SMPA is a pioneering teaching and research leader. Professor Silvio Waisbord is Editor of the International Journal of Press/Politics, an interdisciplinary journal for the analysis and discussion of the role of the press and politics in a globalized world.
Gain access to countless career opportunities
Students at our annual Communications Career Expo network with a CNN recruiter. SMPA helps students pursue rewarding careers in media, journalism, and communications via internships, networking events, and employment workshops.
Collaborate with faculty on research and special projects
Graduate student Rachel Weisel and Professor Kimberly Gross, in partnership with the Project for Excellence in Journalism, studied how the media uses Twitter. Their findings were published in a groundbreaking report that garnered national press coverage.
World-class speakers and events provide invaluable perspective
Students line up outside GW's Lisner Auditorium before Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates speak at an event hosted by SMPA. The event was broadcast on CNN.
Learn and operate industry-standard broadcasting equipment and software
SMPA Faculty and staff use the flash studio for live and recorded professional programming.
World-class speakers and events provide invaluable perspective
Longtime political reporter and broadcaster Gwen Ifill of The Newshour with Jim Lehrer addresses students.
World-class speakers and events provide invaluable perspective
CNN's Christiane Amanpour and SMPA Director Frank Sesno interview five former U.S. Secretaries of State, Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Warren Christopher, Henry A. Kissinger and James A. Baker III. The free event was sponsored by SMPA.
Study media in heart of Washington, and the world
SMPA is home to Prime Movers Media, an organization that sends student interns and media professionals to public high schools in Washington, D.C. to teach journalism.
Happy Earth Day! In honor of Earth Week, Planet Forward and Face the Facts USA have teamed up to present facts on the environment each day this week. Visit planetforward.org every day to learn more facts and find out how you can lend a hand to environmental sustainability.
Today's fact: July 2012 was the hottest month on record for the United States.
Planet Forward is where experts and engaged citizens come together to find solutions to shared challenges, specifically in the areas of energy, climate and sustainability. It has created a dynamic public square, curating the best ideas and innovations from scientists, business leaders, advocates, students and government leaders. Based at the Center for Innovative Media, Planet Forward engages with students and faculty from GWU as well as others across the country and the world.
(From left) Mayor Mark Mallory, GW Professor Melissa Keeley, Mayor Tommy Battle, SMPA Director Frank Sesno, Mayor Vincent Gray, and GW President Steven Knapp discuss sustainable cities at "GW Moving the Planet Forward."
Last Tuesday, SMPA’s Planet Forward co-hosted “GW Moving the Planet Forward," an innovation summit that sought to address issues surrounding sustainability by bringing together decision leaders in the areas of government, industry, and academia.
Summit host Frank Sesno, the creator of Planet Forward and Director of the School of Media and Public Affairs, explained that the summit was organized not only to address "a crisis of the planet," but to embrace a great opportunity for the university to become "a catalyst for innovation, for solutions, how can we share, foster, communicate the ideas needed to move the planet forward."
Panelists throughout the day weighed in on topics from the creation of green jobs to the use of renewable energy. Among the number of prominent panelists featured were former U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra and Vice President of GE ecomagination Mark Vachon.
In the first panel, "There's An App for That - Can I.T. Save the Planet?" moderator Megan Hughes of Bloomberg TV led a discussion between Chopra, Mayo Shattuck, Executive Chairman of Exelon Corporation, and Alex Laskey, the co-founder and president of Opower, a new engagement platform for utilities companies that sends customers information about their energy spending habits through text message, e-mail, snail mail, and even Facebook. Laskey compared a part of Opower's services to that of a credit card company feature that is undoubtedly useful to its customers: activity alerts. Opower also uses behavioral analytics and data to inform customers of unusual usage, enabling them to use that awareness to save money on their utility statements and in turn help them to conserve energy. Chopra asserted that information technology will be the key to an energy efficient future, explaining that the intersection of liberated data and financial innovation will be a "big boon to sustainability." Read the rest of this entry »
The School of Media and Public Affairs, Planet Forward, and National Geographic have partnered on a new project called National Geographic Virtual Studios. Using media from National Geographic's scientists and explorers, students are able to create short web videos highlighting topics ranging from conservation to exploration. The ultimate goal of the project is to inspire others to care more about our planet.
