research

Professor Ed Carter Works With Two Undergraduate Students to Conduct Research on Misinformation in the Media

BYU Communications Research Reveals How a Hit Series Shapes Faith and Identity

Seven Dance Majors Presented Their Research in End of Year Symposium

Scott Church presented on media and politics to the National Communications Association.

Design Professor Doug Thomas goes to San Francisco as a TEDx speaker to talk about the ideas in his new book “Never Use Futura”

Priscilla Stewart will present her research on place and ecology based education at the National Art Education Association’s National Convention, the premier conference for K12 art educators and university researchers

Newspapers have shifted from strongly favoring Republican candidates in the 1950s to dividing their editorial endorsements almost equally In the 1948 U.S. presidential election, republican presidential candidate and Governor of New York Thomas E. Dewey was heavily favored and endorsed by more than 80 percent of America’s newspapers. Journalists at the Chicago Tribune were so sure of Dewey’s win that the newspaper printed its morning edition early with the now infamous headline “Dewey Defeats Truman.” What was predicted to be an easy win for Dewey is now considered to be the greatest election upset in American history as presidential incumbent Harry S. Truman swept the polls. It’s scenarios like the 1948 presidential election that have Journalism Professor Joel Campbell taking a closer look at the effectiveness of editorial endorsements of presidential candidates. “It’s difficult to say if there is any strong correlation between endorsements and how people vote,” Campbell said. “But more often than not, presidential candidates with the largest percentage of newspaper endorsements have won since 1940, the notable exceptions being Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman.” According to Campbell’s research published in The 21st Century Voter: Who Votes, How they Vote, and Why They Vote, there was a substantial shift in how the news media endorsed candidates throughout the last 50 years: Newspapers have shifted from strongly favoring Republican candidates in the 1940s and 1950s to dividing their editorial endorsements almost equally between the two major parties. Democratic candidates are about 10 percent more likely to receive an endorsement than Republican candidates six decades earlier. Incumbents today receive an editorial endorsement about 90 percent of the time, up from 60 percent of the time in the 1940s. In the 2012 presidential election, 77 of the top 100 U.S. newspapers endorsed candidates: 41 papers endorsed President Barack Obama, 35 endorsed GOP candidate Mitt Romney and a single paper registered a split decision. Another 23 papers did not endorse any candidates, including the two largest newspapers, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. Even though the candidate with the most endorsements has traditionally won the election, Campbell predicts that editorial endorsements won’t make any difference this fall. “In this year's election there is so much information available on so many platforms, any media endorsement is likely to be drowned out by the din of voices,” Campbell said. “In the era of social media, the endorsement of those within one's circle of friends is likely to carry much more weight than that of a news organization.” It’s not just the endorsement and election result relationship that interests Campbell, but also the ethical practice of news media favoring a candidate. As a professor, Campbell teaches his students that journalists are supposed to be objective observers, but the long-standing tradition of editorial endorsements often gets in the way. The Society of Professional Journalists Ethics Committee encourages editorial pages to promote thoughtful debate and let readers know through endorsements which candidates share the newspaper’s vision, while also taking every opportunity to explain the firewall between news and opinion. But in an era of social media and frequently blurred lines between news and opinion, Campbell urges his fellow journalists to be more careful. “Most people say ‘journalism ethics’ is an oxymoron,” Campbell said. “The distrust of the media and the feeling of bias in the media is greater than ever. Newspapers and news media endorsing candidates probably feeds into that.” The College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences and the Office of Civic Engagement Leadership are partnering with Turbovote to facilitate online voter registration. If you are not registered tovote, but are eligible, or if you wish to obtain an absentee ballot, please visit the booths in and around the Wilkinson Student Center during the week of September 26 to register to vote or to get an absentee ballot. September 26, 2016 | Natalie Tripp

BYU students often have problems during the wintertime, but soon, for a lucky few, the cold will not be one of them. Next winter semester, during the summer months of the southern hemisphere, about 20 students will travel throughout New Zealand in a new study abroad program that focuses on media and culture, entitled “New Zealand: Global Mass Communication.” In addition to shadowing professionals from several New Zealand media outlets, students will create and publish content that investigates the issues surrounding the Maori, Pasifika and other minority communities in New Zealand. Dr. Clark Callahan, co-faculty director of the program, hopes that students will seize not only the opportunity to grow their portfolios but also to develop an empathetic worldview as they explore different cultures. “My area of interest is how social media affects cultures, so we’ll have a couple of research projects going on. We’ll be interviewing minority populations about how they use social media and what they get out of it. We’ll ask, ‘Does it strengthen or weaken their culture and their cultural perspectives?’” Dr. Callahan said. As part of their research, students will be paired with and embedded in Samoan families for a week. Students will record their experiences in video diaries that will be used to produce a documentary film highlighting the efforts of different organizations to preserve the Maori, Pasifika, and Samoan languages and culture. Steve Thomsen, co-faculty director, believes that New Zealand offers a diverse setting for students to study and create media. “We wanted to create an experience that would be as diverse as possible for students,” said Thomsen. “The objective of the study abroad will be to focus a lot of our efforts on the Pacifica and Maori peoples through the lens of media and the perspective that it if offers,” said Thomsen. The media that students create will be used as programming for the Pacific Media Network and will be published on the student-run website, fightforthefew.org. The latter outlet is currently being developed by the Media Advocacy and Social Change class, which is taught by Dr. Callahan. Hannah Lunt, a senior public relations student in the class, hopes that all these efforts–the class, the website, the study abroad–will help others increase their awareness about minority issues. “I have already seen a difference in how much more aware I am,” said Lunt. “I hope the blog will grow and be a voice to change.” Applications are available through the Kennedy Center’s International Study Programs website, kennedy.byu.edu, and are due Oct. 9 at 5 p.m.

