Annenberg School for Communication

When the message matters, use science to craft it

An interdisciplinary initiative called the Message Effects Lab aims to understand, tap into, and develop communication around what motivates specific behaviors for specific populations. Its first projects center around COVID-19 testing and vaccines.

Michele W. Berger

Five questions about the new White House press secretary

In a Q&A, Barbie Zelizer of the Annenberg School for Communication discusses Jennifer Psaki’s first weeks on the job, plus what a shift back to a traditional press briefing means for journalism during the Biden presidency.

Michele W. Berger

Why independent cultures think alike when it comes to categories

In discovering how groups categorize unfamiliar shapes, research out of Annenberg’s Network Dynamics Group finds that intrinsic social experiences are at the root of problem solving, rather than the human brain itself.

From Annenberg School for Communication

The influence and importance of language

Labels for what happened Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol were very different from those used to describe the Black Lives Matter movement or the 2020 election results. How much weight do individual words actually have? It depends on the context.

Michele W. Berger



In the News


Newsweek

There is one major element missing from the debate on kids and social media

In an opinion essay, PIK Professor Desmond Upton Patton says that gun violence needs to be part of the conversation about how smartphones and social media impact young people.

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BBC

Presidential candidates on trial

Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center discusses the impact Donald Trump’s conviction or imprisonment could have on his presidential campaign.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

A Taylor Swift-themed addiction recovery group started in Philly and became ‘a community with the vibe of a Taylor concert’

Jessa Lingel of the Annenberg School for Communication says that online music fandoms have always been places where people make sense of stigmas.

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Reuters

Trump trial tests his campaign strategy of embracing bad publicity

Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center says that Donald Trump’s trial is giving him is the opportunity to bookmark his appearances with on-camera access, underscored by Truth Social.

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The New York Times

Why losing political power now feels like ‘losing your country’

Yphtach Lelkes of the Annenberg School for Communication says that political elites, not average voters, are driving the democratic backsliding that is occurring in America.

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