2023 – Freedom – National Harbor, MD
MCD Teaching and Service Awards
MCD Teaching Award Recipient – Allison Eden, Ph.D.Â
MCD Service Award Recipient – Laramie Taylor, Ph.D.Â
MCD Top Paper Award – Bradley J. Bond, Ph.D.
Top Papers
Enacted Replotting, Narrative Persuasion, and Colorectal Cancer: A Longitudinal Message Experiment with U.S. Adults: Kristal May, Helen M. Lillie, Chelsea Ratcliff & Jakob D. Jensen
I help you, you help me: Interracial reciprocity in situation comedies influences racial attitudes: Morgan Ellithorpe, Shay Xuejing Yao, David Ewoldsen, Lanier Holt
Identifying Loss and Grief in Childrenâs Animated Films: Katherine Sheets, Elizabeth B. Jones
Media for Coping, Media as Comfort: Sara M. Grady, Allison L. Eden, Lara Wolfers
Reconceptualizing Selective Moral Disengagement Mechanisms as Continuums of Moral Influence: A Theoretical Expansion: Rebecca Frazer, Matthew Grizzard
Top Student Papers
Peyton John Bonine: “Whiteness as Supreme, Homosexuals as Sinful: Terri Joeâs Satirical TikTok Fantasy of Christian Womanhoodâ
Keely Diebold: “Exploring the Effects of Individualsâ Perceived Prototypicality Within a Fandom”
Jessica L. Gehrke: “#ReclaimMLK and #IHaveaDream: Remembering Kingâs Dream on Twitterâ
Xiaoya Fu: “Myth and Reflection: âAuthenticityâ of Visual Communication and Its Regulationâ
Hyeonchang Gim: “Improving Attitudes toward Asians through a Foreign Film with Dubbing (vs. Subtitling): From the Perspective of Communication Accommodation and the Fluency Principle
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2022 – Honoring PLACE: People, Liberation, Advocacy, Community, and Environment – New Orleans, LA
MCD Teaching and Service Awards
MCD Teaching Award Recipient – Siobhan E. Smith-Jones, Ph.D.Â
MCD Service Award Recipient – Sumana Chattopadhyay, Ph.D.Â
MCD Dissertation Award Recipient – Tim Luisi, Ph.D.Â
Top Four Papers
Marisa A. Smith -Michigan State University, Katherine Haensche- Northeastern University
“(How to) Read the Comments: Analyzing Open-Ended Utterances Following Exposure to Black Lives Matter News”
Rebecca Frazer- Ohio State University , Matthew Grizzard- Ohio State University, Charles Mong- Ohio State University “Demystifying Schadenfreude: How Disposition Theorizing Explains Responses to Social Media Stories of Unvaccinated COVID-19 Deaths”
Ron Tamborini- Michigan State University, Joshua Baldwin -Michigan State University, Sara Grady- Michigan State University, Melinda Raynae Aley -Montana State University, Billings, Sujay Prabhu -Albion College “Finding the Moral of the Story in PG-13 and R Rated Films”
Nathan Walter -Northwestern University, Sapna Suresh -Northwestern University, John J. Brooks -Northwestern University, Camille Saucier -Northwestern University), Floor Fiers -Northwestern University), R. Lance Holbert -Temple University) “The Chaffee Principle: The Most Likely Effect of CommunicationâŠIs Further Communication”
Top Four Student Papers
Dante Mozie, University of South Carolina “Pick Up Arms and Fight: Editorial Coverage of the 1970 Jackson State College Shootingâ A Qualitative Coding Analysis”
Seungsu Lee, University of California- Davis “I participate in politics because the news is influential against me: Hostile media perception, third-person perception, and political participationâ
Ethan Morrow, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “Policing Depictions in News: Priming and Intentions to Defund the Police”
