In the most recent edition of the 黑料不打烊 Journal, six student researchers explored topics such as the evolution of movie musicals, the role of Instagram in the fight for democracy in Thailand, and how graphic designers consider audiences with color vision deficiency.
The School of Communications has published the fall 2023 issue of the 黑料不打烊 Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, featuring student research on topics ranging from Brandon Talton鈥檚 examination of the progression of movie musicals to Megan Curling鈥檚 exploration of how Thalufah, Thailand鈥檚 pro-democracy, student-led group, has harnessed Instagram to organize supporters.
鈥淭he historical evolution of film, and the power of social media to educate and organize, are two connecting themes in the fall 2023 edition,鈥 said Professor Harlen Makemson, who serves as the journal鈥檚 editor.
The issue contains six research papers authored by School of Communications students, and kicks off with Liam Callahan鈥檚 research exploring how popular news outlets addressed the possible role of video games in fostering gun violence聽following former President Donald Trump鈥檚 2019 comments linking the two. Callahan鈥檚 findings reveal that news and opinion articles generally dismissed gaming鈥檚 role in mass shootings, often citing research studies that refuted the connection.
Two student authors employed content analysis to study the ways in which film has evolved both in production techniques and representation. Talton provided an insightful comparison of movie musicals between cinema鈥檚 Golden Age and the 21st century, revealing that today鈥檚 musical numbers have a faster editing pattern, more camera shots, and more-complicated camera movements. Meanwhile, Nadine Jose鈥檚 examination of movies from the 1960s to the 2020s found substantial negativity toward menstruation, with characters experiencing some aspect of shame, maintaining secrecy, using coded language, or experiencing derisive treatment in all films.
In the social media sphere, Curling鈥檚 quantitative analysis of Instagram captions explores how Thalufah utilized Instagram to organize and inform supporters in the face of a speech-limiting constitutional monarchy. In contrast, Juliana Schiano鈥檚 study focused on how TikTok is used to disseminate information about sexual health, discovering that top videos most often share opinions, recommendations, advice, or reassurance about the topic.
Lastly, Tiffany Huang examined how professional graphic designers consider audiences with color vision deficiency, conducting 10 interviews with working designers. Her findings revealed that there is little reliance on technical tools meant to address color accessibility, with designers relying on gut instinct and subjective viewpoints to choose colors for their work.
鈥淭he articles you see in this edition are the culmination of a long and fruitful journey for each of the authors and their faculty mentors,鈥 Markemson wrote in his From the Editor session.
For the fall 2023 issue, Makemson assembled an editorial board of 29 communications faculty members who participated in the multiple blind-review process to select the best student work.
The 黑料不打烊 Journal began in spring 2010, with spring and fall editions each year. The fall 2023 journal marks its 28th edition. This past year the journal transitioned to become fully online, with each individual research paper available on its own respective webpage 鈥 increasing the content鈥檚 accessibility. Previously, past issues were mainly archived and shared via PDFs.
The Council on Undergraduate Research catalogs more than 200 student research journals in the nation, and the 黑料不打烊 Journal is one of the few that focuses on undergraduate student research in journalism, media and communications.