Gabriella Demczuk, a student in SMPA Director Frank Sesno's Planet Forward class, has created the first Virtual Studio video. Using footage and interviews from National Geographic's archives, she produced “Deforestation: Saving Madagascar's Forests,” demonstrating how National Geographic's Dr. Luke Dollar works to save the rare planets and animals that make the forests their home. Her video can be viewed on National Geographic's website.
Senior Paige Esterkin spent the semester at the Sierra Club as a media intern.
By Paige Esterkin
PCM '12
Having grown up a Minnesota Twins fan, I have developed a habit of rooting for the underdog. When it comes to changing environmental policy, non-profit organizations like the Sierra Club are the underdog. The amazing people I have worked with this past semester at the Sierra Club to fight against big coal and oil companies, no matter how many times the government squashes legislation supporting renewable energy sources, always keep fighting to protect our environment.
Last spring, I spent a semester away from GW, and hiked, sailed, and sea kayaked throughout the backcountry of New Zealand with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). This amazing experience in the outdoors is what first sparked my interest in wanting to preserve our wild spaces. When I came home from New Zealand, I started following the Sierra Club on Twitter, and, one day, I saw they tweeted about an available media internship position for the fall semester. I applied, interviewed, and was elated when I found out I got the job.
As a media intern for the Sierra Club this semester, I have helped draft op-ed pieces, press releases, editorial board memos, and letters to the editor. I have also written my own blog posts for their website regarding the Healthy Kids Outdoors Act and the Sierra Club’s Mission Outdoors initiative. A highlight of the semester was when I was asked to attended the Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Hearing on “The Solyndra Failure: Views from DOE Secretary Chu,” and my job was to LIVE Tweet the event from the Sierra Club’s Twitter account. Another highlight was when I attended a press conference on a rally against the Keystone XL Pipeline, and was able to shake hands and speak with Bill McKibben, environmental writer and 350.org founder.
Before I worked at the Sierra Club, I had a basic understanding of current environmental issues. I knew coal production was bad for the environment, but not how it compared to dirty natural gas and nuclear energy production. I knew wind, solar, and geothermal energy were alternative energy sources, but couldn’t tell you how they reduce our dependence on foreign oil and boost our economy by creating more jobs at home. Today, I realize the struggle environmental non-profits face against large coal and oil companies, and how much work goes into passing legislation in favor of renewable energy sources and environmental protection. Perhaps one day soon environmental groups will no longer be the underdogs… and the Minnesota Twins will win the World Series.
Last night, SMPA Director Frank Sesno delivered the keynote address the 2011 American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment's "Climate Leadership Summit" hosted by George Washington University. The audience of college and university presidents, provots, financial officers, and others are meeting this week discuss and collaborate on ways to advance sustainability efforts on campuses across the country.
Sesno's speech addressed the need for universities to take the lead in communicating innovations and changes in climate change and related sustainability issues. He is the founder of PlanetForward.org, an international social network that addresses issues of energy, climate, and sustainability.
How do you “inspire inspiration?” That’s the goal of Robert Swan, the first person to walk to both the north and south poles. He brought his message to The George Washington University’s campus recently, speaking to a small breakfast audience brought together by the School of Media and Public Affairs’ Planet Forward project.
The audience was a group of thought leaders in sustainability and digital media, as well as administrators and students from GWU, Yale University and Elon University. The breakfast was convened by Planet Forward so that Swan could bring his message to those who can help engage today’s youth on the issues of climate, energy and sustainability. Swan’s message was summed up when he answered a question about the efficacy of global climate summits. “They don’t work, though they should,” he said. “What we need to do is to inspire inspiration.”
