Erasmus University Thesis Repository
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Verzachting van nieuws?
No full textVan de jaren zestig tot de jaren tachtig zijn de media uitgegroeid tot de belangrijkste bron van
informatie en dragen zij een verantwoordelijke rol in de bericht- en kennisgeving van het publiek.
Door ontwikkelingen zoals commercialisering en mediatisering lijken de grenzen tussen de
informatiefunctie en de vermaakfunctie van de media steeds meer te vervagen. De strijd om
aandacht van het publiek neemt toe en vormen van infotainment worden aangenomen, een
overkoepelende ontwikkeling die de samensmelting van entertainment en journalistiek representeert
in de media. Ook de Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) heeft te maken met de ontwikkelingen in
het huidige medialandschap. Met het NOS Journaal zorgt deze publieke omroep al sinds 1969 voor
een dagelijkse - en belangrijke - bron om het publiek te informeren over het nieuws van de dag. De
volgende vraag staat centraal: In hoeverre is er sprake van infotainment in de onderwerpkeuze en
framing van de berichtgeving van het NOS Achtuurjournaal in de periode 2014-2024?
Om dit te onderzoeken, zijn in totaal 718 openingsitems uit de NOS Achtuurjournaals van
2014 en 2024 handmatig gecodeerd via een kwantitatieve inhoudsanalyse. Elk item is
gecategoriseerd op hard nieuws en zacht nieuws. Vervolgens is de aanwezigheid gemeten van drie
harde frames - het conflict frame, het economische gevolgen frame en het thematisch frame - en
vier zachte frames - dramatisering, emotionalisering, personalisering en het episodisch frame. Tot
slot zijn de nieuwswaarden gecombineerd met de frames, waarmee zowel verzachting van hard
nieuws als verharding van zacht nieuws gemeten is.
De resultaten laten zien dat er met betrekking tot harde en zachte nieuwswaarden geen
sprake is van infotainment. Hetzelfde geldt voor het totale aandeel zachte en harde frames, dat gelijk
is gebleven tussen de jaren 2014 en 2024. Desalniettemin laten de frames los van elkaar wel
interessante uitkomsten zien over tijd: het harde thematisch frame is toegenomen, net als de zachte
frames emotionalisering en personalisering. Het zachte episodische frame is daarentegen afgenomen.
Ook bleek er een toename te zijn tussen 2014 en 2024 in het gebruik van de combinatie van zachte
frames bij harde nieuwsitems. Dit betekent dat infotainment niet enkel afhangt van de aanwezigheid
van nieuwswaarden, maar ook van de combinatie van deze twee. Dit onderzoek naar het NOS
Achtuurjournaal zorgt ervoor dat brede ontwikkelingen zoals infotainment niet onopgemerkt blijven.
De verantwoordelijkheid om kritisch om te gaan met nieuws ligt niet alleen bij journalisten en
redacteurs, maar ook bij het publiek, dat zich bewust moet zijn van de invloed die framing heeft op
de nieuwsbeleving
The Relationship Between Public Funding and Entrepreneurial Behaviour of Theatres and Galleries: A Case Study on the Turbulent Cultural Sector in Slovakia
No full textThe Slovak cultural sector has been facing challenges since Minister ?imkovi?ová stepped into the office in 2023. Among other things, the previously independent Slovak Arts Council (FPU) was seized by the Ministry of Culture and significant changes in its fund allocation process were implemented. FPU serves as an important tool for financial support for both established and independent culture, specifically performance arts, visual arts, museums, and heritage institutions. In 2025, FPU was operating with delays and public support for many organisations was diminished or completely stopped. Thus, the case of Slovakia offers interesting insights into the importance of public funding for cultural organisations and how organisations deal with its absence. This comparative case study examines the relationship between receiving public funding and the entrepreneurial behaviour of Slovak theatres and galleries. Entrepreneurial behaviour is defined by six characteristics as inspired by Klamer's (2011) cultural entrepreneur: (1) innovation in products, (2) innovation in processes, (3) risk-taking, (4) opportunity seeking, (5) prioritisation of cultural values over profits, and (6) having the persuasive power to induce the right people to join the conversation. The data for this study was collected by conducting 11 semi-structured interviews with representatives from Slovak theatres and galleries, and was subsequently used in qualitative thematic analysis to arrive at findings. The interviews have shown that while the entrepreneurial behaviour of Slovak theatres and galleries is subtle, receiving public support does not crowd out their cultural entrepreneurial behaviour. A relatively stable budget turned out to play a pivotal role in the organisations' willingness to engage in cultural entrepreneurship - in the case of Slovak organisations, this was achieved through public support prior to the recent developments. The only aspect of cultural entrepreneurship that was undermined by public support was the organisations' use of persuasive powers to arrange finances. With the FPU changes, the theatres and galleries became less entrepreneurial as their budgets became highly unstable and they do not have experience with arranging funds through private financing. The findings highlight the importance of FPU gaining back its independence and the necessity of introducing a policy that would stimulate private sector involvement in the Slovak cultural sector
