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Nishime selected for research by Simpson Center
Assistant Professor LeiLani Nishime has been selected as a member of the Simpson Center Society of Scholars next year. In this position (which carries a research release for two courses) she will research mass media images of multiracial Asian Americans to understand what the visual representation of multiracial people can tell us about the cultural invention and perpetuation of hierarchical racial categories. The Society of Scholars brings together 3 graduate students and 9 faculty across ranks and UW campuses for a yearlong residency. The group, comprised of scholars from History, English, Anthropology, French & Italian Studies, and Communication, will meet biweekly to present and discuss research. Congratulations to Dr. Nishime!
Posted: February 16, 2012
The next big thing in reality TV
By Evan Yang
Lights, camera, action! Well, almost. This quarter, the Department of Communication is offering a course on reality TV under COM 495: Special Topics. Part-time lecturer Florangela Davila and Matt Chan, president and general manager of Seattle-based Screaming Flea Productions, both teach the class of 26 students. Chan and Davila’s goal is simple: to teach their students how to successfully write and pitch an idea for a reality TV show.
Read more about the new class on Reality TV >>
Posted: February 14, 2012
Knobloch testifies on Oregon CIR
Last week, the Oregon House Rules Committee called upon Communication PhD candidate Katie Knobloch to testify on her evaluation of the Citizen Initiative Review report. This was the fourth time the CIR research team has testified on their evaluation. Mark Henkels, a professor from Western Oregon University, assisted with additional testimony.
Knobloch said, “We're basically there to provide information about the CIR. First, for a bill to permanently implement the process, which was recently signed into law, and this time to provide information before they begin to appoint a commission that will take over responsibility for producing the citizen initiative review panels.”
The Oregon Citizen Initiative Review is conducted to educate voters on ballot measures by giving them unbiased implications. Knobloch said that this process has shown to be extremely helpful for Oregon voters, as the State Voters’ Pamphlet, produced as a result of the CIR, clarifies ballot measures and their implications.
“We found the Citizens Initiative Review to be highly deliberative and that a significant number of those who read the Citizens' Statement in the State Voters' Pamphlet learned new information or arguments about the initiative,” said Knobloch.
Based on the success of Oregon’s CIR, other states, as well as the European Union, have shown interest in implementing their own versions of the CIR, but there hasn’t been any recent movement on those plans. In the meantime, the CIR research team consisting of Knobloch, John Gastil and others, plan on evaluating and studying the 2012 CIR.
Read more about Oregon’s CIR here >>
Posted: February 14, 2012
Comedy writer Jerry Collins to speak on How to Seriously Kick A$$ In Hollywood
The Department of Communication is proud to welcome showbiz phony Jerry Collins (BA 1988 English) back to campus for an alumni mentor presentation on February 16 at from 11:30 to 1:00 p.m. in CMU 126. (Space is limited, so reserve your spot early by RSVP'ing to vsprang@uw.edu by 5pm on February 15.)
Currently, Collins runs Jason Bateman and Will Arnett’s digital content company, DumbDumb, which received the Forbes 2011 "Best Startup of the Year" award, and more recently was voted #3 in The Hollywood Reporter’s 2012 Digital Power 50. Jerry started out as an unemployed improvisor at the Groundlings theater in Los Angeles before beginning his TV writing career in kids’ animation.
From there, he moved into sketch comedy where he received Emmy nominations for his work on HBO’s Mr. Show with Bob & David and NBC’s Saturday Night Live. He later segued into sitcom television where he has written for several shows including The Bernie Mac Show, King Of The Hill, and Modern Family. In addition to his work at DumbDumb, Jerry continues to develop TV and feature projects. And occasionally he gets to act, like in Will Ferrell’s upcoming Spanish-language comedy, Casa Di Mi Padre, due in nine theaters March 16th.
Students from any major are invited to come hear Jerry go on and on about himself and his career. Feel free to ask him questions about breaking into the entertainment industry, but don’t expect him to tell you the truth.
Posted: February 13, 2012
Joseph receives grant to co-edit WIRED volume
Congratulations are in order for assistant professor Ralina Joseph who, in collaboration with Janine Jones (School of Education) and Alexes Harris (Sociology), has received a Simpson Center Collaboration Studio grant. Joseph and colleagues are co-editing WIRED: Critically Resisting, Reshaping and Engaging An Institution of Higher Education, an edited volume comprised of theoretically rich and critically engaged chapters that outlines, describes and critiques the experiences and ideas of women of color on tenure-track here at the University of Washington.
“We are using the UW as a case study to interrogate how women of color faculty on the tenure track ‘re-package’ or ‘re-frame’ our approaches to teaching, research, and professionalization, and as a result, challenge traditional notions of research, teaching, service, mentoring, and collegiality,” Joseph said. “Our book addresses the academic context of the research intensive university, the specific challenges for women of color, and the solutions from a multidisciplinary perspective.”
Joseph’s team has commissioned 19 WIRED members to contribute to the book. Along with the three co-editors, 22 WIRED members will be official contributors to the book. The Collaboration Studio grant will allow them to complete the full manuscript, and turn it into a unified book.
Posted: February 9, 2012
Silberner to report on cancer in developing world
When Artist in Residence Joanne Silberner attended a meeting on cancer in developing countries last fall, she didn’t anticipate that it would ignite her journalistic interests. After learning more about the problem and current treatments taking place around the world, she applied and was awarded by the Pulitzer Center On Crisis Reporting a $12 thousand grant to report on how the disease is affecting people in Uganda, India and Haiti.
Read more about Silberner's upcoming reporting >>
Posted: February 9, 2012
Passion and relationships are key to success, say "Journalism in 2012" panelists
The Department's Professional Development Month concluded with six expert Seattle journalists and editors last week who talked about how the field of journalism will continue to change over the coming year. Journalism is "a lifestyle mroe than a job," Boardman said, while Mark Briggs from KING5.com advised, "If you're counting the hours, you're in the wrong job." Curiousity, and the will to act on it, are also must-have qualities for reporters.
The UW News Lab's Krista Staudinger has the full story, with more insights and tips from industry veterans.
Read more about "Journalism in 2012" here >>
Posted: February 6, 2012
KUOW interviews Underwood on trauma and journalism
Does reporting harden reporters?How does it affect their stories? In an interview on KUOW, Professor Doug Underwood talks about trauma and journalism, addressing these questions. His new book, Chronicling Trauma: Journalists And Writers On Violence And Loss, highlights the experiences of famous writers whose work reflects their exposure to trauma.
In old movies, reporters often had "a nose for news and a taste for booze.” Underwood says that could be more than stereotype. He says many journalists use their work "as a ballast against their own inner turmoil," things like substance abuse, violence and mental illness.
On how his journalism students should handle reporting on traumatic events, Underwood says, “Empathy. Sympathy. If you can tell your story into an environment of people who care, who understand, who are willing to open themselves up to some pain in order to share yours…that’s typically the way that’s most positive.”
Listen to Underwood’s interview here >>
Posted: February 3, 2012
Author Douglas to speak on new form of sexism
Be sure to catch the chance to meet author and University of Michigan professor, Susan Douglas. Douglas will be discussing her latest book, Enlightened Sexism: The Seductive Message That Feminism’s Work Is Done, on Tuesday, February 14, beginning at 3:30 p.m., in Kane 210. The event is free and open to the public.
In her most recent publication, Douglas chronicles the rise of Enlightened Sexism, a new, subtle, sneaky form of sexism that seems to accept—even celebrate—female achievements on the surface, but is really about repudiating feminism and keeping women, especially young women, in their place. Enlightened Sexism examines the widening gap between the images of women in the media and the everyday lives of girls and women in the United States. NPR called Enlightened Sexism “brilliant, insightful and funny” and Publisher’s Weekly described it as “a sharp-witted polemic against the media’s stereotyping of females and feminism.”
Susan Douglas is the Catherine Neafie Kellogg Professor of Communication Studies at The University of Michigan and Chair of the Department.
Posted: February 2, 2012
Getting to know Felicia Ishino-Amen, our newest undergraduate advisor
Felicia Ishino-Amen did not think she would be going back to school so soon. Her traveling background and promising work experience suggested that she might never set foot on the University of Washington campus again. And yet, here she is with us, Communication’s newest undergraduate advisor. Less than a month in, she is eager to begin assisting university students. Read more >>
Posted: January 30, 2012
Professional Development Month kicks off
What was previously only one week in January can now claim bragging rights over the entire month. January 2012 is Professional Development Month, which is unique to the UW’s Department of Communication.
