Why We Watch: Factors Affecting Exposure to Tragic Television News

This study explored the reasons people expose themselves to news depicting tragic events. A total of 376 undergraduates completed anonymous questionnaires about their responses to news coverage of the events of September 11. The study examined the extent to which individual differences in empathy gave rise to news viewing motives (surveillance, reassurance, curiosity), and how these variables, as well as negative emotional responses (anger, sadness, fear), were related to news interest and exposure. Both empathy and emotional responses were associated in predictable ways with interest in news coverage and selective exposure to specific types of news stories (e.g., casualty news, positive news). The results demonstrate that considering affective motivations can enrich our understanding of how and why people use news media. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Fantasy,Pragmatism and Journalistic Socialisation: UK Journalism Students’ Aspirations and Motivations

ABSTRACT

Despite the sustained growth in journalism as a choice of degree path for young people, our understanding of students’ aspirations and motivations remains relatively underdeveloped. At the same time, journalism careers appear increasingly uncertain, as the industry responds to digitalisation and convergence. In this mixed-methods study – employing 35 interviews and a survey of 837 UK journalism students – we ask what areas of journalism do students aspire towards, how do they feel about their future career prospects, and what is motivating them to study journalism in the first place? We find that intrinsic motivations (calling and talent, dynamic job) prevail over public service ones, with students drawn to soft news beats over hard news. Aspirations are also strikingly gendered, opening up questions of journalism education in this process. We also find that while students articulate an aspirational career in respected media outlets, they are pragmatic about their immediate career prospects. Here, journalism education appears to play a significant role in socialising students towards careers beyond journalism. Findings are discussed in the light of ongoing debates around journalistic socialisation and the future of journalism.     

Exploring the Change in Motivations for Fantasy Sport Participation During the Life Cycle of a Sports Fan

A total of 529 respondents who had participated in fantasy sport in the past year completed a survey regarding their media consumption habits and motivations for play. Significant age divides were uncovered between players who were younger than age 35 as opposed to respondents who were 35 and older. Overall, younger participants consumed 4.2 more hours of sports media content per week and were more likely to participate in fantasy sport because of entertainment, enjoyment, and surveillance desires. In contrast, older participants were more likely to participate in fantasy sport to pass the time, even though consumption research indicates that they spent less time devoted to the activity than their younger counterparts. In addition, younger participants were more likely than older participants to exhibit a desire to establish and exhibit elements of personal sports knowledge. Implications for communication researchers interested in media and/or sport are articulated.     

The Effects of Subjective Camera and Fanship on Viewers' Experience of Presence and Perception of Play in Sports Telecasts

This study examines the use of subjective camera, and its impact on fans’ and nonfans’ experience of presence and subjective evaluations of play. In a mixed-measures experiment, high, moderate, and low sports fans viewed 16 plays from a college football game shown via either subjective or objective camera. The study found that plays viewed through the subjective camera elicited a significantly greater sense of spatial presence as well as presence as engagement. Presence also varied as a function of participants’ degree of fanship. Subjective evaluations of game play were also a function of sports fanship.     

Entertainment We Watch and Entertainment We Appreciate: Patterns of Motion Picture Consumption and Acclaim Over Three Decades

An analysis of 582 film titles spanning the years from 1980 to 2010 was conducted to examine the attributes and characteristics that predicted both viewership (e.g., box-office revenues) and critical acclaim (e.g., awards, audience ratings). Overall, viewership was highest for action/adventure films and lowest for dramas. In contrast, acclaim was highest for more dramatic fare, and for films that featured dark, contemplative, and emotional themes. The results are discussed in terms of the entertainment gratifications reflecting both enjoyment and appreciation.     

It's Not That We Don't Know,It's That We Don't Care: Explaining Why Selective Exposure Polarizes Attitudes

Today audiences can select content that is consonant with their political notions, and they take advantage of this opportunity. Such partisan selective exposure to media outlets has been identified as one of the reasons for attitude polarization. Little research attention, however, has been devoted to the processes underlying this phenomenon. This article advances the understanding of selective exposure by testing whether its effect on attitude polarization is attributable to people's familiarity with arguments that reinforce or challenge their own opinions. A sample of politically engaged extremists (N = 440) was subjected to a structured interview. As hypothesized, users of partisan media were more familiar with arguments reinforcing their views and, as a result, more prone to polarization. Knowledge of challenging arguments, however, was not affected by consumption of partisan media, nor did it promote depolarization. Results are discussed in light of two conflicting theories: the persuasion and the motivational-reasoning model.     

Ironic Message Production: How and Why We Produce Ironic Messages

This paper addresses the conceptualization and production of irony. Specifically, psychological predispositions are used to identify what makes the production of an ironic message likely. Reasons for endorsing and suppressing ironic messages are discussed based on individuals’ goals in a situation. The importance of common ground between individuals during ironic message productions is also discussed. Results suggest (a) the suppression of ironic messages due to concern for both the other and the self, (b) there is a need for mutual understanding of an attitude for ironic messages to be understood as ironic, and (c) the endorsement of ironic messages is designed to inflict harm to others.     