Framing Diversity: Policy Rhetoric and the Cultural Supply of Modern Art Museums
No full textThis research explores how modern art museums conceptualize and operationalize diversity within their policy documents and strategic plans. Although museums are facing increasing pressure from political and social justice movements to change their collections and curatorial practices, their approaches to diversity are often inconsistent and largely symbolic. To examine this discrepancy, the study draws on cultural economics, decolonial scholarship, and Andrew Stirling's (1999) multidimensional diversity framework, which encompasses variety, balance, and disparity, to evaluate how museums frame diversity within their cultural supply (i.e., collections, exhibitions, and other cultural offerings). A qualitative comparative content analysis was conducted on institutional documents from ten modern museums across the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Canada, Spain, and France. The findings show that museums primarily identify diversity through the presence of variety, as shown by the wide but uneven use of diversity descriptors (e.g., BIPOC, queer). Stirling's second dimension, balance, appears in limited forms and is often focused on correcting underrepresentation in siloed and temporary initiatives rather than as structural integration throughout the collection. Finally, the degree of difference between diversity descriptors (i.e., disparity) is absent; instead, most museums frame diversity using broad umbrella terms such as "non-Western" that flatten meaningful differences and risk reproducing Eurocentric logics. This study is the first to use Stirling's model within the museum (and thereby fine art) industry, and ultimately reveals that diversity is often reduced to symbolic or siloed initiatives to correct absence rather than achieve systemic transformation. It also underscores the need for clearer definitions of diversity and the establishment of measurable goals that use concrete data and move beyond tokenistic inclusion. While the research sample is limited to Western institutions and based solely on public-facing documents, the research provides a framework for evaluating diversity that could be further developed in future studies to assess and operationalize diversity directly within art collections
Designing Effective Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility Messages: Communication Strategies in the Automotive Industry
No full textAs more companies invest in environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR), increasing attention has been given to how to effectively communicate their environmental CSR efforts. However, limited research has focused on how to enhance message credibility and brand attitude through environmental CSR communication. To fill this gap, this study investigates how the use of gain-loss message framing and the presence or absence of third-party environmental certification can affect perceived message credibility and brand attitude in automotive environmental CSR messages. The automotive industry was chosen because environmental CSR is especially important in this sector. Additionally, this study examines whether perceived message credibility serves as a mediator between gain-loss message framing, third-party environmental certification, and brand attitude.
This study used a quantitative online experimental survey, collecting data from 200 participants to test the hypotheses and answer the research question. The findings show that only gain-framed environmental CSR messages can result in a more positive brand attitude, while message framing did not affect perceived message credibility. Additionally, the presence of third-party environmental certification did not lead to changes in perceived message credibility or brand attitude. Although message credibility did not mediate the effect of gain-loss message framing and third-party environmental certification on brand attitude, it was found that message credibility can positively affect brand attitude.
The findings of this study confirmed the positive effect of gain-framed messages in environmental CSR communication. Future studies can further explore the effects of gain-loss message framing on different variables. Regarding the non-significant effect of third-party environmental certification, the issue may be that this study only focused on the visual presentation of the certification logo. Future research could test whether the results change when additional explanatory context about the third-party environmental certification is provided
Revealing the Machine Behind the Message
No full textAs artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in advertising workflows, particularly through
the advancement of generative tools, questions arise about how consumers perceive and respond to AI
generated advertisements, especially when AI involvement is disclosed. While legislative efforts, such as
the EU AI Act and California AI Transparency Act, aim to enhance transparency, limited empirical
evidence exists on how consumers interpret such disclosures and how this affects decision-making.