Edgar Gonzalez, the president of the Department of Communication Alumni Board, welcomed students, alumni, and local professionals to the kickoff event in the Communications Building on Jan. 9. This was one of 37 events during January, all free of charge to students and alumni. Events include an internship fair, mentor lunches, career panels and a speed-networking night. Read more >>
Posted: January 13, 2012
Students, faculty traveling to cover election for Seattle Times blog
The Department of Communication and the Seattle Times are partnering to create “UW Election Eye 2012” — an on-the-ground blog about the 2012 election season, as seen through the eyes of Communication students and faculty. In 2008, Professor David Domke and 16 undergraduates traveled to cover caucuses in Idaho, Washington and Texas, and covered primaries in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana. Domke reflected on this experience in a piece for Crosscut.
The 2012 election season has arrived, and a new crew of UW Communication Department bloggers is here. The first stop for UW Election Eye 2012 is South Carolina. Alumnus David Horsey, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist who recently left the Seattle P-I to take a position with latimes.com will accompany the group to South Carolina. Read more about the blog >>
Posted: January 13, 2012
Neff: 'Silicon Valley East' not a given in NYC
In Sciencemag.org, Assistant Professor Gina Neff weighs in on the chances of Cornell's newly won real estate on New York City’s Roosevelt Island becoming the next Silicon Valley. In a competition among some of the world’s top universities, Cornell won the land and $100 million in incentives to build a graduate applied science and engineering school.
But Neff says it will take more than just a campus to produce “Silicon Valley East.” “It takes so many factors to get to an innovative region,” she is quoted as saying. “If building a campus alone were the key, many cities would have already gotten there.” Neff also notes that Cornell’s agenda may not be completely centered on creating the next “amazing engineering center,” but more so on advancing the university itself.
Posted: January 6, 2012
New Media Series: NPR contributor Joanne Silberner on Interviewing and Storytelling
Joanne Silberner will talk about her radio experiences (good and bad), and the future of public radio in a series of Saturday-morning workshops on Jan. 14 and Jan. 21. The workshops include instruction and hands-on experience on effective interviewing and storytelling.
Silberner brings her experience with NPR to such topics as, “How to get around the media-trained person.” And, “Best practices for use of sound in your multimedia piece.”
She will talk about how to get people to talk normally. How to get them to say interesting things. How to control the interview without letting your interviewee know you're controlling it. Questions you should (almost) always ask. We'll do before-and-after interviews so you can see what you've learned. And she will throw in details of a few real-life gaffes of her own.
There are 1,001 ways to tell any story. Joanne teaches you a couple that always work — having a default structure in your toolbox means you'll never have writer's block again. We'll also talk about innovative structures, and consider print and radio examples of well-told stories. Cost is $35 per workshop. Learn more and register >>
Posted: January 4, 2012
Lecture series: Domke on presidential election
Beginning Wednesday, Jan. 11, Communication Department Professor and Chair David Domke, a well-known authority in political leadership, news coverage and social change, will weigh in on the 2012 presidential election in his five-part lecture series, “Visions of America: Barack Obama, the Tea Party, and the 2012 Presidential Election,” presented by Seattle Arts & Lectures and the UW Alumni Association.
In preparation for the series, SAL solicited questions from patrons, and Domke chose some of his favorites to answer. Listen to the podcasts >>
Posted: January 4, 2012
Moy selected co-editor of Public Opinion Quarterly
Professor Patricia Moy has been selected as co-editor of Public Opinion Quarterly, a prestigious theoretical and methodological journal at the intersection of several disciplines. Moy's term begins Jan. 1, 2013. The other co-editor is Tom W. Smith, director of the General Social Survey.
Public Opinion Quarterly is a top-ranked journal that publishes key theoretical contributions to opinion and communication research, analyses of current public opinion, and investigations of methodological issues involved in survey research.
Scott Keeter, president of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, noted, "POQ has established itself as a premier social science journal, occupying a unique niche in the world of scholarly publishing." As AAPOR's flagship journal, POQ enjoys a very high impact factor that places it 4/67 in Communication, 7/139 in Political Science, and 7/83 in the Interdisciplinary Social Sciences. Read more >>
Posted: December 30, 2011
MCDM faculty contribute to Arcade Magazine
Arcade Magazine launched its redesigned format and its 30th anniversary issue by asking UW Master of Communication in Digital Media Director Hanson Hosein to feature edit a section. Hosein focused on communication and community as it relates to design and architecture. It includes contributions from MCDM associate directors Scott Macklin and Anita Verna Crofts, as well as others associated with the MCDM program. Read the issue >>
Posted: December 30, 2011
MCDM Director's career tips for 2012 in Mashable
Hanson Hosein, Director of the Master of Communication in Digital Media program, has written a handy tipsheet for digital media professionals for the tech news site Mashable.com, with "five key predictions for how you should focus your career strategy in 2012."
Read more about 2012 trends >>
Posted: December 27, 2011
Four Peaks TV: Innovative ideas for the future
Innovation, entrepreneurship, community, and entertainment. These are the “four peaks” that embody the mission of the Four Peaks organization and UWTV show of colliding different idea generators, from social activists to business entrepreneurs to local artists within the Pacific Northwest. Four Peaks has rapidly developed into a new way for innovators to connect with one another and with the community.
The most recent show, episode 3, featured Tom Mara, Executive Director of KEXP, and Shauna Causey, Vice President of Social Media Club and social media strategist for Nordstrom. They discussed the importance of loyalty for a brand and how to ignite it.
Posted: December 15, 2011
Lecture series: Domke on presidential election
The 2012 presidential election is coming up fast, and heated debate over the federal debt and the rise of the Tea Party will play huge roles in the election’s outcome. This winter, Communication Department Professor and Chair David Domke, a well-known authority in political leadership, news coverage and social change, will weigh in when he lectures on “Visions of America: Barack Obama, the Tea Party, and the 2012 Presidential Election,” presented by Seattle Arts & Lectures and the UW Alumni Association. UWAA members receive a discount. Read more >>
Posted: December 12, 2011
Colloquium: Rinke on Election Coverage
The news coverage of election campaigns is one of the most studied areas of political communication and has very much become a fixture of the field. Not surprisingly, certain recurring features of such coverage have been taken for granted and assigned rather undisputed democratic values.
On Nov. 29, Eike Rinke will present a study that re-assesses two staples of election news coverage: the familiar horse-race frame and the less-often investigated contestation frame.
In this study, an analysis of television news coverage of the German 2009 federal election campaign was used to determine the deliberative value of these two journalistic devices for presenting elections to viewers.
The colloquium begins at 3:30 p.m. in CMU 126.
Rinke begins by introducing normative assessment as a recently developed, distinct research procedure (Althaus, forthcoming) before presenting its application to horse-race and contestation coverage. Assessment results show consistently that mediated democratic deliberation suffers from horse-race framing while contestation frames make ambivalent contributions. Rinke concludes by discussing more generally how communication researchers can benefit from engaging systematically in normative assessments.
Eike Mark Rinke is a doctoral candidate and research associate in the Department of Media and Communication Studies at the University of Mannheim, Germany. His research interests center on the normative and empirical aspects of mediated communication in democratic life, particularly as they relate to issues of deliberation. His dissertation project, funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), involves a comparison of television news' contributions to mediated deliberation in the U.S. and Germany and the individual-level effects of this content. With a Fulbright-funded M.A. from George Washington University, he currently is spending the second of two quarters as a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Communication.
Posted: November 29, 2011
Mobilize.org CEO Maya Enista Smith visits UW
Maya Enista Smith's future was cemented in civic engagement on her first day as an undergraduate at Rutgers University a decade ago.
“My first day of college was September 11, 2001, and I said ‘OK, universe, you’re trying to tell me something’,” Smith said. “I realized that my job was to build communities, cross boundaries and to really empower this generation to understand the full potential that we have.”
Smith is now the CEO of Mobilize.org, a site that works to give young people a platform to organize, lead and solve their community issues. She was the featured guest for the final discussion of CityClub’s Community Matters campaign, which met Nov. 21 in Kane Hall. The UW Department of Communication co-presented the event. Read more >>
Posted: November 21, 2011
Terry Tazioli (BA, 1970): Journalist, leader
Terry Tazioli (BA, 1970) has learned many lessons throughout life, but one that he’s held to through everything he does is, “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” or more frankly, “Screw everybody else, do what you believe in and just go!”
This piece of advice came from his late sister, Kai Leamer, and it has given him the strength to do all that he has in his life. For 14 years, he was editor of “Scene,” The Seattle Times’ nationally recognized lifestyle section. Now retired from the Times, he is a principal in Little Man Productions and is the host of Author's Hour on TVW. Tazioli is one of the newest inductees into the Department of Communication Alumni Hall of Fame.
Read more about Terry Tazioli >>
Posted: November 21, 2011
Horsey credits UW for broad educational perspective
David Horsey (BA, 1976) says that his liberal arts education has given him the ability to do what he does in an entertaining, yet intelligent fashion. Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s Pulitzer-winning editorial cartoonist Horsey is known for his keen perspective on politics and current events. “My real talent is in reducing complex issues to their essence and then creating visual metaphors that explain that essence to an audience,” Horsey said.
