CMCI students who have completed at least 12 credit hours of 兔子先生传媒文化作品 course work for a letter grade in any single semester and achieve a term grade point average of 3.75 or better are included on the dean鈥檚 list. They receive a notation on their transcript and a letter from CMCI Founding Dean Lori Bergen. Congratulations to all honorees!

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Off

By Joe Arney

If you鈥檝e taken a holiday from the news after Election Day, you鈥檙e not alone鈥攁n Associated Press poll released late last year found about two-thirds of U.S. adults were limiting their consumption of political and government news.

Experts from the University of Colorado Boulder said the troubling trend is probably driven by a combination of exhaustion and how the media covered the presidential and down-ballot campaigns.

鈥淓ven if you feel that, from a civic standpoint, you need to be more engaged, you can鈥檛 live your whole life in that hyper-excited space all of the time,鈥� said Elizabeth Skewes, an associate professor of journalism at the College of Media, Communication and Information. 鈥淚 think we need to breathe again. Yes, the next Trump presidency will affect our daily lives鈥攂ut breathlessly reading every story doesn鈥檛 help.鈥�

That wasn鈥檛 the tack many Americans took in Donald Trump鈥檚 first term. In his campaign and through the early years of his presidency, the 鈥淭rump bump鈥� in ratings and circulation gave new life to legacy media outlets. But that faded as his presidency waned, and hasn鈥檛 recovered even as he prepares to be inaugurated.

鈥淔irst of all, we鈥檝e had nine years of this coverage, and it鈥檚 never stopped,鈥� Skewes said. 鈥淭hen, we鈥檝e been through COVID, and we鈥檙e exhausted. I think people will eventually re-engage with the news, but I expect it will be at a lower level.鈥�

Reverting to an established pattern

That鈥檚 something Skewes, a former staff and freelance reporter, knows quite a bit about: Some of her earliest research looked at how the media covered U.S. presidential campaigns, especially since no one鈥攖he public, the candidates, even the reporters鈥攍iked it.

Sound familiar?

鈥淔or quite a few election cycles, we鈥檝e heard about how journalism should do this better,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut the media tend to revert to pattern鈥攖o covering whatever the outrageous thing of the day is, and the legacy media will never be able to do that as well as things like social media or podcasts, because they have less responsibility to be factually correct.鈥�

To survive, news organizations should focus on building audience, Skewes said, instead of chasing chaos. They can do that not by focusing on being first, but on providing accuracy, context and clarity in an age of confusion.

In other words, not by breaking the news, but by putting it back together.

鈥淲e need to keep fact checking, but also cover all the other stuff鈥攖hose governance stories, where quiet decisions have a huge impact on our lives鈥攊nstead of just the latest thing Trump said that is too weird to believe, like trying to buy Greenland,鈥� she said. 鈥淚nstead of letting that grab the headlines, we need serious outlets to look behind the scenes and ask what鈥檚 happening while we鈥檙e distracted with the latest unbelievable thing Trump says.鈥�

For Mike McDevitt, a professor of journalism at CMCI, everyone has an obligation to follow the news on a regular basis鈥攖hough, he said, 鈥淚 sense it鈥檚 healthy for people to tune out鈥� a polarizing figure like Trump.

鈥淏ut a related interpretation to what鈥檚 happening is that if people have internalized politics as entertainment, then it鈥檚 understandable if they tune out for more appealing types of entertainment,鈥� said McDevitt, a former editorial writer and reporter.

The long game of retraining readers

Getting consumers to understand that, though, is a long game, Skewes said鈥攐ne that will play out against the deeper-pocketed tech industry and the social media giants.

 鈥淲e need serious outlets to look behind the scenes and ask what鈥檚 happening while we鈥檙e distracted with the latest unbelievable thing Trump says.鈥�

Elizabeth Skewes, associate professor, journalism

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how we get to the point where most of the public realizes, 鈥業鈥檓 just getting stuff that is basically Twinkies for the brain, and I need to find more reliable places to get news, because accurate information matters,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a long play. We鈥檝e got to retrain people to understand the difference between news and content.鈥�

It鈥檚 a long game, but we鈥檒l have to find answers quickly, because the economics of the news business continue to flounder. In 2024, 130 newspapers closed their doors, according to the Local News Initiative from Northwestern University. That鈥檚 more than two newspapers disappearing each week.

And when reporters are no longer there to ask probing questions and search for the truth鈥攚ell, it puts a new spin on a bad news day.