Tyra Lashaun Jackson, Texas A&M University “The War on Drugs and Race: New York Times and Washington Postâs coverage of crack and opioids”
2021 – Renewal and Transformation – Seattle, WA
MCD Teaching and Service Awards
MCD Teaching Award Recipient – Kristin L. Drogos
Top Four Papers
Ellie Yang, Rachel Kornfield, Yan Liu, Ming-Yuan Chi, Prathusha Sarma, Dhavan Shah, & David Gustafson”Expression in an Online Support Forum: Machine Learning, Communication Style, and Recovery Trajectories”
Lindsay Hahn, Melinda Raynae Aley, Alexandra Frank, Candice Lawrence, & Tahleen A. Lattimer “Heroes are Motivated by Altruism and Villains are Motivated by Egoism in Walt Disney Studio Films”
Matthew Grizzard & Allison L. Eden”The Character Engagement and Moral Adjustment Model (CEMAM)”
Zhuxuan Yan, Jia Liao, Katherine Dale, & Laura M. Arpan”The Effects of Awe-inspiring Nature Videos on Pro-environmental Intentions”
Top Four Student Papers
Seo Yoon Lee & Youngji Seo,”When Good People Make Fake News Go Viral: The Role of Anger in Fake News Sharing on Social Media”
Max Erdemandi & Jonathan Leach,”‘Masks Donât Work’: Political Ideology Associations and the Geospatial Propagation of COVID-19 Disinformation on Twitter”
Eunjoo Choi,”Parentsâ Mental State Communication and Childrenâs Consumer Behavior in the United States”Michael Coker & Riley Richards,”Exploring the Relationships Between GPS-Based Hookup Applications for Men Who Have Sex with Men and Endorsement of Traditional Masculine Roles”
2020 – Communication at the Crossroads – Virtual Event (Indianapolis, IN)
MCD Teaching Award Recipient – Bradley J. Bond
MCD Service Award Recipient – Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz
Top Four Papers
Nicholas Matthews and James Bonus, “How audiences update character dispositions in response to moral expectancy violations”
Kaitlin Fitzgerald, Charles Francemone, Rebecca Frazer, Kelly Merrill Jr., and Matthew Grizzard, “Specifying Emotional Flow in Media Experiences”
Frederic Hopp, Jacob Fisher, and Jacob Fisher, “The Neurophysiology of Affective Disposition Theory”
Top Student Papers
Courtlyn Pippert, â’This isnât Historically Accurate’: Drunk History, the Carnivalesque, and the Function of Documentary Reenactment”
Hannah Stevens and Irena Acic, “Examining Rape Culture in Online Forums: The Effect of Editorial Slant on Discourse Incivility”
Jesse King and Leah Fretwell, “Asian American Cultural Identity Portrayal on Instagram”
2019 – Communication for Survival – Baltimore, MD
MCD Teaching Award Recipient – Julius Riles
MCD Service Award Recipient – Stan Tickton
2018 – Communication at Play – Salt Lake City, UT
2017 – Our Legacy, Our Relevance – Dallas, TX
MCD Teaching Award Recipient – Jennifer Stevens Aubrey
MCD Service Award Recipient – Srivi Ramasubramanian
Top Papers
Ron Tamborini, Allison L. Eden, Sujay Prabhu, Lindsay Hahn, Clare T. Grall, Eric Novotny, and Leonard Reinecke, “Depleted enough to laugh? Effects of ego depletion on the enjoyment and recovery potential of tendentious and non-tendentious humor”
Bruce Hardy, Chen Zeng, Hazim Hardeman, and Carolyn Rivera, “The effect of different mass shooting news frames on support for gun control before and after the Orlando Florida Pulse nightclub shooting”
Jieun Shin, Lian Jian, Kevin Driscoll, and Francois Bar, “The diffusion of misinformation on social media: Temporal pattern, message, and source.”
