Cinema & Media Studies

Cells and cinema

As a biology major, senior Andrew Ravaschiere spends much of his time in a laboratory conducting cellular research. But as a cinema and media studies minor, he got out of the lab and into the world of filmmaking during the summer, working as an intern for a documentary filmmaker.

Louisa Shepard

To improve dunes, plant more beach grass

Pairing biology and cinema studies, Bianca Charbonneau and Yoni Gottlieb have produced a light-hearted, informative video that teaches the proper method for planting dune grasses to build a healthier dune ecosystem.

Jacob Williamson-Rea

‘NewsFeed Defenders’ teaches students how to spot misinformation

The Annenberg Public Policy Center, home of FactCheck.org and Annenberg Classroom, and iCivics, the education nonprofit founded by Sandra Day O’Connor, have released NewsFeed Defenders, a new online game designed to teach media literacy and help students and adults better understand what news is and how to avoid being deceived by misinformation.

Penn Today Staff

An informative study of information

A new report from The Lenfest Institue and the Annenberg School for Communications that studied how Philadelphia residents receive and seek information outlines seven ways publishers and the media outlets can best reach residents.

Penn Today Staff



Media Contact


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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