The Dark Side of Comedy When the Boston University Communication Research Center was first organized in the late 1950s, some of its earliest research involved the study of comics. Fears were so great in the U.S. about the potential harms of comic books on youth that Congress created a subcommittee to study their effects on […]
Disinformation Warfare in Perpetuating World Tensions The unfolding, grisly war in Ukraine has made clear that in 2022 – nearly a century after communication theorist Harold Lasswell’s dissertation on propaganda – battles take place not only with physical confrontations, but also continue via information warfare designed to win the hearts and minds of observers. Communication […]
Dr. Rosalynn Vasquez, Assistant Professor of Public Relations will be discussing her research on the experiences and coping mechanisms of Latinas in Public Relations on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 from 3:30-4:30pm in COM 209 — as part of the Boston University Communication Research Colloquium Series.
Following the Playbook of Our Earliest Broadcasters The continuing concerns about the spread of misinformation are at the forefront of news again in early 2022, engulfing celebrities Joe Rogan and Whoopi Goldberg and their employers. In Rogan’s case, accusations of Covid-19 vaccine misinformation have dogged his “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast that is on the Spotify […]
By Burt Glass A slim majority of Americans trust the media to accurately report on top issues of the day, but that fact hides a deep divide between Democrats and Republicans, according to a new survey by Boston University’s College of Communication. When it comes to climate change, vaccines, and elections, about 3 of 5 […]
Research on Tap: Health Misinformation: How it Affects Society and How We Can Deal With It Thursday, February 10, 2022 | 4-5:30 p.m. Virtual Co-sponsored by the Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering and the Office of Research. Hosted by Gianluca Stringhini, Assistant Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering, College of Engineering. False […]
Communication Research in 2022 As we embark on a new calendar year, I asked some of our CRC fellows to share their thoughts on important communication research trends for 2022. For COM Assistant Professor of Emerging Media Studies Chris Chao Su, it is the pandemic that will continue to play a prominent role in shaping […]
As 2021 draws to a close, I asked some of our CRC Fellows to reflect on the last 12 months and share what was most noteworthy to them in the realm of communication research. Two of our Fellows observed an increased emphasis on communication efforts for social change. For Assistant Professor of Public Relations Rosalynn […]
This letter is part of a monthly series from the Director of the CRC, Dr. Michelle Amazeen. Facebook’s WALL-E Moment? When Facebook announced it was changing its name to Meta last month, the Disney-Pixar movie WALL-E (2008) was the first thing that came to my mind. The sci-fi movie was about a robot left on […]
On November 11, the Communication Research Center is pleased to host Dr. Joshua Darr,Assistant Professor, Manship School of Mass Communication and Department of Political Science at Louisiana State University. Home Style Opinion: How Local Newspapers Can Slow Polarization Local newspapers can hold back the rising tide of political division in America by turning away from […]