Margot Susca, American University School of Communication
Disney’s veneer of innocence shouldn’t distract people from recognizing the danger of giving one conglomerate the power to control so much information.
A protest against fossil fuels at a coal mine in 2016.
Rikuti
Joe Ricketts abruptly shut down DNAinfo and Gothamist after his employees voted to unionize. Is what he did legal? And how could similar events be prevented in the future?
‘When you look back on it, where else would those articles appear? The Saturday Evening Post?’
Nick Lehr/The Conversation via flickr
Ramparts started as a Catholic literary magazine. But when Warren Hinckle took the helm, he developed a layout, voice and rebellious spirit that Rolling Stone would go on to mimic.
Governor George Wallace stands defiant in an attempt to block the integration of the University of Alabama, June 11, 1963.
Warren K. Leffler, U.S. News & World Report Magazine via Wikimedia Commons
The country’s state-run media outlets have been quick to denounce any election meddling talk as anti-Russian hysteria. So what’s behind the shift in tone?
The status of facts and their use in politics hasn’t changed as a result of Donald Trump’s election.
Reuters/Joshua Roberts
Much disaster reporting simply chronicles events, but good journalism digs deeper and examines causes. Stories about Colorado wildfires have raised questions about risk, especially on fire anniversaries.
Marines help the wounded man to an evacuation helicopter near Van Tuong,1965.
AP Photo/Peter Arnett
Richard Lachmann, University at Albany, State University of New York
Is there honor in a losing battle? The US military faced this question in Vietnam. Its response would eventually change how the media covered war and how Americans perceive it.
Exxon funded climate scientists while the bulk of its public-facing advertorials argued the science and cause of climate change was uncertain.
AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
A new study confirms what many already know: Exxon for years sowed uncertainty and doubt about climate change in the public. Should scientists reject certain funding sources?
Are there other ways to get people to engage with climate change?
FloridaStock/Shutterstock.com
In the wake of Trump’s proposed transgender military ban, new research highlights the potential for entertainment –more than news coverage – to open minds on even the most polarizing issues.
A statue of Henry David Thoreau in front of a replica of his cabin in Concord, Massachusetts.
Chris Devers
Thoreau spent his life pursuing the ‘hard bottom’ of truth. But he confronted a sensationalist newspaper industry that, in many ways, mimicked today’s media environment.
It originated as a Reddit post. The president tweeted it. Then all hell broke loose.
HanAssholeSolo/Reddit
The national story of an anonymous Reddit user’s post – and the threat to unmask him – raises important questions about the role of online communication in our society.
Is public relations simply a more insidious form of fake news?
Nick Lehr/The Conversation via www.shutterstock.com
Russia has seized upon loopholes in lobbying laws, hiring PR firms to influence American public opinion and policy in ways that advance Russia’s strategic interests.
Donald Trump might not spend much time on social media, but he has an acute understanding of how virality in media works.
Reuters/Shannon Stapleton
There are four key things Donald Trump’s election tells us about the state of journalism today.
Russia’s supposed influence on Donald Trump’s election victory did not reveal anything about American democracy that Russians did not already suspect.
Reuters
Russian media both hint toward the Russian regime’s prowess in influencing the US election, while simultaneously treating the accusation as baseless Western propaganda.
PBS headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.
melanie.phung/flickr