Top Student Papers
Stacey Overholt, “Health becomes you: (Re)presenting data collectoin via health surveillance technologies in the era of big data”
Adam J. Mason, Haley Palmer, and Jacqueline Backer, “Voices from the echo chamber: A qualitative study of Facebook users’ interactions with political news information”
Deya Roy, “#80yearsinthemaking: A theoretical review of uses and gratifications”
Paulina Lainez, Jennifer Oliva, Melissa Flores, Nancy Meza Gil, “Spelled out in black and white: Media Framing”
2016 – Communication’s Civic Callings – Philadelphia, PA
Top Papers
Kelly Madden Daily, “Building upon a self-categorization explanation of the Hostile Media Effect: Examining the mediating roles of partisans’ perceptions of source trust and goodwill”
Sophie H. Janicke, Allie Taylor, and Arthur A. Raney, “Exploring Viewer Experiences with Inspiring Television Shows and Films”
Ashley Kraus and Jessica Gall Myrick, “Feeling bad about feel-good ads: The emotional and body-image ramifications of body-positive media”
Matthew A. Lapierre and Kirstie M. Farrar, “Learning to Love Guns: Gun Based Gameplay’s Links to Gun Attitudes”
2015 – Embracing Opportunities – Las Vegas, NV
MCD Teaching Award Recipient – Dana Mastro Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara
MCD Service Award Recipient – Adam Earnheardt Chair & Associate Professor, Youngstown State University
Top Papers
Bradley J. Bond and Brandon Miller, âFrom screen to self: The relationship between television exposure and self-complexity among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youthâ
Travis Dixon, âGood Guys Are Still Always in White? Positive Change and Continued Misrepresentation of Race and Crime on Local Television Newsâ
Bradley J. Bond and Brandon Miller, âFrom screen to self: The relationship between television exposure and self-complexity among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youthâ
Riva Tukachinsky, Dana Mastro, and Moran Yarchi, âThe Effect of Primetime Television Ethnic/Racial Stereotypes on Latino and Black Americans: A Longitudinal National Level Studyâ
Victor Pickard, âThe Strange Life and Death of the Fairness Doctrine and the Erosion of Positive Liberties in American Policy Discourseâ
2014 – The Presence of Our Past(s): NCA at 100 – Chicago, IL
MCD Service Award Recipient – Kris Harrison, University of Michigan
Top Four Papers
Television Exposure, Sleep Time, and Neurophysiologial Function among Preschoolers Amy Nathanson & Patrick T. Fries, Ohio State University
When do Misleading Communication Tactics in Health Advertisements Become Persuasive? Labeling and Adjacency Effects in Health Advertorials Sunny J. Kim, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth; Jeffrey T. Hancock, Cornell University
Parasocial Interaction and Parasocial Relationships: Conceptual Clarification and a Critical Assessment of Measures Jayson L. Dibble, Hope College; Tilo Hartmann, VU Amsterdam; Sarah F. Rosaen, University of Michigan, Flint
Parental Co-use with their Young Children: Determinants of Joint Media Engagement Sabrina Connell, Alexis Lauricella, & Ellen Wartella, Northwestern University
Top Four Student Papers
Fat Television and Productive Indiscipline Melissa Zimdars, University of IowaBinge Viewing and Cultivation: Using Exclusivity to Differentiate Binge Viewers from Heavy and Light Viewers Hilary Gamble & Rachel Hahn, University of Arizona
Attractability and Virality: The Role of Message Features and News-Sharing Channels in Health News Diffusion Hyun Suk Kim, University of Pennsylvania
Affective Arousal and Online Risk Information Seeking Behavior: The Role of Emotional Exemplars in Online Comment Reading Graham Dixon, Washington State University
2013 – Connections – Washington, DC
MCD Teaching Award Recipient – Amy Jordan, Annenberg Public Policy Center at The University of Pennsylvania
Top Four Papers
Laughing through our tears: Rhetorical Tensions in Roger & Me Jennifer Borda, University of New HampshireEgoism versus altruism in television content for young audiences Robert Lewis & Natalie Mitchell, University of Texas – Austin
Are u with some1? Using text message experience sampling to examine the relationship between co-viewing, enjoyment, and eudaimonia Elizabeth L. Cohen, Nicholas David Bowman, and Alexander Lancaster, West Virginia University
Distinguishing cultivation theory from cultivation effects: An exploration of television, violent movies, and beliefs about real-world crime Karyn Riddle, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Top Four Student Papers
Putting your best brain forward: Commercial brain imaging and the semiotics of improvement Ellen Defossez, University of Pittsburgh