鈥淲hen people aren鈥檛 paying attention to the media, the media aren鈥檛 paying attention to the thing鈥攁nd that鈥檚 when you see real changes to federal, state and local policy that dramatically change things,鈥� she said. 鈥淲ithout that accountability, it鈥檚 easier to do the wrong thing.鈥�

For all those warning lights, Skewes is hopeful that the longer-term future will be less chaotic and more civil than she expects to see in the next four years.

鈥淚 love politics鈥擨 covered it, grew up with it鈥攁nd I鈥檓 more hesitant now to even say something offbeat the political world, because I don鈥檛 know how other people are going to respond,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I think most Americans are tired of everything being so fraught. I really do believe that, eventually, things will calm down.鈥�

Off

By Hannah Stewart (Comm鈥�19)

Oliver Pollock is proof that ideas can come from anywhere.

One night, as he was drifting off to sleep, two words popped into his head: 鈥渕ayo moisturizer.鈥� He grabbed his phone, opened the notes app and wrote it down. The next day, he wrote a pitch centering the idea and presented it to his campaign team.

They loved it. And so did judges at this year鈥檚 Denver One Show competition, who awarded the campaign Best of Show and a gold medal at the award show. But 鈥�鈥� wasn鈥檛 the only winner鈥攊n fact, 兔子先生传媒文化作品 swept the student category, with 12 CMCI students earning recognition.

鈥淚t felt amazing,鈥� Pollock (StratComm鈥�24) said. 鈥淲e stayed up in the studio multiple nights grinding these campaigns out: making videos, scripts and everything as real as possible. Being recognized is so fulfilling.鈥�

An important component of CMCI classes is hands-on project work done on behalf of real-world clients and brands, giving students access to professionals and challenging them to apply their lessons in creatively solving problems. Pollock and the other strategic communication students completed these campaigns for various classes, including a portfolio course where students are tasked with taking briefs from real life clients鈥攕uch as Kraft Foods, Velveeta, Dove and NotCo鈥攁nd creating campaigns.

It鈥檚 important for students to develop relationships with their peers and professors alike when taking these portfolio classes. That鈥檚 why they鈥檙e usually taught by professors with agency experience, like Jeff Gillette, an assistant teaching professor who worked in advertising for more than 15 years.

Over the course of the semester, after rounds of ideation, feedback and refinement, students submit their campaigns to the , a national awards competition run by The One Club for Creativity. Since the college was formed in 2015, nearly 40 student projects have claimed national awards from One Club; this year, four campaigns received merit awards: 鈥淭he Beauty Inside,鈥� 鈥淒ove鈥檚 Real Beauty Database,鈥� "Mac Couture" and 鈥淐heese-mation.鈥�

鈥淚 was happy for the students because it means they will have something that will help them in their job hunt and career,鈥� Gillette said. 鈥淚n the future, we want to push students and ourselves to turn these national merits into medals. At the Denver show, I was impressed that we swept the show."

Finding inner beauty

For 鈥�,鈥� students removed the branding from packaged bars of Dove soap, opting to instead showcase artwork to the inside of the box for buyers to find.

Coco Loomis (StratComm鈥�24), who worked on 鈥淢ac Couture鈥� and 鈥淭he Beauty Inside,鈥� said she enjoyed working on the Dove campaign 鈥渂ecause it was completely driven by the art direction. One day, someone said 鈥榖eauty鈥檚 on the inside,鈥� and suggested we take that literally. It was so amazing to take conceptual ideas and put them into play.鈥�

Both " and 鈥�鈥� leaned on nostalgia to promote Velveeta and its 鈥淟a Dolce Velveeta鈥� campaign. 鈥淢ac Couture鈥� reimagined noodle necklaces made by kids in arts classes and as luxury symbols. Cheese-mation went a step further.

鈥淲e were just coming up with as many ideas as possible and thought about how we all grew up with Wallace and Gromit,鈥� said Mateo Perez-Lara (StratComm鈥�24). 鈥淲hile we were working on it, we heard about a clay shortage that threatened the studio, and we saw this shortage as a way for Velveeta to come in as a hero to save clay animation.鈥�

Of those three campaigns, 鈥淭he Beauty Inside鈥� and Cheese-Mation also won silver awards at the local Denver Awards. Loomis was also part of a gold-winning team, with Pollock, for . Pollock was also on another Dove team, the .

