Cinema & Media Studies

NPR

Small Kansas paper raided by police has a history of hard-hitting reporting

Victor Pickard of the Annenberg School for Communication says that when a local newspaper is lost, levels of corruption rise, civic engagement declines, people are less likely to vote, and community taxes go up.

Religion News Service

How a mysterious Indian religious figure united Hindus and Muslims

In an Op-Ed, Murali Balaji of the Annenberg School for Communication says that Shirdi Sai Baba’s influence in shaping Indian spirituality could be instrumental to building bridges between Hindus and Muslims.

Scientific American

Journalism is a public good and should be publicly funded

In a 2022 essay, Victor Pickard of the Annenberg School for Communication defined the “positive” interpretation of the First Amendment.

two students standing on the red carpet steps with many people behind them

Starstruck on the Cannes red carpet

The 30 students who attended the Cannes Film Festival through a Penn Summer Abroad course were able to watch screenings of at least three to four films a day. For the most sought-after American film premieres they waited in “last-minute” lines for hours.

Boston Globe

Social studies: Things that don’t change across generations; reliance on local news; when to pray for rain

A Penn study finds that Black and non-college-educated Americans tend to rely on local news, especially local TV news, more than non-local and online news.

What is deepfake porn and why is it thriving in the age of AI?

Doctoral candidate in the Annenberg School for Communication Sophie Maddocks addresses the growing problem of image-based sexual abuse.

Salon.com

‘Armageddon’ is 25 years old: Scientists agree this problematic blockbuster aged like warm milk

Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that a scene mocking scientists in the movie “Armageddon” is vicious, ignorant, and mean-spirited.

Peter Decherney and students in a warehouse in the Penn Museum.

Virtual reality in an ancient world

Students create films to document the reimagining of the Penn Museum’s Ancient Egypt and Nubia galleries.

NPR

Tucker Carlson is out at Fox. What happened?

Brian Rosenwald of the School of Arts & Sciences discusses what Tucker Carlson’s departure means for the future of conservative media and the Republican Party.

Los Angeles Times

Finally, accountability for Tucker Carlson. But it’s only a start

Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center says that the Dominion disclosures demonstrate that Fox News has successfully focused on satisfying the existing needs and desires of a niche audience.

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