The School of Communication (SCOM) was represented well at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) annual conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from August 8 to 11, 2024.
AEJMC is a nonprofit, educational association of journalism and mass communication educators, students, and media professionals. This year’s theme for the conference was Representation and Voice — The Future of Democracy. The conference provided exposure to a wide range of innovative studies and insights into the academic job market and industry trends.
“A fantastic scholarly environment, professors and general scholars were supportive and open to sharing knowledge for future research,” said doctoral student Alessandra Noli, who presented alongside fellow doctoral student Ashley Johns. Their presentation, “Masculinity Clash: How Traditional and Contemporary Masculinity Influences Young Men’s Perceptions of Gender Portrayals in Advertising,” revealed that college-aged men have a nuanced understanding of masculinity. Reflecting on the implications for advertisers, Noli commented, “They shouldn’t focus on traditional portrayals of masculinity.”
Several doctoral students and faculty members presented their research together, including Junho Park and Dr. Russell Clayton, who presented “Examining audiences’ psychological reactance to Christian-sourced excessive alcohol consumption messages in the United States.” The study was also recently published in the Journal of Religion and Health.
“I am really thankful for the opportunity to present my work and explore various research topics that I am interested in, such as mental health, AI, and media effects,” said Park.
The panel “Looking Back at Our Field’s Books to Look Forward” featured Dr. Clayton. He spoke about the field of media effects/psychology and its past, and future directions. His review was also published earlier this year in the centennial issue of AEJMC’s flagship journal, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly.
“Attending AEJMC has reinforced my commitment to both my research and teaching. I am eager to apply what I’ve learned to my work as a teacher and researcher,” said Doctoral student Trayana Kaleycheva. She presented “Portrayals of Single Women in Primetime TV,” which examined the stereotypical representations of unpartnered women in popular television shows over the past 25 years. She collaborated with SCOM alumnae Payton Baisden and Caroline Diesel.
“It is important for our school to be well represented at all major conferences such as NCA, ICA, and AEJMC. So it was particularly enjoyable to see several doctoral students and faculty discuss their research in Philadelphia this year” said Dr. Patrick Merle, director of the School of Communication.
SCOM faculty, students, and alumni were involved in the following presentations:
Russell Clayton, “Assessing the Role of Self-Efficacy in Reducing Psychological Reactance to Guilt Appeals Promoting Pro-Environmental Behaviors”
Jaejin Lee, Sun Young Park, and Ashley Johns, “Beyond Organic: A Content Analysis of Sustainable Food Marketing Practices on Sustainable Food Companies’ Instagram”
Russell Clayton and Junho Park, “Examining Audiences’ Psychological Reactance to Christian-Sourced Excessive Alcohol Consumption Messages in The United States”
Katherine Dale, “Exploring Self-transcendent Media Use and Outcomes Among the Religiously Unaffiliated”
Jaejin Lee, “Gut Health Influencers on Dietary Supplements Promotions on TikTok: A Content Analysis of Advertising Approaches”
Pooja Ichplani, “Intersectionality in Response to Violence and Support-seeking In the United States: Reimagining Communication Mechanisms to Strengthen Recovery of South Asian Battered Women”
Ashley Johns and Alessandra Noli, “Masculinity Clash: How Traditional and Contemporary Masculinity Influences Young Men’s Perceptions of Gender Portrayals in Advertising”
Trayana Kaleycheva, Payton Baisden, and Caroline Diesel, “Portrayals of Single Women in Primetime Television: A Quantitative Content Analysis”
Rachel Bailey, Pooja Ichplani, and Yu Liang, “Utilizing Competing Biological Motivations: Can We Decrease People’s Disgust Response to Lab Grown Meat?”
Patrick Merle, “Wellness Brands: Effects of Faith, Knowledge, and Skepticism”
Rachel Bailey, Sun Young Park, and Junho Park, “What I Eat in a Day: The Influence of Visual Body Cues on Body Dissatisfaction”