Brian Taylor writes: “Two American journalists are currently in Russian jails for trying to conduct independent journalism in Russia. Russian journalists have been killed for trying to practice independent journalism, some are in jail, and many others have had to flee the country. Many Western journalists who work on and in Russia have sought an interview with Putin since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago, to no avail.��The fact that Putin is willing to talk to Tucker Carlson now means that Putin is looking for an opportunity to influence American domestic politics and he thinks Carlson will be a useful conduit for his message.”

Tetiana Hranchak writes: “This war is hybrid, and its informational component might be considered as a weapon. By using the media, in particular, the Tucker Carlson’s interview, Putin is trying to achieve at least three goals:

1. Spread distorted narratives about the war among western audience,
2. To create a picture of the disagreement of a conditional public, which still “have no idea” about the reasons of the war, with the official position of Washington, to fuel internal contradictions in American society, which could lead to a weakening or complete cessation of the aid for Ukraine,
3. To strengthen his own legitimacy in the western political discourse with the help of western mass media.

The question is how these goals are aligned with the interests of the American community.”

Syracuse University Law Professor , who specializes in antitrust law, shared his thoughts on Ticketmaster. If you’d like to speak with Professor Ghosh on this issue, please email Vanessa Marquette, Media Relations Specialist, at to schedule an interview.��He writes:

Shubha Ghosh

“Ticketmaster is a poorly run company and its bad practices come in part from its position as a monopolist in the space of concert ticket distribution … Some of Ticketmaster’s bad choices stem from an understandable concern with ticket counterfeiting – which is confounded by its overbooking in order to ensure capacity for the promoters. Perhaps antitrust intervention on the monopoly side could help, but monopolies are hard to avoid for these intermediaries, or perhaps consumer protection intervention.”

“Ted Lasso,” which recently concluded its third season, has been a feel-good television hit from the first episode. Early in the third season, the show introduced a new character, Zava, who was never lacking in confidence and self-belief.

Maximilian Osinski ’06, who plays Zava on Season 3 of the hit TV show “Ted Lasso.”

The enigmatic Zava, described as the world’s best soccer player, is searching for a new team when he decides to challenge himself and bring his talents to the Premier League’s worst team: AFC Richmond, coached by Lasso (wonderfully played by Jason Sudeikis).

While Zava’s bravado jumps off the screen, fans of the show might not know that the real-life actor who plays Zava is Maximilian Osinski ’06, who never played a minute of soccer in his life.

As he was earning a bachelor’s degree in from the , Osinski participated in a life-altering semester abroad experience in London and at the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Osinski was also selected to the , a learning practicum in Los Angeles that provides students with a week-long immersion experience in the heart of America’s film and television industries with Oscar-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin ’83.

After graduating, Osinski eventually landed roles like Dennis on AMC’s hit “The Walking Dead: World Beyond” and as agent James Davis on ABC’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” He also appeared in films like “In Time,” directed by Andrew Niccol, “Love and Other Drugs,” directed by Edward Zwick, and “The Express,” directed by Gary Gleder, which told the story of Ernie Davis ’62, the first Black player to win football’s Heisman Trophy.

Unlike his coach Ted Lasso, who preaches to his players the value of believing in themselves, Osinski initially doubted whether he could pull off the part of Zava. After a pep talk from a friend in Australia, Osinski started to believe in his abilities, eventually impressing Sudeikis and casting director Theo Park with the confidence and swagger Osinski brought to the role.

Maximilian Osinski ’06 as the enigmatic Zava, a role he nearly turned down because he didn’t have any experience playing soccer.

“This has been one of the most unique experiences. I was a huge fan of the show myself for the first two seasons, so joining the cast was surreal,” Osinski says. “The fans have been amazing. People are always reaching out to me on social media or stopping me on the street. It’s been heartwarming and it’s nice to meet people who say they like the work you did and love the character you worked on. With Zava, you’re not sure how people are going to receive him, but it’s been great seeing the joy people feel for the show.”

On this “’Cuse Conversation,” Osinski discusses his breakout role on “Ted Lasso” and how he overcame his doubts about whether he could play the world’s greatest soccer player. Osinski also shares why Syracuse University was his dream school, the impact Syracuse had on his life, how being born in a refugee camp to immigrant parents inspired him to pursue his dreams and more.

Check out episode 142 of the “’Cuse Conversations” podcast featuring Osinski. A transcript [PDF]��is also available.

Abby Phillip, anchor and senior political correspondent at CNN, serves as the master of ceremonies at the 2023 Toner Prizes for Excellence in Political Reporting ceremony in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Scott Robinson Photography)

Politico won the 2023 Toner Prize for national political reporting, and chief investigative reporter Phil Williams of WTVF-TV in Nashville, Tennessee won the Toner Prize for local political reporting.

The winners of the annual����were announced by Syracuse University’s����during a ceremony Monday night at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington. Sen. Mitt Romney delivered the keynote speech and CNN anchor and senior political correspondent Abby Phillip served as master of ceremonies.

Toner Prize for Excellence in National Political Reporting

Winner: Politico

Reporters: Josh Gerstein, Alex Ward, Peter Canellos, Hailey Fuchs, Heidi Przybyla, Elena Schneider and Holly Otterbein
Entry: “The Supreme Court and Abortion”

• 

  The reporting team from Politico pose on stage while accepting the 2023 Toner Prize for Excellence in National Political Reporting at the Toner Prizes ceremony in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Scott Robinson Photography)

Politico broke the news that the U.S. Supreme Court voted to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision granting abortion rights. The outlet published a PDF of the initial draft majority opinion, which was circulated inside the court and obtained by Politico. No draft decision in the modern history of the court has been disclosed publicly while a case was still pending. The revelation intensified scrutiny of the tactics of the conservative legal movement in building a new Supreme Court majority during the Trump presidency. Politico’s reporting also transformed the political year, putting abortion rights front and center in the 2022 midterm elections.

Judges’ comments

“A bombshell scoop with seismic repercussions for the third branch of government. Cautiously written to stick to the facts. Revelatory follow-ups on conservative outsiders trying to influence conservative Justices. This reporting took courage and professionalism.” – Ann Compton

“It was the political story of the year, and the extraordinary leak reverberated nationally and locally, galvanizing women and demonstrating the degree conservatives have shaped the judiciary. And it opened the window into how the Supreme Court operates, especially highlighting silent conflicts of interests.” – Maralee Schwartz

Toner Prize for Excellence in National Political Reporting��Honorable Mention

Jeremy Schwartz, an investigative reporter for the ProPublica-Texas Tribune Investigative Initiative, accepts the Toner Prize for Excellence in National Political Reporting Honorable Mention awarded to ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, at the Toner Prizes ceremony in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Scott Robinson Photography)

ProPublica and The Texas Tribune
Reporters: Jeremy Schwartz, Jessica Priest, Chris Morran, Perla Trevizo and Andrea Suozzo
Entry: “Church Politics,” which explored the political activity of churches and the potential impact on candidates and campaigns.

Judge’s comment

“ProPublica and The Texas Tribune joined forces in a ground-breaking five-part series on how churches and right-wing organizations representing themselves as churches violate the terms of federal tax exemption by taking sides on political candidates and issues.” – Joseph B. Treaster

Toner Prize for Excellence in Local Political Reporting

WTVF-TV chief investigative reporter Phil Williams accepts his 2023 Toner Prize for Excellence in Local Political Reporting at the Toner Prizes ceremony in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Scott Robinson Photography)

Winner: Phil Williams, WTVF-TV, Nashville, Tennessee

Entry: “”

As the station’s chief investigative reporter, Williams led WTVF’s dogged efforts to look into how laws are made in the Tennessee General Assembly. The legislative branch is ruled by a supermajority with near-absolute power that sets its own rules. The exhaustive “Revealed” investigation was based on a simple premise: citizens cannot fully understand how the system can be fixed unless they understand how it really works.

Judges’ comments

“It is so hard to crack into the secretive world of campaign cash and lobbying in a state capital — and nearly impossible to do it on video. But somehow Phil Williams managed to do just that in this brilliant series shining light on state lawmaker practices and crisply showing viewers exactly HOW legislation is shaped and the exact questionable practices that are difficult to put into clear journalistic examples in any medium. I’m blown away by these pieces and will be using them to teach.” – Christina Bellantoni

“This is what a great local news investigation looks like. Documentaries like this one are not done nearly enough. It is excellent! It informs residents about what their lawmakers are doing and who has influence and power over them.” – Beverly Kirk

About the Toner Prizes

More than 250 people attended the first in-person Toner Prizes event in three years. The awards, along with the����at the Newhouse School, are named after Robin Toner, a 1976 graduate of Syracuse University and the first woman to serve as national political correspondent of The New York Times.

US Sen. Mitt Romney gives the keynote speech at the 2023 Toner Prizes for Excellence in Political Reporting ceremony in Washington D.C. (Photo by Scott Robinson Photography)

Among other speakers at Monday’s ceremony were Syracuse University Chancellor��, Newhouse School dean�������Ի���, Kramer Director of the Syracuse University Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship.

Judges

• Christina Bellantoni, professor at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and former political reporter and editor for The Los Angeles Times
• Ann Compton, retired reporter and White House correspondent for ABC News Radio
• Beverly Kirk, director of Washington Programs at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and Professor of Practice in the broadcast and digital journalism department
• Maralee Schwartz, retired political editor of The Washington Post
• Joseph B. Treaster, professor at the University of Miami School of Communication, a former correspondent at The New York Times and a contributor to the Times and other publications

Judy Woodruff

Woodruff served as anchor and managing editor of “PBS NewsHour” for 11 years before becoming a senior correspondent. During 2023 and 2024, she is undertaking a reporting project, “America at a Crossroads,” to better understand the country’s political divide. She has covered politics and other news for more than four decades at CNN, NBC and PBS.

Woodruff is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Peabody Journalistic Integrity Award, the Poynter Medal, an Emmy for Lifetime Achievement and the Radcliffe Medal. She and late journalist Gwen Ifill were together awarded Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism after Woodruff and Ifill were named co-anchors of the “PBS NewsHour” in 2013, marking the first time an American national news broadcast was co-anchored by two women.

For 12 years, Woodruff served as anchor and senior correspondent for CNN, where her duties included anchoring the weekday program “Inside Politics.” At PBS, she was the chief Washington correspondent for “The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour,” anchored PBS’ award-winning weekly documentary series “Frontline with Judy Woodruff,” was the principal reporter for the PBS documentary “Nancy Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime” and completed “Generation Next: Speak Up. Be Heard,” an extensive project on the views of young Americans.

