Representations of Fatness by Experts and the Media and How This Shapes Attitudes

2019 ◽  
pp. 104-119
Author(s):  
Abigail C. Saguy
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Medical Problem ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Obesity Epidemic ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
Poor Individual ◽  
Individual Choices

The past two decades have seen an explosion of research on “fat frames.” Scholars have found that medical researchers and the pharmaceutical industry have dominated such debates, whereas fat rights activists have struggled to get their message out. Media scholars have found that the news media primarily frame fatness as a medical problem and public health crisis that people bring on themselves through poor food choices and physical inactivity. In contrast, the news media rarely discuss fatness as a form of diversity or condemn weight-based discrimination. Research has further shown that the news media emphasize individual blame and responsibility for “overweight” and “obesity.” Finally, experimental research has shown that people who read news media reports on an “obesity epidemic” caused by poor individual choices express more anti-fat prejudice than people who do not read such reports. This chapter examines the methodology and major findings of these strands of research and identifies fertile avenues of future research.

The Increase of How Mass Media Coverage Manipulates Our Minds

2021 ◽  
pp. 176-198
Author(s):  
David Brian Ross ◽  
Richard Louis ◽  
Melissa T. Sasso
Keyword(s):  
Social Constructionism ◽  
News Media ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Mass Society ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
The Mind

This chapter explores the insight of how the mind is negatively impacted by the news media. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce readers to how the human brain processes good and adverse effects of the news. The chapter begins with the overview that delves into the various aspects such as our brain and how it processes emotions, the theoretical frameworks of mass society, Marxism, functionalism, social constructionism, the historical context of the media in various countries, journalists and pundits, how the media divides communities, and how the media reports world events causing individuals to suffer from adverse psychological effects. This chapter then ends with a conclusion that consists of suggested future research.

The Increase of How Mass Media Coverage Manipulates Our Minds

2019 ◽  
pp. 188-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Brian Ross ◽  
Richard Louis ◽  
Melissa T. Sasso
Keyword(s):  
Social Constructionism ◽  
News Media ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Mass Society ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
The Mind

This chapter explores the insight of how the mind is negatively impacted by the news media. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce readers to how the human brain processes good and adverse effects of the news. The chapter begins with the overview that delves into the various aspects such as our brain and how it processes emotions, the theoretical frameworks of mass society, Marxism, functionalism, social constructionism, the historical context of the media in various countries, journalists and pundits, how the media divides communities, and how the media reports world events causing individuals to suffer from adverse psychological effects. This chapter then ends with a conclusion that consists of suggested future research.

A Downward Spiral? A Panel Study of Misinformation and Media Trust in Chile

2021 ◽  
pp. 194016122110252
Author(s):  
Sebastián Valenzuela ◽  
Daniel Halpern ◽  
Felipe Araneda
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Panel Survey ◽  
Downward Spiral ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Trust ◽  
People’S Attitudes ◽  
Over Time

Despite widespread concern, research on the consequences of misinformation on people's attitudes is surprisingly scant. To fill in this gap, the current study examines the long-term relationship between misinformation and trust in the news media. Based on the reinforcing spirals model, we analyzed data from a three-wave panel survey collected in Chile between 2017 and 2019. We found a weak, over-time relationship between misinformation and media skepticism. Specifically, initial beliefs on factually dubious information were negatively correlated with subsequent levels of trust in the news media. Lower trust in the media, in turn, was related over time to higher levels of misinformation. However, we found no evidence of a reverse, parallel process where media trust shielded users against misinformation, further reinforcing trust in the news media. The lack of evidence of a downward spiral suggests that the corrosive effects of misinformation on attitudes toward the news media are less serious than originally suggested. We close with a discussion of directions for future research.

scholarly journals Children's Content Regulation and the ‘Obesity Epidemic’

2011 ◽  
Vol 140 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonie Rutherford ◽  
Dean Biron ◽  
Helen Skouteris
Keyword(s):  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Children's Television ◽  
Media Ecology ◽  
Obesity Epidemic ◽  
Regulatory Frameworks ◽  
Rapid Changes ◽  
The Media ◽  
Content Regulation

