Journalism electronic theses and dissertations (MU)
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The items in this collection are the theses and dissertations written by students of the School of Journalism. Some items may be viewed only by members of the University of Missouri System and/or University of Missouri-Columbia. Click on one of the browse buttons above for a complete listing of the works.
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Item No cameras needed : examining documentary filmmaking as the collision site of art and reality in the age of generative artificial intelligence(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2025) Siwak, Bradford Levy; Greenwood, Keith[EMBARGOED UNTIL 12/01/2026] As generative AI video challenges fundamental notions of artistic expression and representations of reality, the perspectives of documentary filmmakers are a pressing area of exploration. This study aimed to uncover areas of the technology's implementation and the related significance for the documentary form. Using theoretical frameworks that centered tensions between truth telling and artistry, properties from cinema's unique relationship with time, and the meaning of machine collaboration in reality interpretation, the researcher conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with cutting-edge documentary filmmakers, considering them as active agents in shaping the future of the form. A qualitative analysis revealed three overarching areas of uses and implications: tool-like deployment; expanding the range of expressed perspectives, human and algorithmic; and radical reinterpretations of the nonfiction cinematic form, from narrative modularity to new ways of visualizing reality. The results highlight the breadth of contextual considerations and personal priorities in truth telling that mediate nonfiction filmmakers' attitudes and artistic-journalistic perspectives. Further research should address evolving legal and economic particularities, stigmas in adopting or resisting using the technology, and specific marginalized communities' deployment of alternative epistemologies through generative AI.Item Technology, trust, and industry transformation : a cross-national study on journalists' perceptions of field dynamics amid generative AI(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2025) Gong, Jiaxin; Schroeder, Jared[EMBARGOED UNTIL 12/01/2026] Journalism has long been influenced by technologies, but generative AI introduces new possibilities and uncertainties for journalism by creating human-like content. Drawing on field theory, this study explores how journalists in the U.S. and China understand the socially embedded dynamics of the journalistic field amid the rise of generative AI, including its role in professional practices and its connections to power relations. Based on 29 in-depth interviews with journalists, 15 from the U.S. and 14 from China, the study finds that both countries are experiencing a transitional stage marked by hybrid and experimental habitus. Flexible newsroom guidance and a shared practical sense lead journalists to engage with generative AI in self-directed ways. Meanwhile, clear cross-national differences appear in AIgenerated visual workflows and in how journalists perceive and weigh forces inside and outside the journalistic field, which shape their understandings of what constitutes legitimate uses of generative AI. U.S. journalists emphasize social capital and prioritize audience trust, resulting in a more cautious approach to AI-generated visuals. In contrast, Chinese journalists emphasize on state-led media transformation policies and tend to internalize these national priorities, viewing experimentation with AI-generated visuals as a legitimate way to fulfill them. By moving beyond technocentric perspectives, this study offers a socially grounded analysis of how journalists interpret and engage with generative AI and advances comparative understanding of global journalism amid emerging technological change.Item Beyond siloed solutions : reimagining environmental journalism through intersectional citizen reporting(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2025) Oduolowu, Damilola Obipeju; Mislán, Cristina[EMBARGOED UNTIL 12/01/2026] Despite extensive literature on citizen journalism and environmental journalism, limited research exists on how marginalized communities use digital media and citizen reporting to share their experiences and challenge systemic environmental injustices. Through semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 20 citizen environmental reporters and professional environmental journalists, this dissertation uses the intersectionality theoretical framework to explore how and why activists with minoritized intersecting identities, such as race, gender, class, nationality, ethnicity, geography, etc., use citizen journalism tools and strategies to report on environmental issues in marginalized communities. Findings revealed a fundamental need for a paradigm shift from universalist reporting to approaches that center the lived experiences and unique vulnerabilities of marginalized communities. This study argues that intersectionality is a crucial method and lens that redefines the scholarship of environmental journalism and communication. As a critical approach to environmental journalism research, this study extends our knowledge and application of intersectionality in environmental reporting to comprehend systemic environmental injustices, particularly as a means to address the challenges faced by marginalized communities. This approach is essential not only for effectively challenging dominant media narratives and building trust but also for fostering equitable solutions that genuinely address the root causes of environmental injustice.Item Excommunicated : a framing theory analysis of Sister Margaret McBride's and a Catholic hospital's decision to authorize a life-saving abortion(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2025) Tizon, Melissa; Hinnant, AmandaThis study analyzed media framing of one of the most publicized instances of emergency abortions in Catholic hospitals coming into conflict with church teaching. This case, which took place in Phoenix, Arizona in 2009, involved Sister Margaret McBride, who was excommunicated for authorizing an emergency abortion to save the life of a mother, and St. Joseph Hospital, which was stripped of its Catholic status for allowing the procedure. Using framing theory and a qualitative textual analysis based on Entman's five framing functions (1993), the study investigated how news outlets constructed narratives about the case and how framing differed across general, Catholic, and health care audiences. Three dominant frames emerged from the analysis. These include moral showdown, which was most prevalent in outlets for general audiences and emphasized the dramatic conflict between church hierarchy and hospital administrators; conflicting interpretations, which dominated Catholic-oriented coverage and focused on theological and ethical debate within the church; and caught-in-the-middle, which appeared most often in health care publications and portrayed Catholic hospitals as struggling to square their faith tradition with emergency clinical care. In comparing how the narrative was constructed for each audience, this thesis advances scholarship on framing theory by highlighting the distinct frames used for different audiences. Additionally, the study offers practical insights for communicators in Catholic hospitals, emphasizing the need for clear, transparent communication about what the public can expect from their local Catholic hospital when it comes to emergency care for pregnant patients. Following a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision that reversed Roe v. Wade, these findings are increasingly relevant, as debates over access to emergency abortion care in Catholic hospitals have come under heightened scrutiny and remain unresolved today.Item Passing the press(ure) : the emotional and paternalistic struggle of succession planning for small-town newspaper owners(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2025) Wehmer, William Edmund; Mathews, NickSmall-town newspapers are vital civic lifelines but face an escalating succession crisis as owners age and struggle to identify successors that can maintain community trust and journalistic integrity. This study examines how 15 owners of weekly newspapers in Missouri navigate succession planning amid economic precarity and deep communal obligations. Through semi-structured interviews, thematically analyzed, three key themes emerged: anxiety and avoidance of succession planning, a preference for local successors and the journalistic paternalism that shapes their decisions within their publication. Findings reveal that these affective and moral dynamics can stall the creation of succession steps, prolong indefinite stewardship and heighten the risk of closure. By foregrounding small-town newspaper owners' internal deliberations, this research fills a critical gap in local journalism scholarship and highlights the need for succession strategies that honor owners' attachments while creating practical pathways to sustain small-town news for years to come.