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.
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.
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.
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.
SMPA Faculty and staff use the flash studio for live and recorded professional programming.
Longtime political reporter and broadcaster Gwen Ifill of The Newshour with Jim Lehrer addresses students.
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.
Entries RSS Comments RSS
The Society of Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) is holding its 50th Annual Conference this week, featuring major CEOs, top government officials and some of the best business journalists around.
If you're interested in volunteering for any of the conference events - like the Best in Business Awards Dinner on Friday evening or the 50th Anniversary Gala on Saturday evening, please email Samara Sit at samara@gwu.edu.
By Jessy Morner-Ritt
PCM '16
SMPA welcomed GW alum, PR/social media specialist and food blogger Marissa Bialecki on February 23 for a food blogging master class that included PowerPoints of dangerously appealing food blogs and photos, as well as Bialecki's own "10 Food Blogging Commandments." Bialecki began her food blog during her time as a GW student as a creative, and delicious, outlet to her academic classes as a Journalism and Mass Communication major.
Bialecki gives a rundown of the 10 Food Blogging Commandments.
Bialecki began the master class with the warning that a blog name is rarely temporary if one is lucky enough to reach popularity, so I promptly eliminated "I'm Really Hungry and Am Limited By My Lack of Cooking Ability" as my future blog's title.
Scandal and Silence
When the Watchdog Doesn't Bark
A Debate and Discussion with
Robert Entman, J.B. and M.C. Shapiro
Professor of Media and Public Affairs
AND
Michael Isikoff, National Investigative Correspondent, NBC News
Egil "Bud" Krogh, Former Nixon Staffer & Senior Fellow, CSPC
Mara Liasson, National Political Correspondent, NPR
Frank Sesno, Director of the School of Media and Public Affairs, moderator
The conventional wisdom holds that media crave and actively pursue scandals whenever they sense corruption, keeping politicians honest, or at least fearful of being exposed. Dr. Entman's book Scandal and Silence argues instead that:
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
7:00 PM
Jack Morton Auditorium
The George Washington University
801 21st Street NW
Washington, DC 20052
RSVP here.
A book signing follows the event.
#ScandalandSilence
If you were unable to attend the Conversation Series event with former CIA and NSA Director Michael V. Hayden, you can check it out here: SMPA Conversation Series Webcast
Before becoming Director of the CIA, General Hayden served as the country’s first Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence and was the highest-ranking intelligence officer in the armed forces. Earlier, he served as Commander of the Air Intelligence Agency, Director of the Joint Command and Control Warfare Center, Director of the National Security Agency and Chief of the Central Security Service.
By Avra Bossov
PCM '15
Objectivity: the idea that we must present both sides of every story, and as journalists, we must keep our own views out of the story. As a common thread in journalistic practice, objectivity ensures that we present information fairly and leave it up to our readers to decide what to think.
The more classes I take in SMPA, the more I am urged to call this into question. In learning the ropes of reporting in Intro to News Writing & Reporting, we learned the importance of consulting multiple sources. In evaluating Journalism Theory & Practice last year, my professor framed objectivity as a pursuit rather than an absolutely achievable notion. In Research Methods, my professor has cited how statistics and other numerical verifications give way for objectivity as a journey instead of a destination.
Schieffer reflects on the debate he moderated in October.
As presidential and vice presidential debate moderators, these journalists reflected on their experiences relating to their preparation for the debates, their vision for debates of the future, and their views on the role debates play in the political process and democracy.
On the question of their roles as moderators, each had different views. Lehrer believed his role was primarily to be a debate moderator while employing journalistic skills. His view was to let the candidates correct each other, rather than his intervening.
Schieffer agreed.
"You’re not electing a moderator—you’re electing a president," said Schieffer.
Raddatz echoed these sentiments, although her approach differed in how she made sure the candidates answered her questions. In being more hands-on than other moderators, she interjected and followed through to get apt responses from the candidates.