As an undergraduate at the University of Washington, Horsey spent much of his time at The Daily, where he wrote, cartooned and edited. Though he started as a graphic design major, working at the paper convinced him to switch to journalism. He says that having been immersed in liberal arts has had much impact on his career, and life in general. “What I know is this: my life feels rich and, without my unending education in the liberal arts, it would be far poorer.”
Posted: November 17, 2011
Howard an observer at Tunisian elections
Associate Professor Phil Howard got a unique look at the election process in Tunisia recently. As an election observer with the official mission of the National Democratic Institute, he witnessed not only an important day in history for the people of Tunisia, but also the reach and impact that social media has surrounding events like this.
“One of the consistent themes across countries like Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain and, to some degree, even Syria is that there is a young, tech savvy, activist community that uses media in ways that let them outmaneuver their dictators,” Howard said.
In Tunisia’s first post-revolution election, the stations Howard observed had 95 percent voluntary turnout. “That’s amazing,” Howard said. “In the last U.S. presidential election, the turnout was 63 percent, which was unusually high for the U.S.” Howard’s book, The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy, explains this power of information technologies in political transformation.
Posted: November 17, 2011
Parks receives second Woolbert Research Award
Professor Malcolm (Mac) Parks shares the Charles H. Woolbert Research Award given by the National Communication Association with UW alum Kory Floyd. The award is given annually by the National Communication Association to an article published more than 10 years ago and that has had significant impact on the study of human communication. Parks’ and Floyd’s article, “Making Friends in Cyberspace” was published in 1996 and is widely considered to be the first systematic study of the development of social relationships in an online setting. It has been cited more than 1,000 times to date. This is the second Woolbert award for Parks; he is only the second person to have won the award twice in its 31-year history.
Posted: November 16, 2011
Bennett authors top-cited article
Lance Bennett, professor of political science and communication, recently had his article ranked among the Journal of Communication’s top-cited articles of 2010. Bennett’s article, “A New Era of Minimal Effects? The Changing Foundations of Political Communication,” was published in the Journal of Communication in 2008. It was cited five times in 2010 and has been cited eight times to date. Bennett coauthored the article with Shanto Iyengar of Stanford University.
Posted: November 16, 2011
Fulbright scholar focuses on Dart teachings
Julia Hsu is in Seattle on a mission. She is a Fulbright Senior Scholar award recipient, which has allowed her to come to the U.S. for one year to further her research on trauma in journalism. Hsu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Radio and TV at National Cheng Chi University, Taipei, Taiwan. This year, she is based in the UW Department of Communication, researching at The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, and compiling information on the topic for a book she’s writing. She hopes to learn how to better prepare journalists in covering traumatic events. Read more >>
Posted: November 15, 2011
Bennett to give UW Faculty Lecture Nov. 30
Professor of Communication and Political Science Lance Bennett will give the 36th Annual Faculty Lecture, titled, “The Democratization of Truth: Communication and the Crisis of Contemporary Politics,” on Wednesday, Nov. 30 in Kane Hall 130 at 7 p.m. Professor Bennett joins a distinguished roster of Nobel laureates, historians, artists, scientists and authors who have participated in this series. The University Faculty Lecture Award is the highest honor the University of Washington faculty can bestow on one of their own. Read more >>
Posted: November 10, 2011
NYT editor talks about being foreign correspondent
What does it take to be a foreign correspondent these days? Joseph Kahn, deputy foreign editor of the New York Times, said the majority of his reporters are highly seasoned; in addition, they are skilled at reporting on serious, dangerous and risky topics as well as being efficient and punctual.
Kahn spoke on Wednesday, Oct. 12 in Thomson Hall to a room of about 15 students. His visit was sponsored by the Department of Communication.
One student asked him, “Is journalism dying?” Kahn was quick to say that “while the media is undergoing a financial recession,” the international element of journalism is growing, not shrinking. Read more >>
Posted: November 10, 2011
Authors speak on economy, sustainability
Authors Paul Gilding and John de Graaf warn that our current economic policies threaten both social and environmental collapse, but that we still have time to turn things around if we act now. They think it’s time to stop chasing economic growth as our highest goal, and focus instead on quality of life, justice and sustainability.
Join Gilding and de Graaf on Saturday, Nov. 12 in Kane Hall, room 210, at 7 p.m. (UW Seattle Campus) where they will discuss their latest 
books, The Great Disruption, by Gilding, and What’s the Economy for, Anyway?, by de Graaf. Also, hear about The Happiness Initiative, a new national project based in Seattle.
This is a free and public event sponsored by the Department of Communication, Sustainable Seattle, and the Center for Communication and Civic Engagement.
Posted: November 8, 2011
Colloquium: 'Have We Become Post-Racial Yet?'
Anna Everett, Professor in the Department of Film and Media Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, will present a colloquium on Tuesday, Nov. 8 from 3:30-5 p.m.
in CMU 126. Her topic is, "Have We Become Post-Racial Yet?: Obama, Viral Media, and the Where U @ Generation."
Anna Everett investigates the phenomenal transformations occurring in American politics and grassroots activism led by youth with the advent of YouTube, the premiere video-sharing website, and such popular online social networks as MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, and Twitter, among others. What these powerful modes of interactive new media engagement share is the fact that they are driven by and promote a democratizing form of cultural production for the masses known as user-generated content (UGC).
This talk is interested in the ways that, for example, Howard Dean's and Barack Obama's political fortunes — and misfortunes alike — owe much to mobilized young people and the viral media juggernaut they inspired. More recently, how the "YouTube effect" and the "Twitter effect" have contributed to the Arab Spring with reverberations for the British Uprisings and the Preserve Labor and Occupy Wall Street movements. At issue here are social media's revolutionary transformations of familiar geopolitical, socio-cultural processes, global political discourses, and youth cultures and activist practices.
Everett's published books and articles include Returning the Gaze: A Genealogy of Black Film Criticism, 1909–1949; Learning Race and Ethnicity: Youth and Digital Media, and her award-winning book Digital Diaspora: A Race for Cyberspace. She is editor of Screening Noir: A Journal of Film, Video and New Media Culture.
Posted: November 4, 2011
Underwood highlights trauma and journalists
UW Communication Professor Doug Underwood's book, Chronicling Trauma: Journalists and Writers on Violence and Loss, recently published by University of Illinois Press, details how often trauma plays into the careers and personal lives of writers who have been journalists.
The authors who Underwood highlights in his book have dealt with traumatic incidents such as murder, war and crime. He says they have used journalism “as ballast against their own inner turmoil.” At the same time, many writers have used psychological stress to fire their ambition. And sometimes, the extent of trauma is clear only when journalists write in more intimate and subjective terms.
Underwood teaches media ethics, media and religion, journalism and literature, and media management and economics.
Posted: November 4, 2011
Mobilize.org's Maya Enista Smith to speak at UW
November 3, 2011
What strategies can be used to engage and leverage Millennials to be effective change agents? What skills, knowledge and values do citizens need to be successful?
These, and similar questions, will be addressed on Thursday, Nov. 17, when Maya Enista Smith, CEO of Mobilize.org, invites the public to join a conversation on improving democracy in this ever-changing media landscape.
Moderating the talk will be Monica Guzman, a GeekWire columnist and community strategist, who reports on issues in digital life.
Smith began her career with Rock The Vote at age 17, where she registered more than 30,000 young people and was awarded the first ever Rockin’ The Streets award. Most recently, Maya was awarded the competitive Prime Movers Fellowship, a program for social movement leaders working at the national level.
Join this conversation in Kane Hall 110, from 7 – 8:30 p.m. The event is hosted by Seattle CityClub and is free and open to the public. Register here >>
Howard sees success in Tunisian elections
Associate Professor Philip Howard wrote a guest column for The Seattle Times as a National Democratic Institute observer of the Tunisian elections. In the article he asserts that, "The real success in the Tunisian elections is an authentic, democratic process." Howard writes that the election went well "because election administrators made some tech-savvy infrastructure investments, people used social media to encourage friends and family to participate, and political parties put their ideas online."
Posted: November 3, 2011
Show Your Purple on W Day, Nov. 4
On Nov. 4, 2011, Huskies around the world will drape themselves in purple and raise a toast on the UW's 150th birthday. As part of that day's celebration, select Seattle-area businesses will offer discounts to anyone wearing purple, KJR 950 AM will broadcast live from the Seattle campus, free purple T-shirts and Cupcake Royale® cupcakes will be handed out, and various Seattle icons will turn purple. Huskies who live outside the Seattle area can post their UW memories and photos of themselves in purple on the UW Facebook page or via the Twitter hashtag #UW150. Learn more at uw.edu/150/w-day.
