Defense Date

4-18-2017

Graduation Date

Spring 5-1-2017

Availability

One-year Embargo

Submission Type

thesis

Degree Name

MS

Department

Journalism and Multimedia Arts

School

McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Committee Chair

Pamela Walck

Committee Member

Michael Dillon

Committee Member

Maggie Patterson

Committee Member

Zeynep Tanes-Ehle

Keywords

Cover lines, Magazine, Magazine covers, news, politics

Abstract

The Rolling Stone magazine is a significant artifact spanning throughout American pop culture; yet it has fought to be considered a legitimate news source in American media. This thesis study examines how Rolling Stone frames news and politics, and how the magazine portrays itself as being political, through its front covers. Research has shown that magazine covers “communicate,” “visually summarize” and work “as an advertisement to attract customers” (Kang & Heo, 2013). The purpose of this study is to understand how Rolling Stone presents itself as a legitimate news source and how the covers convey the publication’s identity. A mixed-methods content analysis was used to analyze both front cover artwork and front cover text. This research reveals how magazines can use their covers to establish legitimacy in American media.

Format

PDF

Language

English

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