Some 30 years ago, Australia introduced the Children's Television Standards (CTS) with the twin goals of providing children with high-quality local programs and offering some protection from the perceived harms of television. The most recent review of the CTS occurred in the context of a decade of increasing international concern at rising levels of overweight and obesity, especially in very young children. Overlapping regulatory jurisdictions and co-regulatory frameworks complicate the process of addressing pressing issues of child health, while rapid changes to the media ecology have both extended the amount of programming for children and increased the economic challenges for producers. Our article begins with an overview of the conceptual shifts in priorities articulated in the CTS over time. Using the 2007–09 Review of the CTS as a case study, it then examines the role of research and stakeholder discourses in the CTS review process and critiques the effectiveness of existing regulatory regimes, both in providing access to dedicated children's content and in addressing the problem of escalating obesity levels in the population.

Manufacturing a Crime Wave: The Gold Coast Saga

2014 ◽  
Vol 151 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-36
Author(s):  
Emily Schindeler ◽  
Jacqui Ewart
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Gold Coast ◽  
Media Campaign ◽  
Crime Problem ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Statistical Level ◽  
Crime Wave ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
Local News Media

Crime waves make great headlines, and can be an ongoing source of stories for news media. In this article, we track the news media promotion of the spectre of a crime wave at Queensland's Gold Coast and the interplay between politics and policy responses to the media campaign. By analysing news media reports, government, local government and police-documented responses, we explore how the media framed this crime wave and the politically driven policy responses that were disproportionate to the reported (statistical) level of crime. Despite attempts by the Queensland Police Service to defuse the claims of an out-of-control crime problem, followed by its attempts at managing community responses, the local news media continued their campaign with significant consequences. Our findings are important for those charged with publicly managing responses to media-driven crime waves.

scholarly journals Rights and Representation: Media Narratives about Disabled People and Their Service Animals in Canadian Print News

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 38-76
Author(s):  
Lana Kerzner ◽  
Chelsea Temple Jones ◽  
Beth Haller ◽  
Arthur Blaser
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Animal Rights ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
The Many ◽  
Media Narratives

Canadian news coverage is reflecting and shaping an evolution of thought about how we must publicly account for animals’ roles in the disability rights movement. Through a textual analysis of 26 news media articles published between 2012 and 2017, this research demonstrates that the media play a key role in reporting on discrimination, yet media narratives about service animals and their owners too often fail to capture the complexity of policies and laws that govern their lives. In Canada, there is widespread public confusion about the rights of disabled people and their service animals. This incertitude is relevant to both disability and animal oppression. This research identifies nine frames within the media narratives, as well as evaluating perspectives from critical animal studies in the news articles. These frames, which emerge in the media reports, in their descriptions of human and (less often) animal rights, illustrate public confusion surrounding these rights. The confusion is inevitable given the many laws in Canada that govern service animals. Thus, to give context to the news coverage, this article also surveys the legal protections for disabled people who use service animals in Canada, and suggests that until the news media understand the legalities surrounding service animals, they will not be well equipped to fulfil their role of informing the public. This is a lost opportunity in light of the media’s potential role as a pivotal tool to educate the public about disability and animal rights.

Media discourse in China and Japan on the COVID-19 pandemic: comparative analysis of the first three months

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gulsan Ara Parvin ◽  
Md. Habibur Rahman ◽  
S.M. Reazul Ahsan ◽  
Md. Anwarul Abedin ◽  
Mrittika Basu
Keyword(s):  
Social Welfare ◽  
News Media ◽  
English Language ◽  
Study Groups ◽  
Health Economy ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
World Crisis ◽  
The Media ◽  
China And Japan

Purpose This study aims to analyze how English-language versions of e-newspapers in the first two countries affected, China and Japan, which are non-English-speaking countries and have different socio-economic and political settings, have highlighted Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic news and informed the global community. Design/methodology/approach A text-mining approach was used to explore experts’ thoughts as published by the two leading English-language newspapers in China and Japan from January to March 2020. This study analyzes the Opinion section, which mainly comprises editorial and the op-ed section. The current study groups all editorial discussions and highlights into ten major aspects, which cover health, economy, politics, culture and others. Findings Within the first three months, the media in both China and Japan shifted their focus from health and preparedness to the economy, politics and social welfare. Governance and social welfare were key concerns in China’s news media, while, in contrast, global politics received the highest level of attention from experts in Japan’s news media. Environment and technologies aspects did not receive much attention by the expert’s columns. Originality/value At the initial stage of a world crisis, how leading nations and initially affected nations deal with the problem, how media play their role and guide mass population with experts’ thoughts are highlighted here. The understanding developed in this study can provide guidance to news media in other countries in playing effective roles in the management of this health crisis and catastrophes.

