PULLMAN, Wash. — Susan Ross, a faculty member in Washington State University’s Edward R. Murrow School of Communication, has received a Fulbright grant to conduct media research.
Ross will examine how and why the media change the portrayal of groups, thereby influencing public opinion and policy.
Her research focuses on the First Amendment and new technologies, the First Amendment and marginalized groups, and roles of the media in social movements. Operating on a premise from political science research that suggests that cataclysmic events create radical changes in the reporting on – and public perception of – groups. Ross and a collaborator in Greece will investigate the portrayal of Palestine and Israel in U.S. and Greek newspapers.
Earlier research by Ross and Philemon Bantimaroudis of the University of the Aegean focused on the media portrayal of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli leader Ariel Sharon in the months prior to and following the Sept. 11 attacks. “Our results indicate that it did change in complex and paradoxical ways,” Ross said. “What we saw was the media possibly reflecting a schism in government perspectives on what should be done. For example, we found the portrayal of Arafat presented him as both a terrorist and supporter of terrorism who should be dealt with harshly and also as a potential ally in the Middle East — one of the critical players in the roadmap to peace.
“Now what we want to do is expand the timeframe of coverage and the number of media involved,” she said, “and we want to create a more sophisticated measurement of what’s going on.” Ross said she sees this as the beginning of a much larger international study involving numerous foreign researchers.
Her ultimate research goal is to answer some burning social questions. “Can the media help build global initiatives for peace? That’s what I care about,” Ross said. “Can we stop slaughtering each other? What role do the media play in the perpetuation of violence and the acceleration of violence? Is there something they are doing that turns people into the enemy? If so, can we stop doing that?”
Ross’s research goals are consistent with the Fulbright Program. According to its Web site, the purpose of the program is to bring more knowledge, more reason and more compassion into world affairs and thereby increase the chance that nations will learn to live in peace and friendship.
Ross said she expects the Fulbright grant will carry a positive, long-term benefit. “I think it has practical implications for getting grants, furthering research and pulling people together on these issues,” she said.
