2023 BEA On-Location

Moderator/Discussant: Sharon Baldinelli, University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Re-examining Influences on the Third-Person Effect: An analysis of Media Frames, Audience Frames, and Political Affiliation on the Third-Person Perceptions; Colin Piacentine, University of South Carolina
The current study analyzes how media frames, audience frames, and political affiliation influence the third-person effect. Each of these three independent variables is given a condition as either conservative, liberal, or neutral. The third-person effect is operationalized as third-person perceptions at three levels of social distance: the self, others in the local community, and the American public at large. By focusing on the political issue of police funding, the current study conducts an experiment to see which types of frames and political affiliation result in a stronger third-person effect. The study also explores whether or not interaction effects exist between media frames, audience frames, and political affiliation on the third-person effect.

Risk propensity in journalists: An analysis of journalists' personality traits and how they direct behavior in the field; Ellen Dunn, University of South Carolina
Much like first responders, journalists run toward dangerous scenes instead of away from them, often putting themselves at risk. Unlike first responders, there is no research on how a person’s risk propensity ties to their career. For this project, reporters of various ages and tenures were surveyed on their sensation-seeking levels and propensity to engage in risky behaviors while working as journalists.