鈥淚t鈥檚 cool because now I鈥檓 working on Dove in my job with Edelman, in New York,鈥� Pollock said. 鈥淚n school, I was an art director, and now I鈥檓 a copywriter鈥攕o it鈥檚 a little different, but there are definitely similarities.鈥�

Loomis, an art director at Highdive, in Chicago, echoed this sentiment, saying that opportunities to compete in competitions like One Show through CMCI prepared her and her classmates for the real world.

Like in the professional world, competitions like the One Show are key for students looking to boost their resumes and prove their worth. According to Gillete, agencies and individuals alike compete to gain recognition and attract potential clients.

鈥淪imilar to agencies, students competing help CU become known as a school that can educate our students at a high level,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd if we鈥檙e known as a school that wins awards and does really good work, that helps with recruitment.鈥�

As the only participant still in the Denver area, Perez-Lara鈥攚ho just completed an internship with Fortnight Collective鈥攚as the only one of the award winners able to make it to the October awards show.

鈥淚t was a lot of fun. Being able to win something as a student and be in the spotlight was magical,鈥� said Perez-Lara, who鈥檚 looking to work in major advertising hubs when his internship concludes. 鈥淚 was fortunate enough to be with really smart, creative people, and it wouldn鈥檛 have been possible without a great mentor like Professor Gillette. I love the whole strategic communication community we were able to work with, as well.鈥�

Olivia Bransford
Andrew Elliott
Oliver Pollock

Charlotte Garrett
Coco Loomis
Oliver Pollock

Alexis Bayani
Charlotte Garrett
Coco Loomis
Dahlia Nin

Charlotte Garrett
Kelly Haworth
Oliver Pollock
Dahlia Nin

Collin Kendall
Mateo Perez-Lara
Oliver Pollock

Kate Chambers

Kate Chambers

Olivia Bransford
Jessica Lober
Coco Loomis
Cole Nelson

Off

By Joe Arney

ABC News absorbed a good deal of flak鈥攅specially from the media鈥攆or quickly settling a defamation lawsuit brought against the network by Donald Trump. But an expert at the University of Colorado Boulder鈥檚 College of Media, Communication and Information said it may be a case of playing the long game at a time when moneyed interests are scrambling to undo protections for journalists and First Amendment rights in general.

鈥淭hese types of lawsuits, where you鈥檙e looking for any possible way to attack the media鈥攊f the Supreme Court chooses to take on something like this, you could see 60-year-old precedents be overturned,鈥� said Angelica Kalika (PhDJour鈥�19), an assistant teaching professor of journalism at CMCI. 鈥淭his could fundamentally change how everyone does business, as well as the types of statements we鈥檙e allowed to publish and the types of stories we鈥檙e allowed to pursue.鈥�

The precedent Kalika is referring to, of course, is the 1964 landmark New York Times v. Sullivan decision, which set a high bar for public figures filing defamation lawsuits. In these cases, plaintiffs must prove 鈥渁ctual malice鈥� on behalf of the media. So, a news organization must have made a knowingly false defamatory statement, or make such a statement with reckless disregard of whether it is false.

鈥淲e have billionaires and well-resourced organizations and groups bringing these kinds of libel cases against the press whenever they can,鈥� she said, including Bollea v. Gawker, the case brought by pro wrestler Hulk Hogan over a sex tape partially published by Gawker Media. The case, which was partly financed by tech billionaire Peter Thiel, led to Gawker鈥檚 bankruptcy.

鈥淕oing to court involves blood, sweat and tears, and it costs a lot of money,鈥� Kalika said. 鈥淎nd with billionaires behind some of these very notable libel cases, there may be a sense that, for ABC, you might weaken future libel defenses by giving higher courts more opportunities to get involved.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the wild west, in terms of what is going to happen to speech protection in the next few years.鈥�

Course updates in real time

Kalika, who has worked as an independent journalist in addition to her academic career, principally studies alternative media鈥攅verything from hyperlocal organizations like the former Colorado Independent, a digital publication that鈥檚 now part of the Colorado News Collaborative, to how outlets like TMZ navigate legal and ethical boundaries in producing celebrity journalism.

She also teaches a class, Media Law and Ethics, that is getting fresh updates in the current political climate.