"You’re trying to be really fair," said Raddatz. "There's not always an absolute truth to those things [with nuanced questions and answers]."
To see how these moderators discussed objectivity as debate moderators followed what I have learned in my two years thus far in SMPA: while we must strive to be as objective as possible, it remains a process. As we collect and disperse information, it is our ultimate aspiration to present as many perspectives as possible in our stories. And in political communication: to strategically address these perspectives.
By Rachel Milkovich
JMC '14
This past Thursday, I was fortunate enough to receive tickets to attend the Anderson Cooper 360 Town Hall at a familiar venue, the Jack Morton Auditorium in the School of Media and Public Affairs. An invaluable opportunity to view the taping of such a reputable program, the topic of the town hall was gun control, an issue of importance to me.
Anderson Cooper with several of the town hall guests.
However, to me Cooper’s most interesting guests included the diverse voices sitting in the audience. It is easy enough to discuss policymaking toward gun control, but the people who have been directly affected by the issue offer a significant perspective.
Liza Long, the writer of an influential blog post, "I am Adam Lanza’s Mother," written shortly after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, exposed an underlying outlook on incidents of gun violence – mental health. It is widely known that a disposition toward aggressive behavior has linked each one of the public shootings in recent years. Yet, Long's article pointed out the lack of resources for parents who see the signs of a violent child.
"I just feel like there's no transitional space between that acute care facility and jail. And that's certainly been the case with my son. He's 13 years old. He's already been in juvenile detention four times," said Long.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, agreed and stated that unfortunately most family members of the individuals who commit these horrible crimes did try to seek help for their conditions. It seems that a discussion of the stigmatization of mental health is finally gaining attention, however as a society, we are still unsure of how to deal with the issue itself.
By Kelsey Renz
JMC '16
The discussion was broadcast live on C-SPAN television and online.
I had the opportunity to attend the SMPA and Face the Facts USA event, "Out of Time: An American Crisis," at the Jack Morton Auditorium yesterday evening. The event featured experts tackling fictional scenarios of American crisis in a panel moderated by award-winning journalist and SMPA Director Frank Sesno. I felt that this was a classic example of an "only at GW" experience, because how many college students can say they were in the audience of a vibrant political discussion which was broadcast and streamed live to C-SPAN and The Huffington Post, respectively? I was honored to be a small part of such an historic event.
A sample of the topics discussed over the course of the evening includes the potential shutdown of a large factory and the subsequent loss of jobs, as well as a devastating bridge collapse. Business, political and media professionals came together in a dynamic panel to confront these problems and the broader issue of America's future. It was fantastic to see a variety of perspectives represented, including those of former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. I was pleased that the panel of guests was well rounded, including not only individuals with political experience but also those with careers in business and journalism. In my opinion, this helped the discussion become a stimulating conversation rather than an ordinary political debate.
I must admit that I was particularly excited to see one woman's name in the program, Ms. Farai Chideya. Chideya is a popular journalist, blogger and author. As a Journalism and Mass Communication major, I was very interested to see how Ms. Chideya would respond to the questions posed during the event. I am glad to report that she did not disappoint.
Sesno questions Iorio on her ideas.
I was delighted to see that every detail of the hypothetical crises had been thought out. For example, after Mr. Sesno mentioned certain scenarios, he played a fictional news clip from GNN, short for "Global News Network." I thought this was very creative, and it certainly went above and beyond what I was expecting. In addition, Mr. Sesno placed facts alongside the imaginary situations in order to convey the message that these fictional crises are not implausible in today's environment. The juxtaposition of fact and fiction helped me place the "political theater" background into a real-world context.
The participants were very passionate and dedicated not only to portraying their respective roles in each scenario but also to contributing their best responses to each question. I particularly enjoyed listening to former U.S. Senator Bob Bennett, who stood by his convictions and maintained a sense of humor. I loved his response to one question in which he stated that he would "call Frank Sesno" and get himself on television to have a discussion centered on the facts. This kind of inventive response kept me smiling and interested to hear what the panelists had to say.