Why do you love UW Communication?
As part of the University of Washington's 150th birthday celebration, the Department of Communication wants to hear from you. What do you love about UW Communication? Read memories from other alumni and share your own.
Posted: October 31, 2011
Living Voters Guide updated for 2011 election
The 2011 Living Voters Guide has been launched and is ready to go. The Guide is the product of collaboration among the National Science Foundation, Alan Borning and Travis Kriplean in Computer Science, and Lance Bennett in Communication and Political Science, along with the help of graduate students, and Seattle CityClub.
It is a crowd-sourced deliberation platform for voters to construct their thoughts and positions on the ballot measures in this year's election. “It is easy and, I think, fun to use,” Lance Bennett said. “Simply enter your zip code and you see what you have to vote on.” The Guide has been updated with the three statewide ballot initiatives, two state constitutional amendments and 120 local and regional measures.
Posted: October 31, 2011
Alumni workshop: Personal Branding for the Web
Learn how to leverage your skills and experience through social media and a personal website and/or portfolio. This workshop, Wednesday, Nov. 2, from 6 to 8 p.m., will demonstrate available online tools that will give you a boost when you are marketing yourself to potential clients and employers, with a focus on LinkedIn and Wordpress. Learn more about this year's New Media Series in Communication for alumni >>
Posted: October 27, 2011
Neff in The Chronicle: Silicon Valley not replicable
In an article from The Chronicle of Higher Education, Assistant Professor Gina Neff weighs in on plans to replicate the success of Silicon Valley on New York City’s Roosevelt Island. A handful of universities, including Stanford and Cornell, are competing for the bid to develop their own Silicon Valley in the Big Apple.
In the article, Neff says the chances that such a situation could be as big a success as the original Silicon Valley are slim to none. "There are lots of reasons that Silicon Valley developed that can't be replicated in the 21st century," she says. Neff wrote Venture Labor, a forthcoming book from MIT Press about New York's "Silicon Alley."
Posted: October 26, 2011
Hall of Fame recognizes transformative alumni
Rain was in the forecast for the evening of Oct. 19, but it turned into a perfectly cool and calm night. Buzzing excitement built as everyone filtered into the Center for Urban Horticulture at the UW Botanic Gardens. The live band, constant socializing, and flow of refreshments created a lively, upbeat aura for the evening.
Inductees, alumni, and faculty awaited the night’s event — an evening, during which, the Department of Communication honored six new inductees into the Alumni Hall of Fame. David Domke, Chair of the Department of Communication, said, “Some of the greatest takeaways and meaningful pieces have been moments like these, to get to hear people who have really transformed our society.”
Read remarks from the Hall of Fame inductees and watch a slideshow from the event >>
The 2011 inductees:
- J. Anthony (Tony) Angell: B.A., 1962
Prominent and respected artist and environmentalist - Jack Geraghty: B.A., 1956
Former mayor of Spokane - Shelby Gilje: B.A., 1958
Writer, editor and columnist at The Seattle Times
- Hal Newsom: B.A., 1952
Former president and CEO of largest advertising agency - Terrence (Terry) Tazioli: B.A., 1970
Newspaper journalist and television host - Betty Houchin Winfield: Ph.D., 1978
Missouri School of Journalism faculty
Posted: October 24, 2011
Roundtable Wednesday on technology in Africa
On Wednesday, Oct. 26, the UW African Studies Program and the Master of Communication in Digital Media (MCDM) will present "Four Students, Four Countries, Four Perspectives: A Roundtable Discussion of Technology, Business, and Youth in Namibia, Ghana, Cameroon, and South Africa."
Three MCDM students — Shelby Barnes, Pam Kahl, Joseph Pavey — and one MCDM alum, Alvin Singh, will share their experiences of living in South Africa, and working on projects that address youth and new media. MCDM Associate Director Anita Verna Crofts will moderate. The discussion takes place in CMU 202, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
About the participants:
MCDM student Shelby Barnes spent the summer in Namibia observing the impact digital media are having on Namibian culture, business, and youth, and mentoring interns at one of the country’s top advertising agencies, adforceDDB.
MCDM student Pam Kahl spent four weeks this past summer in Ghana concurrently teaching a storytelling seminar at Ashesi University, Ghana’s first liberal arts curriculum institution of higher education, and exploring the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT).
MCDM student Joseph Pavey spent last summer working in Cameroon as a Technology Advisor for Plan International on their Youth Empowerment Through Technology, Arts, and Media (YETAM) project. YETAM teaches skills in social media, citizen journalism, and digital mapping to help make youth better advocates for change and development in their own communities.
MCDM alum Alvin Singh works with entrepreneurs in South Africa who are looking for interactive marketing methods to boost sales and reach a broader consumer base. He primarily studies how mobile technology is moving rapidly across Africa and the different behavior habits of subscribers — particularly youth. In addition, Singh works closely with legendary photographer Alf Kumalo to digitize more than 60 years of his photos, and was given press access to follow First Lady Michelle Obama on her first solo trip to Africa.
Posted: October 24, 2011
USC features UW global health reporting course
The University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism reports on the global health reporting course offered at the UW Department of Communication. Co-taught by The Seattle Times assistant managing editor Jim Simon, Professor Roger Simpson, and Artist in Residence Joanne Silberner, the course challenges students to find local angles for big global health stories.
The class was first offered in spring of 2010 with each class having fewer than 15 students. Last year, eight student projects were published, including Rachel Solomon’s story about leprosy clinics, and Andrew Doughman’s story on mental health issues in Seattle's growing East African community.
Posted: September 29, 2011
Spring Wrap-up
On April 19, Matt McGarrity gave the keynote speech at the seventh annual UW Teaching and Learning Symposium.
Phil Howard and his latest book, The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Information Technology and Political Islam, was featured in the spring issue of Columns.
Posted: September 19, 2011
Study quantifies use of social media in Arab Spring
In the 21st century, the revolution may not be televised — but it likely will be tweeted, blogged, texted and organized on Facebook, recent experience suggests.
After analyzing more than 3 million tweets, gigabytes of YouTube content and thousands of blog posts, a new study by the UW finds that social media played a central role in shaping political debates in the Arab Spring. Conversations about revolution often preceded major events, and social media have carried inspiring stories of protest across international borders.
“Our evidence suggests that social media carried a cascade of messages about freedom and democracy across North Africa and the Middle East, and helped raise expectations for the success of political uprising,” said Philip Howard, the project lead and an associate professor in communication at the University of Washington. “People who shared interest in democracy built extensive social networks and organized political action. Social media became a critical part of the toolkit for greater freedom.”
Data for the UW project came directly from immense digital archives the team built over the course of several months. The research is unusual because the team located data about technology use and political opinion from before the revolutions. The Project on Information Technology and Political Islam assembled data about blogging in Tunisia one month prior to the crisis in that country, and had special data on the link structure of Egyptian political parties one month prior to the crisis there. Read more >>
Posted: September 12, 2011
Conversations on Pakistan Sept. 15 and Oct. 27
On Sept. 15 at 6:30 p.m., the World Affairs Council will host Pamela Constable, author and deputy foreign editor for The Washington Post, for a public discussion on "Pakistan’s War with Itself." During this conversation, held at the UW School of Law, Constable will speak on the country of Pakistan, the daily lives of the people who live there, and why this country continues to be important to U.S. interests. The price of admission is $10 for WAC members and students, and $15 for non-members.
Related to this conversation, on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m., the World Affairs Council will be joined by the co-host of NPR’s Morning Edition, Steve Inskeep, for a networking reception and discussion at Town Hall Seattle about "The View from Karachi – What the Mega-City Tells us about Pakistan." Inskeep will cover how studying Pakistan’s largest city can help us to understand more about the country and about the phenomenon of “instant cities” growing around the world. The price of admission is $10 for WAC members and students, and $15 for non-members. A networking reception before the event at 6 p.m. is $20 for members and students and $30 for non-members.
The UW Department of Communication is a co-presenter of this event.
Posted: August 29, 2011
APSA examines threat and politics
On Aug. 31, about 75 scholars from across the country, as well as some international visitors, will converge on the Communications Building for the American Political Science Association (APSA) Pre-Conference. The pre-conference is a preliminary event before the annual APSA meeting at the Washington State Convention Center, Sept. 1-4.
The theme of the 2011 conference is the exploration of how the political system communicates, processes, and responds to threats. Scholars will be presenting their papers in split-panel sessions and two plenary roundtable discussions throughout the day. Presentations will examine issues like the use of subtle political threat during presidential elections, managing threat by turning to conspiracy theories, and how celebrities become political during times of threat.
Department of Communication PhD candidates Colin Lingle and Damon Di Cicco will present their paper, “A Rising Tide of Tea and Ink: News Media Coverage of the Tea Party Movement versus Other Major Protests.”
