Published: July 31, 2020

Moderators, Discussants, Panelists and Workshop Leaders

  • Patrick Ferrucci (associate professor, JOUR)
  • Casey Fiesler (assistant professor, INFO)
  • Jolene Fisher (assistant professor, APRD)
  • Toby Hopp (assistant professor, APRD)
  • Michael McDevitt (professor, JOUR)
  • Beth Potter (PhD student, JOUR)
  • Burton St. John III (professor, APRD)
  • Ross Taylor (assistant professor, JOUR)
  • Chris Vargo (assistant professor, APRD)

University of Colorado at Boulder faculty and students from the College of Media, Communication and Information will accept seven top-paper awards at this year’s Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference. The awards include three first-place faculty papers, two second-place faculty papers, a third-place student paper and a fourth-place faculty paper. 

In all, 23 faculty and students from five of CMCI’s six departments will present 22 peer-reviewed papers during the 103rd annual conference, which will be held virtually from August 6 through 9. Including panels, CMCI faculty and students will also be represented in 19 of the conference’s divisions and interest groups.

Founded in 1912, AEJMC is the oldest and largest alliance of journalism and mass communication educators and administrators at the college level. Today, the nonprofit organization includes more than 3,700 educators, students and practitioners from around the globe. 

Below is a complete list of this year’s papers and participants from CMCI, including from the Departments of Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design (APRD); Communication (COMM); Information Science (INFO); Journalism (JOUR); and Media Studies (MDST).

Communication Theory and Methodology Division

  • “Dismantling the Hierarchy: An Organization-centric Model of Influence for Media Sociology Research”: Patrick Ferrucci (associate professor, JOUR) and Timothy Kuhn (professor and chair, COMM)

Cultural and Critical Studies Division

  • “Dangerous Professors: How Public Scholars Pioneer Practices that Reconcile Intellect with Journalism”: Michael McDevitt (professor, JOUR)

Electronic News Division

  • “What is Digital Journalism? Defining the Practice and Role of the Digital Journalist”: Gregory Perreault (Appalachian State University), Patrick Ferrucci (associate professor, JOUR) and Anna Dollar (Appalachian State University)—​First Place Faculty Paper

International Communication Division 

  • “Factors Influencing Nutrition News Reporting Among Ghanaian Journalists”: Augustine Botwe (PhD student, APRD)—Third Place Student Paper
  • “Global Coverage of COVID-19: Examining CNN and CCTV News in Guiding Public Sentiments”: Gregory Gondwe (PhD student, JOUR)
  • “Winning Hearts and Minds Through Cuisine: Public Diplomacy and Singapore’s Bid for UNESCO Intangible Heritage Recognition”: Seow Ting Lee (professor, APRD) and Hun Shik Kim (associate professor, JOUR)

Mass Communication and Society Division

  • “From Tweet to Headline: The Influence of Twitter Topics  on the Coverage of Democratic Debates”: Luna Liu (PhD student, APRD) and Carlos Eduardo Back Vianna (PhD student, JOUR)

Media Ethics Division

  • “Moving into the Media World: The Moral Psychology of Emerging Adults in Journalism and Communication”: by David Craig (University of Oklahoma), Patrick Plaisance (Pennsylvania State University), Erin Schauster (assistant professor, APRD), Ryan Thomas (University of Missouri), Chris Roberts (University of Alabama), Katie Place (Quinnipiac University), Yuan Sun (Pennsylvania State University), Casey Yetter (University of Oklahoma), and Randi Leith Thomas (University of Oklahoma)—First Place Faculty Paper
  • “Familial Experiences of Moral Exemplars in Marketing Communication”: Christopher Vardeman (PhD student, APRD) and Erin Schauster (assistant professor, APRD)
  • “Keeping Up with the Ethical Boundaries of Advertising: Big Soda, Metadiscourse and Paradigm Repair”: Patrick Ferrucci (associate professor, JOUR) and Erin Schauster (assistant professor, APRD)
  • “The Moral Psychology and Exemplarism of Leaders in Marketing Communication”: Erin Schauster (assistant professor, APRD) and Patrick Plaisance (Pennsylvania State University)

 

Minorities and Communication Division

  • “Fifty Shades of White: Default Whiteness and Performative Speech in Television-news Coverage of the Charlottesville Unite the Right Riot”: Angie Chuang (associate professor, JRNL) and Autumn Tyler (PhD student, MDST)

Newspaper and Online News Division

  • “Transparency in the News”: Kirsten Johnson (Elizabethtown College) and Burton St. John III (professor, APRD)—Second Place Faculty Paper
  • “Law Enforcement ‘Journalism’ in the Modern Age: How Does  Social Media Erode Journalistic Authority?”: Beth Potter (PhD student, JOUR)
  • “The Competing ‘Content Studio’ Agenda: A Large-scale Analysis  of Sponsored Content in Elite U.S. Newspapers and Its Agenda Cutting Effect on Corporate News”: Chris Vargo (assistant professor, APRD) and Michelle Amazeen (Boston University)
  • “Get Engaged: Newsletters as a New Habit”: Beth Potter (PhD student, JOUR)

Participatory Journalism Interest Group

  • “A Multi-level Analysis of Commenting’s Effects on Journalism Practice”: Patrick Ferrucci (associate professor, JOUR) and David Wolfgang (Colorado State University)—Second Place Faculty Paper

Political Communication Division

  • “Is Facebook-Based Political Talk Associated with Political Knowledge?”: Toby Hopp (assistant professor, APRD), Patrick Ferrucci (associate professor, JOUR), Chris Vargo (assistant professor, APRD) and Luna Liu (PhD student, APRD)—Fourth Place Faculty Paper
  • “’It’s All Yellow Journalism Now’: How White Evangelical Christian Women’s Contempt of Mainstream Media Contributes to Their Support of Politician Donald J. Trump”: Gayle Jansen Brisbane (California State Fullerton) and Elizabeth Skewes (associate professor and chair, JOUR)

Public Relations Division

  • “Appealing to the Marketplace of Audiences: The Anti-Proposition 112  Public Relations Campaign in Colorado”: Burton St. John III (professor, APRD) and Danielle Quichocho (PhD student, APRD)

Sports Communication Interest Group

  • “Joining the Athletic: Paradigm Repair, Metajournalistic Discourse and the Boundaries of Sports Journalism Practice”: Patrick Ferrucci (associate professor, JRNL) — First Place Faculty Paper

Visual Communication Division

  • “The Influence of Minimalist Package Design on Beauty Consumers’ Attitudes and Behavior Toward Cosmetic Products”: Rachel Matthews (undergraduate, APRD) and Toby Hopp (assistant professor, APRD)