Accent representations in the media: Information processing and effects Marko Dragojevic, University of California, Santa BarbaraThe right way to eat: Practical governmentality through semi-homemade cooking with Sandra Lee Hojin Song, University of Iowa
The sportiest catwalk on Earth: How sport and fashion collide on the Olympic stage Susannah Cobb McMonagle, Temple University
2012 – Celebrate COMMunity – Orlando, FL
MCD Teaching Award Recipient – R. Lance Holbert, The Ohio State University
Top Four Papers
Don’t Stop Believin’: Using Elevating Media and Music to Influence Attitudes Toward Stigmatized Groups Drew Shade, Keunyeong Kim, Eunhwa Jung, Mary Beth Oliver (Penn State University)
Moral Disengagement and the Moral Continuum in the World of Harry Potter: Examining Moral Disengagement Strategies, Moral Judgments, Enjoyment and Appreciation Meghan S. Sanders (Louisiana State University) and Mina Tsay (Boston University)
Rational and Emotional Communication between Filmmakers and Audiences in a Narrative Feature Film: A Developmental-Interactionist Theory of Film Communication Stephen Christopher Stifano
Top Four Student Papers
What the F*** is Sookie Smoking?’ An Ideological Criticism of Online Audience Responses to ‘True Blood’ Stacey Overholt (University of New Mexico)
My Beautiful Baby: Discursive Elements of Identity, Social Relations, and Power in TLC’s Toddlers & Tiaras Sabrina K. Pasztor (University of Illinois, Chicago)
Toward a Causal Explanation of ‘The CSI Effect’: Self-efficacy as Mediator between Fictional Crime-TV Exposure and Verdict Certainty Susan H. Sarapin (Purdue University)
The 2012 Mayan Prophesy: Framing American Needs through Disaster Alexis Pulos (University of New Mexico)
2011 – VOICE – New Orleans, LA
MCD Teaching Award Recipient – Matt McAllister, The Pennsylvania State University
MCD Service Award Recipient – David Ewoldsen, Ohio State University
Top Four Papers
Emily Moyer-Guse, John Tcherney, and Whitney Walther (Ohio State University): “Persuasiveness of a Humorous Narrative Combined with an Explicit Persuasive Appeal”
Ron Tamborini (Michigan State University), Matthew Grizzard (Michigan State University), Allison Eden (VU Amsterdam), and Robert Lewis (Michigan State University): “Imperfect Heroes and Villains: Patterns of Upholding and Violating Distinct Moral Domains and Character Appeal”
Nicole Martins (Indiana University) and Barbara J. Wilson (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign): “Social Aggression on Television and its Relationship to Children’s Aggression in the Classroom”
Sven Joeckel (Universitat Erfurt), Nicholas David Bowman (West Virginia University), and Leyla Dogruel (Free University of Berlin): “Adolescents, Morality and Interactive Entertainment: The Influence of Moral Salience on Actions and Entertainment Experience in Interactive Media”
Thomas Ksiazek (Villanova University): “Partisan Audience Polarization: Beyond Selective Exposure”
Top Four Student Papers
Nicholas Scott Smith (Northern Kentucky University) and James M. Durbin (University of Akron): “The Violent Voice: An Examination of the Impact of Violence in Film on the Audience”
Heather Liebling (University of Pittsburgh): “Historicizing a Holiday Special: Rudolph’s Mark on Children’s Television Broadcasting”
Steven Stuglin (Georgia State University): “Media Framing of Government Intervention: The Morality of Bailouts and Economics of Loans”
Robert L. Mack (University of Texas, Austin): “A (Truly) Captive Audience: The Twilight Zone as Mid-Century Equipment for Living”
2010 – Building Bridges – San Francisco, CA
MCD Teaching Award Recipient – David Tewksbury, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
MCD Service Award Recipient – Rebecca Ann Lind, University of Illinois at Chicago
Top Four Papers
Srividya Ramasubramanian (Texas A&M University): “The Effect of Media Celebrity Exemplars on Racial Attitudes, Causal Attributions, and Support for Affirmative Action”
Nicole Martins (Indiana University), Dmitri Williams & Rabindra Ratan (University of Southern California), & Kristen Harrison (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign): “Virtual Masculinity: A Three-Dimensional Content Analysis of Male Video Game Characters”
Rene Weber & Cynthia Bates (University of California – Santa Barbara), & Katharina-Maria Behr (University of Zurich): “Developing a Metric of Interactivity in Video Games”
Matthew Lapierre (University of Pennsylvania), Esther Rozendaal, Moniek Buijzen, & Eva van Reijmersdal (Amsterdam School of Communication Research): “Rethinking Cognitive Defenses and Children’s Responses to Advertising: A New Theoretical Approach”