Click here for the complete APSA Pre-Conference schedule >>
Posted: August 29, 2011
Film captures efforts of Detroit journalists
Arriving in Detroit during the summer of 2010, Hanson Hosein and Scott Macklin, MCDM program leaders, knew there was a story to tell, but had “no idea to the depth of some of the things that were happening,” Macklin said. After hearing about Time Magazine’s attempt and perceived failure to tell the stories of Detroit’s citizens, the seasoned filmmakers set out to document activists taking charge of their own stories. What they created was their own community-centric story, "Detroit Uprising," a short film. Read more >>
Posted: August 5, 2011
Howard awarded Princeton fellowship
Associate Professor Phil Howard has been awarded a fellowship year by Princeton’s Center for Information Technology Policy. The Center is a nexus of expertise in technology and engineering, public policy, and the social sciences. Its research, teaching and public programs address digital technologies as they interact with policy, markets and society. Howard will continue his research on how digital media affect democratization in the Muslim world. Read more >>
Posted: August 1, 2011
KING-5 Morning News features MCDM director
MCDM Director Hanson Hosein appeared on Seattle's KING-5 Morning News July 20 to discuss the increasing popularity of digital storytelling by businesses and individuals with anchor Brad Goode. Hosein recently published his book, Storyteller Uprising, using an unusual distribution strategy. Hosein writes about some of his other book events on his blog, storytelleruprising.com, such as speaking at the Projectline Book Club.
Posted: July 21, 2011
Study: 3D Building Information Modeling falls short of promise
Assistant Professor Gina Neff and her research team studied how Building Information Modeling (BIM) supports collaboration among builders, architects, engineers and contractors throughout the building process.
BIM computer software turns blueprints into three-dimensional digital renderings, allowing for interaction with a building model. Ideally, all entities of the building process would have the ability to use this software to make changes. But the team found that this is not necessarily how BIM is utilized.
Posted: July 20, 2011
Youths take part in digital media summer program
As the final piece of a successful pilot year, the Seattle Digital Literacy Initiative hosted its Summer Institute the last week of June. In collaboration with the UW Department of Communication, the Master of Communication in Digital Media (MCDM) program, and the UW College of Education, the Common Language Project team hosted 30 young people interested in digital media production.
Students showcased their work at the Seattle Digital Literacy Summer Institute Screening. Read more >>
Posted: June 27, 2011
Ceccarelli a fellow in Research Consortium
Associate Professor Leah Ceccarelli is a rhetorical critic and theorist, focusing her research on interdisciplinary and public discourse about science. This summer she will serve as one of four faculty fellows in the 2011 Research Consortium on Biological Futures in a Globalized World. She will be examining the use of the metaphor the “frontier of science,” often heard when politicians and scientists are making the case for research priorities in the biological sciences. Read more >>
Posted: June 27, 2011
Instructor to be inducted into hometown hall of fame
Artist in Residence Joanne Silberner is an accomplished journalist who has worked as a health policy correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR) for 18 years. This October, she will return to her hometown of Livingston, New Jersey, to be inducted into the Livingston Hall of Fame. What some people don’t know, is that Silberner wouldn’t be a journalist today if a course catalog had been up to date. In fact, she says, “it was a complete accident” that she stumbled into the world of journalism. Read more >>
Posted: June 17, 2011
MCDM presents Giffard 'Make the Change' Award
The University of Washington Master of Communication in Digital Media program has awarded two Seattle-based initiatives its Anthony Giffard "Make The Change" Award for digital disruption in communication. The awardees are Dan Savage and Terry Miller for the "It Gets Better" campaign on YouTube, and the Starbucks Digital Network in partnership with Yahoo! Read more in Geekwire >>
Posted: June 10, 2011
Four Peaks featured in Seattle Magazine
Four Peaks, the organization that brings together Seattle’s media and tech communities for discussions surrounding innovation, entrepreneurship, entertainment and community, was featured in Seattle Magazine as one of the region’s groups at the forefront of the “Idea-sharing Explosion."
Founded by Hanson Hosein, director of the Master of Communication in Digital Media program (MCDM), and Kraig Baker, partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP and MCDM advisory board member, Four Peaks recently partnered with the Seattle International Film Festival for its latest salon to bring two guests to the set of Media Space on UWTV.
Episode nine, “The Fusion of Film and Gaming in the Pacific Northwest,” features filmmakers Lynn Shelton and Matt Vancil in SIFF’s brand new Film Center at Seattle Center. Watch the episode here >>
Posted: May 26, 2011
Bennett wins UW faculty lecture award
Professor Lance Bennett will be honored June 9 at the University of Washington 41st Annual Awards of Excellence at 3:30 p.m. in Meany Hall Auditorium with a reception to follow. Bennett will receive the University Faculty Lecture Award, which honors current or emeriti faculty whose research, scholarship or art is widely recognized by their peers and whose achievements have substantially impacted their profession. Reservations are not required.
Posted: May 25, 2011
Underwood wins Dart Academic Fellowship
Professor Doug Underwood’s interest in the impacts of trauma and violence on journalists has shifted during his professional and academic career. Over the years, Underwood has taken the teachings of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma and incorporated what he has learned into his research and journalism courses.
He was recently chosen as a recipient of the 2011 Dart Academic Fellowship, a three-day program in June. "Any time you get an opportunity to go to a training program and work with people who have a strong background in something that you’re exploring, it’s comforting to know that you can go back and share your experiences with others," he said. Read more >>
Posted: May 24, 2011
MCDM director writes on digital publishing
Hanson Hosein, writer, filmmaker and director of the Master of Communication in Digital Media (MCDM) program, has many options to consider when choosing the best ways to publish his work. With the advent of the E-book and platform aggregators that make publishing a snap, the traditionally expensive and time-consuming pathways to becoming a published author are no longer the only route. And with the help of social media, like Twitter and Facebook, marketing is a breeze.
Hosein’s book, Storyteller Uprising: Trust and Persuasion in the Digital Age, has been published to Amazon Kindle, Scribd, and Smashwords, for a small charge of $4.99. He’s also created a hard copy using the Espresso Book Machine at the University Book Store which sells for $8.99. With easy access to great tools like these, anyone can become a published (and paid) author.
Read more about Hosein’s venture into the world of publishing >>
Posted: May 19, 2011
Colloquium explores 'post-identity resistance'
On Wednesday, Ralina Joseph, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, will give a colloquium, "The First Lady Speaks Back: Reading Michelle Obama's Post-identity Performance and Resistance." The colloquium takes place in CMU 126 from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
In February 2008, Michelle Obama made a comment at two campaign rallies about how the Obama campaign had helped inspire her own faith in the U.S. This comment was replayed, dissected and attacked over the 24-hour-a-day news-media cycle.
MCDM student, former assistant director of White House Situation Room offers perspective
Following the death of Osama bin Laden and the release of the now-famous Situation Room photo released by the White House, UW Master of Communication in Digital Media student Brian Sollom details the history of the room for a Flip the Media blog post. Sollom is former assistant director of the White House Situation Room.
Sollom explains how technology in such centers can help to connect those who are making complex decisions before, during, and after a natural disaster or other critical event.
Posted: May 18, 2011
UW hosts computational social science event
"The Future of Computational Social Science" conference, organized by the Journal of Information Technology and Politics editorial team, will be held May 16-17 at the University of Washington Seattle campus in Parrington Hall.
The Department of Communication is well represented this year. Serving as program committee members are Communication PhD candidates Justin Reedy and Muzammil M. Hussain, who have been pivotal in the organization of the event.
On Monday, Associate Professor Kirsten Foot will present, “Accounting for Interpretive ICT Practices and Including Interpretive Methods.” Karine Nahon, adjunct faculty member from the Information School, will present, “Uncovering Social Dynamics in Networks through Intertwined Methods and Frameworks.”
Monday evening, Kirsten Foot and UW Bothell Teaching Associate and Postdoctoral Fellow Amoshaun Toft (PhD, 2010) will present their poster, “Leveraging computational social science by combining hyperlink and textual analyses: The case of online anti-human-trafficking networks.”
On Tuesday, PhD candidate Deen Freelon and Professor Lance Bennett, alongside their research team, will present, “Facilitating Encounters with Political Difference: Engaging Voters with the Living Voters Guide.”
Sponsors of this event include the Center for Communication & Civic Engagement and the Center for American Politics & Public Policy, among others.
Posted: May 11, 2011
SAM to feature Native Voices films
In conjunction with Behind the Scenes: The Real Story of the Quileute Wolves, SAM and Native Voices, the University of Washington’s Indigenous Documentary Film Program, examine stereotypes and constructed Indian identities in the talk entitled, “Adjusting the Focus: Counterpoints to Media Stereotypes of Native Peoples.” Take in screenings of segments from Native Voices' recent films that provide a counterpoint to racism in the media, and a discussion about imagery, authenticity and real-world implications of misrepresentation.
