5/19
Annenberg School for Communication
Moving away from ‘average,’ toward the individual
Moving away from ‘average,’ toward the individual
In a course from Annenberg’s David Lydon-Staley, seven graduate students conducted single-participant experiments. This approach, what’s known as an “n of 1,” may better capture the nuances of a diverse population than randomized control trials can.
How storytelling can motivate us to help others
How storytelling can motivate us to help others
A new study from Annenberg School’s Communication Neuroscience Lab finds that personal stories—instead of cold facts—make people want to help keep others safe.
Ben Franklin: A voice from the past that speaks to our time
Ben Franklin: A voice from the past that speaks to our time
At the 2022 Silfen Forum, Penn Interim President Wendell Pritchett chatted with filmmaker Ken Burns about his new two-part documentary on Benjamin Franklin.
Tech’s role in Russia’s war on Ukraine
Tech’s role in Russia’s war on Ukraine
Media scholar Courtney Radsch says tech platforms should have been faster to address Russian government propaganda, misinformation, and censorship.
Seeking justice, support for incarcerated Pennsylvanians
Seeking justice, support for incarcerated Pennsylvanians
As winners of the 2021 President’s Engagement Prize, Carson Eckhard, Natalia Rommen, and Sarah Simon provide hope for wrongfully convicted people and a roadmap for inmates set for release.
Public media can improve our ‘flawed’ democracy
Public media can improve our ‘flawed’ democracy
A new study finds that countries with well-funded public media have healthier democracies, and explains why investment in U.S. public media is an investment in the future of journalism and democracy alike.
New COVID-19 roadmap: Four takeaways
New COVID-19 roadmap: Four takeaways
A report spearheaded by PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel, with input from other Penn experts, lays out a dozen priorities for the federal government to tackle in the next 12 months. The aim: to help guide the U.S. to the pandemic’s “next normal.”
Climate scientist Michael Mann to join Penn faculty
Climate scientist Michael Mann to join Penn faculty
Mann is the first new faculty member to be recruited as part of the recently announced Energy and Sustainability Initiative as a Presidential Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science.
Why unions matter for nursing
Why unions matter for nursing
A new study examines nursing’s relationship to union organizing and feminism, as well as the profession’s unique organizing challenges.
The Black Lives Matter movement, but not COVID encouraged voters toward Biden
The Black Lives Matter movement, but not COVID encouraged voters toward Biden
As swing voters registered more awareness about discrimination against Black Americans, they became more likely to vote for the party they felt would best rectify that—Democrats.
In the News
Philadelphia Inquirer
Lights. Camera. Crime
Dan Romer of the Annenberg Public Policy Center analyzed Philadelphia’s broadcast networks in 1998 and found crime coverage to be racially biased, which he concluded is tied to financial incentives. “The suburbs are the target for their advertisers because they have more wealthy households and they tend to be white,” he said. “Showing people of color attacking whites, that’s scary stuff. Now, that’s a cynical view. But I mean, it’s a business.”
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The Washington Post
Outmatched in military might, Ukraine has excelled in the information war
Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center said Ukraine’s messaging strategy has been “visually evocative [and] highly dramatic.”
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The Washington Post
A president navigates how to ask for painful sacrifices from Americans for Ukraine
Carolyn Marvin of the Annenberg School for Communication spoke about President Biden’s efforts to unify the country in support of Ukraine. “It’s economic pain. It’s unfortunate, it’s difficult—but it’s not the sacrifice that brings all the warring factions together,” she said. “But the kind of sacrifice that really is meaningful to people is loss of life of their own group. And that’s not what’s on the table for Americans at this point.”
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BuzzFeed.com
Congress is trying to figure out what to do about crypto’s colossal carbon footprint
Zane Griffin Talley Cooper, a doctoral candidate in the Annenberg School for Communication, said “proof of work” algorithms used to mine and trade cryptocurrencies need to be “intensely regulated.”
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The Washington Post
Three new pandemic initiatives launch as Biden hits one-year mark
Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center said that even if vaccination rates continue to climb despite anti-vax sentiments, there would still be room for improvement. “Even the relatively small part of the population that accepts misinformation is problematic,” she said.
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