At NBC News, Woodruff served as White House correspondent and as “Today” show chief Washington correspondent.

Woodruff is a founding co-chair of the International Women’s Media Foundation and serves on the boards of trustees of the Freedom Forum and The Duke Endowment. She is a former trustee of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Urban Institute, and a member of the Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. She is the author of “This is Judy Woodruff at the White House.”

The Dressler Award is given to individuals or organizations that have made distinct, consistent and unique contributions to the public’s understanding of the media.

About the Mirror Awards

The are the most important awards for recognizing excellence in media industry reporting. Established by the Newhouse School in 2006, the awards honor the reporters, editors and teams of writers who hold a mirror to their own industry for the public’s benefit. This year’s finalists will be announced next month.

The 2023 Mirror Awards ceremony will be held Monday, June 12, in New York City. Additional details will be announced soon.

For information about sponsorship opportunities, contact Carol Satchwell at cmsatchw@syr.edu. For information about the event, email mirrorawards@syr.edu.

S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications

The shooting death of a broadcast news reporter and wounding of his photographer in Orlando, Florida, is gaining the attention of S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications faculty.

Dylan Lyons was one of three people shot to death by a gunman, including a young girl and her mother. A news photographer was also wounded in the attack. Lyons and photographer Jesse Walden, who was wounded, were reporting on another story when the shooting occurred.

“The Tully Center for Free Speech mourns the loss of Florida reporter Dylan Lyons and the wounding of his photographer Jesse Walden. Even in seemingly safe places, reporters encounter danger,” says Associate Professor Roy Gutterman, who serves as director of the Tully Center for Free Speech.�� “We are inured to reports of journalists being harmed in war zones or hotspots around the world. It is troubling when this happens in our backyards. More details will emerge on this senseless killing but this is another example of the risks reporters face to gather the news.”

Immediately after the shooting, Newhouse faculty started exchanging emails and reaching out to former Newhouse students who work in the Orlando TV market. Several students work at competing stations and knew Lyons well.

“A small news world means this is going to touch all of us in one way or another,” says Associate Professor Keren Henderson, in the broadcast and digital journalism department.

Former students working there are still processing it all. “Our emotions will come in waves and be a mixture of many things at any given moment,” says Assistant Professor Keonte Coleman, in the broadcast and digital journalism department. “Traumatic stories will stick with you and it’s OK to talk about it and seek professional help.”

According to The International Press Institute, 66 journalists were killed worldwide in 2022, up from 45 in 2021.

Creative advertising students won eight finalist awards and 18 shortlist awards in the New York Festivals Advertising Awards competition for a total of 26, an impressive increase from the previous year’s total of nine. Newhouse had the fifth most wins of advertising schools worldwide, and the third most in U.S. wins.

“I continue to be blown away by the level of thinking coming out of Newhouse, so it’s no surprise to me that they are still crushing it in the shows,” says Newhouse advertising alumnus Ari Halper ’92, global head of creative excellence at R/GA in New York City. “Work like ‘Greenscreen,’ ‘Have It The Real Way,’ ‘McDelivery’ and ‘uTINTsil’ are all as strong as anything in our industry, which makes me extremely excited to see what happens once this talent graduates into the workforce.”

“I am consistently impressed with the work of our creative advertising students,” says Newhouse Dean Mark J. Lodato. “The level of accomplishment at the New York Festivals is outstanding and emblematic of the talent and hard work of our students and the faculty who teach and guide them.”

The award-winning work came from Portfolio II and Portfolio III courses in the advertising creative track, taught by professors of practice Mel White and Kevin O’Neill.

“I look at these campaigns and know how hard our creative advertising students worked on them,” White says. “To have the New York Festivals award so many of our creative advertising student campaigns is very rewarding. It makes all of the trips the students made back to the drawing board worth it.”

Rachel Hayashi, art director, and Jessica Mastorides, copywriter, won two finalist awards at New York Festivals. In the Positive World Impact category, they won for their digital Apple campaign, “” (video). The brief asked the creatives to use new technology to solve a real-world problem. Since the pandemic started, there has been a rise in the U.S. of racist violence against Asian Americans—at least 3,800 anti-Asian hate incidents since March 2020. Mastorides says constantly hearing about this surge of violent anti-Asian attacks showed the team the real-world problem they wanted to solve.

“We both felt passionate about this issue, and have friends who were personally impacted by it, so we wanted to create an innovative solution to stop Asian hate,” Mastorides says. “We did a ton of research on Asian communities and the struggles they face, specifically in relation to reporting crimes against them. We found that Asian Americans don’t feel comfortable self-reporting crimes against them, which leads to massive underreporting. Not only that, but the justice system requires hard evidence to convict a hate crime, which makes it impossible for most victims to prove it in court.”

Mastorides says the team knew their solution not only had to allow Asian Americans to easily and comfortably report harassment, but it also had to collect evidence for them as well to identify the true scope of the hate crimes. They came up with the idea for a feature on iPhones that makes reporting harassment easily accessible. When leaving the house, users will be prompted to turn on PAL and allow it to track their location. If any anti-Asian language or slurs are detected while in use, PAL will begin discreetly recording audio, upload all evidence to a secure database and report the incident to the nearest police station as well as an advocate from the organization Stop AAPI Hate.

“Once we fully understood the scope of the problem, it was just a matter of figuring out how the technology can be used to solve it,” Mastorides says. “We realized voice activation has the ability to listen in if it hears certain phrases, so if there’s any anti-Asian language being used then your iPhone can automatically start recording audio as soon as it hears it. This was the basis of our idea, so then we started to think of ways to expand it with other existing iPhone technologies like location services and secure databases. Overall it was a lot of looking into how these technologies work and how we can solve anti-Asian discrimination with it.”

In the Avant-Garde/Innovative category, Hayashi and Mastorides won for their Burger King campaign “” (video). This campaign was one of eight winners worldwide in the category. “Have It The Real Way” celebrates Burger King’s use of 100% real ingredients by making their advertising just as real, avoiding the styling used to make burgers look unrealistically perfect in ads. They also included the Burger King app in the campaign, using it to airdrop flyers onto McDonald’s customers’ phones enticing them to take a photo of the competitor’s burger to receive a Burger King discount. Google Lens technology would recognize the McDonald’s burger, find its perfect-looking ad counterpart and then compare the two and calculate the percentage difference, giving the customer the percentage of savings for their Burger King meal.

Sam Luo, art director, and Grace Curran, copywriter, won a finalist award in the Outdoor category for their Duolingo campaign “” (video). The campaign was one of six winners worldwide in the category. The team used the insight that young people find learning a new language boring. Luo and Curran found an interesting and interactive way to get Gen Z interested by learning swear words in multiple languages. They would place scannable stickers of the Duolingo owl next to graffiti with “colorful” language around London. When a user scans the QR code on a sticker, it would take them to a page that translates the swear word into a variety of languages. The page would also show them clues so they can find other stickers in the area and continue their language learning journey.

Luo and Olivia Gormley, copywriter, won a finalist award in the Positive World Impact category for their digital campaign for Connect4Climate “” (video). The team created the concept of an Amazon search filter that prioritizes eco-friendly products over disposable or single-use items in the search results when activated.

Luo also won in the Print category for his “” McDonald’s campaign. “McDelivery” was one of three winners in the category worldwide.

Marta Lala, copywriter, and Cerinn Park, art director, won a finalist award in the Positive World Impact category for their new P&G product “” (video). They found that one in 13 children has a food allergy in the U.S. and risk suffering an allergen attack due to accidental cross-contamination in food. Their solution would be plastic utensils that change color after coming in contact with specific allergen proteins detected in food, signaling that the food is unsafe to eat.

Brian Chau, art director, and Shaoli Yusaf, copywriter, won a finalist award in the Positive World Impact category for their digital Google Nest campaign “” (video). Chau and Yusaf note that the growing prevalence of ICE raids and the spread of violence towards immigrant communities inspired them to create the concept of the ARI app. ARI would be a home assistant that works with Google Nest’s security system to notify homeowners of approaching ICE agents. In the app, immigrants can review their rights and speak to agents through ARI without opening their door. After an encounter with ICE, home occupants can confirm their safety in the app as well.

Derek Rosen, copywriter, won a finalist award in the Audio/Radio category for his “” (Radio campaign) for Michelin. He found that people often don’t want to pay the extra money for Michelin tires, thinking they only have minor improvements over other tires. He decided to incorporate the brand’s benefits into something people experience in everyday life: music. Using three different songs with lyrics about stopping, Rosen lengthened the verse to show that with other tires, your car might take longer to stop when compared to Michelin tires. He says creating a campaign that worked without visuals was an enriching challenge.

“Crafting an idea using only words and sounds is extremely challenging and requires a high level of creativity,” Rosen says. “However, that also means that creating an effective radio ad is that much more rewarding and impressive. I find that radio is one of the most relatable forms of advertising because it forces you to utilize sounds that all audiences can recognize and relate to.”
The reactions his campaign received were part of what originally made him want to enter it into the competition.

“Whenever I showed my classmates, they wouldn’t just compliment it, they would smile and laugh,” Rosen says. “I truly believe that the best ads are the ones that make an audience feel something, so their reactions gave me the confidence that it was an effective campaign.”

In addition to the eight finalists, 18 campaigns by Newhouse creative advertising students won shortlist awards from New York Festivals.
In the Positive World Impact category, nine creative teams won shortlist awards. Kelsi Ryan, art director, and Chloe Greenwald, copywriter, won for their digital Apple and GLAAD campaign, “.” Luo and Curran won for their integrated WhatsApp campaign “” (video). Olivia DeLorenzo, copywriter, and Mike Gaines, art director, won for their integrated Nike+ campaign, “” (video). Sierra Outcalt, art director, and Clare Coey, copywriter, won for their digital campaign “” (video) for Apple. Maia Baptista, art director, and Joe Cutuli, copywriter, won for their digital campaign “” (video) for Coca-Cola. Selin Akywrek, copywriter, and Amelia Lytle, art director, won for their experiential campaign “” (video) for Budweiser. Zan Buoy, copywriter, and Xinran Xiao, art director, won for their digital Connect4Climate idea, “” (video) Katie Volkomer, art director, and Chloe Martin, copywriter, won for their integrated campaign “” (video) for Tampax. Eric Storms, copywriter, and Max Guo, art director, won for their Walmart digital idea, “” (video).

