BEA2018 Top Paper Competition Winners

Curriculum, Assessment and Administration Division
Debut Paper Competition
1^st Place: Mary Beth Earnheardt, Youngstown State University & Adam Earnheardt, Youngstown State University; Exploring Media Entrepreneurship Education at the Masters Level: Outcomes and Assessment

Open Paper Competition
1^st Place: Jamie S. Switzer, Colorado State University & Ralph V. Switzer, Colorado State University; Immersive Journalism: Educating Students in an Emerging Genre for Reporting and Storytelling

2^nd Place: Andrew Mills, Northwestern University in Qatar; Amy Kristin Sanders, Northwestern University in Qatar & Shakir Shahid Hussain, Northwestern University in Qatar; Edged out? A Census of Undergraduate Ethics and Leadership Courses in Accredited U.S. Journalism and Mass Communication Programs

Documentary Division
Open Paper Competition
Top Paper: Travis R. Bell, University of South Florida; Documentary Film and Thirdspace: A Critical (Ethnographic) Lens to Explore Community, Place, and Race

Gender & Sexuality Division
Debut Paper Competition
1^st Place: Xiaomeng Li, Ohio University; Changing Destiny or Commercializing Singlehood— A Critical Discourse Analysis of SK-II’s Advertisement on “Leftover Women”

2^nd Place: Stefanie E. Davis, The Pennsylvania State University; Objectification, Sexualization, and Misrepresentation: Social Media and the College Experience

Open Paper Competition
1^st Place: Patrick Johnson, University of Colorado Boulder; Queer Monstrosities:  A Queer Theory Reading of The Babadook

2^nd Place: Ryan Dunham, Ohio University; Perceptions of Asexuality and Mental Health Issues:  Breaking the Connection

History Division
Open Paper Competition
1^st Place: Daniel Haygood, Elon University; TeleSports Digest: The Story of American Sports Television’s Original ESPN SportsCenter

2^nd Place: Mary E. Myers, Regent University; Radio Royalty: The Story Princess of the Music Box

Interactive Media & Emerging Technologies Division
Debut Paper Competition
1^st Place: Quan Long, Kansas State University;  Alec Tefertiller, Kansas State University; China’s new mania for live streaming: Gender differences in motives and uses of social live streaming services

2^nd Place: Chun Shao, Arizona State University; Why Do We Click “Like”? The Theory of Reasoned Action Perspective

Open Paper Competition
1^st Place: Raluca Cozma, Kansas State University; Tom Hallaq, Kansas State University; All the News That’s Fit to Tweet: College TV Stations’ Uses of Twitter

2^nd Place: Ed Youngblood, Auburn University; Digital inclusiveness of health information websites

International Division
Debut Paper Competition
1^st Place: Andrew M. Clark, University of Texas – Arlington; It’s a Scary and Dangerous World: A Content Analysis of Xinwen Lianbo’s News Coverage of Foreign Affairs Zedan Xu, University of Texas at Arlington

2^nd Place: Natalie Gabriela Acosta, Ohio University; Quintin Schomaker, Ohio University; Angela Maria Mendez, Ohio University; Neela Hassan, Ohio University; Aye Thada Hla, Ohio University; A comparative study of Digital Competence across Afghanistan, Colombia, Honduras, Myanmar and the United States of America

Open Paper Competition
1^st Place: Michel M. Haigh, Texas State University; Examining Eight Years of Broadcast Coverage of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars

2^nd Place: Xiaoqun Zhang, University of North Texas; Amanda Lee, Frisco High School; Exploring the Themes in the U.S. Media Coverage of “The Great Wall” Film

Law & Policy Division
Open Paper Competition
1^st Place: Matthew Bunker, University of Alabama; Emily Erickson, California State University, Fullerton; Plaintiff Identification in the ‘Persona Torts’: What Defamation Law can Offer the Right of Publicity and Related Claims

2^nd Place: Emily Erickson, California State University, Fullerton; Matthew Bunker, University of Alabama; You Can’t Be Serious: Problems Of Facticity And ‘Plausible Nonfactual Assertions’ In Defamation Law

Matthew Bunker, University of Alabama; Emily Erickson, California State University, Fullerton; #aintturningtheothercheek: Using Anti-SLAPP Law as a Defense in Social Media Cases

Kimberlianne Podlas, University North Carolina – Greensboro; When does linking to online content become copyright infringement? Rules for a post-Aereo world

Management, Marketing & Programming Division
Debut Paper Competition
1^st Place: Wenjing Xie, Marist College; Kate Fields, Marist College; Erin Kelly, Marist College; Micaela Martini, Marist College & Farrah Tamari, Marist College; Browse, Buy, Boast: The Social Media Strategy That Has Transformed Consumer Engagement