This event takes place at the Seattle Art Museum on May 14, at 2 p.m. in Plestcheeff Auditorium. It is free and open to the public. Register here >>
Posted: May 9, 2011
Colloquium: 'Reading Michelle Obama's Post-identity Performance and Resistance'
On May 18, Ralina Joseph, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, will give a colloquium, "The First Lady Speaks Back: Reading Michelle Obama's Post-identity Performance and Resistance." The colloquium takes place in CMU 126 from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
In February 2008, Michelle Obama made a comment at two campaign rallies about how the Obama campaign had helped inspire her own faith in the U.S. This comment, excerpted as, “for the first time in my adult lifetime, I’m really proud of my country,” was replayed, dissected and attacked over the 24-hour-a-day news-media cycle. The future First Lady was described as unpatriotic, bitter, angry, and emasculating.
In these mediated attacks, Obama’s race and gender, although featured prominently, were almost never explicitly named. Hence, in responding within this post-identity ethos, the assumed “after” moments of racism and sexism, Obama could not, in turn, name the racism and sexism at play. However, she did not remain silent. To speak back Obama negotiated the landscape of post-identity by performing a brand of resistant post-identity four months later on the daytime talk show The View.
Joseph will discuss how this event illustrates how minoritized subjects, much like the First Lady, deploy the codes of post-identity to fight against the very tenets of post-identity.
Posted: May 6, 2011
NPR reporter explains art of science storytelling
On Monday, May 9, join NPR science correspondent Joe Palca for an in-depth session on science storytelling at 9:30 a.m., in CMU 126. Palca will spend the hour discussing how he humanizes and personalizes science stories using reporting, detail and humor.
Palca recently returned from Tokyo, and will discuss his experiences covering the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Palca comes to journalism from a science background. He received a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California at Santa Cruz where he worked on human sleep physiology. Since joining NPR in 1992, he has covered a range of science topics — everything from biomedical research to astronomy. In addition to his science reporting, Palca occasionally fills in as guest host on Talk of the Nation Science Friday.
Palca has won numerous awards, including the National Academies Communications Award, the Science-in-Society Award of the National Association of Science Writers, the American Chemical Society James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public, the American Association for the Advancement of Science Journalism Prize, and the Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Writing. With Flora Lichtman, Palca is the co-author of Annoying: The Science of What Bugs Us (Wiley, 2011).
Posted: May 4, 2011
Psychologist explores John Locke's influence
On April 27, Sheldon Solomon arrived in Kane Hall. The longhaired professor was dressed in a tie-dye T-shirt, athletic shorts and tennis shoes. The man looked as though he had stumbled into the wrong building. However, as soon as Solomon began to speak he demanded the audience’s attention.
Solomon, a psychology professor at Skidmore College, presented “John Locke’s Errors: Why Left and Right Are Both Beside The Point.” Solomon compares the differences between liberalism and conservatism to light and dark beer.
Posted: May 4, 2011
Panel: Clash of Science and Journalism
Why do the cultures of science and journalism sometimes clash? How can researchers make the most of opportunities to share their work with the wider world?
Join us in a conversation with leading journalists from around the country for a look at how changes sweeping across the media industry are presenting new challenges for researchers and the scientific community.
Panelists
- Alan Boyle, Science Editor, msnbc.com
- Michael Hawthorne, Environmental Reporter, Chicago Tribune
- Michael Todd, Online Editor, Miller-McCune.com
- Rhitu Chatterjee, Science Podcast Producer, PRI’s The World
Details
Where: Program on the Environment Commons, Wallace Hall, 3737 Brooklyn Avenue N.E., Seattle, WA
When: Friday, May 6, 5-7 p.m.
Format: Panel discussion followed by a cocktail party and conversation.
Click to RSVP. Please direct questions to Anne DeMelle: ademelle@uw.edu or (206) 221-6129.
Co-hosted by the UW Program on the Environment, Conservation of Living Systems and COMPASS.
Posted: May 3, 2011
Event raises $75,000 for student experiences
Thank you to everyone who contributed to our April 28 fundraising event, "Transforming Communities: One Communication Student at a Time." With your generosity, we raised about $75,000. These funds will go directly toward supporting transformational learning opportunities for our students, such as Andrew Doughman, Damon Di Cicco, and David Krueger.
View photos and video from the event >>
City Club presents 'Who Do You Trust?' April 22
Join City Club's panel of experts on April 22 for a forum on public trust, "Who Do You Trust?"
Rainier Square Atrium, third floor conference room
1333 Fifth Avenue, Seattle [view map]
Registration: 11:30 a.m. | Luncheon & Program: 12:15 – 1:30 p.m.
Register Now >>
Featuring:
- Mike Fancher, former executive editor, The Seattle Times, and advisor to the Knight Commission on Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy
- Abdullahi Jama, Board Member, OneAmerica
- Henk Campher, Senior Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability, Edelman
- Seattle City Councilman Tim Burgess, Chair, Public Safety & Education Committee
- Moderated by: C.R. Douglas, Host & Producer, The Seattle Channel
Who would you call in an emergency – a neighbor or the police? Where do you keep and invest your money? Where do you get your news? How do you evaluate consumer choices and political candidates? Join CityClub to examine public trust as a critical feature of civil society and reports results from its 2010 Community Matters Campaign.
How is trust measured? What are today’s trends related to business, government, safety, news and information, and neighborhoods? Come with your observations and questions.
Posted: April 18, 2011
Colloquium: West to present on death and dying
On April 20, Emily West will present a colloquium on "Looking at the End of Life: 21st Century Visual Representations of Non-Violent Death and Dying" from 3:30-5 in CMU 126. 
Death and dying from illness and disease are under-represented in Western media compared to violent and sudden forms of death. How are media makers rendering this often unseen, yet inescapable fact of life visible in the 21st century, through documentary film and photography? In addressing this question West will discuss the 2003 Canadian documentary Dying at Grace (dir. Allan King); the 2008 Life Before Death exhibit by German photography team Walter Schels and Beate Lakotta; and the 2011 U.S. documentary How to Die in Oregon (dir. Peter Richardson). The politics of looking at death will be considered in terms of image ethics, biopolitics, and contemporary healthcare policy debates. In a post-reality television, new media moment, this project considers how these representations of the end of life illustrate the relationships among media visibility, the private and the public spheres, and the political.
West is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Washington Department of Communication. Her research in media and cultural studies has focused on issues of consumer culture, authenticity, emotion, and performance, on topics that include cheerleading, greeting cards, reality television, and nationalism. Her current work in media and cultural studies of health examines consumer subjectivity in U.S. healthcare, and media representations of the end of life. Her recent journal articles appear in Text & Performance Quarterly, Feminist Media Studies, International Journal of Cultural Studies, and Journal of Consumer Culture. She is currently co-editing (with Matthew McAllister) the Routledge Companion to Advertising and Promotional Culture.
Posted: April 15, 2011
Conversations flow during SEAchange 2011
From Exxon Valdez to Deepwater Horizon, how have we grown as citizens of planet Earth? What approaches are environmental and media institutions taking differently? SEAchange 2011 on April 2 at the UW Research Commons assembled marine scientists, journalists, politicians, researchers, professors, and students, as well as communities who were impacted by the oil spills, under one roof to discuss and prevent similar occurrences in the future. Read more >>
Posted: April 7, 2011
Event marks anniversary of Times' Pulitzer Prize
Journalism students got a sneak-peek into what it takes to be a successful journalist for The Seattle Times on Wednesday. Twelve Pulitzer-Prize-winning Times journalists joined nearly 40 students and told, from their perspectives, how they collaborated to cover the tragic incident of November 29, 2009, when felon Maurice Clemmons gunned down four Lakewood police officers.
Their tireless work earned The Seattle Times its eighth Pulitzer Prize for “its comprehensive coverage, in print and online, of the shooting deaths of four police officers in a coffee house and the 40-hour manhunt for the suspect,” cited the Pulitzer committee. Students asked questions throughout the luncheon. Read more >>
Posted: April 6, 2011
Colloquium looks at live research in Canada
During a colloquium on Wednesday, April 27, Greg Elmer will present "Live Research? Reading the New Political Party Machines in Canada" at 3:30 p.m. in CMU 120.
Greg Elmer will make the case for a real-time form of research, focusing on the emergence of a “hyper-immediated” form of political communications enabled by social media platforms, networks, and other automated forms of feeding and sharing content across and off the net.
He also offers an object- and subject-oriented approach to the study of political communications in Canada, highlighting the means through which researchers can “read” machine-written language or code to understand the strategic use and spread of political campaigns.
This is event is co-sponsored by the UW Canadian Studies Center and the UW Department of Communication.