In the Avant-Garde/Innovative category, three Newhouse creative teams won shortlist awards. Zach Driscoll, copywriter, and Tom Ciaccio, art director, won for their experiential Penguin Books campaign “” (video). Sarah Sek, art director, and Jessica Miranda, copywriter, won for their augmented reality idea “” (video) for LEGO. Ben Lin, art director, and Charley Karchin, copywriter, won for their new product idea “” (video) for Tiffany & Co.

In the Digital/Mobile category, Newhouse students won three shortlist awards. Rosen and Joyee Lin, art director, won for their mobile campaign “” (video) for Burger King. Joseph Deblasio, art director, and Alyssa Loffredo, copywriter, won for their integrated LEGO campaign “” (video). Allison Scherger, art director, and Charles Beeby, copywriter, won for their integrated Spotify campaign “” (video).

Volkomer and Martin also won in the Digital & Collateral category for their integrated campaign “” (video) for Budweiser. In the same category, Lytle and Camille Lavoie, copywriter, won for their integrated Burger King campaign, “” (video). Chau and Alye Chaisson, copywriter, won in the Outdoor category for their Spotify campaign, “” (video).

The fates of these women, children and elderly Ukrainians, who face a violent present and an uncertain future, are up in the air. One organization, as it has for the last 50 years, is providing medical assistance to these refugees: Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors Without Borders as it is known in the United States.

Sana Bég ’04, director of communications for Doctors Without Borders in South Asia.

Sana Bég ’04 is the South Asia director of communications for Doctors Without Borders, an international humanitarian organization that delivers emergency medical aid to people facing conflict and crisis.

While the conflict in Ukraine has dominated the national and international headlines, the truth is there are 72 different countries and territories across the world currently experiencing conflict or facing crisis that benefit from Doctors Without Borders’ humanitarian projects.

“We go where many others can’t or will not go,” says Bég, who earned dual degrees in broadcast journalism from the and international relations from the .

Sana Bég ’04 is the South Asia Director of Communications for Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors Without Borders as it is known in the United States. Here, she is pictured while assisting in South Sudan.

“I wanted to dig a little bit deeper, beyond what the confines of journalism gave me, and that’s how I naturally fell into the work of Doctors Without Borders. … The organization was actually founded 50 years ago by a group of doctors and journalists together who felt that they had this privileged position that so many others don’t when it comes to accessing people who need treatment, and what we witness when we provide treatment. There is that duty to speak out about what we see.”

Bég, who helped launch Al Jazeera America in 2013, sat down with us to discuss how Doctors Without Borders assisted those Ukrainian refugees, the atrocities her organization witnessed while providing relief and the toll the war has taken on these vulnerable citizens.

A proud member of an Orange Legacy family—Bég is one of four Syracuse University graduates in her family, along with Sami ’98, G’05, Shazia ’02 and Sama ’08. Bég shares how her time at Syracuse helped her discover more about her identity and cultivate her storytelling skills, why she wanted to be a voice for the voiceless, and why the University instilled a desire to be forever curious.

Here is the full conversation with Sana Bég ’04 on the “’Cuse Conversations” podcast. A transcript��is also available.��

Two professors from the who are working on the development of technology to detect manipulated media and combat the spread of fake news are supported by a subcontract that now tops $1.1 million, thanks to a recent expansion.

Jason Davis

, research professor and co-director of the Real Chemistry Emerging Insights Lab, and , associate dean for research and creative activity, will continue to work on refining a theoretical framework for the creation and testing of AI algorithms that can identify manipulated media.

In addition, they will expand the scope of their research to include new modalities such as image, video and audio manipulations. They will collaborate with researchers from private industry and academia.

“While the challenges associated with fake news and misinformation may not be new, the speed, scale and global impact created by digital media channels certainly is,” Davis says. “This research effort underscores Newhouse’s continuing commitment to addressing some of today’s most challenging problems and contributing to solutions with global impact. It is our intention that this research will help develop solutions that can detect and combat the effects of disinformation across a rapidly evolving digital landscape.”

Regina Luttrell

The subcontract is part of the Semantic Forensics program, funded by an $11.9 million Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract with PAR Government Systems Corp. The program seeks to create a system for automatic detection, attribution and characterization of falsified media assets.

Davis and Luttrell will continue to grow a team of doctoral, masters and undergraduate student researchers, based in the Real Chemistry Emerging Insights Labs, to assist with the research.

The announced the winners of the 2022 Toner Prizes for Excellence in Political Reporting late Monday during a pre-recorded ceremony featuring House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The Washington Post was the winner of the national Toner Prize, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution won the local Toner Prize.

Toner Prize for National Political Reporting

The Washington Post won for “.” The investigation into the causes, costs and aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol revealed how law enforcement agencies failed to heed mounting threats of violence in Washington, documented the bloody consequences of President Donald Trump’s rhetoric and mapped how a deep distrust of the voting process has taken hold across the country, shaking the underpinnings of democracy.

Said Toner judge Joseph B. Treaster: “This is a powerful, comprehensive look at the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the developments that led to it, the moments of violence, the aftermath and what might lie ahead for America and Americans. The story shows many facets of a candidate who became a president and began trying to create a new form of government in America. It uses brilliantly all the tools of modern, digital journalism in a spectacular collaboration of reporters, editors, photographers and digital specialists.”

Toner judge Christina Bellantoni said, “It’s a terrific layout, a semester-long college course’s worth of information, with unbelievable multimedia and depth. It also connected the dots within government and went back far enough to show the true impact of Trump’s actions in great detail.”

Toner Prize for Local Political Reporting

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution won for “.” The multipart digital package examined the period between the November 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, when Georgia was at the center of the biggest election dispute of modern American history. The project shines a light on the actions of public officials and others who worked to change the outcome of the election and sow suspicion that persists today about the integrity of elections in Georgia. Reporters were David Wickert, Mark Niesse, Greg Bluestein, Maya T. Prabhu, Tia Mitchell, Isaac Sabetai and Jim Galloway.

Toner judge Maralee Schwartz said, “Superior work. The epic narrative and the embedded explanatory sidebars created a powerful portrait of the shocking events in Georgia and Washington as Trump obsessively pressured to undermine the election results in the state. They combine contemporaneous reporting with information gathered after individual events and from other sources—lots of depth.”

Toner judge Lynette Clemetson called it “a thorough reconstruction and a good read.”

About the Toner Prizes

The Toner Prizes were established by the Newhouse School in honor of late alumna Robin Toner ’76, the first woman to serve as national political correspondent for The New York Times.

The winners were announced online in a ceremony featuring an interview with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, conducted by Molly Ball, national political correspondent with Time magazine. Ball, who won the Toner Prize in 2013, is the author of the bestselling biography “Pelosi.”

Alumnus Boris Sanchez ’09, anchor with CNN, was master of ceremonies. Syracuse University Chancellor and Newhouse School dean also offered remarks. Toner’s children, Jacob and Nora Gosselin, presented the awards.

Judges were Christina Bellantoni, professor at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, director of the Annenberg Media Center student newsroom and a former political reporter and editor at the Los Angeles Times; Lynette Clemetson, director of Wallace House, home of the Knight-Wallace Fellowships for Journalists and the Livingston Awards at the University of Michigan; Maralee Schwartz, retired political editor of The Washington Post; and Joseph B. Treaster, professor at the University of Miami’s School of Communication, a former New York Times correspondent and a contributor to The Times and other publications.

To view the awards ceremony, visit .

AJ Willingham (Courtesy: CNN)

When AJ Willingham ’09 enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), she just wanted to be a writer. But the unique style she honed while in the ��(WRC) program led her to great things, including a career with CNN Digital and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Interactive Media.

Willingham started as a broadcast major at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and later joined the School of Architecture, but when she heard that the College of Arts & Sciences had recently created a new major in writing, rhetoric, and composition, she made yet another switch.

Willingham loved the freedom and the challenges of the program. “The WRC program quickly felt like home. It was an opportunity to explore who I was,” she says. “The faculty were very accepting and extremely interested in students’ ability to tell their stories without filters. They understood that there was a certain amount of revealing yourself—and that was embraced no matter who you were. In addition, there was a huge element of community responsibility and the idea that, as a writer, you owed it to yourself to do something with that.”

“We were having conversations with the faculty about how to identify people’s places in the community and given new language to talk about these things in the world,” adds Willingham. “It was an education in how to use language that respects people. It emphasized that you’re interacting with the world when you put things down on paper. And, that a good writer is a good learner, and a good learner is a good citizen.”

WRC Professor Lois Agnew, associate dean of curriculum innovation and pedagogy, as well as Willingham’s former advisor, remembers her as a student whose passion stood out.

“AJ was one of those who was such a joy to work with,” says Agnew. “The goal of the WRC program has always been to find students who love to write, are fascinated by language and want to see where that can take them. AJ certainly took what she learned here and, combined with her own unique style, put that into practice.”

Willingham graduated and went to work for CNN at its Atlanta headquarters. After a few years, she found her niche writing for CNN Digital and was eventually promoted to senior writer. Willingham gained more recognition as the head writer for CNN.com’s daily email newsletter, 5 Things, and The Good Stuff, an e-newsletter she created with stories of inspiration and the power of people making a difference in their communities.

“The WRC program gave me the confidence and the ability to say, ‘This is the way I am, and this is the way I write,’” she explains. “My outlook and the unique voice I think I bring to my work has really helped define my career.”

AJ Willingham holding her Syracuse University diploma and her Emmy Award that she won while at CNN. (Courtesy: AJ Willingham)

He also knows that there might never have been a Quentin and Ashleigh were it not for a Syracuse University connection.

Quentin Brunson ’12, G’13 proposed to his girlfriend Ashleigh Mann during Adele’s “One Night Only” television concert special Nov. 14 at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.

Brunson, who many call “Q,” is from Rochester. In 2008, he was a SummerStart student set on studying mechanical engineering. He soon switched to social work, earning both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. Right after graduation in 2013, Brunson’s Omega Psi Phi fraternity brother from Syracuse called him to tell him about a job opening at a high school in Los Angeles. Brunson flew out. He landed the job. And he also got introduced to that fraternity brother’s next-door neighbor—a girl named Ashleigh Mann.

“I instantly told him I had a crush on him. Like literally day one. I was like, ‘I promise you. You’re going to be my boyfriend,’” Mann recalls.