Open Paper Competition
1^st Place: Tang Tang, University of Akron & Roger Cooper, Ohio University; Predicting Changing Media Use Patterns via Mega Events: An Examination of Multi-Screen Viewing during the Rio Olympics

2^nd Place: Mohammad Hatim Abuljadail, King Abdulaziz University & Louisa Ha, Bowling Green State University; Engagement and Brand Loyalty Through Social Capital: How Social Media Marketing Utilizes Social Capital for their Benefit

Multicultural Studies Division
Debut Paper Competition
1^st Place: Tereza Kidane, Ohio University; Goitom Negash, Ohio University; The Social Function of Communication Devices and Migration Experiences: The Case of Eritreans

2^nd Place: Tom Brislin, University of Hawaii at Manoa; Codification and Commodification of Indigenous Culture

Open Paper Competition
1^st Place: Patricia F. Sanders, University of North Alabama; Mentoring Learners About Diversity and Inclusion Across the Academy

2^nd Place: Mark Tremayne, University of Texas – Arlington; Dustin Harp, University of Texas at Arlington; Julian Rodriguez, University of Texas – Arlington; Social Media as a Bridge to Political Involvement for Young U.S. Hispanics

News Division
Debut Paper Competition
1^st Place: Keren Henderson, Syracuse University & Sung Yoon Ri, Syracuse University; Who’s in the lead? A demographic analysis of leading local television news reporters across the top markets in the U.S.

Open Paper Competition
1^st Place: Douglas Ferguson, College of Charleston & Clark Greer, Liberty University; Assessing the Diffusion of Drones and Virtual Reality in Local Television News

2^nd Place: Ginger Blackstone, Harding University; Information or Inflammation: How Does News Media Exposure Relate to Americans’ Opinions About the Nation, the Government, and Personal Satisfaction?

3^rd Place: Carey Higgins-Dobney, Portland State University; News Work in the Age of Consolidated Corporate Ownership: Navigating Corporate Profits and the Public Interest as a Newsroom Worker

Radio & Audio Media Division
Open Paper Competition
1st Place: Will Kinnally, University of Central Florida; Heidi Bolduc, University of Central Florida; Tim Brown, University of Central Florida; The Influence of Personality And Motives on Music Streaming Behavior and Satisfaction

2^nd Place: Alan B. Albarran, University of North Texas; Gavin Rhoades, University of North Texas; CBS-Entercom and the Reverse Morris Trust: Implications for the Radio Industry and Future Media Mergers and Acquisitions

Religion & Media Division
Debut Paper Competition

1st Place: Joshua D. Weiss, Regent University; Ethnographic Study of Cuban Evangelistic Pastors and Seminary Leaders, and the Mediums They Use to Evangelize

Open Paper Competition

1st Place: Ian C. Punnett, Fourth Down and Ten Productions & Wafa Unus, Arizona State University; The Case of the Missing Muslim: Islamic Cultures and True Crime Television

Research Division
Debut Paper Competition
1^st Place: Tabitha Lynn Cassidy, Wayne State University; Engaging Transmedia: The Brain’s Response to the Marvel Cinematic Universe

2^nd Place: Sang yeal Lee, West Virginia University; Jiyoung Lee, West Virginia University & Hongmin Ahn, Dongguk University; Consumer Complaints as a Paracrisis: A Moderated Mediation Model of Company Response and Comment Activity on Facebook

Open Paper Competition
1^st Place: Shu-Yueh Lee, University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh & Sara Steffes Hansen, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh; Reality Shows and the President: Exploring Disposition Effects of Apprentice Viewers in Attitudes toward Trump as Presidentially Fit

2^nd Place: Tang Tang, University of Akron & Roger Cooper, Ohio University; The Most Social Games: Predictors of Social Media Uses during the Rio Olympics

Sports Division
Open Paper Competition
1^st Place: Qingru Xu, The University of Alabama; Minghui Fan, The University of Alabama & Kenon Brown, University of Alabama; Men’s Sports or Women’s Sports? Gender Norms, Sports Participation, and Media Consumption as Predictors of the Perceptions of Gender-Appropriate Sports in China

2^nd Place: Miles Romney, Brigham Young University & Rich Johnson, Creighton University; The ballgame is for the boys: The visual framing of female athletes on national sports networks’ Instagram accounts

Writing Division
Open Paper Competition
1st Place: Patricia Phalen, George Washington University; Who Has Power Over the Text? A Comparative Study of the Role of Television Writers in America and France