Patrick F. Merle

How Arithmetic Aptitude Impacts Attention, Memory, and Evaluation of Static Versus Dynamic Infographics in Online News An Eye-Tracking Study

Graphics accompanying online news articles were manipulated between static and dynamic formats. Eye gaze, perception, and memory data were collected as was participants’ arithmetic aptitude (AA). Results suggest that although dynamic graphics are negatively evaluated, high arithmetic aptitude participants attend and recall dynamic graphics more so than those with lower AA who are drawn to and recall better static visuals. Memory and attention to graphics detracted from memory and attention to story text and vice versa.

Media relations and universities: an assessment of digital newsrooms

ABSTRACT Reviews of editorial practices and academic studies have shown that journalists often rely on organization websites—and online newsrooms in particular—to inform news stories. Yet, at a time when many academics are called upon as experts by the media, university newsrooms have been ignored. To fill this gap, this study assesses newsrooms of universities to determine whether they are providing adequate resources to cover the institution or identify experts. Previous research demonstrated higher ranked Fortune 500 companies have more comprehensive newsrooms, potentially putting them at an advantage when it comes to news coverage. To better understand whether disparities exist among the top US institutions, this study features a content analysis of the newsrooms of the top 202 universities ranked by U.S. News & World Report. Findings show that although higher ranked universities typically feature more comprehensive newsrooms, universities at all levels are missing opportunities to provide journalists with information necessary to cover the university, thus limiting visibility to outside stakeholders. The most common features were internally written news stories and links to social media. Resources specifically for journalists were less common. Assessing newsrooms is valuable because they influence media coverage, which can improve credibility and perceived external prestige.

Dirty dining: how exemplification affects food safety perceptions

ABSTRACT News outlets recurrently publish stories depicting restaurants in a negative light by using vivid exemplars based on a reporter’s personal testimony rather than detailing food safety reports. This magnifies the most severe violations and may impact the public’s perception of the issue as well as influence behavioral intentions. Using exemplification theory, a between-subject experiment (N = 286) revealed that participants exposed to exemplars with personal testimonies considered food safety risks to be higher and declared being less likely to eat at a restaurant than those exposed to exemplars without testimonies. Practical applications for food safety messages are discussed.

Press Coverage of the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election: A Multinational, Cross-Language Comparison

Presidential elections in the United States present a unique media research opportunity because their outcomes produce a range of impacts for different countries around the world. Unsurprisingly, these elections generate a substantial amount of media interest; nearly 1,500 reporters covered both party conventions in 2012 and continued reporting to Election Day. This chapter takes a novel approach to assessing international press coverage by combining in-country comparisons of two newspapers, one English language and one local language, with cross-national comparisons of 2012 U.S. presidential election coverage in seven countries: China, France, Iran, Mexico, Russia, Great Britain, and the United States. A mixed-methods content and textual analysis of 663 newspaper articles from 14 newspapers highlights similarities as well as differences among news coverage across the globe, offering insights into a variety of nations’ interests and concerns vis-a -vis the United States and its presidential race. By combining quantitative and qualitative approaches this study both provides a broad picture of the coverage (e.g., prevalence, prominence, types, sources) and captures many nuances of the coverage (e.g., use of localizing angles, cross-language differences within individual countries). Moreover, authors of this study represent a range of national origins, demonstrating the advantages of using culturally diverse research teams to conduct cross-national analyses of news coverage.