Existing research on advertising disclosures presents inconsistent findings, with some studies suggesting
transparency builds trust, while others report it can induce skepticism. This study addresses this gap by
investigating how different AI disclosure formats (explicit, implicit, none) affect consumer decision
making, and how these effects are moderated by consumers' pre-existing attitudes toward AI. The
research is grounded in the Persuasion Knowledge Model (PKM), which posits that consumers activate
their persuasion knowledge when they recognize persuasive intent, potentially influencing their
responses. To explore these dynamics, a quantitative between-subjects experiment (N = 138) was
conducted utilizing a fictional AI-generated shampoo advertisement that was disclosed in three distinct
formats. Brand trust served as a mediator, while consumers' general attitude toward AI functioned as a
moderator, employing validated scales. The results revealed that AI disclosure, whether explicit or
implicit, did not significantly influence purchase intention or brand trust. However, a mediation analysis
demonstrated that brand trust significantly mediated the relationship between AI disclosure and
purchase intention, suggesting that trust acts as a key determinant of consumers' behavioral intentions
in this context. Moreover, attitude toward AI did not significantly moderate this relationship, indicating
that general attitudes toward AI may be too broad to capture the nuances of the perception of AI in
advertising. These findings offer both theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, this study
extends the PKM to AI-generated content and highlights the central role of brand trust in persuasive
digital advertising. Practically, the results indicate that advertisers can integrate AI into their workflows
without risking consumer backlash, provided that trust is maintained. For policymakers, the findings
underscore the need for clearer regulatory frameworks on AI disclosure
How Museums Co-produce: the Case of Italian Autonomous State Museums
No full textThis thesis uses semi-structured qualitative expert interviews aiming to tackle the central research question: how do the autonomous museums implement co-production in Italy? Through the further three sub-questions which better structured the analysis. The thesis explores the extent and manifestation of the autonomy given to the institutions after the Franceschini reform of 2014. It looks at whether this autonomy has facilitated co-production initiatives and what this translates to in terms of efficiency. The research also pays an underlying attention to its relevance in comparison to the broader European policy objectives, used as a benchmark. Through the expert interviews of 6 autonomous museums' directors and 1 administrative officer, three emerging themes were identified: Partial Autonomy, Co-production as a Core Strategic Practice and Relative Efficiency. These themes provided clear insights into the complex interplay between the three central macro-dimensions of autonomy, co-production and efficiency within Italian autonomous state museums. The findings highlight how reforms were quite beneficial to their institutions, specifically through the greater autonomy given to their decision-making processes and in terms of financial budgeting. There was an increase in co-production initiatives which brought about positive externalties for the institutions themselves and the other local stakeholders. On the other hand, other limiting factors such as the heavy bureaucratic barriers and lack of autonomy on the choosing of personnel was found to be detrimental to the efficiency of these institutions. This thesis aims to contribute to the recent growth in cultural heritage and museum literature focused on finding new ways to both sustainably conserve and valorize cultural heritage, through the notion of co-production and its potential implication for a more sustainable and democratic governance system. The results thus highlight a number of systemic flaws which limit the potential of autonomous cultural institutions in the Italian case. Uniquely, this thesis also suggests to partially solve these inefficiencies through the role of people and their participative collaboration
Artistic Resistance: The Art and Activism of Black Women in America 1960-1980
No full textAmerica in the 1960s to 1980s, was a powder keg of political and social activity. While everyone was advocating for equality in the form of various movements, the Black civil rights movement gave birth to the Black Arts Liberation movement (BAM). Amongst the dominant voices, Black female artists strived to make their voices heard. They rejected the notion that their oppression/discrimination was based solely on gender or race, but a culmination of multiple factors that created a unique set of challenges and perspectives. They used their musical, literary, and visual art as a protest tool to explore notions of race, gender, sexuality, power dynamics, female representation and class while advocating for liberation. Discussions surrounding diversity, racial justice and inclusion have taken center stage in public debate, especially in the United States. These debates have raised questions about how people of various backgrounds navigate these discussions. This has also shed light on the academic scope of Civil Rights and feminist movement scholarship, while vast, has limited focus on groups within the movement and their contributions. Through an intersectional analytical lens, this project highlights the understudied demographic of black female artists within the scope of the BAM, how and why they used specific repertoires of contention in social activism and what this means for the broader implications of both the feminist and black civil rights movements, art and activism
Between Prompts and People, the Future(s) of Creative Agencies in the Netherlands