Top Four Student Papers
Lindsay Fullerton (Northwestern University): “Web 2.0: Framing a Technological Concept”
Lucy Popova (University of California – Santa Barbara): “The Extended Parallel Processing Model: A Critique of Theory and Research”
Charles Reed (University of Nebraska – Omaha): “Hero Contra Villian Cum Hero: Bridging the Hero/Villian Discourse in Modern Superhero Films”
Su Jung Kim (Northwestern University): “Reconceptualizing Audience Fragmentation and Polarization from a Network Analytic Perspective”
2009 – Discourses of Stability and Change – Chicago, IL
Top Four Papers
Emily Moyer-Guse (Ohio State University): “Selective Exposure to Sexual Television Content: The Role of Genre and Perceived Message Intent”
Jakob Jensen, Jennifer Bernat, Kari Wilson, & Julie Goonewardene (Purdue University): “Mass Communication and the Sleeper Effect: Further Evidence that Fictional Narratives Can Be More Persuasive Over Time”
Allison Eden (Michigan State University), Mary Beth Oliver (Penn State University), Ron Tamborini (Michigan State University), Julia Woolley (Penn State University), & Anthony Limperos (Penn State University): “Perceptions of Moral Violations Among Media Characters”
Maria Kopacz & Bessie Lawton (West Chester University): “The YouTube Indian: Portrayals of Native American on a Viral Video Site”
2008 – unCONVENTIONal! – San Diego, CA
Top Four Papers
Beverly A Bondad-Brown (University of California, Santa Barbara), Katy Elizabeth Pearce (University of California, Santa Barbara), Ronald E. Rice & John D’Ambra (University of New South Wales): âMotivations and Sources for Traditional and Internet Television by US and Australian Studentsâ
Serena Carpenter (Arizona State University): âMobilizing the Online Public: An Examination of How Well U.S. Online Newspaper and Citizen Journalists Promote Community Engagementâ
Emily Moyer-GusĂ© (Ohio State University) & Robin L. Nabi (University of California, Santa Barbara): âExplaining the Persuasive Effects of Entertainment Education Programming: An Empirical Comparison of Three Theoriesâ
Victor W. Pickard (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign): âThe FCCâs Blue Book and the Postwar Struggle for the Peopleâs Airwaves, 1945-1948″
2007 – Communicating Worldviews: Faith-Intellect-Ethics – Chicago, IL
MCD Teaching Award Recipient – Cindy Lont, George Mason University
MCD Service Award Recipient – Mehdi Semati, Eastern Illinois University
Top Four Papers
Zack Stiegler (University of Iowa): “Conceptualizing the Small-Scale Public Sphere”
Andrew Billings (Clemson University): “Conveying the Olympic Message: NBC Producer and Sportscaster Interviews Regarding the Role of Identity”
Barbara Wilson (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) & Kristin Drogos (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign): “Preschoolersâ Attraction to Media Characters”
Jeremy Osborn (Albion College): “The Influence of Television Viewing on Expectations for and Assessments of Romantic Relationships”
2006 – Creating Sites for Connection and Action – San Antonio, TX
Top Three Papers
Kristen Hoerl (Auburn University): “The Rhetoric of Objectivity in the Documentaries Berkeley in the Sixties and The Weather Underground”
Chad Mahood & Dan Linz (University of California, Santa Barbara): “Video Game Play and the Role of Frustration: How Playing Non-Violent Video Games Can Lead to Aggressive Effects”
Catherine Squires (University of Michigan), Travis L. Dixon (Univ of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), Kai McKeever Bullard (University of Michigan), Nicole Martins (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), & James S. Jackson (University of Michigan): “Post-soul Media Consumption: Documenting Age Differences in African Americans’ Consumption of Black-oriented Media”
Top Three Student Papers
Ted Coopman (University of Washington): “Indymedia: Emergent Global Media Infrastructures”
Kim McCann (Bowling Green State University: “Media Diversity: The Analysis of The Search Engines and Source Diversity in The Internet”
Karyn Elizabeth Riddle (Univ of California, Santa Barbara): “Developing a Scale for Measuring Past Television Exposure”
2005 – The Health of the Discipline – Boston, MA
MCD Teaching Award Recipients – Mary Beth Oliver, Pennsylvania State University & Joshua Meyrowitz, University of New Hampshire
Top Three Papers
âThe Implications of Aversive Racism and Social Identity on the Influence of Television Exposure on Evaluations of Latinos,â Dana Mastro, University of Arizona and Maria Kopacz, University of Arizona.