Elmer is Bell Globemedia Research Chair and Director of the Infoscape Centre for the Study of Social Media, Ryerson University, Toronto. He is co-author with F. McKelvey and G. Langlois of the forthcoming book The Permanent Campaign: New Media, New Politics (Peter Lang).
Lecture looks at love, sex, death in media life
The Thomas Scheidel Lecture will feature Mark Deuze from Indiana University speaking on "The experience of love, sex and death in a media life" on Wednesday, April 13 at 3:30 p.m. in CMU 120.
Research since the early 21st century shows how, through the years, more of our time is spent using media, how being concurrently exposed to media has become a foundational feature of everyday life, and that consuming media for most people takes place alongside producing media. Contemporary devices, what people do with them, and how this fits in the organization of our everyday life disrupt and unsettle established views of the role media play in society.
Instead of continuing to wrestle with a distinction between media and society, this presentation proposes we begin our thinking with a view of life not lived with media, but in media. The media life perspective uses the way media function
today as a prism to understand key issues in contemporary society, where reality is open source, identities are — like websites — always under construction, and where private life is lived in public forever more.
Mark Deuze holds a joint appointment as an Associate Professor of Telecommunications at Indiana University in Bloomington, United States, and as Professor of Journalism and New Media at Leiden University, The Netherlands.
Publications of his work include seven books — including Media Work (Polity Press, 2007), Managing Media Work (Sage Publishers, 2010), and Media Life (Polity Press, forthcoming 2011), guest co-edited special issues of journals on convergence culture (with Henry Jenkins: Convergence, 2008; with John Banks: International Journal of Cultural Studies, 2009), and articles in academic journals such as The Information Society, New Media & Society, and Media Culture & Society. Mark is an editorial board member of nine international academic journals.
Posted: April 1, 2011
Seattle Digital Literacy Initiative gives youths insight
Two weeks ago at New Start High School in Highline, Brianna discovered that she can be a photographer. The Seattle Digital Literacy Initiative is reaching high school students, just like her, and giving them insight into the realm of new media and information, with hands-on practice. The Department of Communication is a sponsor of the program. Sarah Stuteville, a journalist and instructor, said, “These days, understanding media is definitely a first step toward understanding how the world works.” Read more >>
Posted: March 25, 2011
Professor of online courses wins teaching award
From a student’s perspective, taking an online course can be intimidating. Without the direct interaction that a traditional classroom setting provides, online courses can inhibit communication between professor and student, and eradicate the supportive relationships students have with one another. However, if Linda Lawson (PhD, 1988) is teaching the online course, students find they can get all of the advantages of being in a classroom, if not more. That could be why Lawson won a UW Professional & Continuing Education Excellence in Teaching Award for 2010. Read more >>
Posted: March 17, 2011
Seattle: A New Media Case Study
Mike Fancher, retired executive editor of the Seattle Times, has written "Seattle: A New Media Case Study" as part of "The State of the News Media 2011," an annual report released by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Posted: March 14, 2011
Enjoy an evening out at spring auction April 28
What: Silent auction and short live auction, with $25 patron fee.
When: Thursday, April 28, 2011
Time: 6:30 to 9 p.m.
Where: Center for Urban Horticulture (map) (directions)
Why: Connect with alumni, meet students, hear about our vision.
Details: Hors d’oeuvres and beverages, with free parking on site.
Posted: March 11, 2011
CLP team reports from the Middle East
During a six-week journey in November and December that took them through northern Iraq, Syria and Jordan, Common Language Project staff Sarah Stuteville , Jessica Partnow and Alex Stonehill reported on what it means to be a citizen of these countries; nations still struggling nearly a decade after 9/11. The Road to Damascus is a series of stories from their trip. Since their return to the U.S., the team continues to write about their experiences, especially now that politics has taken a turn in many of the areas they visited. Read more >>
Posted: March 11, 2011
Thurlow to present at GURT 2011
This week, Crispin Thurlow, a professor in the Department of Communication, will give a keynote address at the Georgetown Roundtable on Language & Linguistics (GURT 2011) — a premier international gathering of linguists, sociolinguists and discourse analysts. This year's roundtable is organized by Deborah Tannen under the theme of Discourse 2.0.
Thurlow’s talk is titled "Fakebook: Synthetic Media, Pseudo-Sociality and the Rhetorics of Web 2.0." In this talk, he will consider some of the exaggerated and invested claims made about social media in the contexts of education, celebrity, the media, commerce, politics and scholarship. For Thurlow, these influential domains often work to produce a pointedly synthetic media based on highly stylized, commoditized notions of communication that have very little to do with the everyday social uses of new technologies and more to do with the kind of pseudo-sociality favored by advertisers and other agents (or beneficiaries) of neoliberal capitalism.
Thurlow's latest book Digital Discourse: Language in the New Media will be released later this year by Oxford University Press. Edited with Communication doctoral candidate Kristine Mroczek, it is a collection of papers by some of the world’s leading and rising scholars of new media discourse.
Posted: March 7, 2011
Forum to address corporate political spending
In January 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. F.E.C. that corporations have the right to unlimited spending to influence elections. In this ruling, the court treats corporations as if they are people with the right of free speech, including "political' speech (such as TV ads and mailers).
On March 10 at 7 p.m., join Washington Public Campaigns as they host a public forum with John Bonifaz and Jeffrey Clements, legal counsel from freespeechforpeople.org, for a discussion on the ramifications of the ruling and what the next steps need to be. The gathering takes place in Kane Hall, room 220, University of Washington, Seattle.
Posted: March 2, 2011
Domke explores technology, generation gap
Communication Department Chair David Domke spoke on Feb. 23 about the generation gap created by new technologies during his lecture, "You Say You Want a Revolution? Generational Change and Citizen Engagement." Domke said digital media are increasingly playing a role in political revolutions all over the world, but the greatest effects are seen in a growing gap between older generations and younger generations. He said technology is influencing how young people view the world and that it has become a critical link in how the world communicates. Read more >>
Posted: February 24, 2011
Joseph explores racial stereotypes on TV comedy
Assistant Professor Ralina Joseph spoke on KUOW Feb. 19 about how American comedy shows are exploring the realms of race and stereotypes. Shows like ABC's "Modern Family" present differences in stereotypes and find laughter on subjects that are not talked about in everyday conversation. You can listen to the KUOW interview here >>
Posted: February 22, 2011
Howard writes opinion piece for Reuters
Communication Professor Philip N. Howard wrote an opinion piece for Reuters published Feb. 16 called "Digital media and the Arab spring." Howard is the author of The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Information Technology and Political Islam, and director of the Project on Information Technology and Political Islam at the University of Washington.
Posted: February 18, 2011
Boost your photo skills with Saturday workshop
We all know how to snap a picture. But in an age when visual communication dominates our world, the ability to compose and distribute a powerful image online is as vital a skill in business as it is in our personal lives.
Photography in the Digital Age: How to Shoot Powerful Images for the Web on Saturday, March 5 from 1 to 5 p.m. will teach you to compose beautiful still photos and video, and help you build technical skills in editing and online distribution. You'll learn how to use advanced features of point and shoot and digital SLR cameras, the basics of photo editing software, and tools for sharing your photos online and using them to build a powerful web presence.
Photographers of all skill levels are welcome. Participants are encouraged to bring the camera that they use most often, whether it's a digital SLR, point and shoot, or a cell phone. The cost is $35 for Communication alumni and UWAA members; $70 Non-Communications alumni and non-UWAA members.
Presenters include photojournalists Dan Lamont, Alex Stonehill, Chantal Anderson. Learn more about these photographers and register online >>
On Saturday, March 19, the New Media Series continues with Video Bootcamp: How to Shoot, Edit, and Upload Video to the Web.
Posted: February 18, 2011
Women Who Rock recognizes activist musicians
The Women Who Rock conference Feb. 17-18, organized by the Women Who Rock Research Project and the Women Who Rock Graduate Student Collective, will highlight women who organized social change, locally and worldwide, through their art. “We’re looking at women who rock across musical genres — rock, hip-hop, Afro-Peruvian — we’re really trying to shake up the idea of what is rock, and who are women that rock,” said Michelle Habell-Pallán, Associate Professor in the UW Women Studies Department, and an adjunct in the School of Music. Learn more >>
Posted: Feb. 16, 2011
Info session on Seattle Digital Literacy Initiative
Come meet the Seattle Digital Literacy Initiative! Hear about how they're bringing digital literacy learning opportunities into local schools and youth organizations and learn how to get involved. The Initiative is headed by the UW's Department Of Communication, the UW's Master of Communication in Digital Media, and the Common Language Project, working in close partnership with a collection of educational, nonprofit, and private organizations including Newspapers in Education, and the World Affairs Council.