鈥淣ow, everyone becomes a broadcaster when they go online鈥攜ou鈥檙e not just liable as part of an organization,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o you need to be a mini legal scholar, essentially, to consistently keep up with your state and local laws. We can鈥檛 go into this thinking legal departments have our back, because a lot of news organizations are getting smaller, and may not have the amount of legal support they need鈥攅specially when so much is changing, and will continue to change.鈥�

 鈥淢ore than ever, we need our press to be that Fourth Estate, to give a voice to the voiceless, and to protect not only the institution, but the concept of free speech in this country.鈥�

Angelica Kalika, assistant teaching professor, journalism

Why Disney settled

Though she is not involved in the specifics of the ABC News case, Kalika has some ideas around why it settled, beyond the potential disruption to journalism that a case moving through higher courts might trigger.

鈥淔irst off, we shouldn鈥檛 be saying ABC鈥攚e should be saying Disney, because that鈥檚 who owns it,鈥� said Kalika, who interned for the company鈥檚 scripted division as a college student. 鈥淐orporations will always act in their best interest, and maybe they have a long-term agenda to not start any trouble with the incoming president,鈥� especially when Disney fought a protracted battle with Florida Republicans over the so-called 鈥淒on鈥檛 Say Gay鈥� bill.

Kalika also said Disney鈥檚 lawyers may have believed Trump鈥檚 team could prove actual malice, based on the language George Stephanopoulos used on the air. Stephanopoulos did not use the exact terms set by the jury, misrepresenting the court鈥檚 findings鈥攁n error that was not corrected in real time.

Whatever the reasoning, the effect on press freedoms is likely to be chilling, especially for the smaller, nonprofit or independent outlet Kalika closely studies. She said it鈥檚 crucial that large and well-resourced nonprofits and publications like The New York Times continue to fight to establish, and maintain, press freedoms, because 鈥渢hat protects everyone鈥檚 right to free speech. I think that is something we need to always hope, that those who have the means to fight do so.鈥�

鈥淎 movement is watching you very closely to see where and how you will trip up,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a movement of saying, your voice doesn鈥檛 matter, your critique of institutional power doesn鈥檛 matter, and we鈥檙e going to find a way to eliminate your voice. We have to be better at what we do, and smarter and more vigilant. More than ever, we need our press to be that Fourth Estate, to give a voice to the voiceless, and to protect not only the institution, but the concept of free speech in this country.鈥�

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By Hannah Stewart (Comm鈥�19)

Henley Beisert has always loved sports. In her youth, the Texas native played volleyball and basketball, and her family had season tickets to the Astros and Texans. In fact, she spent many birthdays tailgating for her favorite football team.

This love of sports led Beisert to apply to 兔子先生传媒文化作品 as an integrated physiology major, so she could pursue a career in physical therapy鈥攂ut midway through her first semester, she switched to strategic communication to study public relations. When she graduates this December, she鈥檒l be recognized as CMCI鈥檚 Outstanding Graduate.

鈥淚 got the news when I was on my way to Texas for the Buffs game,鈥� she said. 鈥淎s soon as I got off the plane, I called my family, I called my boyfriend, I told my best friend. I was so excited.鈥�

Beisert wasn鈥檛 flying to Lubbock just as a Buffs fan鈥攕ince her first year, she has been a video assistant with the football team. In this role, she films the games for the football, soccer and lacrosse teams while creating other video content, as well. 

鈥淚 literally love my job with the football team. I鈥檓 going to be so sad to leave it because it鈥檚 been one of the most fun experiences,鈥� she said.

鈥橬atural leadership鈥�

Her supervisor, Jake Drag, called Beisert 鈥渁n invaluable asset to our video team鈥� who has developed into a reliable mentor for newcomers. The work she does behind the camera, he said, creates the tape that athletes study to improve their performances on the field. 

鈥淗er natural leadership qualities and dependability have helped her thrive in being the captain of our student crew,鈥� he said.

Since she works so closely with the players, especially on the football team, she鈥檚 developed relationships with some of them, which helped her land a new position as an ambassador for the Colorado NIL Store. The store helps student-athletes earn money through their name, image and likeness; in that role, 鈥渋t鈥檚 been so fun to dabble a little more in content creation and graphic design,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a great opportunity to work with a team and the main campus to meet more people and grow my network.鈥�

Not surprisingly, her love of sports also inspired Beisert to add a sports media minor and critical sport studies certificate to her degree plan. She said using sports as a lens has changed the way she鈥檚 thought about everything from history to PR.

