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Purpose: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication covered by the news media is considered as more credible and effective in shaping public perceptions toward corporations than CSR shared by corporations themselves. This is particularly true when CSR is about corporations with social stigma inherent in business practices. This study examines the CSR publicity of stigmatized industries from the journalism lens. Design/methodology/approach: A content analysis was conducted with CSR stories from 2019 to 2020 by USA newspapers (n = 348). Findings: Results of this study showed that the overall volume of CSR from stigmatized industries has decreased, with fewer responses to the recent pandemic. Further, the media brought promotional CSR activities and the business motives behind the activities into focus. Opposing patterns were found for CSR of non-stigmatized industries presented with philanthropic activities based on corporations' social motives to help communities. Similarly, economic and legal responsibilities reflected in the CSR pyramid were more prominently reported for stigmatized industries, and ethical and discretionary responsibilities appeared more frequently for non-stigmatized industries. Practical implications: Integrating business and media literature, this study enriches scholarly discussions on media processes and effects for CSR communication. This study also provides practical implications for stigmatized industries by highlighting more authentic and careful approaches for CSR communication to earn positive publicity. Social implications: This study provides social implications by highlighting the importance of CSR communications through the lens of news media when corporations are socially stigmatized. Originality/value: Stigmatized industries are known to be active in CSR communication to nullify social stigma surrounding themselves. The authors' findings provide empirical evidence suggesting that not all publicity benefits CSR communication for stigmatized corporations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how corporations responded to the COVID-19 crisis through their fulfillment of corporate social responsibility (CSR). We quantitatively analyzed a total of 60 CSR news stories published during the year of 2020. We then provided context through the close readings of all 60 news stories. CSR news coverage was selected as the focal content because it is considered to be a more objective communication of CSR compared to corporations' selfdisclosed CSR reports. Results show that CSR was provided throughout the year as corporations' timely responses to the unprecedented pandemic. Specifically, corporations emphasized philanthropic CSR activities to support health issues. Their conventional commitments to promotional activities were still present but often criticized with a negative tone. Corporations' evergreen interest in environmental/sustainability issues and human/civic rights also remained but were relatively weakened during the pandemic. Further, CSR was primarily presented in a positive tone. The findings highlight that a public health crisis may render corporations to transform CSR into emergency and disaster relief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a case study of the use of constructivist theory in mass communication higher education. Reports the participants' observations during and critique of a quasi-experimental study in which students could follow a traditional route and use the instructor's syllabus, or they could immediately put constructivist learning theory into practice by choosing to build their own syllabus and chart their own course. (SG)

Through two separate surveys targeting visual professionals (VP) and citizen visual contributors (CVC), we assess their views on citizen journalists' roles along with their views on the likelihood to act on those views (i.e., role performance intention) in order to identify associations between perception and performance. The role that perceived media credibility plays in the assessment of role conceptions and potential role performance was also examined. Findings indicate that CVC rate their roles as significantly more important than the ratings of VP on citizens' roles. Correlation analysis points to associations between the roles but misalignment in the relationship between conceptions and performance among CVC but alignment among VP. When looking at the impact of media credibility on role conceptions and performance, it is clear that perceived media credibility plays a significant role among the views of professionals. However, media credibility is not much of a factor in the assessments by CVC. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how the United States community newspapers engage community members and how editors view challenges of citizen participatory and collaboration practices with particular focus on ethical issues. To address this, the study conducted a content analysis of interactive news features offered by online newspapers and in-depth interviews with news editors. Findings reveal various ways that local newsrooms seemingly invite citizens to participate in telling the community news. Letters-to-the-editor were discussed most frequently in all aspects of their discussions—both in positive and negative ways. Legal concerns did not arise as such concerns were avoided and filtered before inclusion and publication, but ethical considerations were also discussed modestly. Editors as a whole generally turned to ideas reflected in traditional journalism codes of conduct for citizens as a guide in their practice of submitting content with primary focus placed on truth telling, independence, and transparency. Implications are discussed in terms of citizen news engagement, news collaboration, and participatory journalism and the continued institutional control of content through normalization of the news and separation between professional and citizen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An online survey was conducted to assess the usage of blogs by professional journalists and journalism educators. Results showed that although educators were aware of the existence of blogs they did not use them as frequently as professional journalists.

