Joe Campbell was quoted in a recent Newsweek article, "Why Americans vote for candidates they don't like."
Joe was also interviewed recently by Spectrum News about presidential approval ratings in the run-up to reelection campaigns.
Max Kaplow, adjunct screenwriting professor, wrote for a new Netflix drama series called The Chosen One that is going to be streaming August 16. Here is the teaser trailer.
SOC recent alums Kameron Smith (BA Journalism 2021) and Jamey Simpson (BA Journalism 2023) participated in a juried photo exhibition put on by Street Meet DC and The Anacostia Arts Center.
Steven Dashiell, visiting research affiliate at the AU Game Center, was just featured in Scientific American – they asked him to write a piece about masculinity and gaming, which was published recently.
Patricia Aufderheide organized and co-presented at a panel at the Association of Moving Image Archivists' Copyright Symposium, a nationwide webinar, on August 7.
Professor Brigid Maher’s EXPERIMENTAL CURATOR: The Sally Dixon Story will screen at the Smithsonian’s National Gallery of Art’s East Building Auditorium on August 20 at 2:00pm. You can register here. Post-screening discussion with Brigid Maher, in person. A number of AU film students and alumni worked on the award-winning production. Additional cinematography by Zan Gillies, Aaron Tucker, Eman Alghamdi, Shannon Shikles, Vincent "Vinny" Terlizzi; Additional Sound by Marie Alice McMillan and Courtland Sutton; Archival assistance by Thomas Neufeld and Vincent "Vinny" Terlizzi; Additional Production assistance by Chelsea Bentley, Emily Crawford, Caroline Chadbourne, Marie Alice McMillan and Liz Gomez.
Sally Dixon, founding curator of film at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, was a champion of experimental film and video throughout her career. Her support of avant-garde filmmakers and media artists helped to develop and sustain a robust exhibition circuit of noncommercial cinema by artists outside of the mainstream film industry. Produced with her remaining family, this loving documentary about her career and influence includes reflections by filmmakers Jonas Mekas, Ken Jacobs, Carolee Schneeman, Jim Hubbard, and others close to Dixon. Programmed in partnership with Women in Film and Video. Part of the Summer of 16mm: Celebrating 100 Years of Film series.
Leena Jayaswal's film, edited by Kyle Brannon "Dreaming Green" screened at the Feminist Film Night at Reach Studio in Washington, D.C. on August 8.
Adrienne Massanari has been appointed to the International Communication Association’s Social Media Task Force, which has been convened by ICA’s current president. The task force is charged with reviewing the long-term benefits of the current ICA platforms (i.e., Twitter, LinkedIn, Mastodon, and Facebook) and assessing new social media platforms in terms of the overall functionality and potential benefit to membership. The task force will also draft general guidelines for ICA’s social media use to promote best practices, and submit a report with recommendations to be considered at the Board of Directors' meeting during next year’s ICA meeting in Australia.
Benjamin Stokes’ leadership in expanding the Peabody Awards was profiled by SOC. This is the first year with winners in “Interactive Media” – including interactive journalism, interactive documentary, VR and games, as part of an open call. Formally, Benjamin served as chief advisor for Interactive Media for this launch; this year Ben will serve on the board of jurors.
Benjamin was also celebrated last month for the 20th-anniversary Festival of Games for Change, partly held at the UN building in New York. He is one of three co-founders of the organization. This year he was on the main stage for a panel reflecting on the future of social issue games. This was the first year the festival had a full day at the UN headquarters with a focus on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as advanced by digital games.
To mark Disability Pride Month in July, SOC highlighted the work of Filippo Trevisan, whose research on digital disability advocacy has influenced both scholarship and practice, most recently through the launch of a new collaborative Youth Disability Advocacy and Research (YDAR) network, with partners in the UK and East Africa.
Claudia Myers and Laura Waters Hinson's new documentary short, The Test, had its World Premiere on August 9th at the Oscar-qualifying Rhode Island International Film Festival. This year, the festival received more than 7,000 submissions and chose approximately 350 films. RIIFF is the largest film festival in New England, reaching nearly 50,000 viewers each year, and is widely considered one of the top short film festivals in the U.S. The Test tells the story of a Ghanaian maintenance technician at a Virginia retirement community who dreams of becoming an American citizen to provide a better life for his family. With their future at stake, he enlists the help of two elderly residents to prepare for the biggest test of his life: the U.S. Citizenship exam.
