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This study sought to measure risk perception and behavioral intention in rural and urban communities in Mississippi and Alabama when severe weather strikes. We developed an experiment testing how visual cues and media messages surrounding an impending hurricane could influence an individual's decision-making in the situation. Respondents were selected from six counties on Mississippi and Alabama coastlines and placed into one of three conditions, each of which described a hypothetical "Hurricane Farrah," which was near landfall nearby. Data were collected on 466 respondents and analysis determined that the live video was least likely to motivate respondents to take evacuation measures.

A qualitative study utilizing interviews was used to identify the core motivations for the origination of collegiate sport fanship and fandom in the American Southeast. The sample included 20 individual adults that reside in the southeastern United States, either Alabama (n = 2), Arkansas (n = 3), Kentucky (n = 3), Mississippi (n = 5), or South Carolina (n = 7). The sample only included participants from these particular states due to the unique context they provide, as well as exploring how identity as a Southerner may influence collegiate fanship and fandom. Each of these states house at least two major Division 1 NCAA collegiate athletics department, while also not housing any major-league-level professional sports. Thus, participants were more likely to identify with collegiate sports than those living in a region with a professional franchise. Results informed Social Identity theory, and indicated that there are a number of different factors that lead to the origination of collegiate fanship and fandom. Many of the factors deal with family ties, geography, and feeling a sense of belonging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A national survey of 314 Americans was utilized to determine the degree in which sport identification functions similarly to political and religious identification as well as the degree to which each of the three forms of group hyper-identification correlate with violent extremism and violent radicalization. Results found that sport identification correlated with extremism but not radicalization, political identification correlated with both, and religious identification correlated with neither. Moreover, each type of identification positively correlated with the other, and subgroups within each form of identification functioned similarly. Ramifications for social identity theory are advanced, arguing that whether one identifies with these groups appears more pertinent than which group identifies within that identity association regarding propensity for violent extremism and radicalization. Avenues for future research are advanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the sports world abruptly shut down in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sports journalists were left without live events to cover. To better understand how sports reporters adapted to these unforeseen circumstances, 23 in-depth interviews were conducted with American sports journalists working at local and national newspapers to acquire firsthand accounts of story topics, newsgathering procedures, and impacts on the industry moving forward. Three main themes emerged from the interviews: lack of access to players and coaches, remote newsgathering, and a temporary move to other departments in the newsroom, which required the sportswriters to be more creative. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Practitioners and scholars increasingly employ social media listening platforms (SMLPs) driven by artificial intelligence (AI) to extract actionable insights from large amounts of social media data informing research questions and brand strategy. Due to their proprietary nature, AI tools within SMLPs are "black boxes" that force users to accept results on blind faith, a source of concern in industry and academia. This study seeks to provide greater understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of SMLPs by assessing the AI-based results of leading SMLP Crimson Hexagon (now Brandwatch Consumer Research) against those of a standard human content analysis and an analysis conducted using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC). Analyzing a random 10,000-post sample of the conversation around the Nike "Dream Crazy" ad featuring Colin Kaepernick, findings reveal Crimson Hexagon's AI tools to be woefully unreliable in terms of brand identification as well as detection of post and brand sentiment polarity, specific emotions, and brand outcomes, demonstrating the hazards of blindly relying upon conclusions drawn from black-box social media listening platforms. Findings highlight the need for researchers to examine algorithm documentation and training data sets, as well as assess AI-generated data prior to use in research models and decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional associations' roles in shaping the journalism field have been understudied in news industry research. Adopting a social population ecology perspective, this study provides an across-time analysis of the emergence, rise and variation of the population of US journalism professional associations. In addition to the population demography, content analysis of current association websites was conducted to reveal associations' patterns of development and adoption of roles. Findings suggest associations are turning inward, embracing roles that are internally oriented towards members, their financial struggles, and their identities, while there is less emphasis on externally oriented roles that serve field-wide needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

College students often struggle with the decision to disclose personal health information to their instructors. Students have to weigh the benefits and risks of disclosing personal health information to their instructors. Guided by Communication Privacy Management Theory, this study examined the motivating factors that contribute to students' disclosure of personal health information to their instructors. Undergraduate students (N = 52) participated in focus groups that discussed disclosing personal health information to faculty. Findings indicated that three motivating factors drive students' disclosure of personal health information to instructors: (a) grades, (b) relational development and investment, and (c) a desire to save face with their instructors. These motivations have implications for how students and faculty communicate about personal health information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental illness remains stigmatized in the United States and abroad, with the mass media often blamed for perpetuating stereotypes about people who experience mental health issues. 2018 witnessed two professional basketball players—star athletes DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love—disclosing personal experiences with depression and anxiety. Informed by social cognitive and framing theories, the present study examined how news stories characterized the disclosures, examining ways in which journalists presented the athletes as mental health advocates and models for pro-health attitudes and behavior. News stories generally framed the athletes as demonstrating character strength for disclosing mental illness in an athletic culture that often stigmatizes any potential weakness. Journalists often permitted the athletes to directly share their message concerning mental health with readers, as DeRozan and Love discussed (a) the experience of coming out; (b) the positive reception of teammates, coaches, and the public; and (c) the need for an end to mental health–oriented stigma. Stories often called for action, communicating to readers that people with mental illness are "not alone" and should share their experiences with others. The results provide the foundation for research into the relationship between media exposure and mental health-related attitudes, particularly how news framing of athletes' disclosures shape fan attitudes toward mental health treatment, mental illness, and people who experience mental illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]