The two casually dated for two years before becoming an official couple. It took Brunson seven years after that to propose—something Mann isn’t shy to give him a hard time about.

Earlier this year, Brunson saw a post asking for a couple who wanted to get engaged in an “epic” way. It asked applicants to share how long they’d been dating, if she’d say yes, if he could keep a secret, who her favorite artists were and other questions. Singer-songwriter Adele was one of several artists Brunson listed. He submitted the one-minute video and waited. Soon after, producers were in touch, but were very hush-hush about the details of what would play out.

Brunson says he was able to keep everything from Mann by taking the calls after she went to work or while he was at work. Brunson’s work, it’s worth noting, is on the set of Nickelodeon’s “Side Hustle.” The show’s producers are all Syracuse graduates. He drives a car with Syracuse plates. He bleeds Orange.

Brunson and Mann say their phones have been “blowing up” since the television special aired with messages from Syracuse to South Africa.

“We’ve gotten stuff from India, China, Malaysia, South Africa, France, Canada, UK, Hawaii… everywhere,” the couple shares.

What many people don’t know is that there was a part one of the epic night. Before escorting her blindfolded to Griffith Observatory, Brunson had taken Mann to a local park for a picnic with champagne. She thought that was the date. When they got back to the car, Brunson told her to put on the blindfold and trust him.

“We do weird stuff all the time,” Mann says. “It’s not out of the ordinary for us to do something strange. But, by all means, I did NOT think we were heading to see Adele. That’s for sure. Or get engaged, which I never thought he would do. I mean I’ve only been waiting my whole life.”

As for what took Brunson so long? “I knew it was her, but I didn’t know timing-wise what was going to happen. I was waiting for the right energy. People have been on my case for YEARS. When this post came up, I was like this ‘sounds like it’s for me’—and it ended up being for us!”

Producers kept telling him it would be something romantic and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They didn’t clue him in on the Adele connection until a few weeks prior to the special, which was filmed in late October.

The celebrity-studded audience was a surprise for both Mann AND her man on one knee. Brunson did a walk-through that morning, but the producers didn’t tell him that Melissa McCarthy, Lizzo, Leonardo DiCaprio and Drake, among dozens of other A-listers, would be looking on.

The couple has a new Instagram account () to document the wedding planning details as everything comes together. They’ll announce their date soon.

“We’re trying to get Adele to perform, Oprah to officiate and to have it in Drake’s backyard. If we can get that combination, we think it’s going to be great,” the couple laughs.

And since Mann grew up in Ohio and Brunson in Rochester, it’s not out of the question that future kids could choose Syracuse University one day. If you ask Brunson, it’s a no-brainer.

“Oh absolutely. I love this school and what it did for me and my life, my career, my everything.”

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, assistant professor of history in Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, is a scholar of modern Germany and available for comment on this transition of power. Professor Terrell’s research and teaching interrogate the cultural and political histories of modern German in transnational and global frameworks.

In 16 years at the helm of Europe’s biggest economy, Merkel did end military conscription, set Germany on course for a future without nuclear and fossil-fueled power, enable the legalization of same-sex marriage, introduce a national minimum wage and benefits encouraging fathers to look after young children, among other things.

Professor Terrell offers the following perspective about Chancellor Merkel:

“Angela Merkel’s legacy is still being written, and will continue to change as shifting social contexts inform the politics of memory. Still, her leadership has certainly been marked by polarities and tensions at the national, European and global levels. In Europe, the Great Recession and the European Debt Crisis pushed Merkel into the unenviable position of trying to stabilize the economy of over two dozen states. While her push for austerity measures was well-received in Germany, it led to a degree of cultural chauvinism among Germans who essentialized the irresponsibility and idleness of the Greeks. In Greece, she remains divisive, with some Greek citizens blaming her for one of the bleakest periods in recent memory.

“The refugee crisis was another watershed moment during her chancellorship—one that will undoubtedly play a key role in shaping her legacy. Merkel’s decision to welcome well over a million refugees beginning in 2015 left the nation divided. Proponents of the Willkommenskultur—or “welcoming culture”—helped furnish arriving refugees with money, supplies and emergency accommodations. Others resisted, making the refugee crisis a catalyst for increasingly radical nativist sentiment from PEGIDA to the AfD. And, as in the United States and elsewhere, such radicalism moved establishment conservatives further to the right. In 2017, Merkel’s closest allies, the Christian Social Union (CSU), seemed close to breaking away from an alliance with her CDU that stretches back to the aftermath of the Second World War.

“But legacies often come down to words, snippets and sound bites. And the refugee crisis was also the context of what may remain her single most famous quote, ‘wir schaffen das,’ or ‘we can do this.’ The seemingly banal quote took on a life of its own. For years, ‘we can do this’ resonated with so many, I think, because it contained within it a moral imperative to do the right thing when you can.

“In 2015, just before the refugee crisis hit in full force, the German dictionary publisher Langenscheidt announced that ‘Merkeln’—a verb form of Merkel’s name—was in the running for the ‘Youth Word of the Year.’ It meant to do nothing out of caution, or to be overly deliberative. Whether simply her political style, or a conscious effort to avoid the gendered critique of impulsiveness, Merkel made a point of cautious decision making. ‘Merkeln’ ultimately got voted second, but it captured the fact that for all her international fame and decisiveness, at home, Merkel was seen as lacking charismatic leadership. But today, amid an upswell in national strife and concerns about COVID, the public seems wanting for even-keel candidates, as viewer polls around a recent chancellor-candidate debate suggest. It seems that in an era of heightened tensions, Germany, and the rest of us, could use more ‘Merkeln.'”

Members of the media looking to interview Terrell on this topic, please contact:

Joshua M. Grossman ’03
Director of Media Relations, Division of Communications and Marketing
T 202.227.9250 | jmgrossm@syr.edu

The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications announced earlier this month the winners in the 2021 competition for excellence in media industry reporting.

Chosen from by a group of journalists and journalism educators, the winners are:

Best Profile

Lauren Markham

“”

Columbia Journalism Review

Best Commentary

Issac J. Bailey

“”

“”

“”

Nieman Reports

Best Single Article/Story

Charles Bethea

“”

The New Yorker

John M. Higgins Award for In Depth/Enterprise Reporting

Micah Loewinger and Hampton Stall with Brooke Gladstone and Katya Rogers

“”

On the Media Produced by WNYC Studios

Best Story on Media Coverage of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Lynsey Chutel, Lauren Harris, Linda Kinstler, Tony Lin, Zainab Sultan and Stephania Taladrid

“”

Columbia Journalism Review

Best Story on Media Coverage of the 2020 Presidential Election

Casey Quackenbush

“”

Nieman Reports

In addition to the juried journalism awards, the Newhouse School presented the Fred Dressler Leadership Awardto of Univision Noticias, and the inaugural Lorraine Branham IDEA Award to , accepted by co-founderIyabo Boyd.

Newhouse dean presided over the virtual ceremony, and Newhouse alumna of ABC7 in Washington, D.C. served as master of ceremonies.

The Mirror Awards are the most important awards for recognizing excellence in media industry reporting. Established by the Newhouse School in 2006, the awards honor the reporters, editors and teams of writers who hold a mirror to their own industry for the public’s benefit. For information about the awards, visit or email mirrorawards@syr.edu.

The Newhouse School announced the finalists in the 2021 competition honoring excellence in media industry reporting. Winners will be announced June 9 at 7 p.m. ET. .

The finalists, selected by a group of journalists and journalism educators, are:

Best Profile

• Lauren Markham, “,” Columbia Journalism Review
• Timothy McLaughlin, “,” The Atlantic
• Abe Streep, “,” Columbia Journalism Review

Best Commentary

• Issac J. Bailey, Nieman Reports
  • “”
  • “”
  • “”
• Gwen Florio, “,” The Nation
• Andrew Marantz, “,” The New Yorker
• Julian Brave NoiseCat, “,” Columbia Journalism Review

Best Single Article/Story

• Charles Bethea, “,” The New Yorker
• Deborah Douglas, “,” Nieman Reports
• Andrew Marantz, “,” The New Yorker
• Joe Pompeo, “,” Vanity Fair

John M. Higgins Award for In Depth/Enterprise Reporting

• Susie Banikarim and team, “,” Retro Report and Vice
• Micah Loewinger and Hampton Stall with Brooke Gladstone and Katya Rogers, “,” On the Media Produced by WNYC Studios
• Craig Silverman with Ryan Mac and Pranav Dixit, BuzzFeed News
  • “”
  • “”
  • “”
• Tim Schwab, “,” Columbia Journalism Review

Special Topic Category: Best Story on Media Coverage of the COVID-19 Pandemic

• Lynsey Chutel, Lauren Harris, Linda Kinstler, Tony Lin, Zainab Sultan and Stephania Taladrid, “,” Columbia Journalism Review
• Peter Maass, “,” The Intercept
• Nanjala Nyabola, “,” The Nation

Special Topic Category: Best Story on Media Coverage of the 2020 Presidential Election

• Casey Quackenbush, “,” Nieman Reports
• Joan Walsh, “,” The Nation
• Simon V.Z. Wood, “,” Columbia Journalism Review

The Mirror Awards are the most important awards for recognizing excellence in media industry reporting. Established by the Newhouse School in 2006, the awards honor the reporters, editors and teams of writers who hold a mirror to their own industry for the public’s benefit. For information about the awards, visit or email mirrorawards@syr.edu.

U.S. Sen. of New Jersey will deliver keynote remarks for the virtual ceremony honoring the winners of the 2021 Toner Prizes for Excellence in Political Reporting. The prerecorded ceremony will be available for viewing March 26 starting at 7 p.m. ET. To register, visit .The Toner Prizes, sponsored by the at Syracuse University, honor the life and work of late alumna Robin Toner ’76, the first woman to be national political correspondent for The New York Times. Prizes will be presented for local and national reporting. ’09, senior writer with CNN Investigates, will serve as master of ceremonies. Chancellor and Dean will also offer remarks.

Cory Booker

Booker has served in the U.S. Senate since 2013, taking an innovative and bipartisan approach to tackling some of the most difficult problems facing New Jersey and the U.S. He has emerged as a national leader in the Congressional push for common sense criminal justice reform, advocating for front-end sentencing reforms, pushing for the banning of juvenile solitary confinement in federal facilities and spearheading legislation to make the hiring process fairer for the formerly incarcerated.