Laura Waters Hinson's documentary Street Reporter, recently won the Award of Merit, the top juried award in the short documentary category at the University Film and Video Association's annual academic conference in Savannah, GA.
SOC can be proud of the reception for the Burkum/Bliss Awards, hosted by the AEJMC Broadcast and Mobile Journalism Division on Tuesday night. It was a packed house in the MIL, with a catered food event and videos honoring the winners and Ed Bliss, founder of the AU broadcast program and the journalist/teacher for whom the award is named. SOC alum and former CBS News President Susan Zirinsky talked about her mentor, Ed’s daughter, Anne Bliss Mascolino and alum Deborah Potter attended, as well as our own faculty. Everyone loved the atmosphere and our SOC staff members excelled – Event Manager Kati Vega, Dir. of Communication and Outreach Tia Milledge and her staff, Interim Chief Advancement officer Victoria Black, Director of Technology Jeffrey Madison, and staff members Tom Fish, Ja’Von Hill, Jacob Audouin - all worked together to pull off this special event. Special thanks to Journalism Director Amy Eisman and faculty members Terry Bryant and Chris Halsne.
Jill Olmsted’s revised free podcast ebook, Tools for Podcasting, is now available online, celebrating 20 years of podcasting in 2023. See updates on the podcast landscape today with trends such as artificial intelligence, misinformation, with more examples of podcast cover art including from students, creative use of sound, press kits and trailers. A proud member of the Open Textbook Library.
Jane Hall presented about her book, Politics and the Media: Intersections and New Directions, from CQ Press, and issues in contemporary media and politics, to a group of students and professors on Zoom at Texas Tech University.
Jane was also interviewed by German Radio ARD about issues in media and politics with regard to the Monica Lewinsky story, 25 years later.
Film and Media Arts adjunct professor Michael Cascio was Executive Producer of Waterman, which has been nominated for an Emmy as Outstanding Historical Documentary. Waterman is the powerful story of Duke Kahanamoku, the five-time Olympic medalist who broke the color barrier and brought surfing to the world. Michael was fortunate to be E.P. of a top-notch team - worth "humble bragging" about - at Sidewinder Films, including director Isaac Halasima, co-producer Chet Thomas, and amazing producers David Ulich and the late Dr. Steven Ungerleider. Years in the making and narrated by Jason Momoa, Waterman: Duke, Ambassador of Aloha premiered on PBS American Masters, which provided ultimate support in bringing Duke's important and inspiring story to a wide audience. Waterman has also won several festival awards in Hawaii and elsewhere. Michael is a proud M.A. graduate of AU SOC, as well as Adjunct Professor and four-time Emmy winner - hoping to make it five!
The new cohort of journalism graduate students are finishing up three weeks of Boot Camp to prepare for the upcoming academic year. One of the highlights for the students was getting to experience on-the-ground reporting when they covered the Trump arraignment Thursday, Aug. 3, at and around the Federal District Court. You can see their multimedia stories on TheWash.org.
Journalism Boot Camp was led by Terry Bryant, Chris Halsne, Cara Kelly and John Watson. The students got to hear from quite a few guest speakers from SOC and media organizations. Here's the list of the SOC guest speakers: Dean Leena Jayaswal, Journalism Division Director Amy Eisman, Sherri Williams, John Sullivan, Lynne Perri, Jill Olmsted, Whitney Harris Christopher, Aarushi Sahejpal, and Wesley Lowery. Here are the other guest speakers: Laura Jeske, Capital Area Food Bank; Paul Albergo, retired from Bloomberg and SOC adjunct; Robert Klempko, Washington Post; Sudeep Reddy, POLITICO; Antoine Sanfuentes, CNN; Gary Green and Jonathan Falk, Student Press Law Center; Katherine Reynolds Lewis, independent journalist; and Gil Klein, National Press Club.
