Category Archives: Faculty News

Former CBS executive Jim McKairnes named Verizon Chair in Global Broadband and Telecommunications

By jcronin | Published: May 10, 2013

Television producer and consultant Jim McKairnes has been named the Verizon Chair in Global Broadband and Telecommunications at Temple University’s School of Media and Communication.

McKairnes, who graduated from Temple in 1982 with a journalism degree, is a 23-year veteran of the television industry, including 15 years at CBS.

As the Verizon Chair, McKairnes will host the Verizon Symposium on Global Broadband and Telecommunications in spring 2014. Also, he will teach two classes each semester in the 2013-14 academic year, conduct independent studies and serve as consultant to the Department of Media Studies and Production internship director to help foster … Read more »

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Survey: Race in the news class develops savvy media consumers

By jcronin | Published: April 1, 2013

For 16 years, students have participated in an open and frank online dialogue in Professor Karen M. Turner’s “Race and Racism in the News” class. But only now has she realized its lasting impact.

Turner surveyed 66 Temple alumni who took the class between 1997 and 2010 and, through their responses, has found the lessons she taught are still put to use in their personal and professional lives. (During that time frame, 285 people received final grades. From that group, Turner contacted the 102 alumni who had a current email address in Temple’s database.)

The online course is taught in … Read more »

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StratComm professor examines how sharing stories heals after tragedy

By jcronin | Published: March 22, 2013

Strategic Communication Assistant Professor Kaibin Xu’s article entitled “In the wake of the Wenchuan earthquake: The function of story-sharing in rebuilding communities in the quake disaster zone, ” has been published in Asian Journal of Communication, Volume 23, Issue 2, 2013.

This study investigated the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake survivors’ communication practices in two communities in Beichuan during summer 2009, focusing on survivors’ sharing of earthquake stories.

Four major purposes were identified in quake survivors’ narratives:

memorializing loved ones and the past
clarifying conflicting emotions
reappraising reality and life values
rebuilding community

This study suggests that sharing such stories serves … Read more »

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Professor Trayes donates photography to support SMC scholarships

By jcronin | Published: March 20, 2013

EdTrayes.com will benefit photojournalism and MJ students.

For roughly an hour each day, light seems to come alive at the bottoms of some of Arizona’s slot canyons. Revealed in stunning, yet often subtle colors, are unearthly details of these geographic wonders.

It’s a sight most will never experience—one of the reasons Journalism Professor Ed Trayes once climbed deep inside the canyons to capture such moments with his camera.

“The trick was to never get the sky in the photograph, because that would blow everything out,” Trayes says, subconsciously giving a lesson as he talks about his work. “What you try … Read more »

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SMC faculty, students to present at ICA conference

By jcronin | Published: February 26, 2013

Eleven faculty and students from the Temple University School of Media and Communication will present at the International Communication Association conference in London June 17-21. They are:

SMC faculty:

Deb Cai, “Culture and Intercultural Experience as Predictors of Decision-Making Styles”

Jan Fernback, “Copyright and Digital Piracy”

Matthew Lombard, “Diverse Perspectives on Presence and Telepresence: An Introduction”

Patrick Murphy, “Media and the Politics of the Earth”

Donnalyn Pompper, “Outnumbered Yet Still on Top, but for How Long? Theorizing about men working in the feminized field of public relations in the U.S.” (Winner, best paper in the

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CJR asks journalism prof why women’s issues end up in the Style section

By jcronin | Published: February 21, 2013

In a Columbia Journalism Review article, Sarah Jaffe, JOUR ’09, discusses the placement of women’s issues and why they sometimes end up in the Style section.

It helps to look at the history of the Style section, says Journalism Professor Carolyn Kitch. In the 1890s, New York World published the first “Women’s Page,” the forerunner of the Style section. There, newspapers covered food, fashion, parenting and the beginnings of the women’s movement.

Click here to read the full story. … Read more »

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SMC speaker series to showcase media and communication research

By jcronin | Published: February 13, 2013

The School of Media and Communication is launching a new speaker series to showcase its commitment to research and intellectual inquiry.

SMC Spring Speakers, which Patrick Murphy, associate dean for research and graduate studies, hopes will become a tradition at the school, will feature academics from Temple and other institutions.

“As a new school, we really want to celebrate research by inviting in top scholars in the field of media and communication from other institutions, as well as highlighting the work of our own faculty,” Murphy says.

The speaker series will be held in Annenberg Hall from February through April. … Read more »

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Prof. Pompper article earns NCA award

By jcronin | Published: February 5, 2013

Strategic Communication Associate Professor Donnalyn Pompper received the 2012 PRIDE Award from the National Communication Association’s Public Relations Division for Best Published Article for its innovation, development and educational achievement in Public Relations Scholarship, (“‘Cheap labor’ speaks: PR adjuncts on pedagogy and preparing Millennials for careers”), which was published as part of a special issue on “Public Relations Pedagogy” in Public Relations Review, 37(5), 456-465. … Read more »

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Fewer Super Bowl advertisers spilling the beans before the big game

By jcronin | Published: January 29, 2013

By Jeff Cronin
jcronin@temple.edu

In the world of television commercials, the Super Bowl had always been like Christmas morning. Advertisers worked in secret, creating big, splashy television spots to wow the millions upon millions of people watching the big game.

“It used to be that the Super Bowl was the big reveal,” says Joe Glennon, assistant professor of advertising in Temple University’s School of Media and Communication.

In the past few years, Super Bowl advertisers have been trying to figure out how best to use the Internet to add to their campaigns.

“Last year, you probably saw 80 percent of the … Read more »

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Journalism’s Prof. Harper analyzes media accuracy in Washington Times piece

By jcronin | Published: January 21, 2013

In the days since it was revealed that Notre Dame football player Manti T’eo’s girlfriend never actually existed, along with a few other factual speed bumps in other news items, journalists have had time to reflect on the importance in accuracy in reporting.

“Each example here undermines the credibility of all journalists. That’s about the only significant aspect for a journalist’s reputation. And the public ranks journalists as among the least credible people in the U.S.,” Harper says.

Click here to read the full story. … Read more »

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