Notes from Mormon Pulitzer Prize winner shed new light on historic court moment Deseret News

First major study to examine Weir family's collective artistic production Marian Wardle, curator of American Art for the Brigham Young University Museum of Art, has received the W.E. Fischelis Award from the Victorian Society in America for her work as editor and co-author of the book, 'The Weir Family, 1820-1920: Expanding the Traditions of American Art.'

Looking for a few quick tips to help you better belt out Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer during this year's Christmas caroling? BYU music professor Arden Hopkin has just the thing for you.

Claire Thomson, head of the Department of Scandinavian Studies at University College London, will deliver the annual Loftur Bjarnason lecture Wednesday, March 30, at 3 p.m. in 238 Herald R. Clark Building at Brigham Young University. Thomson's lecture will be titled 'Of Bridges, Boulders and Bacteria: Cultures of Nature and Technology in Carl Theodor Dreyer's Short Films for Dansk Kulturfilm, 1942—1954' and is sponsored by Scandinavian Studies and the Center for the Study of Europe at the David M. Kennedy for International Studies. Her research centers on post-humanist theory and ecocriticism in cinematic and literary contexts. She is the director of Norvik Press, editor for 'Scandinavica,' and organizes the optional modules Cinema and Nation and Nordic Cinema for the master's degree in film studies. She most recently edited 'Northern Constellations: New Readings in Nordic Cinema,' and several of her works on Nordic and Scottish literature and film have appeared in various books and journals. Previously, Thomson was acting director of the graduate program in film studies and lectured in Scandinavian studies at the University of East Anglia for four years before joining UCL as a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in 2004, in connection with the 'Identities and Culture in Europe since 1945' research program. Thomson received an master's degree in modern European languages and European Union studies, a master's degree in the practice and theory of translation and a doctorate in Scandinavian studies from the University of Edinburgh. For more information, contact Lee Simons at (801) 422-2652 or lee_simons@byu.edu. Follow BYU events on Twitter: @BYUcalendar. Source: BYU News

New book by BYU professor shows how jazz icon was viewed in his early days From 1925 to 1928, jazz artist Louis Armstrong and his band made a set of recordings now considered some of the most revolutionary and influential recordings in American music.

For book to accompany upcoming exhibit on the Weir Family

Music professor Michael Hicks understands the importance of repetition.

KBYU Eleven's 'Beehive Stories' chronicles life in Utah

A generation ago PG films like Ghostbusters, Back to the Future and Top Gun dominated at the box office, but more than half of what Hollywood serves up these days is rated R. That's what got BYU economics students Jared Shores and Craig Palsson interested in whether a movie's rating affects its revenue. The students conducted a statistical analysis of budget and box office figures of major American films from 1995 to the present. Additionally, the data set included the level of foul language, sex and violence in each movie (courtesy of ratings services ScreenIt and Kids-in-Mind). The number-crunching reveals a few things that do connect ratings to profitability: - PG and PG-13 movies bring a similar return; both make more money than R films - Movies on the edge of PG and PG-13 make more money if they get a PG rating - Movies on the edge of PG-13 and R make more money if they get the PG-13 rating While interesting, these findings don't yet explain the scarcity of family films. Craig notes that the Motion Picture Association of America is not terribly consistent, making it tough for directors and studios to 'game the system.' Jared notes that in some cases investors ought to push for a film to be re-cut and resubmitted to get the more profitable MPAA rating. Under the mentorship of economics professor Joe Price, Jared and Craig are preparing their research for publication. A native of Montrose, Colorado, Jared aims for a career in the business side of Hollywood as an entertainment consultant. He names The Goonies as his all-time favorite movie. 'It encapsulates what I wanted to be as a kid, and the kinds of films I want to help develop someday,' Jared said. Jared will complete his bachelor's degree this December. Craig plans to graduate in April 2012. ORCA grants: What they are and how to get one Every year BYU awards several hundred undergraduates $1,500 for a research or creative project of their own choosing. While the projects span a wide range of fields, they all involve mentored learning outside the classroom. The skills and experience gained along the way open doors to grad schools, employers and entrepreneurship. Mentored learning is part of why BYU ranks in the Top 10 nationally in terms of where new Ph.D.s received their undergraduate degrees — and why BYU is a top feeder school for law, medicine and dentistry. ORCA is accepting applications through October 29. Click here to find out more about ORCA grants. __________________________________________ Follow BYU News on Twitter: twitter.com/byu Source: BYU News

by Todd Hollingshead 'Toe Fo'i Mai (To Return)' to air again Thursday, June 18, on BYU-TV