(L-R): Jiaqi Ma, Liz Kan, Morgan Dreibelbis, and Kacey Berry with the items donated to the AU Market

Patricia Aufderheide published a playlist for Kartemquin Films at the Centre for Screen Cultures (University of St Andrews)'s Playlist Initiative, an online research sharing platform that hosts an eclectic collection of themed playlists informed by the emerging research, passions and expertise of film and media scholars and practitioners. 

Patricia will also conduct a presentation on the improbable history of Kartemquin Films, and lessons from that journey for a rocky period in the documentary business at Women in Film and Video, on Zoom on Monday November 11. You can sign up here.

Jill Olmsted was a guest speaker in a class that uses her ebook text, Tools for Podcasting, and talked about the creative use of sound in audio storytelling. The students are enrolled in a podcast production and journalism course at the Community College of Baltimore County.

Kylos Brannon will take to the stage at 930 Club Saturday November 9 for Hot In Herre, a 2000s dance night. Kylos will be VJIng live video mashups to compliment nostalgic tunes from the first decade of this century. Come out and turn the clock back to a time you didn't expect to miss! FMA Alum Liz Shumpert will be joining Kylos on VJ responsibilities. These events tend to sell out, but Kylos has spots on the list if you want in for free. 

Benjamin Stokes gave a talk at the United Nations on “Low-Tech Beyond Our Walls.” The talk was part of an invitation-only convening in New York to explore how games can advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We highlighted work by SOC PhD students and alumni of our MFA program in Games and Interactive Media – including our pioneering game engine from the AU Game Center/Playful City Lab.

The Public Communication Division hosted a book talk with PC adjunct professor and alum Ken Walsh on his new book, "The Architects of Toxic Politics in America: Venom and Vitriol." Jane Hall moderated the conversation. 

Pallavi Kumar served as an invited guest and moderator at The Plank Summit in Chicago. The session, titled "Historical Perspectives on the Impact of Technology: Navigating AI in PR/Communications” was held on November 7, 2024 and featured the following industry leaders: Ron Culp, Professional in Residence, PR and Advertising Program (PRAD) Professional in Residence, PR and Advertising Program (PRAD) at DePaul University; Jon Harris, EVP + Chief Communications and Networking Officer, Conagra Brands; Teneshia; Jackson Warner, Founder + CEO of EGAMI Group; Tony Waller, Vice President, Constituent Relations and Racial Equity, Walmart; Dr. Chuck Wallington, Executive Vice President + Chief Communications Officer, Cone Health.

Pallavi Kumar and panel speakers at The Plank Summit

Special: SOC in the 2024 Presidential Election News Coverage

Jane Hall was interviewed, live from an outdoor rooftop studio overlooking the U.S. Capitol – pretty remarkable setting – about Election Day in the U.S., for the Australian “Today” show.  

Jane and Scott Talan also provided commentary about the impact of Joe Rogan’s interview with Donald Trump in a roundup of experts for Newsweek.com.

Jill Olmsted was quoted by the M-A Chronicle, a high school online publication in Atherton, California south of San Francisco, about the trends around Gen-Z voters and the influence of new media such as podcasts on the presidential election.

More than two dozen AU SOC students used their day off from school Tuesday to put on a three-hour special election newscast. The newscast was shot in the Media Innovation Lab and was broadcast live on YouTube. The students were part of ATV, along with grad students from Chris Halsne's COMM 621 (Community News Reporting) and undergrad students from Terry Bryant's COMM 432 (Backpack Video Journalism) classes. Halsne, Bryant and Lynne Perri assisted the students throughout the night. Jacob Audouin assisted with the studio setup and production. Some of the grad students even went live over Zoom with reports back to Bournemouth University in England. Check out TheWash.org for student reporting throughout the day and night from Election Day. Undergrad students in Amy Eisman's COMM 320 (Reporting) class also chose to work election day, filing vignettes from polls in the DMV. NY and NJ.

Top: Journalism Senior Jane Fusco anchors the election show from the MIL studio

Middle: SOC students prepare for a live Election Night newscast in the MIL newsroom

Bottom: SOC students Oni Chaytor and Lydia LoPiccolo edit a story in the MIL studio

Filippo Trevisan was interviewed by the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) about what’s next for the Democrats after this week’s election loss. Filippo questioned whether Democrats had “done enough to give their base good reason to go out and vote for Kamala Harris,” noting that “You can't just be a 'No'-party, you need to come up with proposals," and that there will need to be “a lot of reflection to make sure these material [economic] concerns many people have are addressed credibly in campaigns going forward.”

Joe Campbell was interviewed several times before and after the election by a variety of domestic and international news organizations, including the live "ask an expert" segment on KCBS radio in San Francisco and an in-studio appearance Tuesday morning on Gray TV's "Local News Live" program. The topics were related to polling the presidential election, which Joe examined in his latest book, Lost in a Gallup. He also was interviewed by Italy's Il Messaggero and La Repubblica, and the Arabic service of the BBC World Service. Additionally, Joe spoke with Agence France-Presse, the German news service Deutsche Welle, and a Paris-based editorial writer for Bloomberg news service. And Joe wrote a day-after-the-election commentary for the Hill that noted the pre-election polls, overall, did not miss by much in anticipating a close race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.