Annenberg School for Communication

Penn Professor Shows How ‘Spontaneous’ Social Norms Emerge

Fifteen years ago, the name “Aiden” was hardly on the radar of Americans with new babies. It ranked a lowly 324th on the Social Security Administration’s list of popular baby names. But less than a decade later, the name became a favorite, soaring into the top 20 for five years and counting.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Rosario Dawson Headlines MLK Lecture in Social Justice at Penn Jan. 20

On Jan. 20, the Center for Africana Studies presents the 14th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Lecture in Social Justice. It will feature actress and activist Rosario Dawson and Abrima Erwiah, with whom Dawson co-founded the social enterprise Studio One Eighty Nine, as well as Tiffany Persons, founder of Shine On Sierra Leone.

Jacquie Posey



In the News


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.

FULL STORY →



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.

FULL STORY →



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.

FULL STORY →



Boston Globe

Two public radio stations. Two different business models. One future of public radio in Boston hangs in the balance

Victor Pickard of the Annenberg School for Communication says that there’s a greater need for public broadcasting than ever before, especially as entire sectors of the commercial news media system are crumbling.

FULL STORY →



CNN

After four years with COVID-19, the U.S. is settling into a new approach to respiratory virus season

Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center says that the sense of urgency around vaccination has faded as attention on respiratory viruses wanes.

FULL STORY →