TV and the iPad: How the Tablet is Redefining the Way We Watch

The tablet computer offers options for streaming TV programming that potentially alters viewing behaviors compared to the traditional television set, yet there is a dearth of research related to this viewing alternative. This study uses a national sample of adult iPad owners to investigate the tablet's role as a TV. The frameworks of continuity-discontinuity, use-diffusion, and attention and absorption to programming are applied to uncover where the tablet fits into the current repertoire of viewing devices, and how individuals are engaging with traditional TV programming through it. Results show that overall, the tablet's functionality as a TV can lead to experiential differences.     

读者与馆员的角色、义务及相互关系

从读者与馆员,服务与被服务的角度阐述两者的角色定位与义务及相互之间的关系,两者之间既相互制约,又相辅相成,构成一个统一体。图书馆员与读者相互依托,才能支撑起一个和谐的图书馆,馆员对读者及图书馆领导对馆员需倾注丰富的情感管理及良好的情绪互动才能使图书馆工作有声有色、顺利开展。     

Rings of Fandom: Overlapping Motivations of Sport,Olympic, Team and Home Nation Fans in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games

Surveying 2,245 people from six nations immediately following the conclusion of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, this study focused on the extent to which fan identification can predict media consumption and nationalistic feelings toward one’s country. Findings revealed that, while sport fanship, fanship toward the Winter Olympics, and fandom for one’s national Olympic team(s) each predicts increased consumption, a hierarchy was established with Winter Olympic national team fandom being a stronger predictor than the others. Differences in fan identification’s impact on media consumption and nationalistic qualities among participants were found among the represented nations as well.     

News Audiences Revisited: Theorizing the Link Between Audience Motivations and News Consumption

With a plethora of news outlets today, audiences have more choices than ever. Yet, academic and professional understanding of news audiences from a uses and gratifications perspective remains limited. Using a national survey (N = 1143), this study uncovers distinct news consumption patterns across 4 types of motivations, and predicts media uses across 30 sources with noticeably higher explanatory power as compared to previous uses and gratifications studies, answering the question: Who is using what type of news, and why?     

Why We Do That Thing We Do: What Consortia Executive Directors Want Library Directors to Know

The consortium executive director is passionate about working with libraries and cultural organizations to connect similar and diverse institutions, enabling them to do things beyond their singular capability. Many library consortium executive directors worked in libraries before working at a consortium, but the job of the library consortium ED is in many ways different from that of a library director. A better understanding of these differences may help build stronger alliances between the consortium and its members. This article draws on the nonprofit leadership literature, library collaboration literature, and the responses to a brief survey of library consortia executive directors to explain the role and skills of the consortium executive director along with the challenges and opportunities for consortia.     

The Relationship Between Primary and Secondary Publishers

No abstract available for this article.     

The Relationship Between Service Learning and Research

In Fall 2006, a faculty member in George Washington University's University Writing 20 (UW20) program began incorporating service learning into her theme-based first-year writing course. Along with her librarian partner, they linked two research assignments to the service work of the students. An end-of-semester survey was administrated over three semesters with one question asking if the student's research process was affected by their service experience. In reviewing and analyzing student comments, four themes emerged: increased motivation, use of numerical data and primary sources, increased knowledge in approaching and limiting topics, and the potential for bias.     

The Relationship Between Authentic Leadership,Trust, and Engagement in Library Personnel

Using validated and reliable psychometric instruments, 87 non-manager library employees were surveyed to determine the nature of the relationships between non-manager perceptions of authenticity and trust in two levels of leadership with self-rated engagement. The results provide insights about how non-managers perceive authenticity and trust in both direct managers and senior supervisors, and how those perceptions are related to self-ascribed employee engagement. While perceptions of trust and authenticity accounted for some of the variance found, undetermined variables may explain more of the variance in employee engagement. Recommendations for developing authentic leaders and engaging employees in a library setting are offered.     

The Evolution of Law Library Support to Law School Administrative and Staff Offices: What We are Doing and Why

SUMMARY

This article looks at what law librarians are doing to support law school administrative and staff offices. The history of academic law libraries explains why this area of public services has been slow to develop. The article then discusses the type of services currently provided, including researching alumni for the alumni development staff, developing content for law school Websites, and serving on/assisting law school committees. The article concludes with a discussion of the costs and benefits of expanding services to these offices.     

The Relationship Between Personality Temperament,Communication Reticence,and Fear of Negative Evaluation

This study examined the influence and relationships of the Big Five personality variables of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability (neuroticism), and openness to experience on communication reticence and fear of negative evaluation (FNE). Undergraduates from (N = 336) basic communication or psychology courses completed self-report measures for these variables. Structural equation modeling indicated that only one personality dimension, extraversion, directly predicted reticence, whereas neuroticism was positively related to FNE, and openness was a negatively associated predictor of FNE. The model also showed a strong relationship between FNE and reticence, indicating that FNE moderated the relationship between two of the five personality variables (i.e., openness and neuroticism) and reticence.