鈥淗aving taken at least 10 classes covering more critical aspects of sports has been really enlightening,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 can watch sports now and see the commodification of athletes. It鈥檚 been fun to have that different perspective open up, aside from just rooting for your favorite team.鈥�

Internships aplenty

But Beisert is more than just a sports fan, or a fan of sports communication. She鈥檚 a big fan of internships鈥攁nd that鈥檚 her No. 1 piece of advice for new students.

鈥淚nternships may seem like a lot, and feel stressful at times, but they鈥檙e invaluable because you grow your network and gain experience,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 fun to try so many different things.鈥�

While at CU, she has been a communications and public relations intern for companies like Sherpani, Cig Public Relations, Prim and Company, Turner and, of course, the NIL Store. She said these experiences exposed her to the array of opportunities public relations professionals can play in the real world, but were above all amazing ways to make connections.

鈥淚鈥檓 still in touch with a lot of people from my internships, and that鈥檚 so important, because you never know who might help you in the future,鈥� she said.

One person who was extremely helpful to Beisert was Erin Willis, an associate professor of strategic communication who ran the Bateman Case Study Capstone last year. Knowing that she鈥檇 graduate a semester early, Beisert chose to complete the course during her junior year, and it proved to be an unforgettable experience.

Her team was tasked with creating and executing a campaign for Culturs magazine. Together, they planned events like a Panhellenic mixer that celebrated cultural diversity and collaborated with the Boulder chapter of PRSSA to host a seminar series. Their team was ultimately recognized with an honorable mention at the national competition.

鈥淚 learned a lot more about PR through this capstone because I was actually doing it,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd Professor Willis was so helpful. Connecting with some professors can be hard in college, but the ones in CMCI have been so welcoming and want you to succeed in the real world.鈥�

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By Hannah Stewart (Comm鈥�19)

Business reporter Sarah Freishtat is no stranger to the challenges of covering transportation in a bustling city like Chicago. So when a fellow Tribune reporter forwarded her an email about a journalism award centered on transportation, submitting one of her stories was a no-brainer.

鈥淚 saw what the backstory of the award was, with Casey鈥檚 story and what her family was trying to do, and I was really inspired by that,鈥� Freishtat said. 鈥淚 really appreciated the award鈥檚 focus on transportation because it really affects people鈥檚 day-to-day lives.鈥�

Her story, explores the issue of vehicular accidents in which victims are injured and no one is charged. It also is the 2024 recipient of the Casey Feldman Award for Transportation Safety Reporting.

The reporting award honors Casey Feldman, a Fordham University journalism student who was killed by a distracted driver in 2009. It is sponsored by EndDD.org, which was created by the to end distracted driving, and by the journalism department at the University of Colorado Boulder鈥檚 College of Media, Communication and Information.

Two judges evaluated the submissions: Justin George, an editor at the Cowboy State Daily, and Chuck Plunkett,  who directs the capstone journalism program CU News Corps at 兔子先生传媒文化作品. George was formerly a transportation writer at The Washington Post, and Plunkett was formerly the editorial page editor for The Denver Post.

鈥淪arah Freishtat鈥檚 impactful story was an example of a transportation beat reporter showing unparalleled expertise, uncovering a clearly ignored failure of justice and public safety sitting right under everyone鈥檚 noses,鈥� George said.

Vehicular crashes involving pedestrians had been on her radar for some time when she heard about two separate pedestrian accidents where a youth was struck while crossing the street. One involved then-17-year-old Nakari Campbell, who spent so many weeks recovering that she celebrated her 18th birthday in a rehabilitation center. Ja鈥檒on James, 11, was crossing the street with his brother one morning when he was hit and did not survive. Neither family has discovered who was behind the wheel of the cars that changed their lives.

鈥淚 give a lot of credit to the families I spoke with, because it鈥檚 not easy to sit down and relive what is often the worst day of their lives鈥攁nd I鈥檓 deeply appreciative of them letting me into their homes and into their lives,鈥� Freishtat said. 鈥淪itting in Ja鈥檒on鈥檚 family鈥檚 living room talking to his mother and grandmother really drives home why this issue is important to talk about and why we do this.鈥�

Reporters Jennifer Gollan and Susie Neilson, of the San Francisco Chronicle, were recognized with an honorable mention for their project, which explored police chases. Their multimedia series looks into the statistics and methodology of police chases through storytelling, infographics and video footage.

Freishtat received a first-place prize of $3,000.

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By Joe Arney

If you get your headlines from NewsHour or stream Fresh Air on your ride to work, you have a little-known Colorado experiment to thank.

