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Description
As the U.S. reckons with the reality of sexual assault and harassment in the wake of the #MeToo movement, it is particularly important to consider sexual assault in the military, an institution that is a massive employer and the face of the U.S. abroad. Media coverage is a catalyst for change, and the nature and scope of coverage is indicative of public and political attitudes. This thesis uses both quantitative and qualitative data to analyze characteristics of military sexual assault cases that complicate media coverage and to identify strengths and weaknesses of the media's approach to such stories. On the quantitative side, it takes advantage of nearly 600 case reports of sexual assault from U.S. military bases in Japan that were categorized to identify themes such as disposition outcomes, alcohol involvement and victim participation in investigations. Qualitatively, this thesis includes interviews with military officials, victims' advocates, journalists and other stakeholders that help to create a more holistic understanding of how media cover military sexual assault. Notably, this thesis finds that a lack of public interest in the military, a lack of congruency between military and civilian systems, and a highly complex hierarchy that limits journalists' access to military sources and data all complicate coverage. Drawing from these conclusions, it recommends that the media avoid episodic reporting, focus on personalizing stories in an institutional context, embrace accountability journalism and dedicate resources to pursuing complex investigations. It also acknowledges the important role of non-traditional media in the future of information sharing on the topic of military sexual assault.
ContributorsArmstrong, Mia Anne (Author) / Warner, Carolyn (Thesis director) / Gilger, Kristin (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
What's in a name? A person not a number is a multimedia eBook that will explore how the media treats coverage of sexual assault victims and challenges the traditional no-naming policy instilled in almost every professional newsroom. Historical context to no-naming policies, opinions from critics of the no-naming policy and legal information will be provided. This book serves to encourage journalists and editors to consider identifying victims after long, thoughtful discussions, to educate media consumers on the topic, to eradicate the societal stigma of rape, and to reflect the views of survivors so that they may feel more willing to share their stories. Identifying sexual assault victims conforms to the journalistic imperative to tell the truth as fully as possible and to inform the public as completely as possible. When the information is part of the public record and there are no legal limitations on its use, identifying sexual assault victims will have a positive impact in educating the public and eradicating the stigma associated with being the victim of sexual assault. This book proposes that through educated, thoughtful and truthful stories about sexual assault can spark careful conversations and help turn around the stigma our society has placed on victims. The full eBook, complete with photos, videos and other audio components, is available at https://alejandraarmstrong.atavist.com/whats-in-a-name-a-person-not-a-number.
ContributorsArmstrong, Alejandra Moya (Author) / Gilger, Kristin (Thesis director) / Petchel, Jacqueline (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Abstract The intent of this research is to understand what it means to be a journalist in the 21st century. As technology continues to advance at an accelerated pace, industries must adapt in order to sustain business and keep people employed. Journalism is a field that has struggled to find a way to monetize the services it provides with the overwhelming abundance of information that is now accessible for anyone on the Internet. As a result, journalism has expanded to become more than a source for news and information; it is an area of interest, topic of discussion, and connector for both consumers and producers to create, interact with, share, and engage in. The goals for this study are focused around three main research questions that aim to uncover differences in the journalism field today compared to 10-20 years ago, what skills and traits are required for students to become journalists in the 21st century, and how this data and information should affect journalism education. 1. How does the change from tradition mediums to digital change journalism jobs? 2. What skills and traits are required for students to become successful journalists? 3. How should this data affect journalism education? The research for this thesis was collected using a variety of methods including observation, interviews, and surveys from a sample data population of journalism students, recent journalism graduates, journalism professors and professionals from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. While there are many ways to interpret and analyze why and how the journalism field has changed, most of the research uncovers what young journalists moving forward in the field can do to prepare for the changes they will face in the future. While striving to uncover what the most important traits for young journalists to have entering the journalism field today, the data showed the answer varied depending on the individual. Across all three categories of the data sample of students, graduates, and professionals/professors, honesty, curiosity, and hardworking were important traits needed to be successful in the journalism field. According to the sample of data recorded in the survey, writing was the number one skill journalists need to be successful in the 21st century. This study also revealed how the evolution of the journalism field allows opportunities for new ideas and innovation for journalism education. According to interviews with professors and professionals, journalism education should focus on a hands-on learning approach that spans across multiple disciplines like business, design, communication, technology, science, etc. Because it is important for journalists to be multi-disciplinary in their field, journalism schools must teach multi-disciplinary skills and allow for new ideas and creativity in media innovation.
ContributorsWong, Lauren Alaine (Author) / Silcock, Bill (Thesis director) / Gilger, Kristin (Committee member) / Blatt, Rebecca (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
News outlets frequently portray people with disabilities as either helpless victims or objects of motivation. Portrayal of people with disabilities has improved over the years, but there is still room to grow. News outlets tend to make disability the center of the story. A story about a disabled person is primarily about their disability, with their other accomplishments framed by it.
