News Corporation Rupert Murdoch

Rupert Murdoch’s American Legacy

Rupert Murdoch was born in Australia, and first made an international impact in Britain. He thrust himself into the U.S. market with his purchase of the New York Post newspaper in 1974.
America Under Communism

How Hollywood Thrived Through the Red Scare

A young Richard Nixon started asking studio executives why they didn't produce anti-Communist movies. The studios quickly responded with anti-Red films.
Charlie Rose Louis C.K. Kevin Spacey

#MeToo and the New Era of Internet Celebrity

We may want to support the #MeToo victims, but many of us also feel allegiance to our favorite celebrity. And the internet is at the heart of that dynamic.
Mommie Dearest

Are Mothers Monsters? Revisiting Mommie Dearest

On the surface, "Mommie Dearest" is a portrait of vanity and self-obsession. Dig deeper, and it reflects society’s discomfort with mothers and single women.
Marilyn Monroe

The Many Meanings of Marilyn Monroe

The life, times and image of Monroe has been expounded upon tirelessly in the decades after her tragic death at age 36.
Citizen Kane William Randolph Hearst

Why William Randolph Hearst Hated Citizen Kane

Most Americans know about William Randolph Hearst through his fictional alter-ego, the protagonist of the film Citizen Kane. Was it an accurate portrait?
Gwyneth Paltrow at Toronto International Film Festival, 2012

The Glamorous Tradition of Hollywood Lifestyle Advice

For more than a century, Hollywood has been offering Americans lifestyle advice on how to live better, and the public has been gobbling it up.
The inside of a newsroom

Four Hard Truths about Fake News

Skeptical, self-aware interaction with digital data is the critical foundation upon which democracy may be maintained, explains media scholar Alexandra Juhasz.
Yes We Can video

Viral Videos and the Presidential Campaign

How do viral videos shape a presidential campaign? How do voters learn to “read” the art and advertisements they are seeing? Learn more from our scholars.
Philando Castile shooting video

How Do I (Not) Look? Live Feed Video and Viral Black Death

When we have the choice to look, we are bound ethically and politically to what we witness and what we do with what we have seen.