Do You Trust Your Democratic Representatives?
Scholars of politics and media have been tracking an ongoing collapse of trust in representative democracy's core institutions. What's at stake?
How the Media Framed the Oka Crisis as Terrorism
For over two months in 1990, Indigenous activists defended Kanien'kehá:ka lands against encroachment. They were portrayed negatively.
How the Media Covered Police Brutality Three Decades Ago
The first stories about the beating of Rodney King in two major newspapers focused on racial injustice. But that changed.
How the Media Can Define Terrorism
Two scholars argue that the language used to describe violent events influences whether people see it as terrorism—with real-world consequences.
The Campus Underground Press
The 1960s and 70s were a time of activism in the U.S., and therefore a fertile time for campus newspapers and the alternative press.
Fake News: A Media Literacy Reading List
Compiled by graduate students in a 2016 course on “Activism and Digital Culture,” at University of Southern California.
Media Literacy & Fake News: A Syllabus
Ten lessons from the past and steps we can take now to educate ourselves and our students about how to be a thoughtful consumer of information.
Before the Internet, Cable TV Was for Porn
Although porn never became a big part of the cable TV business, it was central in debates over its regulation.
How the Beat Generation Became “Beatniks”
The rebellious culture of the Beat Generation was coopted into fodder for a marketable lifestyle.
100 Years of Fox News
When it began as Fox-Movietone News, the company was known for appealing to viewer's tastes by leaving out upsetting news, including the rise of fascism.