting of proxy contests that featured dueling public relations efforts between corporate actors to garner stakeholder support. Through a series of content analyses, this study analyzed news releases and shareholder letters issued by competing candidates in the twenty-five largest contests held in US markets from 2005 to 2009. After controlling for the influence of media coverage, significant support was found for issue and stakeholder intercandidate agenda-setting linkages, thereby extending this research from political elections into corporate elections.

Beyond Cognitions A Longitudinal Study of Online Search Salience and Media Coverage of the President

In an effort to advance agenda-setting theory in the web environment, this study examined shifts in newswire coverage and search interest among Internet users in President Obama during the first two years of his administration (2009-2010). Both the volume and valence of media coverage influenced search attention, with volume exerting a stronger effect. Coverage volume was also driven by search trends. The impact of coverage volume on search was relatively stronger than the reverse, though it moved at a slower pace. These findings suggest a reciprocal, more complex process of salience transmission online.

Business Essentials for Strategic Communicators

In case you might be looking to understand how to obtain Business Essentials for Strategic Communicators eBooks, you have to go thorough study on well-known search engines together with the search phrases download David Anderson PDF eBooks in order for you to only get PDF formatted books to download which are safer and virus-free you will discover an array of web sites catering for your requirements. Most of these internet sites have a massive collection of PDF eBooks which it is possible to use for your benefit.

Investor relations measurement: an industry survey

Purpose – Publicly-held companies collectively allocate tens of millions of dollars each year to investor relations, yet little research has been conducted into how investor relations officers (IROs) try to determine the effectiveness of this investment. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the above issues. Design/methodology/approach – This exploratory study is based on a survey (n=384) of IROs who are members of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), the worlds largest professional investor relations association. Findings – Respondents strongly rebuked using share price as a valid measure of investor relations performance. A factor analysis revealed that IROs use four factors to measure program success (listed in order of stated importance): first, international C-suite assessment; second, relationship assessment; third, outreach assessment; and fourth, external assessment. IROs at large-cap companies place significantly more importance on both C-suite assessment and relationship assessm...

Presidential Agenda Building and Policymaking: Examining Linkages Across Three Levels

ABSTRACT To investigate the role of strategic political communication in governing, this study comprehensively examined presidential agenda-building associations at three levels during the first six months of U.S. president Barack Obama’s second term. Multiple presidential information subsidies, national news content, and policymaking activity were monitored. The results revealed solid support for all three levels of agenda-building (i.e., object salience, attribute salience, and network associations among objects or attributes), but the linkages with media coverage and policymaking were not uniform across information subsidy types. Based on the analysis, presidential news releases, blog posts, and presidential speeches were the most effective all-around strategic agenda-building tools for media management and policymaking purposes during this time period. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Mixed-methods: measurement and evaluation among investor relations officers

Purpose – While investor relations have become an established corporate function, research into how investor relations officers (IROs) practice measurement and evaluation is limited. The purpose of this paper is to examine which approaches and metrics IROs use to gauge their success. Design/methodology/approach – To address this gap in the literature, this study surveyed (n=384) the corporate membership of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), the worlds largest investor relations association, on the topic of measurement and evaluation. Findings – The results indicate that IROs strongly (80 percent) believe that mixed-methods (i.e. both quantitative and qualitative methods) should be used to measure the success of investor relations. Mixed-methods advocates place significantly more importance on measurement than IROs that prefer quantitative- or qualitative-only approaches. Research limitations/implications – The results of this survey indicate that IROs typically place the most value on metr...

The financial news ecosystem: Journalists’ perceptions of group hierarchy

While global financial journalism has grown substantially in recent decades, little is known about journalists’ perceptions of the key players in this news ecosystem. This study draws from research into social group hierarchies and prestige media to explore this question within the United States, the largest market for financial journalists. A national survey of financial journalists (n = 349) shows that The Wall Street Journal and Andrew Ross Sorkin of The New York Times are perceived as the most influential financial media outlet and journalist, respectively. However, financial journalists are not a monolithic entity in terms of their perceptions of the leaders in the field. Some differences exist among the respondents as a function of their demographic and work-related characteristics. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Peer Perceptions of Media Elites and Hierarchical Differentiation Among Financial Journalists

Existing research has demonstrated how media elites influence journalistic practices, but much less has been done to help explain why journalists grant such a high status to select peers in the first place. This study explores rank allocation within a news ecosystem through the theoretical framework of social hierarchy. Survey data from a representative sample of U.S.-based financial journalists indicate that peer perceptions of prestige (i.e., deference earned by expertise, knowledge, or success) significantly and consistently drive group consensus on the most influential members within a news beat. The theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of the study findings are discussed.