In the 1930s, the Rocky Mountain Radio Council wanted to reach every student working in mountain mines, to ensure they received the same public education opportunities as in Denver. The group hit on program transcriptions that could be relayed over the air鈥攂asically, pressing shellac records鈥攕o that a student working in remote Golconda Mine, in Hinsdale County, benefited from the same curriculum as his peers in Denver.

That local consortium eventually became the Public Broadcasting Service. And the focus on public education that gave it its start continues to differentiate the mission of public news networks.

鈥淚t was just by chance that I moved out here, and so I loved finding out that the inception moment for all noncommercial media was actually the mining communities,鈥� said Josh Shepperd, an associate professor of media studies at the University of Colorado Boulder鈥檚 College of Media, Communication and Information.

Last year, Shepperd published . It鈥檚 notable as the first academic attempt to present communication studies and public broadcasting as historically connected enterprises, and it comes at a time when criticism of the media鈥攅specially related to politics鈥攊s running especially hot. Shadow has since from the Broadcast Education Association and has been a finalist or runner up for prizes from four other organizations, including the American Journalism Historians Association and Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

Not necessarily better鈥攂ut different

鈥淭his book isn鈥檛 about saying one mode of media is automatically better, or that public media is perfect or a corrective to commercial media,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I do think public media is different because of its mission to provide a forum for every kind of voice.鈥�

  鈥淓veryone keeps saying public media is too state based, but commercial media seems to be much more of a mouthpiece for politicians right now.鈥�
Josh Shepperd, associate professor, media studies

That鈥檚 different from most commercial media, 鈥渨here the ethics are really tertiary to how the industry works. If there鈥檚 an audience for it, it鈥檚 good,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he idea that there is a necessity for every voice to be placed equally within a community is very important, even if I鈥檓 not sure that public media is always successful.鈥�

In some countries, 鈥減ublic media鈥� raises the specter of propaganda, like TASS or Xinhua. In the United States, PBS is insulated from such a threat, since affiliate stations don鈥檛 receive direct funding from the government.

鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 mean they aren鈥檛 political, because they are,鈥� Shepperd said. But, he said, an endless news cycle revolving around politics and partisanship has warped the relationship between government and independent media: 鈥淓veryone keeps saying public media is too state based, but commercial media seems to be much more of a mouthpiece for politicians right now.鈥�  

Spend a few minutes watching Fox News or MSNBC and you won鈥檛 disagree. For Shepperd, it鈥檚 another effect of a polarized media market 鈥渨here people think through the abstractions of their gatekeepers鈥� framing, instead of just looking at what鈥檚 in front of them in their own lives,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e allow issues of public interest to become obscured by demographic affiliations as we increasingly become categories and brands instead of people.鈥�

How we got to that point is part of Shepperd鈥檚 next project, which will examine the history of decision-making at media industries to better understand the mechanisms radio, television and digital players use to make tough calls about programming and advertising.

It鈥檚 a different thrust, but one that still hearkens back to his interest in uncovering and preserving the history of communication studies, which Shepperd called the only discipline that hasn鈥檛 completely traced its own history.

An accidental pathway

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 have a discipline that doesn鈥檛 know why it exists,鈥� he said. 鈥淯nderstanding that history gives us a sense of why we ask and answer the questions the way that we do, and helps us answer questions about the ethics of the discipline.鈥�

Shepperd got into this work almost by accident. He was studying theories around public life and civil society when a professor at the University of Wisconsin Madison, where he earned his PhD, inspired him to pursue his nascent interest in public broadcasting.

鈥淪he told me it was good to think about these ideas, but that you could actually have evidence, too,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n other words, the idea that how it works is just as fair of a question as how it should work.鈥�

He was able to put Wisconsin鈥檚 extensive archives to work for his thesis, which paved the way for the book project. Shepperd is now co-writing the official history of NPR and PBS for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

It鈥檚 fitting work, as before Shepperd dove into this subject in earnest, 鈥渘o one in the history of film and media studies or communication studies had ever asked where public media came from in scholarship,鈥� he said. Commercial media, by contrast, has been widely examined by experts and thought leaders, 鈥渁nd the idea that we wouldn't apply the same kind of investigation to the public system, I think, is an ideological issue that we need to face within communications research.鈥�

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By Joe Arney

We鈥檙e going about environmental storytelling all wrong. 