Booker has also partnered with colleagues to create a number of economic proposals, from increased small business investment to apprenticeship programs, with the hope of fostering greater economic mobility and opportunity for individual Americans.

Booker serves on the U.S. Senate Committees on Foreign Relations; Judiciary; Small Business and Entrepreneurship; and Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.

Booker was mayor of Newark, New Jersey from 2006-2013, and also sat on the Newark City Council.

Past keynote speakers for the Toner Prize Celebration include Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, former Ohio Governor John Kasich, President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, then-Vice President Joe Biden, late Rep. John Lewis of Georgia and former Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.

Last year’s national prize went to a team of reporters from The Boston Globe. The local prize went to a team from WBEZ in Chicago. Other past awardees include Jason Zengerle of The New York Times Magazine and GQ, David Fahrenthold of The Washington Post, Alec MacGillis of ProPublica and Jane Mayer of The New Yorker, among others.

Toner graduated from Syracuse with dual degrees in journalism and political science. She started her journalism career with The Charleston Daily Mail in West Virginia and reported for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution before arriving at The New York Times in 1985. She covered five presidential campaigns, scores of congressional and gubernatorial races and most of the country’s major political and policy issues.

Following Toner’s death in 2008, her family, friends and classmates created the at the Newhouse School to honor her life and work.

To register for the virtual event, visit . For more information, contact Audrey Burian at aaburian@syr.edu.

White supremacy is an enduring threat, as is violent extremism more broadly, which is the belief that an in-group’s success or survival requires violent action—ranging from verbal discrimination to genocide—against an out-group.

, associate professor of philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences, works in political philosophy and contemporary European philosophy, with a special interest in critical theory and genealogy. She is the author of “Genealogies of Terrorism: Revolution, State Violence, Empire” (Columbia University Press, 2018). She regularly teaches courses in philosophy of law.

Prof.��Erlenbusch-Anderson provided historical perspective on this issue:

“In the late 19th century, Black abolitionists and anti-lynching activists used the term ‘terrorism’ to describe the political rationality of a polity built on white supremacist principles of white domination and the oppression and exclusion of Black people. For the African American anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett, for example, terrorism was a means of expressing and enforcing what she called the of white supremacy. Wells argued that to defy the Reconstruction amendments that had abolished slavery, guaranteed equal protection under the law and prohibited disenfranchisement on account of race, the South relied on an unwritten law that directly contravened the new legal order and reversed the legal achievements of Reconstruction. Mob violence played a crucial role in enforcing this unwritten law, as

While last week’s mob attempted to do what the president and his enablers were , their actions are in continuity with more mundane practices designed to prevent multiracial democracy. Wells shows us that these practices have always been a central strategy of U.S. nation-building, and U.S. citizens have routinely resorted to terrorism in pursuit of their political goals. Until we confront that this is indeed who we are, we will not only continue to face mob violence and the corrosion of law, government and our moral character, but also threats to national security, civil rights, democratic institutions and global peace posed by a political system built on the idea of white superiority and the often violent exclusion of groups perceived as threats to this system.”

For members of the press who are looking for insight and historical perspective on this issue, is available for an interview. Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs in the Maxwell School, teaches courses on great power conflict, trans-Atlantic relations and international security.

Williams’ research focuses functionally on international security with a regional concentration in twentieth-century Europe. He has published extensively in both academic and policy outlets on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, as well as on issues of war and technology. His last book was “Science, Law and Liberalism in the American Way of War: The Quest for Humanity in Conflict” (Cambridge University Press, 2014). His work has been published in journals such as International Affairs,��International Politics,��International Peacekeeping,��Global Governance,�����Ի���Cooperation and Conflict.

Williams offers the following perspective on the U.K.’s defense investment:

“The U.K.’s announcement of an additional $22 billion in defense investment will be greatly welcome by the incoming Biden administration. U.K. defense capability has drastically fallen off in recent years and today the British would be unable to field the numbers of military forces they did for the 2003 Iraq War. This will help stave off Britain’s military decline and keep the U.K. as an ally capable of operating alongside U.S. military forces, but ultimately it is only a drop in the bucket. It remains to be seen where this money will be invested—there are a number of mission-critical shortages ranging from additional Joint Strike Fighters for the U.K.’s carriers, to Army investment and cyber capability.

For more information or to schedule an interview with Professor Williams, please contact:

Joshua M. Grossman ’03
Director of Media Relations
Division of Communications and Marketing
T��202.227.9250
jmgrossm@syr.edu

Brian Taylor

In January 2020, former Vice President Joseph Biden pledged to not only “impose real costs on Russia” for its transgressions at home and abroad but also “renew the U.S. commitment to arms control for a new era.” As such, it is fair to assume that Washington’s behavior towards Russia under President-Elect Biden will be significantly different than the previous four years, a change that will force Moscow to make adjustments.

is a professor of political science in the .�� Taylor specializes in Russian politics and security studies. He is the author of “The Code of Putinism” (Oxford University Press, 2018).

Taylor offers the following perspective:

“Russian political leadership will be wary of a Biden presidency. Biden has talked tough about ‘standing up to Vladimir Putin.’ Biden’s foreign policy team is likely to have multiple people who worked for the Obama administration, which the Kremlin blamed for anti-Putin protests in Moscow in 2011-12 and for the Ukrainian revolution of 2014. On the other hand, there will be areas of possible cooperation, including on nuclear arms control, a renewed nuclear deal with Iran and potentially climate change. Plus, the Biden administration is likely to run a more professional and competent foreign policy process, which also will make the relationship more predictable.”

For more information or to request an interview with Professor Taylor please contact:

Joshua M. Grossman ’03
Director of Media Relations
Division of Communications and Marketing
T��202.227.9250
jmgrossm@syr.edu

Roy Gutterman

“The violence targeting journalists covering the protests and riots is unacceptable. Any targeted violence goes beyond violating the First Amendment. Reporters, photographers and videographers take significant risks to tell these stories. Whether it is law enforcement firing weapons or rioters attacking journalists themselves, it shows the serious risks journalists take to inform the world. Journalists around the world put themselves in harm’s way in war zones and conflict areas. It is sad that these conflict areas are now the streets of our country.”—Professor Roy Gutterman, Director, Tully Center for Free Speech

Lynne Adrine

“From Friday, May 29, to Monday, June 1, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) had tracked reports of at least 125 press freedom violations from journalists covering demonstrations stemming from the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. This is a rapid acceleration of activities threatening the safety of reporters across the country. It’s ironic because CPJ traditionally had focused its attention on journalists working overseas, in conflict zones. Now the conflict zones are all over America. Documented threats come from protesters and law enforcement, people whose agenda is to control or silence the story being told. It’s our job as journalism educators to include instruction on how to be safe in the field, being ever-vigilant, practicing situational awareness at all times, and knowing when to back away from confrontation so that you are around to report another day, another way. It’s sobering to face these challenges. At the same time, these challenges underscore that the job of a journalist never has been more important.”—Lynne Adrine, Director DC Graduate Program, Newhouse School

The finalists, selected by a group of journalists and journalism educators, are:

BEST SINGLE ARTICLE/STORY

• Irin Carmon for New York Magazine: “”

• Joshua Hammer for The New York Times Magazine: “”

• Jane Mayer for The New Yorker: “”

BEST PROFILE

• Ryan Bell for Columbia Journalism Review: “”

• David Freedlander for Politico: “”

• Molly Langmuir for Elle: “”

BEST COMMENTARY

• Andrew Marantz for The New Yorker:
  • “”
  • “”
  • “”

• Jenni Monet for Columbia Journalism Review and the Economic Hardship Reporting Project: “”

• Rebecca Traister for The Cut:
  • “”
  • “”
  • “”

• David Zurawik for The Baltimore Sun:
  • “”
  • “”
  • “”

JOHN M. HIGGINS AWARD FOR BEST IN-DEPTH/ENTERPRISE REPORTING

• Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle Pope for The Nation, in partnership with Columbia Journalism Review:
  • “”
  • “”
  • “”
  • “”

• Sean Gregory and Paul Moakley for Time: “”

• Molly Webster and Bethel Habte for Radiolab/WNYC Studios: “”

SPECIAL TOPIC CATEGORY: BEST STORY ON MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE TRUMP IMPEACHMENT

• Jon Allsop for Columbia Journalism Review: “”
• Margaret Sullivan for The Washington Post: “”
• Joan Walsh for The Nation: “”

SPECIAL TOPIC CATEGORY: BEST STORY ON THE FUTURE OF JOURNALISM

• Brent Cunningham for Pacific Standard: “”
• Jon Marcus for Nieman Reports: “”
• Lauren Smiley for Columbia Journalism Review: “”

The Mirror Awards are the most important awards for recognizing excellence in media industry reporting. Established by the Newhouse School in 2006, the awards honor the reporters, editors and teams of writers who hold a mirror to their own industry for the public’s benefit.

For information about the awards, contact Amanda Griffin at algri100@syr.edu. For media inquiries, contact Wendy Loughlin at wsloughl@syr.edu.

Tom Boll

Longtime journalist and adjunct professor teaches news literacy in his course COM 337, Real News, Fake News: Literacy for the Information Age. He offers ways to better examine what you may be reading in terms of news to have a more informed perspective about the day’s events and issues.

Q: In this time of intensive campaigning for the presidency and the abundance of information, how should people evaluate news outlets for accurate and fair reporting?

A: Rather than talk about accurate reporting, I’d prefer it to be reporting the truth. A news story can accurately report what a candidate says, but if the candidate says something factually incorrect, then the reporting has to point that out as well.

Reading/listening to reports over time will give people enough data to determine if a news outlet is reliable. To do that they should examine stories closely for credible sources who have expertise in the area they are speaking about. If some sources are anonymous, does the outlet characterize them and explain why they’re not identified by name? People should also note whether reporters have verified all the information in their stories—they tell the reader how they know what they’re reporting and what they don’t know—why certain information is missing.

As for fair reporting, I’m of the view that it has to be fair to the news consumer in enabling them to make an informed choice. For example, if someone, group or organization is attacked, do they get a chance to respond? Are multiple perspectives/voices represented? But it also means that if a viewpoint isn’t valid—like claiming the Earth is flat—you don’t report it because doing that gives it credibility, and, again, you’re not being fair to the news consumer by doing that. And then there’s being fair to the facts/evidence you’ve found out as a reporter. Don’t go beyond them in putting together your story.

Q: How can someone tell if a video or photo has been altered?

