Angela Greiling Keane of Bloomberg Government (standing) speaks to Political Communication students 

SOC lost a true broadcast legend, alum Bob Edwards died at age 76 on Feb. 10th. His wife, NPR anchor and longtime journalism adjunct professor Windsor Johnston was at his side. Bob hosted NPR’s Morning Edition for over two decades. He was a loyal alum and friend of his mentor, the late Ed Bliss Jr., and contributed funds for a plaque in his honor which was unveiled at a special event hosted by Professor Jill Olmsted at NPR for the broadcast division of AEJMC. Four years ago, Bob graciously granted a podcast interview with SOC graduate broadcast students covering the impeachment of President Trump. He compared the times with his coverage of Watergate, in episode 3 for online publication, thewash.org. You can listen to Bob’s golden pipes and listen to his recollections. 

Left-to-right: Amy Eisman, Windsor Johnston, Jill Olmsted, Tom and Anne Mascolino, Bob Edwards, Jean Cochran, Deborah Potter

Margot Susca appeared on Fox5's On the Hill show Sunday morning to discuss her book and the recent rounds of news layoffs. (She's on around the 18:31 mark for those who'd like to watch.)

Margot was quoted in a San Francisco Chronicle piece  about the release of a documentary about hedge fund Alden Global Capital's ownership of newspapers. Margot is in the credits as a journalism advisor on the film, which is called "Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink." (Pat Aufderheide first connected Margot and filmmaker Rick Goldsmith.) 

This week on MEDIA IN THE MIX , we're back with Christina Pamies (SOC MA '13), a rising screenwriter for the upcoming horror film Baghead, bringing her to the forefront of the screenwriting world. On this episode, we discussed her opportunity with StudioCanal where she entered a competition to turn a short film into a feature-film script, the process, the win, the writing and so much more!  LISTEN HERE and let us know what you think! 

SOC Alumna Christina Pammies on Media in the Mix

Laura Waters Hinson interviewed Oscar-winner Troy Kotsur before a live audience of 500 people at the 2024 Windrider Summit in Park City, UT, an official Sundance Film Festival partner. Kotsur is the first Deaf man to win an acting Oscar for his role in the film CODA, which also won Best Picture in 2022. Laura interviewed Kotsur about his new documentary, To My Father , which depicts the actor’s journey to winning an Academy Award and his father’s inspiring influence on him, despite a tragic accident.

Claudia Myers’ and Laura Waters Hinson’s short documentary, The Test, will make its US Northwest Premiere at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival  on February 19th in Missoula, MT, an Oscar-qualifying festival for short documentaries and one of the top doc film fests in the country.

The Test will have its DC premiere at the DC Independent Film Festival  on Sunday, February 25th at 2:45 pm at the Regal Cinema in Chinatown. The theme of the shorts block that includes the film is “Women Filming Documentary Shorts Series.” Please join us! Tickets are available here. 

The Test will have its NYC premiere at the Justice Film Festival on Friday, February 23rd at 12:30 pm. The screening will be held at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Tickets are available here.

Finally, Claudia and Laura also received a $10,000 grant from their community partner, Goodwin Living Foundation, to support The Test’s festival and publicity campaign for its upcoming festival run.

Aram Sinnreich was quoted in a Washington Post article about the use of “voice cloning” AI technology to reproduce the voices of Parkland shooting victims in a gun violence public service campaign. 

Aram was also interviewed for a story about governmental regulation of AI in Roll Call.

Aram was an invited panelist at the Internet Society Washington DC chapter’s event, titled Innovation for Good: A Conversation on the Internet’s Future. Recent SOC PhD alumna Chelsea Horne (’23) moderated. The archive of the livestream is available here. 

Jane Hall was interviewed by ARD German radio about the speculation and impact of a Taylor Swift endorsement in the 2024 presidential race and the power of celebrity in American politics historically. The segment aired on ARD radio stations throughout Germany.  

SOC students in COMM 420/620 (special topics course on Covering the White House) were treated to two notable guests last Saturday. Antoine Sanfuentes , adjunct instructor and SOC Alum, brought in both Jim Acosta and MJ Lee as guest speakers. Acosta is a CNN anchor and chief domestic correspondent. Lee is CNN's chief White House correspondent. Acosta talked to the students about being berated by former President Trump for merely doing his job as a journalist. Lee talked to the students about questioning President Biden last week about the report on his memory lapses. Sanfuentes is the Vice President and Managing Editor for CNN's White House and Capitol Hill coverage.

CNN anchor Jim Acosta speaks to SOC students about his White House reporting beat.

CNN Chief White House Correspondent MJ Lee speaks to SOC students about covering President Biden.