This year the organization will visit 15 different schools—teamed up with local media makers and experts—to discuss journalism's role in our democracy, help students learn to critically evaluate their sources of information and to offer basic training in media production. Light refreshments will be served.
RSVP on Facebook: tinyurl.com/seadiglit. Or by e-mail: info@clpmag.org.
Posted: February 14, 2011
Professor Gastil on Australian radio program
Professor John Gastil was featured on Mornings with Margaret Throsby, an Australian news radio program, on Feb. 3. Gastil is in Australia as a guest for the Centre for Citizenship and Public Policy at the University of Western Sydney and The New Democracy Foundation. He specializes in group decision making, political deliberation, cultural cognition, and public scholarship.
Posted: February 15, 2011
On anniversary of oil spill, learn where we are now
On Saturday, April 2, the public is invited to reflect on two major U.S. oil spills during SEAchange 2011: From Exxon Valdez to Deepwater Horizon: Telling Tales of Environmental Disaster, Justice, and Recovery. The daylong event at the University of Washington is sponsored by the Department of Communication, the Master of Communication in Digital Media, University Libraries, and the College of the Environment. SEAchange 2011 will feature artists, scientists, fishermen, technologists, chefs and a multitude of interdisciplinary thought leaders to explore how we as a society of modern consumers confront the many environmental ills that all of us have a hand in creating. Learn more: http://seachange.uw.edu/
Posted: February 9, 2011
Howard writes about Arab protests in Huff Post
Associate Professor Philip N. Howard has published a blog post in The Huffington Post called "A State Department 2.0 Response to the Arab Spring."
Howard writes: "Digitally enabled protesters in Tunisia tossed out their dictator. The protests in Egypt have drawn out the largest crowds in 50 years and the crisis in that country is not over. Several autocrats have had to dismiss their cabinets. Discontent has cascaded over transnational networks of family and friends to Algeria, Jordan, Lebanon and Yemen. The Sudanese held a referendum. The State Department needs a 21st-century strategy for dealing with the Arab Spring."
Howard directs the Project on Information Technology and Political Islam and is author of the book, The Internet and Islam: The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy.
Posted: February 9, 2011
Howard speaks on Digital Origins of Democracy
During a colloquium on Feb. 9, Associate Professor Philip N. Howard will address "The Digital Origins of Democracy: Information Technology and Political Islam" from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in CMU 120.
Do new information technologies advance democratization? Among the diverse countries with large Muslim communities, how do such technologies provide capacities and constraints on institutional change? What are the ingredients of the modern recipe for democratic transition or democratic entrenchment? Around the developing world, political leaders face a dilemma: the very information and communication technologies that boost economic fortunes also undermine power structures.
Globally, one in ten Internet users is a Muslim living in a populous Muslim community. In these countries, young people are developing their political identities — including a transnational Muslim identity — online. In countries where political parties are illegal, the Internet is the only infrastructure for democratic discourse. And in countries with large Muslim communities, mobile phones and the Internet are helping civil society build systems of political communication independent of the state and beyond easy manipulation by cultural or religious elites.
With evidence from fieldwork in Azerbaijan, Egypt, Tajikistan and Tanzania, and using the latest fuzzy-set statistical models, Howard demonstrates that communications technologies have played a crucial role in advancing democracy in Muslim countries.
Howard's books include New Media Campaigns and the Managed Citizen (Cambridge, 2005) and The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy (Oxford, 2011). He directs the NSF-funded Project on Information Technology and Political Islam.
Posted: Feb. 7, 2011
Explore innovation with MCDM Four Peaks salon
Intellectual Ventures CEO Nathan Myhrvold will kick things off Feb. 21 with his live on-camera interview with Media Space host Hanson Hosein. Myhrvold will explain why his new 2,400-page book Modernist Cuisine is destined to turn the kitchen upside down. Salon participants will enjoy lunch while they catch an exclusive viewing of the show as it’s being conducted two floors below in the UWTV studios. Myhrvold and Hosein will then come upstairs, in collaboration with Four Peaks thought leaders, initiate a larger, participatory conversation with everyone in attendance. Register today >>
Posted: February 3, 2011
'Storyteller Uprising' Wednesday lecture series
The breakdown of traditional news sources and the explosion of accessible digital tools have forced us to reconsider the ways we communicate. Seattle Arts and Lectures and the Master of Communication in Digital Media are co-presenting the five-part lecture series, “SAL U: Storyteller Uprising: Narrative and Engagement Intelligence in the Digital Age,” on alternate Wednesday evenings. Hanson Hosein, Director of the MCDM, will lay the foundation for the series with his talk, “Storyteller Uprising: Trust and Persuasion in the Digital Age.” Read more >>
Posted: February 2, 2011
Learn to formulate a social media strategy
On Feb. 12, the Department of Communication will present Social Media Saturday for Communicators. Alumni are eligible for a discount. The event includes a networking breakfast followed by a panel discussion on creating and maintaining a social media strategy for a business or nonprofit. The event is part of the New Media in Communication Series. Other events in the series include Photography in the Digital Age: How to Shoot Powerful Images for the Web on March 5 and Video Bootcamp: How to Shoot, Edit, and Upload Video to the Web on March 19. Register online >>
Posted: January 28, 2011
Professor Giffard retires after more than 30 years
When Professor Emeritus Anthony Giffard retired last December, it was a loss for the Department. The incredible work he has contributed during his 30 years at the University of Washington has helped to put us where we stand today, as one of the leading communication departments in the country. It’s possible that without his invaluable work, UW’s Department of Communication might not exist today. Read more >>
Posted: January 21, 2011
Colloquium compares TV news in 3 countries
"How deliberative are TV news programs, and why? A comparative study of Germany, the U.S., and Russia"
Hartmut Wessler, Professor, University of Mannheim, Germany
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
3:30-5 p.m.
CMU 120
Hartmut Wessler will present preliminary results from an ongoing comparative study of the deliberative qualities of television news programs in three different types of democracy: a multi-party parliamentarian democracy (Germany), a two-party, presidential democracy (the U.S.), and a defective authoritarian democracy (Russia). An analytical model is developed that (a) specifies important empirical criteria for measuring the deliberative qualities of television news and (b) develops causal explanations for these features drawing on structural and cultural aspects of the political and media contexts in the three countries.
Hartmut Wessler is professor of media and communication studies and chair of the graduate program “Formations of the Global” at the University of Mannheim, Germany. He received his doctorate from the University of Hamburg in 1998.
Posted: January 21, 2011
Screening of award-winning film by Mike Walter
Film Screening: Breaking News, Breaking Down with Mike Walter
Sponsored by Dart West of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma and the Center for Global Studies.
Breaking News, Breaking Down, winner of the 2010 Cannes Independent Film Festival, is a revealing look at how journalists continually go after breaking news, from 9-11 to Katrina, never imagining how it can break them down.
Jan. 27
4-5:30 p.m.
Gowen
201
About Mike Walter: Before starting his own production company, Mike Walter anchored the morning news at WUSA in Washington, D.C.; was a senior correspondent at USA Today; and has been an anchor and reporter in Tampa, Kansas City, St. Louis and Columbus, Ohio. A winner of four Emmy Awards, Walter is also an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland.
Posted: January 21, 2010
MCDM Media Space part of Transmedia Storytelling salon
Media Space is taking a new and exciting approach for episode five. The Master of Communication in Digital Media will host a live audience on Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 6 p.m. Hanson Hosein will bring Brent Friedman to the studio, Founding Partner of Electric Farm Entertainment, for a 30-minute conversation about Transmedia Storytelling, and how the digital media revolution is not only transforming how Hollywood does business, but how it tells stories. Join the crowd and watch the live stream of episode five, “Entertainment & Innovation: Transmedia Storytelling – What is it?” Register online >>
Dart West receives border-reporting grant
Journalists who report along the U.S.-Mexico border can be confronted with dangerous situations — turf wars among drug cartels, mass homicides and kidnappings among them — and it is necessary that they have the skills to write their stories while staying out of the line of fire. Dart Center West, a satellite office of The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma based at Columbia University in New York, was awarded a $20,000 grant from the Gannett Foundation to provide the support for student journalists and educators interested in reporting on U.S.-Mexico border issues. Read more >>
Posted: January 13, 2011
Lecture on Islamic democratization, the Internet
On Jan. 14, Associate Professor Philip Howard will give a lecture titled "Islamic Democratization and the Internet" at Seattle's Town Hall. The lecture will begin at 7:30 p.m.
Howard is the author of The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy. Information technologies have been at the forefront of political movements in the 21st century and world powers are constantly in battle to keep those powers. In Islamic countries, political powers are forced to restrict new technologies to maintain religious ideals that have governed the state for hundreds of years.
Tickets are $5 at www.brownpapertickets.com or (800) 838-3006. They will also be available at the door of Town Hall beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Posted: January 3, 2011