When Rachel Carson published Silent Spring in 1962, it became a rallying point for the nascent environmental movement鈥攏ot because it was a scientific book (though it is), but because of its haunting opening pages that described a town where the birds and bees had vanished, fish were gone, fruit wouldn鈥檛 blossom, and disease ran rampant.

That scene moved people to ban pesticides and rethink humanity鈥檚 role in the larger environment. But, Phaedra C. Pezzullo said, until we figure out how to tell stories about today鈥檚 environmental crises鈥攍ike plastic pollution and climate change鈥攁ll we have are data that, alone, fail to move people to action.

鈥淲hat many people are arguing is that the climate crisis is a crisis of imagination and of communication,鈥� said Pezzullo, a professor of communication and media studies at the University of Colorado Boulder鈥檚 College of Media, Communication and Information. 鈥淭he idea is, we struggle to grapple with what is the climate鈥擨 can鈥檛 touch it, I can鈥檛 see it鈥攕o how do we tell stories that empower people, instead of only getting caught up in the data?鈥�

Interdisciplinary insights

Pezzullo鈥檚 interdisciplinary approach to the problem of plastics鈥攖he science of microplastics permeating the human body and the way of explaining that crisis in a way that inspires people to demand action鈥攈as helped her see a need for a fresh approach to how we talk about such complex problems. 

It鈥檚 partly what moved her to start a podcast series, , and her most recent book, , which was published last year. The book has generated significant attention as the media struggles to cover the plastics problem; since the summer, it has won three significant prizes from the National Communication Association: a Diamond Anniversary Book Award, the James A. Winans-Herbert A. Wichelns Memorial Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Rhetoric and Public Address and, significantly, the Tarla Rai Peterson Book Award in Environmental Communication, named for a prolific scholar who Pezzullo met years ago at a conference. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 an honor to have this book recognized and affirmed by my colleagues with expertise in environmental studies, rhetoric, and across the entire field of communication,鈥� Pezzullo said.

In some ways, Beyond Straw Men and Pezzullo鈥檚 search for impactful storytelling is the kind of scholarly work that鈥檚 uniquely possible at a place like CMCI. The college was created to address the complex challenges of today鈥檚 interconnected world, which require interdisciplinary perspectives to effectively engage. 

It鈥檚 an approach that resonates with partners outside the university. In her role as director of 兔子先生传媒文化作品鈥檚 graduate certificate in environmental justice, Pezzullo has been working with Colorado鈥檚 Department of Public Health and Environment to help update its quantitative database of communities most affected by environmental damage. Undergraduates in a new class she鈥檚 teaching, Advanced Topics in Storytelling, Culture and Climate Justice, are updating story maps to help the state assess how the message it鈥檚 spreading about climate impacts local communities. 

At CMCI, expertise in 鈥榟ow to move people鈥�

鈥淭hese stories need to be assessed so they can figure out if they are empowering residents,鈥� she said. 鈥淎re they rich enough, compelling enough, moving enough? Or did we lean too hard on data that maybe is too dense for this audience? 

鈥淎nd that鈥檚 why the state would love more partnerships with people in CMCI who can help them build capacity for the storytelling component, because they spend so much of their own time in the weeds. There鈥檚 a thirst for research that understands the climate science, but also brings to the conversation an appreciation for how to think about audiences, context and how to move people.鈥� 

Part of that is finding ways to avoid confining stories about topics like pollution and climate to negative headlines, disaster movies, dystopian fiction and the like.  

鈥淲e鈥檙e getting to the point with climate justice where you have to change attitudes, beliefs and the culture, and that means you need a range of stories鈥攊ncluding comedies, as my colleagues I work with across campus have shown. We have to use a whole range of human emotions to change a culture.鈥� 

It also means those stories need broad appeal, so they aren鈥檛 just preaching to the converted. 

  鈥淭here鈥檚 a thirst for research that understands the climate science, but also brings to the conversation an appreciation for how to think about audiences, context and how to move people.鈥�
Phaedra C. Pezzullo, professor, communication and media studies

鈥淭he argument of folks who are working on climate storytelling in the industry is any film or media content created for the present or the future that does not have climate change as part of its backdrop should be considered fiction, because it is a part of life,鈥� she said.

The desperation to find the right storytelling techniques for plastics is easy to see in the endless drumbeat of bad news about plastics clogging rivers, causing floods; being burned, destroying air quality; and invading our drinking water, food supply and bodies.  But like all good stories featuring hardship, this one has a protagonist we can easily root for. 