A: You might be able to tell that just by looking closely at the photo. A shadow might be missing or not match the subject. Imperfect coloring may be evident. By doing a reverse image search—uploading a photo to the Google Images bar—you can find where else on the internet the photo has appeared, and that will help you make a judgment. As for altered video or deep fakes, experts say that practically as soon as a detection method is invented it becomes obsolete. University of Missouri students just recently came up with , which they said can identify fake videos. But absent some tool like that, first consider the source of a video before passing judgment and even better, await verification of its authenticity by respected news outlets.

Q: What is the impact of biased or fake news on our democracy?

A: It’s negative. Democracy relies on an informed citizenry to function, and that comes from journalists dealing with a set of facts and reporting the truth. Our country’s founders knew what they were doing in protecting the press’s freedom in the Constitution, so reporters can inform the public about the dealings of those in power, no matter how unpleasant that information may be. And that works only if the public trusts journalists. But biased and fake news erode that trust and confuse people, and now we’re in a situation where people dispute facts because they have their own “truth.” And if we can’t agree on the facts, we won’t be able to work together to solve our problems as a country.

Q: How do you get a well-rounded understanding of the day’s news?

A: Once you’ve settled on what news outlets are reliable, seek out stories on the same issue on a few of them and notice what’s similar and different. Go past the headlines and first few paragraphs. Make sure the stories provide the background and context you need to fully understand what happened.

If it’s a breaking news story—where things are still happening—know that initial reports will be incomplete and, while true at the time, they eventually often turn out to be wrong, because the truth changes over time as more information becomes available. So it’s our responsibility to follow the reporting on the story.

Q: What should we ask ourselves before we post or share a news story on social media?

A: Am I 100 percent sure that this is true? If I’m not, then don’t share it. Otherwise, I become part of the problem. Does the story provide a complete look or only a limited view of an incident or issue? It could be leaving out important information. To determine that, you’ll have to check other news outlets to see what they are reporting. If it’s an incendiary story intended to make your blood boil, be suspicious and don’t breathlessly share it. And that’s especially true about memes, which are aimed at our emotions.

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360 magazine, spring 2018

Editor in chief of 360 magazine Molly Bolan ’19 and the magazine staff had a special idea for the of their magazine.

They wanted to focus the entire edition on the history and culture of indigenous people and highlight indigenous students on campus.

“We come to Syracuse to meet people from different backgrounds,” says Bolan, a senior photojournalism and information technology student in the Newhouse School and the School of Information Studies, respectively. “There are still members of the indigenous population here, and so it’s really important for students to connect with the people and the culture that was here way before any of us were.”

But before they got started they needed help to make sure it was authentic and respectful.

Magazine staff members reached out to Kacey Chopito ’18, president of the Indigenous Students at Syracuse, to see if they could collaborate on the spring edition of the magazine.

Chopito and members of the student group were quickly on board with the idea—excited and appreciative of the opportunity.

“For a while the student group was kind of in our own little bubble,” says Chopito, who graduated in May with a history degree from the College of Arts and Sciences. “When I became president, one of the things I wanted to do was to reach out more and be more active on campus with other groups. This was the culmination of the work that I had done last year. Everybody was excited.”

With respect

Bolan first came up with the idea for the edition after hearing the introductory words that opened an event last fall in Maxwell Auditorium.

Molly Bolan

The host stated: “I would like to begin by acknowledging with respect the Onondaga Nation, the indigenous people on whose ancestral lands Syracuse University now stands.”

As part of the short-term recommendations by the University-wide Chancellor’s Workgroup on Diversity and Inclusion, the statement was developed in 2016 to acknowledge that the University sits on native land. The University distributed the statement to event organizers across campus for use at major public events on campus.

“I had heard that phrase before, but that was the first time when I really realized how much I didn’t know—and how really not good that was,” Bolan says. “There’s this whole city and community, and there’s so much history here; it’s easy for students to be caught up in campus life.”

Bolan pitched the idea to the magazine staff last fall, but their stories were already underway and they decided to keep it in mind for their spring edition. In the spring, it was a go and they made sure to reach out to the other student organization.

“It just made sense,” Bolan says. “So much of the history is already whitewashed we didn’t want to contribute to that to the best of our ability.”

Brainstorm ideas

After hearing back from Chopito with the positive response, the magazine staff and members of the Indigenous Students at Syracuse group met to brainstorm and review ideas.

“We had students come and talk about stories that they would like to see published and what they thought would be faithfully representative of what they wanted to say to the campus community,” Bolan says.

Kacey Chopito

“That was a huge help having them there at our meeting—sharing ideas of what would work and what wouldn’t and what rhetoric to use and what words to avoid,” Bolan says. “Something that was really important was to highlight the really positive things that have come out of indigenous communities and populations.”

A story list was hashed out and included ones written by indigenous students and about indigenous students. Content includes profiles on two indigenous students; a local Onondaga Nation activist; and a telling of the Haudenosaunee creation story, with an illustration by a former indigenous student, Honni David ’17.

“One of the greatest things about journalism is that it amplifies the voices that are out there,” Bolan says. “For example, in the Q&As, these are students in our classes. You don’t know their stories; you don’t know the challenges they’ve faced, growing up and coming to campus. Their stories speak to the larger issues that are going on I think across the country and within indigenous communities.”

Collaboration and education

Both the collaboration with the 360 magazine staff and the opportunity to educate others on indigenous cultures were important to the Indigenous Students at Syracuse group. “This was a moment for us to share our history with the campus in collaboration with 360,” Chopito says.

Chopito contributed a piece on the history of indigenous and U.S. relations, something he’s researched and shared for most of his life.

Illustration by Honni David ’17 for a story in 360 magazine

“To close the gap between indigenous people and non-indigenous people there has to be a form of education, and one of the most contentious points of education is history,” says Chopito, who is headed to law school to study federal law involving matters of Native Americans. “Especially here in the United States, where for the most part indigenous history is relegated to Thanksgiving and Pocahontas—beyond that there’s not much education in middle or high school and even in higher education. For the most part, this is a huge portion of the founding of the history of the U.S. that nobody really knows.”

Bolan and Chopito were excited about how it all came together and received a lot of positive feedback on the edition from students and professors.

The experience had a lasting impact on Bolan.

“All of the conversations we had, even what wasn’t published, the staff and I learned so much,” Bolan says. “I’m endlessly grateful for the organization and the experience to have worked with the students.”

Thompson, an expert in television programming, comments on whether canceled TV show,��Roseanne��will be able to continue without host star, Roseanne Barr. He states,��“If you lose a main character, or someone walks out, or there is a controversy, and the fix means it is still a funny or compelling show, then most people will forget very ��ܾ��������.”

“None of that has anything to do with ‘fake news.’ If anything, they created fake news,” she said about Sinclair. “And that’s the problem.”

The finalists, selected by a group of journalists and journalism educators, are:

BEST SINGLE ARTICLE/STORY

• by Jim Rutenberg (The New York Times Magazine)
• by Felix Gillette (Bloomberg Businessweek)
• by Nadine Epstein and Wesley G. Pippert (Moment)
• by Ellen Wexler (Moment)

BEST PROFILE

• by Lois Parshley (Pacific Standard)
• By Joe Pompeo
• (Vanity Fair)
• by Taffy Brodesser-Akner (GQ)

BEST COMMENTARY

• by Leslie Savan (The Nation)
• by Charles Alexander (The Nation)
• by Zach Schonfeld (Newsweek)
• by Jack Shafer and Tucker Doherty (Politico)

SPECIAL TOPIC CATEGORY: BEST STORY ON FAKE NEWS

• Amanda Robb
  • (Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting)
  • (Rolling Stone)
• by Samanth Subramanian (Wired)
• by Duncan J. Watts and David M. Rothschild (Columbia Journalism Review)

SPECIAL TOPIC CATEGORY: BEST STORY ON SEXUAL MISCONDUCT IN THE MEDIA INDUSTRY

• By Rebecca Traister (The Cut)
• by Irin Carmon and Amy Brittain (The Washington Post)
• by Emily Steel (The New York Times)

JOHN M. HIGGINS AWARD FOR BEST IN-DEPTH/ENTERPRISE REPORTING

• by Luke O’Brien (The Atlantic)
• Series of investigative pieces on Harvey Weinstein by Ronan Farrow (The New Yorker)
• Series of investigative pieces on Harvey Weinstein (The New York Times)
  • by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey
  • by Jodi Kantor and Rachel Abrams
  • by Ellen Gabler, Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor
  • by Megan Twohey, Jodi Kantor, Susan Dominus, Jim Rutenberg and Steve Eder
• Series of pieces on ad fraud by Craig Silverman (BuzzFeed News)

The Mirror Awards are the most important awards for recognizing excellence in media industry reporting. Established by the Newhouse School in 2006, the awards honor the reporters, editors and teams of writers who hold a mirror to their own industry for the public’s benefit.

In addition to the juried awards, the Newhouse School will present the Fred Dressler Leadership Award and the i-3 award for impact, innovation and influence at the award ceremony, which will be held Tuesday, June 14, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. at Cipriani 42nd Street, 110 E. 42nd St., New York City. Tickets and tables may be .

For more information, visit or email mirror@syr.edu.

About Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private, international research university with distinctive academics, diversely unique offerings and an��undeniable spirit. Located in the geographic , with a global footprint, and��, Syracuse University offers a quintessential college experience. The scope of Syracuse University is a testament to its strengths: a pioneering history dating back to 1870; a choice of more than 200 majors and 100 minors offered through 13 schools and colleges; nearly 15,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students; more than a quarter of a million alumni in 160 countries; and a student population from all 50 U.S. states and 123 countries. For more information, please visit .

Moderated by Gwen Webber-McLeod, a board member at the WISE Women’s Business Center and president and CEO of Gwen Inc., a leadership development corporation, the panelists include:

• Yvette Hollingsworth Clark, EVP regulatory innovation officer at Wells Fargo and member of the Whitman Advisory Council and Executive Leadership Council;��

• Deirdre Bigley, chief marketing officer at Bloomberg LP; and��

• Susie Arons, managing director at Rubenstein PR.

Panelists will also give an overview of their career path, which ultimately led to their current leadership positions.

Join us to listen in, then network with speakers after the panel. A short reception with Insomnia Cookies will offer a chance to mingle. Ambassadors from Amazon Prime will be sponsoring food, beverages and giveaways.