As one example of the victimhood narrative, ABC News used to run a special called My Extreme Affliction as part of 20/20 until 2012. As the name implies, the specials covered people with disabilities, specifically extreme versions. One 2008 episode on Tourette’s syndrome described Tourette’s like it was some sort of demonic possession. The narrator talked about children who were “prisoners in their own bodies” and a family that was at risk of being “torn apart by Tourette’s.” I have Tourette’s syndrome myself, which made ABC’s special especially uncomfortable to watch. When not wringing their metaphorical hands over the “victims” of disability, many news outlets fall into the “supercrip” narrative. They refer to people as “heroes” who “overcome” their disabilities to achieve something that ranges from impressive to utterly mundane. The main emphasis is on the disability rather than the person who has it. These articles then exploit that disability to make readers feel good. As a person with a disability, I am aware that it impacts my life, but it is not the center of my life. The tics from my Tourette’s syndrome made it difficult to speak to people when I was younger, but even then they did not rule me.
Disability coverage, however, is still incredibly important for promoting acceptance and giving people with disabilities a voice. A little over a fifth of adults in the United States have a disability (CDC: 53 million adults in the US live with a disability), so poor coverage means marginalizing or even excluding a large amount of people. Journalists should try to reach their entire audience. The news helps shape public opinion with the stories it features. Therefore, it should provide visibility for people with disabilities in order to increase acceptance. This is a matter of civil rights. People with disabilities deserve fair and accurate representation.
My personal experience with ABC’s Tourette’s special leads me to believe that the media, especially the news, needs to be more responsible in their reporting. Even the name “My Extreme Affliction” paints a poor picture of what to expect. A show that focuses on sensationalist portrayals in pursuit of views further ostracizes people with disabilities. The emphasis should be on a person and not their condition. The National Center for Disability Journalism tells reporters to “Focus on the person you are interviewing, not the disability” (Tips for interviewing people with disabilities). This people-first approach is the way to improve disability coverage: Treat people with disabilities with the same respect as any other minority group.
As one example of the victimhood narrative, ABC News used to run a special called My Extreme Affliction as part of 20/20 until 2012. As the name implies, the specials covered people with disabilities, specifically extreme versions. One 2008 episode on Tourette’s syndrome described Tourette’s like it was some sort of demonic possession. The narrator talked about children who were “prisoners in their own bodies” and a family that was at risk of being “torn apart by Tourette’s.” I have Tourette’s syndrome myself, which made ABC’s special especially uncomfortable to watch. When not wringing their metaphorical hands over the “victims” of disability, many news outlets fall into the “supercrip” narrative. They refer to people as “heroes” who “overcome” their disabilities to achieve something that ranges from impressive to utterly mundane. The main emphasis is on the disability rather than the person who has it. These articles then exploit that disability to make readers feel good. As a person with a disability, I am aware that it impacts my life, but it is not the center of my life. The tics from my Tourette’s syndrome made it difficult to speak to people when I was younger, but even then they did not rule me.
Disability coverage, however, is still incredibly important for promoting acceptance and giving people with disabilities a voice. A little over a fifth of adults in the United States have a disability (CDC: 53 million adults in the US live with a disability), so poor coverage means marginalizing or even excluding a large amount of people. Journalists should try to reach their entire audience. The news helps shape public opinion with the stories it features. Therefore, it should provide visibility for people with disabilities in order to increase acceptance. This is a matter of civil rights. People with disabilities deserve fair and accurate representation.
My personal experience with ABC’s Tourette’s special leads me to believe that the media, especially the news, needs to be more responsible in their reporting. Even the name “My Extreme Affliction” paints a poor picture of what to expect. A show that focuses on sensationalist portrayals in pursuit of views further ostracizes people with disabilities. The emphasis should be on a person and not their condition. The National Center for Disability Journalism tells reporters to “Focus on the person you are interviewing, not the disability” (Tips for interviewing people with disabilities). This people-first approach is the way to improve disability coverage: Treat people with disabilities with the same respect as any other minority group.
ContributorsMackrell, Marguerite (Author) / Gilger, Kristin (Thesis director) / Doig, Steve (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
DescriptionA nonprofit organization / grassroots movement capturing the voice of a generation of young Arizonans
ContributorsWhiteman, Mauro Hancock (Author) / Gilger, Kristin (Thesis director) / Coor, Lattie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Military veterans are up to twice as likely as the average American citizen to develop the neuromuscular degenerative disease ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. For more than a decade, researchers have been puzzling over the still-unexplained connection. For Mike White, a Gulf War veteran living with ALS in Buckeye, the elusive answers matter less than making it through each day. Living with ALS: The Mike White Story website: http://www.public.asu.edu/~cradnovi/mikewhite/index.html
ContributorsRadnovich, Connor D (Author) / Gilger, Kristin (Thesis director) / Greene Sterling, Terry (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
In this project dubbed "Arizona Homeless Solutions," the reporter attempted to take a solutions journalism approach to covering family homelessness in Arizona with an emphasis on one program, Save the Family. As a state, Arizona has been remarkably successful in reducing the number of homeless families in the state. According to the 2016 State of Homelessness in America Report, the state reduced its number of homeless family households by 22 percent, the sixth largest reduction nationally. This success is due in large part to the effective collaboration of a variety of organizations. But one program in particular, Save the Family, had received praise throughout the community for its successful and innovative intervention effort. The organization was also very data-conscious, making it a good program to look at for a solutions journalism approach. Solutions journalism is a form of journalism that attempts to go beyond simply reporting on a problem. Instead, it focuses on the responses to social issues, and takes a critical look at how successful or unsuccessful an effort is and what can be learned from it. It is a rigorous, evidence-based and critical approach to reporting, that really is not all that different from traditional in-depth reporting. The reporter spent about a year putting this approach into practice by dissecting two of the organizations major intervention programs, transitional housing and rapid rehousing. He interviewed seven full-time staff members on multiple occasions. He also interviewed experts from Maricopa County Continuum of Care, as well as individuals from the City of Mesa and another homeless service provider, UMOM New Day Centers. Lastly, the reporter spent time with one family that had come through Save the Family's transitional housing program and is now permanently stabilized in a house all their own. During the process of reporting, the reporter also maintained a blog on the AZ Homeless Solutions website in which he chronicled his reporting experience, publishing anecdotes from his notebook and short blurbs on catching parts of his interviews. He would also post about current homeless advocacy events. The blog ultimately had about a dozen posts. After months of reporting and maintaining the blog, the reporter produced a solutions journalism piece on Save the Family's effort that was about 2,500 words in length. The final product was published on the website.