scholarly journals Defining 'Destructive fishing': a lack of consensus inhibits effective global policy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Frederick Willer ◽  
Joshua I Brian ◽  
Christina Derrick ◽  
Jessica Walker ◽  
Sophie Benbow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Future Research ◽  
Sustainable Development Goal ◽  
Consensus Definition ◽  
Fishing Activity ◽  
International Policy ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Policy Context ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
Destructive Fishing

Tackling the global problem of 'destructive fishing' is central to the achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 'Life Below Water', yet the term remains vague, making it difficult to track and quantify progress. Here we evaluate the frequency and range of uses of the term 'destructive fishing' across the peer reviewed literature and media. Our research elucidated the clear lack of a consensus definition for 'destructive fishing', with only 6 academic articles to date providing a definition, and none of these matching. There is also a mismatch between regions where academia and policy identify fishing practices as 'destructive' and the regions in which the media reports it. There are however clear trends in the types of fishing activity referred to as destructive in the academic literature, media and policy, and the term is used to refer to practices beyond those previously exemplified as 'destructive' in an international policy context. We conclude that further exploration around the definition and scope of this term is warranted. By assembling a culturally and sectorally balanced pool of expert views, future research plans to use an iterative, anonymised approach to constructively address the conceptual vagueness and contention around this term.

The Impact of Legally Relevant Media Exposure on Criminal Juror Decision-Making

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Groscup
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
News Media ◽  
Reality Television ◽  
Media Exposure ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Juror Decision Making ◽  
System Reform ◽  
Criminal Trials ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Impact

Exposure to various forms of media can potentially impact decision-making by jurors in criminal trials. Cases like the highly publicized Casey Anthony trial, in which jurors’ media exposure might have affected the verdict, highlight the importance of understanding what messages jurors receive from the media and how those messages might influence their perceptions of trial participants and evidence. This chapter first explores research on the content of legally relevant news media, reality television, and scripted television dramas to better understand the messages the media might be delivering. Next, it reviews research suggesting how various media sources influence the development of legally relevant attitudes and, in turn, juror decision-making. The chapter then investigates the media’s direct influence on juror decision-making, focusing particularly on the CSI Effect. Finally, it discusses recommendations for jury system reform that might decrease media influence as well as future research directions.

scholarly journals News media influence on public trust in bike-sharing operators in Singapore

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonard Wong ◽  
Lyon Tan ◽  
Rachel Wong ◽  
Su Lin Yeo
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Corporate Reputation ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Content Type ◽  
News Reports ◽  
Bike Sharing ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe overnight introduction of tens of thousands of dockless bike-share bicycles in Singapore with its indiscriminate parking drew the attention of the media, which generated extensive news reports on the activities carried out by bike-sharing operators. Given the meteoric rise and fall of the industry, this study examines the influence of agenda-setting of news reporting on the public’s perception of the industry and the impact on the firms’ corporate reputation.Design/methodology/approachUtilizing the Reputation Quotient Index, the study content analyzed 147 textual data of online reports which were crawled over two years between 2017 and 2018 from six mainstream news organizations.FindingsOur findings showed that the news reports carried more negative frames in the headlines and body content. It also found that only five out of six dimensions of the Index were emphasized with varying degrees of importance, indicating that the corporate reputation as determined by the media reports did not collectively represent the operators’ past actions and results with valued outcomes.Practical implicationsPractical implications discussed included the need to integrate corporate strategies into public relations programs and the importance of engaging the media to demonstrate congruence between business objectives and positive social impact on society.Originality/valueAlthough the study limited its data collection only to online media reports, it is one of the few research to provide empirical evidence concerning the media’s influence on the public’s perceptions and reputation of the nascent bike-sharing industry.

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