Contact: Clelia Ryan
Women’s Empowerment Project
973.668.0290
clryan@syr.edu

Web page:

Joe Sexton

ProPublica, an independent, nonprofit newsroom, operates according to the mission “To expose abuses of power and betrayals of the public trust by government, business and other institutions, using the moral force of investigative journalism to spur reform through the sustained spotlighting of wrongdoing.”

Before joining ProPublica in 2013, Sexton worked for 25 years at The New York Times, serving first as a reporter and later as metropolitan editor and sports editor. Work he has overseen has been awarded five Pulitzer Prizes, and another five projects have been named Pulitzer finalists.

“Firestone and the Warlord,” done in partnership with PBS’ “Frontline,” won two Emmys in 2015. “An Unbelievable Story of Rape,” produced jointly with the Marshall Project, won a Peabody Award and will soon be a multi-part series on Netflix. “Snow Fall,” the 2012 tale of a deadly avalanche, is widely considered a seminal achievement in online storytelling.

As a reporter, Sexton has covered sports, politics, crime and the historic overhaul of the country’s welfare legislation.

For more information, contact Erica Goode at eegoode@syr.edu or 315.443.9235.

Rebecca Ortiz

Puppies, horses and big celebrities are always sure to draw attention, but what about the ones that target sexy? Remember model Cindy Crawford’s Pepsi ad? So popular it’s being redone this year, 26 years after the original. That is pretty tame in comparison to others that have pushed the boundaries of good taste, into, at times, vulgarity, for a supposed family-friendly viewing event.

Rebecca R. Ortiz, an assistant professor of advertising in the , shares what might just be on the minds of advertisers this year as they tread carefully in this time of intense focus on sexual harassment and assault and gender bias.

In addition to the four award categories used in previous years, this year’s competition includes two special topic categories.

Entries may be submitted in the following categories:

• SPECIAL TOPIC CATEGORY FOR 2018: Best Story on Fake News ($1,000 prize): A carefully researched print, digital or broadcast (audio or video) piece of any length specifically addressing the topic of “fake news.” This category was created in response to the intense attention to and coverage of fake news in 2017.

• SPECIAL TOPIC CATEGORY FOR 2018: Best Story on Sexual Misconduct in the Media Industry ($1,000 prize): A carefully researched print, digital or broadcast (audio or video) piece of any length specifically addressing the topic of sexual misconduct in the media. This category was created in response to the intense attention to and coverage of sexual misconduct in the media industry in 2017.

• Best Single Article/Story ($1,000 prize): A carefully researched print, digital or broadcast (audio or video) piece of any length. Articles may include photos, videos, sidebars, audio and/or interactive elements in addition to the written piece. Regular features/columns, opinion pieces or film/television reviews should not be entered.

• Best Profile ($1,000 prize): Any carefully researched and sourced piece covering a single person or organization noteworthy in the media industry. Excerpts from “three dot columns”/social notebook features or excerpts from books (unless the book was originally published in serial form in a periodical) should not be entered. These pieces can be print, radio, television or digital.

• Best Commentary ($1,000 prize): A piece that demonstrates the writer’s overall knowledge of the issues, analytic skills and unique voice. Submissions may be published in print, online, broadcast or radio. This is the category for opinion, humor, columns, etc. Only one piece is required for submission (three pieces were required before this year).

• John M. Higgins Award for Best In-Depth/Enterprise Reporting ($5,000 prize): Digital, broadcast or traditional/legacy media may be entered. Entries may be a series of articles or a single, in-depth investigative article. Though not required, entries may cross platforms. Entries will be judged on the quality of the reporting and the importance of the story covered.

Established by the Newhouse School in 2006, the Mirror Awards honor the reporters, editors and teams of writers who hold a mirror to their own industry for the public’s benefit. They are the most important awards for recognizing excellence in media industry reporting.

The competition is open to anyone who conducts reporting, commentary or criticism of the media industries in a format intended for a mass audience. Eligible work includes print, broadcast and online editorial content focusing on the development or distribution of news and entertainment. All entries must have been published or broadcast between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2017.

Entries are evaluated based on three criteria: Excellence of craft; framing of the issue; and appropriateness for the intended audience. Winners are chosen by a group of journalists and journalism educators. An awards ceremony will be held in June 2018 in New York City.

For more information, email mirror@syr.edu.

About Syracuse University

Founded��in 1870, Syracuse University is a private international research university��dedicated to advancing knowledge and fostering student success through teaching��excellence,��rigorous scholarship and interdisciplinary research. Comprising 11��academic schools and colleges, the University has a long legacy of excellence��in the liberal arts, sciences and��professional disciplines that prepares��students for the complex challenges and emerging opportunities of a rapidly��changing world. Students enjoy the resources of a 270-acre main��campus and��extended campus venues in major national metropolitan hubs and across three��continents. Syracuse’s student body is among the most diverse for an��institution of its��kind across multiple dimensions, and students typically represent��all 50 states and more than 100 countries. Syracuse also has a long legacy of��supporting veterans and is home to��the nationally recognized Institute for��Veterans and Military Families, the first university-based institute in the��U.S. focused on addressing the unique needs of veterans and their��families.

According to the U.S. Census Report, Syracuse’s poverty rate was the 13th worst in the country in 2016, with nearly a third of the city’s population living in poverty. Although the nation’s poverty rate fell to 12.7 percent in 2016, Syracuse’s poverty rate increased from 31 percent to 32.1 percent, with its ranking of 13th nationwide up from 29th just a year ago.

“City Limits is a year-long, multi-media civic engagement project that examines poverty in Syracuse,” says Joseph Lee, WAER director and general manager. “It blends reporting, storytelling and community convening to spark a dialogue��among individuals, organizations and community constituencies to help increase understanding of the problem and explore solutions aimed at reducing poverty in our city.”

From food insecurity, to economic development to affordable housing and more, each episode aims to challenge assumptions on poverty and highlights one of the many poverty-related issues in Syracuse, according to Lee.

The podcast series is available to listen to online at .

About Syracuse University

Founded��in 1870, Syracuse University is a private international research university��dedicated to advancing knowledge and fostering student success through teaching��excellence,��rigorous scholarship and interdisciplinary research. Comprising 11��academic schools and colleges, the University has a long legacy of excellence��in the liberal arts, sciences and��professional disciplines that prepares��students for the complex challenges and emerging opportunities of a rapidly��changing world. Students enjoy the resources of a 270-acre main��campus and��extended campus venues in major national metropolitan hubs and across three��continents. Syracuse’s student body is among the most diverse for an��institution of its��kind across multiple dimensions, and students typically represent��all 50 states and more than 100 countries. Syracuse also has a long legacy of��supporting veterans and is home to��the nationally recognized Institute for��Veterans and Military Families, the first university-based institute in the��U.S. focused on addressing the unique needs of veterans and their��families.

Associate professor����spent 25 years in the advertising business working for some of the largest and best known firms in the world before joining the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications faculty. Russell sees new ad campaigns by CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post and others as necessary in the current political and social climate.

“We live in dangerous times where for the first time in my memory we can’t agree on what truth is,” says Russell. “There are thousands of reasons for it exacerbated by the internet and social media. Prior to the internet we got our news from trained professionals and while they have always had political leanings they were just interpreting the same facts through different lenses. The internet brought the age of the ‘citizen journalist’ where anyone with a computer and camera phone could and did report news on blogs and social media. Some did a great job, but many hijacked the new medium to push their own agenda creating and spreading fake news and creating a tribal society where everyone has their own private set of facts. President Trump didn’t create this; he just used it.”

“President Trump is doing what countless dictators before him did in trying to delegitimize the media, facts, truth and news. And, he has completely succeeded with a group that looks to be about 20% of adults in the US. After being called names by a schoolyard bully for the past three years, some in the media are taking a stand and standing up for truth again. They won’t convince the 20%, but they will embolden the 80% who just want to see this childish nonsense stop. And, the message is proving good for circulation and maybe ratings.”

“The New York Times has seen some of their best growth in subscriptions. TV news viewership overall is up though it appears we are heading to our opposing corners with both FOX and MSNBC showing the greatest growth. The strategy of standing for truth has been very successful for the New York Times; it may prove to be for CNN as well.”

Syracuse University faculty are available to speak to media via phone, email, Skype, or LTN studio. Please contact Scott McDowell, executive director, regional strategic communications at��semcdowe@syr.edu��or 212-826-1449 or Ellen James Mbuqe, director of news and PR at Syracuse University, at��ejmbuqe@syr.edu��or 315.443.1897.

Jeff Glor

“Jeff is a thoughtful, probing journalist with the versatility to anchor in any circumstance—from daily reporting to the most significant events of our time,” Rhodes said in a statement. “In his more than 10 years at CBS News, Jeff has earned the trust of viewers and his colleagues. He represents the best journalistic values and traditions that will carry the Evening News into a digital future.”

Glor joined CBS News in 2007 as a correspondent, and has traveled extensively to report on some of the biggest domestic and international stories of the past 15 years. He won an Emmy Award in 2011 for a “CBS Sunday Morning” story.

Before joining CBS News, Glor was the weekend evening news anchor and a weekday reporter for WHDH-TV Boston. He began his journalism career at Syracuse’s WSTM-TV, and was named “Best Male News Anchor” by the Syracuse New Times. He earned a degree in��broadcast and digital journalism��program at the Newhouse School and in economics at the Maxwell School.

“CBS Evening News with Jeff Glor” will launch later this year.

“It is true that when the casualty list starts to be devised, the females are more likely to be on it,” Thompson said. “That’s because you’ve already got built into the equation a gender preference for male characters.”

“If there had ever been any doubt of the vital role the press plays in our democracy, that was completely dispelled by the series of scoops in the����over the past four days. The role of the press as a watchdog on governmental corruption was never more clear than in the face of relentless attacks about fake news and fake collusion. The Times exploded the year-long denials that no one in the Trump campaign or Trump administration had colluded with Russian officials in an attempt to influence the presidential election,” said Kaplan.

“The Times disclosure of the meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian attorney and the subsequent release of the email thread indicates just how vital the media is. According to CNN, even the special counsel investigating Russian collusion was only recently made aware of the meeting and had not seen the emails,” Kaplan said. “The Times’ thorough reporting was so complete that it forced Donald Trump Jr. to release the email to the public in order to get ahead of the story. But the emails themselves were so devastating that the fallout has just begun.”