No full textThe integration of artificial intelligence is prompting a sudden and fundamental shift and raising key questions about the value and organization of the creative industry. Nowhere is this transformation more evident than in creative agencies; organizations positioned at the intersection of creativity and innovation. The rapid pace of AI advancement offers enhanced productivity and creative augmentation. However, that rapidity challenges traditional job roles, team structures, collaboration, and normative practices within these agencies. This thesis explores how AI adoption is reshaping internal norms, job functions, team dynamics, and structures within creative agencies in the Netherlands, a country known for its globally influential design and culture. The central research question guiding this study is: How could AI adoption reshape normative institutional frameworks in the creative agencies in the Netherlands in the year 2035? Through scenario planning, a qualitative futures studies methodology, this study answered the explorative research question and constructed four potential scenarios for creative agencies to plan for the uncertain future and operate in a market that is rapidly evolving due to AI. Drawing from institutional theory, especially the lens of normative institutions, this study investigates both the micro-level changes inside agencies and macro-level pressures driving them. Thirteen in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted across agency founders, creative strategists, innovation consultants, and in-house creative professionals to gain a comprehensive understanding of the core problem and served as the primary source of data. Through the thematic analysis of the interviews, key stakeholders, uncertainties, and trends were identified regarding the future of AI adoption in creative agencies. Findings suggest that AI adoption is accelerating the transformation of job roles - from traditional design and writing profiles to hybrid roles requiring more technical knowledge and strategic oversight. Internal norms within the industry are evolving toward increased speed and data-informed creativity, while teams are becoming either more collaborative or fragmented based on the organizational strategy. While the contrasting nature of scenarios revealed that the agencies will have different normative functions, the core insight remained that the agencies' adaptability to constant change due to AI will be key in their survival in the Dutch creative market. Concerns around role displacement, unresolved ethical problems, and diminishing junior talent pipelines remain. In contrast, AI is a catalyst for institutional transformation within creative agencies. The study contributes to a more grounded understanding of how technology reshapes agency, workplace norms, and organizational resilience in the face of rapid innovation, particularly in the creative industries
The Algorithmic Shade Room
No full textAs algorithms increasingly shape the way individuals consume digital content, many scholars have taken it upon themselves to investigate how these systems may reinforce social inequalities. One specific and often overlooked manifestation of algorithmic bias is colorism, the preferential treatment of individuals with lighter skin tones. While previous research has examined algorithmic discrimination in areas such as healthcare, policing, and education, less is known about colorist bias embedded in social media feeds and how it can affect users' perceptions. This thesis investigates the extent to which colorist algorithmic biases influence perceptions of platform trust and fairness, and whether comfort with racial diversity in friend groups moderates this relationship. A between-subject survey experiment was conducted with 216 participants. Each participant was randomly assigned to view a mock Instagram feed curated with either predominantly lighter-skinned individuals or a racially diverse set of individuals. Participants completed a pre- and post-test measuring their perceived trust and fairness toward the platform, as well as a scale measuring the racial diversity of their social circles. The findings revealed that exposure to racially diverse Instagram feeds significantly increased perceptions of platforms trust and fairness. In contrast, exposure to feeds with lighter-skinned individuals did not significantly decrease perceptions of trust and fairness. The moderation analysis revealed comfort with racial diversity in friend groups did not significantly influence the relationship between algorithmic bias and user perceptions. These results demonstrate that visible racial diversity in content matters for how platforms are perceived, regardless of users' cross-group friendships. The findings of this thesis contribute to ongoing discussions in algorithmic fairness by highlighting the psychological impact of visual diversity in algorithmically curated
content. The findings also introduce colorism as a critical variable in the broader discourse of
digital equity and representation, specifically in personalized recommendation systems. Even though the study was limited by factors such as ecological validity and the sensitivity of topics such as race and discrimination, the implications highlight the importance of inclusive algorithmic design and enhanced transparency in AI systems. By holding platforms accountable for their unequal values
embedded in their algorithms, this research advocates for more ethical, inclusive, and socially aware technology designs
"A Complex but Contradictory Reality"
No full textBusiness Improvement Districts (BIDs) are a growing model of urban governance in cities. BIDs collect levies from businesses located in a delineated spatial area and use those funds to provide public realm improvements within that district. This is primarily motivated by the economic potential that better surroundings can bring to businesses-safer, cleaner, and more vibrant places inevitably increase footfall. Since the model was adopted two decades ago in the UK, BIDs have not only become more pervasive, but they are also becoming increasingly concerned with going beyond business and integrating community engagement. As BIDs start to adopt strategies from placemaking, they face the tension and criticism of being private, non-governmental entities that perform services that could otherwise be provided by the government. Participatory strategies like co-production might be the best path for mitigating conflicts of interest. This study then poses the question: how do BIDs utilize co-production in the process of creative placemaking? This question was answered using the Culture Mile BID in London as a case study for qualitative research. The presence of cultural institutions such as the Barbican and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama within its footprint is being leveraged by the BID, utilizing arts and culture as a catalyst for public realm improvements while also branding itself as an artistic destination. Eight interviews were conducted with members from three of the BID's identified key stakeholders-cultural organizations, local authorities, and residents; together with a review of Culture Mile BID's reports. It was found that while BIDs perform co-production by including stakeholders in its board and steering groups, integrating their voice into decision making is not a simple process. While it supports and enables creative placemaking projects, projects initiated by the BID can still be improved so stakeholders feel a deeper connection to these arts and cultural interventions. More broadly, this research illustrates that BIDs must responsibly conduct their internal governance systems, with guardrails from government and its stakeholders, to ensure a balance of interests between these actors