An adventurer turned environmentalist, Swan’s stories, such as when the sun’s strength changed the color of his eyes—permanently—during one of his polar voyages, allow him to talk about climate change from personal experience. Now, Swan travels around the world to warn different audiences about what could happen in 2041—the year when the current international peace treaty protecting Antarctica expires. His book, Antarctica 2041, “details his journey to awareness, and his firm belief that humans can reverse the harm done to the planet thus far, and secure its future for generations to come”.
On a mission to protect Antarctica from being owned by any governmental entity, Swan takes youth with him to his “Education Station” in Antarctica to show the disaster that climate change wreaked on the frozen continent. According to him, whereas policy is important, the voices of the youth can be heard even louder. Their first-hand stories of what they have witnessed and what they will accomplish on small scale tasks can show the government, the people, what the future wants and needs. His message: “There are too many words in this world. One must engage.”
In order to deliver his message, Swan emphasizes the importance of ensuring that the story of climate change is relatable. For example, as he speaks to an audience in Africa, he draws parallels between the destructive effects of climate change and the AIDS epidemic. A speaker at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Swan tells the world to “think global act local”. Today, Swan seeks to empower the voices of ordinary citizens and inspire them to do what they can in their communities to combat climate change. He summarizes: “I do not believe that ‘integrity’ can be put on your business card.”
Last night on PBS’ Night Business Report featured student work produced for “Planet Forward”- the ongoing project founded by SMPA Director Frank Sesno.
The segment centered around a video package produced by Devin Greene, a junior minoring in Journalism, and Kristina Sgueglia, a senior majoring in Communications. The package, called “Empire State of Energy,” discussed how the Empire State Building is becoming more efficient.
Professor Sesno appeared on Nightly Business Report to accompany the segment, and ran a live chat with viewers online.
Watch the segment and see what “Planet Forward” students have been working on to advance the discussion on energy!
Planet Forward, SMPA's own social network that focuses on energy and climate change issues, has released a cool new video that explains the project. Spend two minutes and take a look:
Join SMPA on Monday, December 13th, for the first-annual Planet Forward Video Festival! Planet Forward is an online social network based at the School of Media and Public Affairs where creative and innovative ideas addressing global challenges are featured, discussed and evaluated.
Next Monday, witness the premier of several short student videos - produced at GW this semester - that will help create a new future of energy efficiency and innovation. Topics of the videos include:
*Watch students try to lift their daily carbon output.
*Find out how much of that water bottle in your hands is made of oil.
*See how far you have to run to burn off your electricity use.
The when and where:
Monday, December 13, 2010 6:00-7:30pm
Marvin Center Amphitheater (800 21st St. NW, Third Floor)
Each video will receive commentary from several distinguished panelists including George Washington University President Steven Knapp, Planet Forward Founder/Host and SMPA Director Frank Sesno, and Jeff Nesbit of the National Science Foundation. Festival winners have a shot to be featured as part of a Planet Forward TV segment aired on PBS. Come give your feedback and find out how to get involved with this exciting project! www.planetforward.org
By all accounts, the Planet Forward event on Tuesday night was a big success! GW Today was there and published a story:
"U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson told School of Media and Public Affairs Director and Planet Forward founder Frank Sesno that the nation now faces “really complex” public policy changes that have raised a number of concerns, including effects on the economy and national security, at “A Time To Act? Next Steps for a Climate Bill” April 20 at GW’s Jack Morton Auditorium." Read the rest of the story...
The Planet Forward team has also put up the first video clip of the event, with more to come soon!
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Happy Earth Day! In honor of Earth Week, Planet Forward and Face the Facts USA have teamed up to present facts on the environment each day this week. Visit planetforward.org every day to learn more facts and find out how you can lend a hand to environmental sustainability.