Professor Kaplan is available to speak to media about this issue. He can be interviewed via email/phone/Skype/LTN studio.��Contact Ellen James Mbuqe, director of news and public relations at Syracuse University, at 315.443.1897 orejmbuqe@syr.edu, or Wendy Loughlin, director of communications at Newhouse, at 315.443.2785��wsloughl@syr.edu��to arrange an interview.

Students in Assistant Professor Lynn Greenky’s yearly Maymester course, “Political Communication Inside the D.C. Beltway,” visit the Albert Einstein Memorial on the grounds of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. The course, in which they spent a week in the nation’s capital, helps students gain the skills to better process political discourse.

With constant tumult in the nation’s capital, political communication inside the Washington, D.C., beltway has become a relentless churn of messaging, whether by press conference, sound bite or tweet—President Donald Trump’s preferred method.

How do you wade through all the noise to get to what’s relevant?

Assistant Professor Lynn Greenky’s yearly Maymester course, CRS 432/632, “Political Communication Inside the D.C. Beltway,” helps students gain the skills to better process all the political discourse and make sense of the messaging and the players.

“I want students to think about—as they receive information—who is the audience, why is the communication being directed to that audience, what’s the point, what does the communicator want the audience to believe or to do,” says Greenky, a faculty member in the ’ Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies. “It’s about thinking critically and absorbing the information, not taking things at face value.”

The class, which includes graduate and undergraduate students, involves an intensive two weeks: the first in Syracuse to study political communication theory and review some current themes, and the second week to explore firsthand the role of communications with communicators and insiders in the hotbed of D.C. politics.

Greenky, who is also an attorney, begins by having students come up with a working definition of politics and then study current events and the communications that surround them. “We look at how communication that is usually mediated—through some form of media, whether traditional or digital—affects politics and then how does politics affect mediated communication,” she says.

Lynn Greenky

During this year’s course, students discussed agenda setting and framing; reviewed case studies, such as the president’s executive action on immigration; and went through the news of the day, which during their week in Syracuse included the president’s firing of FBI Director James Comey.

Greenky also has students research communications professionals and organizations that they will be meeting with during their time in D.C.

After first visiting some sites in Washington, D.C., students met with various communications professionals to discuss their communications and examined how theory and reality match up, Greenky says. Students met with the communications director of the Republican National Committee, a former communications director of the Democratic National Committee and communications professionals in the legislature, Pentagon, State Department and private advocacy organizations. They also toured CNN.

Greenky makes sure students hear voices from both sides of the aisle. “They really get a broad base,” she says.

Hunter Thompson G’18, who was one of eight students in this year’s Maymester course, was drawn to the course because of its focus on skills, rather than solely theory, and the chance to explore the current state of politics.

“We are in a unique historic movement, and this class and the interactions we had in D.C. were always colored by the uniqueness of what is happening presently,” says Thompson, who is pursuing a master’s degree in communication and rhetorical studies. “As far as politics and media coverage goes, the rules are being rewritten due to various exigencies.”

Meeting with the various communications professions was “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Thompson says. During the time with the communicators, he quickly saw the importance of coordination for messaging and its use as a strategy.

“Coordination is when various communicators plan out what a message is and stick to it—amplifying that message,” Thompson says.��“Currently, the Republicans are having an issue with members of their party and frankly the president staying consistent with their message—as the president contradicts his staff and party frequently. This seemed to be a concern and issue that many in D.C. were working with during our trip.”

Students met with the communications director of the Republican National Committee, a former communications director of the Democratic National Committee and communications professionals in the legislature, Pentagon, State Department and private advocacy organizations. They also visited D.C. sites.

Greenky notes how communicators are kept on their toes by a president who no one expected to win and is hard to anticipate. “Democrats are shell-shocked, and even some of the Republicans are trying to find their way and keep their messaging straight in coordination with the White House—not wanting to undercut the White House but not knowing which message to embrace,” she says.

Greenky hopes the experience helps students expand their concept of what they can do with their professional careers. Many of the professionals they met are people in their 20s and 30s, and students see they are making an impact in an exciting and interesting place.

In previous years, some students come into the class without an interest in politics, but their focus changes after being part of the experience. One student at the end of the D.C. week decided to go into political communication and management, attended a campaign management program and ended up working with a firm the student had visited as part of the class.

Thompson plans to continue his education after earning a master’s degree in communication and rhetorical studies, but he could also see himself fulfilled by a career in any of the communicator roles in D.C. they explored.

“The trip experience alone provided knowledge about various skills that are important to these professions,” Thompson says. “More importantly, though, this trip was an amazing opportunity to network. Everyone we met was extremely helpful and offered to help point us in the right direction if we had an interest in moving to D.C. and working inside the political communication world. In particular, the SU alumni were some of the most gracious and helpful people.”

Upon Gallagher’s appointment, outgoing editor Kathleen Bartzen Culver wrote, “Aileen… has a true passion for what we do… I know she will continue to build the community of practice that has so inspired me throughout my time in this position.”

EducationShift was developed by MediaShift’s Mark Glaser and the Knight Foundation’s Eric Newton. Launched with a Knight Foundation grant in 2014, EducationShift aims to move journalism education forward with coverage of innovation in the classroom as journalism and communications schools around the globe are coping with massive technological change. The project includes a website; monthly Twitter chats at #EdShift; and mixers, workshops and webinars for educators.

Launched in 2006, MediaShift provides insight and analysis at the intersection of media and technology.

Gallagher is a former senior editor for New York Magazine online, where she was the recipient of several National Magazine Awards. She also led the Grub Street food blog network; the flagship site, Grub Street New York, was a James Beard Award finalist in 2010. She was a founding editor of the independent online magazine The Black Table.

She has since late 2014.

The event brings together leading scholars from the U.S. and Japan to discuss emerging questions and recent research related to Japanese film, media and culture studies. Mixing structured scholarly presentations with open-ended dialogue and exhibitions of creative work, the conference connects a range of perspectives in Japan Studies to broader dialogues in the humanities writ large.

The event is free and open to the public, and will include a catered lunch for all attendees.

Opening remarks will be given by Karin Ruhlandt, dean of the , and , event organizer and assistant professor of Japanese literature, film and culture in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics.

Featured speakers include:

• Joanne Bernardi��(University of Rochester)
• Aaron Gerow��(Yale University)
• Ogawa Hitoshi��(Yamaguchi University, Japan)
• Josh Romphf��(University of Rochester)
• Paul Roquet��(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
• Fukuya Toshinobu��(Yamaguchi University, Japan)
• Rebecca Ruige Xu��(Syracuse University)

This event is made possible by the support of the Japan Foundation, College of Arts and Sciences,�� Humanities Center, Central New York Humanities Corridor, Asian/Asian American Studies Program, College of Visual and Performing Arts, Moynihan Institute East Asia Program and the departments of Art and Music Histories; English; Languages, Literatures and Linguistics; and Philosophy.

Michael Kranish

, a national political investigative reporter for The Washington Post, will visit Syracuse University on Thursday, March 2, as a guest of the . Associate Dean Joel Kaplan will moderate a Q&A with Kranish beginning at 7 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium. Follow on Twitter at #JournalismMatters.

Kranish is the co-author of The Post’s biography “,” as well as biographies of John Kerry and Mitt Romney. He is also the author of “.”

He previously served as deputy chief of the Washington Bureau of The Boston Globe. He was awarded the Society of Professional Journalist’s award for Washington Correspondence in 2016.

Kranish graduated from Syracuse University in 1979 with a dual degree in from the Newhouse School and from the and the .

For more information about the event, contact Christi MacClurg at 315.443.1010 or mcmacclu@syr.edu.

David Buckingham

British media educator David Buckingham will speak on critical thinking in the digital media age in The Douglas Biklen Landscape of Urban Education Series at 91 Horatio in New York City Wednesday, February 15.

Buckingham, an Emeritus Professor at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, has published 30 books and 250 articles about media, young people and education. He will address the need for critical thinking about media and technology and consider whether media literacy is a sufficient response to the challenges of a “post-truth” era.

“David walks the line between illuminating critical perspective and healthy skepticism in the reading of media messages and inspiring the cultural power of human storytelling through media,” says Michael Schoonmaker, an associate professor and chair of the Department of Television, Radio and Film in the S.I. Newhouse School of Pubic Communications.

“In what he frames as ‘the post-truth’ era, Buckingham demonstrates the ever-rising importance of educating a media-literate citizenry to bring clarity, reason, and humanity to an often-misleading media environment of alternative facts and demagoguery,” Schoonmaker adds.

In 2014 Buckingham developed a teaching pack called Developing Media Literacy, published by the English and Media Centre. The pack, resulting from a four-year research project, contains an extensive set of multimedia teaching materials for use in primary schools.

Asking, “What do media learners learn to do?” Buckingham wrote, “Our focus here is on what learners need to be able to do with media—and in particular how they make meaning from and with media,” using more than just technical skills. “We’re also talking about the ability to analyze, to communicate, to express meaning, and to reflect on these things.”

He breaks this down into three components: reading, writing and context. “Reading is about interpretation, understanding, response, and critical analysis; writing is about expression, communication, and creative production. Both involve imagination, reflection, and the making of meaning,” he wrote.

“It’s important to emphasize that media education is not about reading and writing in isolation: we also need to understand the contexts in which these things take place,” he continued. “As we come to understand reading and writing in context, we look at how a given text relates to other texts, and how texts are produced, circulated and read or used by different audiences.”

(See a summary of Developing Media Literary at )

“There are few scholars who have had an impact in the field of media education than David Buckingham: author, co-author, or editor of 30 uncharacteristically approachable books along with hundreds of articles on the subject of young people, media and education,” Schoonmaker says. “Fewer still are able to bring the sleeves-up perspective to the rich and complex juxtaposition of the fields of media and education that David does as a media maker, novelist, musician, and teacher.”

The School of Education and the Newhouse School offer a joint master’s program in Media and Education, the only such program of its kind in the United States. “There could not be better time for these once-opposed fields of study to lock arms in facing challenges of the world today,” Schoonmaker says.

Since 2005 The Douglas Biklen Landscape of Urban Education Series has presented current ideas and strategies for navigating the U.S. urban education terrain. A gift from SOE Board of Visitors member Jeryl Mitchell ’81, G’83 named the series in honor of former Dean Biklen.

Buckingham’s program, “Reinventing Literacy: Critical Thinking for the Age of Digital Media,” begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m. and his speech at 6:15 p.m. at 91 Horatio Street in New York City. For more information or to R.S.V.P., contact Jennifer Russo at jhrusso@syr.edu.