ContributorsClark, Charles Taylor (Author) / Gilger, Kristin (Thesis director) / West, Maureen (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
This paper describes a thesis project in which the author developed an eight-session, after-school curriculum to teach journalism basics to Desert Mountain High School's newspaper in Scottsdale, Arizona. Wolf's Print, the school's paper, moved to an after-school basis in the 2011-2012 school year as a result of budgetary constraints. The topics covered in these sessions ranged from the current state of journalism to learning more specific skills, such as news writing and copy editing. The paper begins with a discussion of the efficacy of after-school programs as a whole. Though these programs have been shown to benefit students, there are also challenges \u2014 most notably attendance and commitment on the part of students \u2014 to a club that is operated on a solely after-school basis. The paper ends with an evaluation of the program and several recommendations to strengthen after-school journalism programs. These recommendations include robust community involvement and teacher commitment to the club.
ContributorsGunderson, Anna Mae (Author) / Gilger, Kristin (Thesis director) / Manning, Jason (Committee member) / Brass, Jory (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
For our thesis we will create a comprehensive journalistic manual for The State Press employees that details the standards of each section and also offer tips on ways to further develop communication and quality. We will offer methods for streamlining the writing and editing process so that writers are fully aware of the standards that need to be met in order to be published. As ASU Student Media makes a move to increase its digital presence, a strong voice is necessary. Creativity is at the heart of every great online product, be it through writing, visuals or both. By instilling a culture of accountability through this manual and its rules, we will start building a staff capable of producing a high quality, digitally focused online product in years to come.
In making a State Press manual we hope to increase the excellence and performance of the media entity year after year and to urge students to develop a commitment to ethical and professional values of journalism. We also aim to solidify the entire staff’s knowledge of journalism writing and create an educational workplace for employees who are interested in growing. The guide will provide a foundation to train and instruct for each State Press section, which will ease the pressure put on the editors and will allow more time for constructive direction.
We want to make the production/editing process — from the initial brainstorming of an article to the final publication — a logical and fluid sequence.
In making a State Press manual we hope to increase the excellence and performance of the media entity year after year and to urge students to develop a commitment to ethical and professional values of journalism. We also aim to solidify the entire staff’s knowledge of journalism writing and create an educational workplace for employees who are interested in growing. The guide will provide a foundation to train and instruct for each State Press section, which will ease the pressure put on the editors and will allow more time for constructive direction.
We want to make the production/editing process — from the initial brainstorming of an article to the final publication — a logical and fluid sequence.
ContributorsRichardson, Mary (Co-author) / Cruz, Caitlin (Co-author) / Manning, Jason (Thesis director) / Gilger, Kristin (Committee member) / Petchel, Jacqueline (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
This thesis provides recommendations to implement journalism and publishing programs into Montessori secondary education systems. This applies to students of 11 years or older that can be found in more than 210 Montessori schools across the nation, according to the American Montessori Society. Much of the foundation for this thesis is created by my own experience starting a journalism program at Desert Garden Montessori School in Phoenix, Arizona. The literature review looks at the history of Montessori education; the differences between Montessori education and traditional public schooling; the benefits of journalism programs for secondary education systems; and the observed fit between journalism and Montessori philosophies. The greater research explores my experience as a journalism adviser for Desert Garden Montessori School, and my own lessons learned through the spring 2015 semester. The final suggestions for a journalism program are split into three sections: those by the Desert Garden Montessori students, by certified members of American Montessori Society, and my own final recommendations. It then looks into areas for further research to solidify the expansion of journalism programs into other Montessori schools. The appendices contain newsroom documents and material published during my time as journalism adviser for Desert Garden Montessori School. This includes the magazines and stories created by the newsroom students.
ContributorsOtarola Alfaro, Miguel Angel (Author) / Gilger, Kristin (Thesis director) / Roschke, Kristy (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05