Cinema & Media Studies

A link between gun violence on TV and firearm deaths

Research from Annenberg Public Policy Center’s Daniel Romer and Patrick E. Jamieson found that gun use on television doubled from 2000 to 2018, rising in parallel with the proportion of homicides from firearms in the U.S. during the same period.

Michele W. Berger , Michael Rozansky

How news messages affect views on vaccination

News coverage of expert scientific evidence about vaccine safety is effective at increasing public acceptance of vaccines, but the positive effect is diminished when the expert message is juxtaposed with a personal narrative about real side effects.

From the Annenberg Public Policy Center

A conversation on the media, truth telling, and social equity

For the Office of Social Equity & Community’s inaugural event, a group of panelists—including several renowned experts in the media industry—gathered virtually to discuss the past, present, and future of journalism in the U.S.

Lauren Hertzler

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

Google News prioritizes national media over local

A new study from the Annenberg School for Communication found that Google News prioritizes national media outlets over local media outlets in search results, even when users are searching for local topics.

From Annenberg School for Communication



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In the News


KYW Radio (Philadelphia)

Penn researchers develop AI tool to help evaluate media bias

Amir Tohidi of the Wharton School says his work on detecting media bias was inspired in part by the “fake news” phenomenon.

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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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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.

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Yahoo! Finance

Media companies cut thousands of jobs so far this year. They're not coming back

Victor Pickard of the Annenberg School for Communication says that the ad-revenue business model for journalism has collapsed and can’t be replaced with paywalls.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

How Newtown native Alex Cooper used ‘Call Her Daddy’ to create a sex-positive podcasting empire

Sarah Banet-Weiser of the Annenberg School for Communication says that shows like “Call Her Daddy” can be useful for building solidarity among women and helping them understand what it means to be a sexual subject, not a sexual object.

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WHYY (Philadelphia)

PBS is coming to Philly to talk climate, community empowerment at Penn

The Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media will convene with PBS, WHYY, community leaders, science communicators, journalists, and leading scientists at an upcoming Philadelphia panel to discuss the value of storytelling to educate about climate change.

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