Story Topic and Valence Research Question
With regard to the focus of the story, crosstabs analysis reveals a difference in the valence of the public relations-related terms based on the story topic (χ2 (5, N = 226) = 11.90, p < .05). The data suggests that celebrity/entertainment stories tended to frame public relations terms more positively or neutrally (70.8%) than negatively, while trial/crime stories and stories about politics/government were more negative (71.4% and 54.5%, respectively) than positive/neutral. The most common focus for non-harmful (positive/neutral) stories was politics/government (30.2%). Additionally, the most common focus for harmful (negative) stories was also politics/government (38.2%). This data answers RQ2, which asked what story topics would be more likely to use PR- related terms in a negative manner.