Using a Web-based survey targeting visual professionals, this study examines their professional role conceptions along with their views on emerging visual citizen contributors' roles. While participants' ratings of the two groups' roles were generally correlated within each group, no correlations resulted between the two groups with the exception of the civic roles. Further, visual professionals rated their roles as significantly more important for all five roles. When assessing views on citizen-contributed visuals, it was clear that participants evaluated them with a critical eye, expressing dislike toward citizens' visual contributions and deeming them a threat to their livelihood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a national survey and a qualitative content analysis of US daily news editors’ understanding of citizen journalism, we identify key ideas associated with the concept of Citizen Journalism Complexity. Patterns related to those dimensions that may impact editors’ conceptions of the phenomenon at the individual and organizational levels are examined. A total of 10 core ideas emerged in the aggregate discussion, but a majority of the participants defined the concept simplistically focusing on one- or two-dimensional definitions. Arguments from journalistic professionalism (occupational roles), audience engagement/collaboration (normative values), and behavioral practices are represented. This article discusses the extent to which citizen journalism is defined and guided by demographic variables, individual journalistic experience, and organizational characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using content analysis, this article compares the front-page elements of The New York Times with six major metropolitan national newspapers to assess how different news organizations package and present their most important page to the public. Findings reveal that The New York Times featured more international and national news stories, depended more frequently on its own staff for both stories and images, and used smaller headlines on its front pages compared with the other major metropolitan newspapers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media, as one key platform for citizen journalism, are becoming a useful newsgathering tool for journalists. Based on data from a nationwide probability sample of newspaper editors in the United States, this study investigates the extent to which newspaper editors consider social media an influential news source. Results show that variations in editors' ratings of social media as a news source were related to multiple levels of influence, including professional journalistic experience, organization size, community structural pluralism, and citizen journalism credibility. Implications are discussed for the roles of social media in news production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on Habermas's theory of communicative action, this case study of OhmyNews in South Korea examines how citizen journalism operates in a broad organizational and social context. Through in-depth interviews with professional and citizen journalists, the study reveals that citizen journalism can be well understood at the intersection between the lifeworld and systems. Specifically, the study finds a coexistence mechanism by which citizen journalism competes, collaborates, coordinates, and compromises with professional journalism through communicative action, such as mutual understanding, reason-based discussion, and consensus building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through data captured in a digital content analysis (DCA) lab, we examine coverage of Twitter across three 24-hour U.S. cable news channels: CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC. This investigation tracked Twitter coverage from its initial stage, followed by its rise to a massively used tool and its subsequent diffusion into society, evident through its plateauing coverage. News stories covering Twitter, as it penetrated into society, were more likely to use benefit/gain frames when discussing the technology, highlighting its positive social, communicative, political, and participatory impact. Benefit frames were also likely to associate Twitter with journalism. Patterns emerging through the indicator graphs plotted by the DCA lab showed that the most intense coverage occurred during crisis situations, as Twitter coverage reached saturation, followed by increased personal daily usage of Twitter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Korea's OhmyNews reports unique consequences of citizen reporting and participation. While many citizen news operations have come and gone, OhmyNews has been remarkably successful and has become one of the most powerful news sites in its country. This case study explores the concept of journalistic professionalism among OhmyNews citizen journalists and assesses whether perceptions of their journalistic work align with Singer's dimensions of professionalism (i.e., cognitive, normative and evaluative dimensions). We then compare these perceptions to those of professional journalists within the organization and integrate them into journalistic role conceptions. Findings show that both groups work through collaboration, checks and balances, and a negotiation of autonomy. Both benefit from the partnership and share similarities, rather than differences, in their effort to remain sustainable in contemporary media culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]