âReassessing Communications Researchâs Potential Contribution to Communications Policy: The Case of Media Owndership and the Diversity Index,â Philip Napoli, Fordham University and Nancy Gillis, Fordham University.
âMinorities in Prime Time: A Look at Occupations and Occupational Prestige,â Nancy Signorielli, University of Delaware.
Top Three Student Papers
âThe Nouveau âReachâ: An Ideological Analysis of Class and Consumerism in reality Television,â Lisa Glebatis, University of Texas-Austin.
ââThe Daily Showâ with Jon Stewart: A Citizenâs Guide to Journalism and Politics in the 21st Century,â Karen McCullough, Pennsylvania State University.
âAction Movie Arabs and the National Interest or âHow I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love American Empire: US Popular Culture and US Foreign Policy,â Nessim Watson, University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
2004 – Chicago
Top Three Papers
Joshua D. Atkinson (University of Missouri): âFeedback, Mythic Figures, and Alternative Mediaâ
Andrew C. Billings (Clemson University), James R. Angelini (Indiana University), & Susan Tyler Eastman (Indiana University): âThe Hidden Gender Biases in Televised Golf Announcingâ
Amal G. Ibrahim, Jiali Ye & Cynthia A. Hoffner (Georgia State University): âDiffusion of News of the Shuttle Columbia Disaster: The Role of Emotional Responses and Motives for Interpersonal Communicationâ
Marie Hardin (Pennsylvania State University) “Sex Roles in Color: Racialized Females in Sports/Fitness Magazine Advertising”
Top Student Paper
Jakob D. Jensen & Ryan J. Hurley (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign): “Environmental Conflict in the Media: Measuring Presumed Influence, Presumed Behavior, and Behavioral Intention”
2003 – Miami
Top Three Papers
Yariv Tsfati & Jonathan Cohen (University of Haifa): âOn the effect of the âthird person effectâ: Perceived influence of media coverage and residential mobility intentionsâ
Cynthia A. Hoffner (Georgia State University) & Kenneth A. Levine (University of Tennessee): âEnjoyment of Mediated Horror and Violence: A Meta-Analysisâ
Travis L. Dixon (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) & Keith L. Maddox (Tufts University): âSkin Tone, Crime News, and Social Reality Judgments: Priming the Schema of the Dark and Dangerous Black Criminalâ
2002 – New Orleans
Top Papers
Kenneth S. Zagacki (North Carolina State University) & Dan Grano (Louisiana State University): “Sport, Culture, and Identity: A Fantasy Theme Analysis of Sport’s Talk”
Travis L. Dixon (University of Michigan): “Psychological Reactions to the Race of Perpetrators and Officers on Television News”
Sharon R. Mazzarella (Ithaca College) & Norma Pecora (Ohio State University): “Girls in Crisis: Newspaper Coverage of Adolescent Girls”
Cynthia Hoffner, Yuki Fujioka, Amal Ibrahim, & Jiali Ye (Georgia State University): “Responses to the Events of September 11th: News Diffusion, Emotion, and Coping”
Top Student Papers
Jennifer M. Proffitt, Hyeseung Yang, & Joonho Hwang, (Pennsylvania State University): “What is the Message: News Perceptions of Sensationalism and Medium”
Toby J. Arquette (Northwestern Univesity): “Indications of the Digital Development Divide: A Meta-Analytic Framework for Assessing the Global Digital Divide”