Publication Type: Invited Paper
Abstract: Emile Zola's "J'Accuse…!" letter against anti-Semitist affairs stands as an innovative text of social criticism in the modern era. Sometimes Zola channeled prophetic images and at other times invoked sentiment, but he always grounded truth claims in vivid memory images. Prophets used the terminology of ultimate contingency to produce reform, preaching repentance from an eschatological order of time and space. Sentimentalists used the philosophy of human rights to reform the passions, using the unruly state of nature as the ever-threatening backdrop for moral improvement. But for the social critic of later modernity, increasingly secular and suspended by the wheels of capitalism, a new paradigm stressing memory came to substitute these older symbolic orders.

In this presentation, I will discuss how narrative paradigms help explain the processes of public memory. I argue that Zola attempted to alter the narrative framing of public memory through an epistemology of images. As a modern social critic, Zola rooted his appeal to action in vivid existential images of alienation and paralysis. Only by actively remembering the event in a certain way could his audience move beyond their individual depravity and restructure the future. Through an analysis of "J'Accuse…!", I argue that memory images provided a new epistemological basis for modern social criticism, and, as theorists of collective memory, we should be more attentive to these symbolic processes of memory narration.

Publication Type: Poster
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Undergraduates read vignettes describing an allegation of sexual assault or a motor vehicle accident. The vignette included information that increased credibility of the complainant/witness, decreased her credibility, or discussed the burden of proof. Factors that increased credibility of the complainant/witness did not influence credibility of the accused when the complainant/witness was described as 5- or 13-years old. However, when she was described as 20-years old, factors that decreased her credibility also increased the credibility of the accused. These data are discussed in the context of breaches to principles of fundamental justice that could lead to wrongful convictions or wrongful acquittals.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The content analysis reported here scrutinized network news coverage of Republicans, Democrats, and a group of other presidential candidates across four consecutive (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004) election campaigns for bias. Most studies of journalistic bias in TV news focus on the volume of coverage or the verbal component of news, neglecting the visual aspect. This study reveals the importance of incorporating visual analysis into future investigations. Variables related to visual prominence and structural features (editing and camera techniques) used in packaging news stories were employed to do so. Results related to volume of coverage shows that candidates outside the two dominant political parties received relatively little coverage while Republicans and Democrats received more or less equal coverage. Yet, when the visual aspects of coverage are considered it becomes clear that Republicans were the beneficiaries, while the position of other candidates improved markedly. Democrats received the least favorable visual coverage of the three groups, across all four elections.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper examines the apologia used by Major League Baseball players that have been accused of steroid use. Most of the accusations are produced without a smoking gun, so an enthymeme is used to link the players to steroid use. However, even those admitting steroid use can regain positive public opinion with the right image restoration strategies. This paper will review the image restoration strategies of Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, and Jason Giambi.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This study examined the communication strategies used by the beleaguered Enron to respond to accusations of financial mismanagement that resulted in the collapse of the hitherto unparalleled Houston-based energy giant on December 2nd, 2001. Key elements of apologia, systems theory, and neoinstitutional theory were applied to examine the communication strategy used by the company during the crisis.
The data used to analyze Enron public communication strategy was sourced from the company’s official website (Enron.com) and LEXIS-NEXIS news and transcripts databases for three newspapers: The Washington Post, the New York Times and The Houston Chronicle. The data considered was from October 1st, 2001 when Enron filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy to July 8th, 2004 when the former Enron president Kenneth E. Lay was charged in court for financial misconduct. The criteria that directed the data collection process was based specifically on the consideration that the statements used quoted or represented Enron officials talking about the crisis.
A grounded-theory approach was used for data analysis. Three themes emerge from the data and labeled: Denial and reinforcement, Reconstruction of Legitimacy, and Projection of a New Future. The findings indicated that for sometime, Enron managed to present a positive image of itself until the law caught up with the executives. This study draws useful lessons to cooperation executives to be mindful of the costs of success and also breaks ground for future empirical research.