Communications

Sarah J. Jackson of the Annenberg School for Communication spoke about the relationship between celebrity and political activism. “Organizers are savvy enough to know they need to get the attention of celebrities and get the attention celebrities can bring them,” she said.

Victor Pickard of the Annenberg School for Communication said the rise of news networks like OANN stems from failed U.S. media policies. “We are typically at the mercy of unregulated, profit-driven media firms with only weak public alternatives,” he said. “Most of the public interest protections we once had—such as the fairness doctrine—are long gone.”

Sarah Jackson of the Annenberg School for Communication joined a discussion about media coverage of the George Floyd protests and the history of Black activism.

Barbie Zelizer of the Annenberg School for Communication said media outlets struggled to cover political demonstrations fairly. "The media love spectacles," she said. "And violence is spectacle."

Victor Pickard of the Annenberg School for Communication said the airing of marketing materials without adequate disclosure on news stations reflects the decline of quality local journalism. “Structural factors that create fertile conditions for such corporate propaganda include the loss of actual journalists, little regulatory oversight, and media ownership concentration, which tends to both intensify commercial pressures and homogenize media content,” he said.

Brian Rosenwald of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the popularity of conservative talk radio hosts, who maintain close relationships with their listeners. “They may listen 15 hours a week to that host. For Rush [Limbaugh], they might have been doing that for 30 years and they might spend more time with him than they spend with their spouse,” Rosenwald said. “It’s a deeper bond.”