Melissa A. Johnson

Body Image, Race, and Fashion Models: Social Distance and Social Identification in Third-Person Effects

The perceived effects of advertising on body-image factors were tested in both Black and White college-age women. After seeing magazine ads that portrayed either Black fashion models or White fashion models, respondents rated perceived effects of these ads on body-image factors. The effects were rated on self, on other Black women on campus, and other White women on campus. When projecting perceived effects on others—of the same race or a different race—both Blacks and Whites indicated that media effects would be maximal when the race of the model matched the race of the respondent. However, when rating perceived effects on self, whereas Blacks identified strongly with Black models, there was no significant difference in the way Whites identified with fashion models of either race. The results are examined within the framework of social distance and social identification.

How Ethnic Are U.S. Ethnic Media: The Case of Latina Magazines

In this article, I review 3 waves of ethnic media scholarship, and I describe how the dominant paradigm shifted from assimilation concerns to pluralism. I used qualitative and quantitative content analysis to examine news and features in 5 new nationwide womens magazines targeted to U.S. Hispanics. Thirty-eight percent of the manifest content mentioned Latinos and 27% mentioned specific Latin American cultures. These new English-language and bilingual Latina magazines distributed in the United States had simultaneous assimilative and pluralistic functions. One function was the ability to create a pan-Hispanic identity for members of various Latin American cultures. The magazine content does not fit within the confines of current language-based ethnic media models. I propose a revised model of ethnic media that reflects dual functions of assimilative and pluralistic expression and takes into account the possibility of more symbolic ethnic media functions.

Predicting News Flow from Mexico

This study investigated the role of geographic proximity, cultural proximity, and organizational factors on the quantity of U.S. newspaper coverage of Mexico, using a computer-assisted content analysis of 515 index citations from thirty-four U.S. newspapers. The percentage of the population having a Mexican heritage and circulation size were the strongest predictors of coverage of Mexico. Circulation size was the sole predictor of length and source of articles about Mexico and Mexicans. The data support cultural proximity and organizational factor concepts over geographic proximity.

Latinas and television in the United States: Relationships among genre identification, acculturation, and acculturation stress

This research investigates how television use by Hispanic women in the United States relates to the process of acculturation. Viewing of and identification with various types of English‐language television genres are compared with acculturation level and acculturation stress. The study also explores the use of television to learn English and Spanish‐language television consumption. Results indicate that women who identified most with talk shows had the lowest levels of acculturation stress, and women who identified most with comedies, the highest. Women with the lowest levels were most likely to use television to learn English. The data suggest that Latin American womens television use varies, as does Anglo‐American womens, and that demographic variables provide only part of the explanation for differences in acculturation. Results indicate that English‐language television in the United States can play a positive role in its audience members’ selective acculturation to mainstream society and that televi...

Mexican Expatriates Vote? Framing and Agenda Setting in U.S. News Coverage About Mexico

This content analysis examined framing and second-level agenda setting in U.S. newspaper pre-election coverage of the 2006 Mexican presidential elections and the new Mexican expatriate voting law. The authors conducted a quantitative analysis of 161 articles and a qualitative analysis of 36 articles in U.S. newspapers from August 2005 through mid-April 2006. Findings indicated that Andrés Manuel López Obrador received more coverage (59.6%) than Roberto Madrazo (27.8%) or the eventual winner, Felipe Calderón (29.1%). Candidate attributes were highlighted more than Mexican domestic or Mexico–U.S. issues. The dominant procedural frame was the election horse race. The main substantive frames were the election as an extension of U.S.–Mexico economic relations and the election as an extension of Latin American leftist/populist movements. The expatriate voting law was characterized as unsuccessful and blamed on apathetic voters, the Mexican governments faulty implementation, and a corrupt system.

Pre‐television stereotypes: Mexicans in U.S. newsreels, 1919–1932

This study explored images of Mexicans and dominant symbols in early U.S. newsreels, whether they changed throughout the 1920s, and whether they reflected the eras film stereotypes. Dominant images were dignitaries, doers, beauties, bystanders, and clerics. Symbols of modernity and class outweighed traditional images. Negative symbols like dirt or weapons were not prevalent. After 1924, symbols of literacy, diplomacy, and construction were more visible. The study provides an historical context for Latino television news images today. In addition, it reflects mass medias role in reinforcing modernity and spectatorship‐allowing power of the gaze comparisons between modern and postmodern eras.

The Sexual and Reproductive Health Content of African American and Latino Magazines

This study investigated the sexual and reproductive health content of 16 Latino and 5 African American magazines distributed in the United States. Three hundred and seventy - three articles and items from 194 issues were analyzed. The most frequently covered topics were pregnancy and sexual activity. Least mentioned were abortion and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV/AIDS. Generally, ethnic magazines did a poor job of covering sexual and reproductive health topics that are relevant to the African American and Latino communities, despite epidemic rates of HIV/AIDS and STDs and pregnancy rates 80%-90% higher than those of Anglo Americans.

Digital Credibility & Digital Dynamism in Public Relations Blogs

The authors performed a content analysis of 50 blogs related to public relations. The study extended the literature on credibility to investigate visual credibility and technical credibility. Of particular interest was the dimension of dynamism. The results showed that visual credibility and technical credibility were strongly related. In addition, visual dynamism contributed 30% of the variance in visual credibility and technical dynamism explained 46% of the variance in technical credibility. Seven interactive features such as number of links, five customization features like RSS feeds, and six visual features like moving images were also investigated for their associations with visual and technical dynamism and credibility. A proposed model for scholars and practitioners is presented.

Communicating visual identities on ethnic museum websites

This article combines qualitative and quantitative content analysis to explore the websites of 43 ethnic museums in the United States. The use of multiple modes of communication to represent ethnic identity and cultural heritage is detailed. Also delineated is how websites present relationships with the ethnic diaspora, the homeland, the museums’ local communities, and the US community.

Ethnic museum public relations: Cultural diplomacy and cultural intermediaries in the digital age

This article introduces the concept of ethnic public relations to the literature. Exemplars are current US controversies over ethnic museums, one form of ethnic organization that the authors emphasize in this article. The authors recommend a research agenda encompassing three areas. The first focuses on ethnic public relations practitioners and cultural intermediary, cultural diplomacy and public diplomacy roles. The second discusses ethnic public relations as a societal institution. The third illustrates how ethnic public relations faces particular challenges and opportunities in reaching publics, especially via digital communication.