By Zinhle Essamuah
Though the District air was at a frigid 40-something degrees on Tuesday night, the inside of Lisner Auditorium was buzzing with anticipation. On November 13, filmmaker and co-founder of Invisible Children, Jason Russell, spoke publicly for the first time since his streaking incident that occurred shortly after his KONY2012 video - the most viral video in Internet history - was released.
Lisner Auditorium was far from full, but the event was highly interactive and audience members were encouraged to write, email or text any questions they had for Russell. Before Russell spoke, Invisible Children's newest video, "MOVE," was aired.
The video has gained around 26,000 views over the past two weeks, a small number when one considers the success of the first KONY2012 movie. Still, Russell remains optimistic and dedicated to his cause - emphasizing the idea that every human life is valuable and every human interaction is a way of someone asking:
"Do you see me? Do you hear me? Does what I say mean anything to you?"
Russell was reverent about his streaking incident and apologized to anyone he may have offended, confused or disappointed. After his apology Russell discussed the power we, as the dubbed "millennial generation," have to make positive change in the world. He then proceeded to answer select audience questions, including: "What would you have done differently about the KONY2012 movement and video?"
Russell stated that he would have prepared the Invisible Children website more adequately. The site crashed as a result of the unprecedented amount of viewers and the Invisible Children organization could only communicate via Tumblr. Russell attributed this to much of the miscommunication and misinformation that occurred in the days following the video's release.
Currently, the organization is promoting and prepping for its big end-of-the-year KONY2012 events, LOBBY: DC and MOVE: DC, happening this Friday, November 16 and Saturday, November 17. These events are projected to have 10,000 people from around the world in attendance.
Zinhle with Jason Russell.
A group from the GW's Invisible Children Chapter will be leaving from Kogan Plaza at 7:15 a.m. Saturday morning to attend the event. The chapter connects with students through its Facebook and Twitter pages.
Whatever your qualms, questions or criticisms are regarding the KONY2012 movement, as media students we should see the work of Jason Russell as a reminder of our potential. He successfully made the most viral video in Internet history and has empowered youth across the world to believe they have the power to be the change-makers of today. As the end of the semester approaches, let his work remind us that we are attending GW not just to earn a degree, but to learn how to be effective journalists and political communicators who can make positive social change through media. Thank you, Jason Russell, for sharing your story and passion with us.
A lecture by Edward Rothstein, Culture Critic at Large for the New York Times
Tuesday, November 13
7:00-8:00 p.m.
Jack Morton Auditorium
Free and open to the public, no RSVP necessary
In recent years, a new genre of museum has evolved that may end up as distinctive in our era as Enlightenment museums were in theirs. The "identity museum" and its origins are in the political movements of identity politics that developed after the 1960s. In the last few decades, there have been new Chinese American museums, Japanese American museums, Jewish American museums, an Asian American museum, African American museums, an Arab American museum, a Hispanic American museum, an American Indian museum, even a Nordic American museum. The most important African American museum is scheduled to open on The Mall in 2015. And there is heavy lobbying for the creation of a National Hispanic American Museum. The astonishing thing is how similar the narrative is in most of these institutions. It may right some wrongs, but it also introduces new distortions in our understanding of American life.
Edward Rothstein’s residency at The George Washington University is made possible by the Program in Judaic Studies and the generosity of Dr. Munr Kazmir and by the Museum Studies Program. Additional support is enthusiastically provided by the School of Media and Public Affairs and the Columbian College of Arts & Sciences.
Edward Rothstein is Critic at Large for The New York Times, where he writes regularly about museums. He is co-author of "Visions of Utopia" and the author of "Emblems of Mind: The Inner Life of Music and Mathematics.'' He has been Chief Music Critic of the New York Times and Music Critic for The New Republic. A graduate of Yale University, he holds a doctorate from the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago and a Master's Degree in English literature from Columbia University, and did graduate work in mathematics at Brandeis University.