鈥淲hat I鈥檓 interested in right now is the idea of repair,鈥� Pezzullo said. By that, she means material repair鈥攊n May, Colorado passed its third right to repair law, empowering consumers to fix, not flush, things like broken phones鈥攂ut also repairing relationships, especially in the case of well-meaning partnerships where, say, an NGO promised a solution to a plastic problem in the global south that failed. 

鈥淗ow do we have accountability, but also find a way to forgive people for mistakes?鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very challenging right now to admit that people have made mistakes, and then鈥攊f they鈥檙e willing to do the work or willing to do the repair work, forgive them.

鈥淎nd, of course, how do we repair the earth? That鈥檚 the most important question to me.鈥� 

Off

By Iris Serrano
Photos by Kimberly Coffin (CritMedia, StratComm鈥�18)

If you somehow missed the announcements about the College of Media, Communication and Information鈥檚 second annual Involvement Fair, there were two things you couldn鈥檛 miss coming from the CASE patio鈥攖he smell of fresh popcorn and the sight of bubbles floating around. 

About 200 students attended last month鈥檚 fair, which showcases many of the college鈥檚 clubs, organizations and academic opportunities, including study abroad options unique to CMCI. 

鈥淲e just want to create a space to make Adobe less overwhelming and give some creative inspiration,鈥� said sophomore Paige Michael, a strategic communication major and co-president of the club. 

Michael was eager to recruit new members to her club and be a part of an event that helps others find their place on campus.

鈥淐oming to the fair allows new students to be aware of opportunities that this college brings us,鈥� she said. 鈥淓ven if you don't have time to join every single thing, it gives you a bigger sense of belonging, knowing all the communities you can be a part of.鈥�

The event gave students opportunities to both follow their passions and discover new ones. 

鈥淏efore coming to Boulder, I knew I鈥檇 be involved in student media鈥攂ut I just found out from the tables that they do a lot of things I'm interested in,鈥� said Colby Wyatt, a first-year student majoring in media production. 鈥淚 won't be just writing articles, I'll get to work with cameras. And I get to commentate on sports and, of course, meet new people and learn new skills.鈥�

  鈥淐oming to the fair allows new students to be aware of ... all the communities you can be a part of.鈥�
Paige Michael

As a college, CMCI teaches a diverse range of skills that can be applied across different fields, such as computer science, the arts, marketing and political science. As such, the fair got visitors from different colleges at 兔子先生传媒文化作品. Lesley Vazquez, a sophomore majoring in creative technology design with a minor in media production, was among the crowd at the Adobe table. 

鈥淚鈥檓 in a design foundations class where we had to buy Adobe鈥攁nd since I have it for the year, and I want to go into a creative field where Photoshop may be used, I want to get more experience in it,鈥� Vazquez said. 

Students said they appreciated CMCI鈥檚 commitment to hosting events that help them feel at home in the college. 

鈥淎ll you have to do is walk up to the table, write your name and email on a sheet of paper, and, boom, you're in a new club,鈥� Wyatt said. 鈥淚t's nice to just have these tables out like this鈥攊t鈥檚 hard to miss and it鈥檚 an easy way to get involved.鈥� 

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By Joe Arney

Does 鈥渨oke鈥� make you broke? A new book from Tim Kuhn serves as a reminder that, while we might think of corporations as single-minded entities, they are in fact messy and complex鈥攁nd that messiness often is where innovation takes place. 

鈥淐orporations often deploy purpose to create order, to fight complexity, because we typically think of a good organization as being orderly,鈥� said Kuhn, a professor of communication at the University of Colorado Boulder鈥檚 College of Media, Communication and Information. 

鈥淧urpose tends to be seen as this device that produces similarity, produces unity, produces a setting or a culture where everybody is on the same page. And that is a fantasy.鈥�

So, when you see companies posting about pride or gun control, it doesn鈥檛 mean they鈥檝e suddenly been taken over by 鈥渨oke鈥� warriors. Rather, it鈥檚 evidence of different perspectives and new avenues of thought being pursued within a larger organization. Those can produce more humane workplaces and foster innovation鈥攚hich, together, can be healthy for the bottom line, Kuhn said in the book, .

Corporate purpose, Kuhn said, has often been framed as either producing profits or following principles. 鈥淪ome versions of purpose can be a claim for morality, for your business to stand for more than shareholder maximization,鈥� he said. 

But believing corporations are only a single thing means 鈥渨e鈥檙e missing an opportunity to understand their complexity and how they effectively serve a wide variety of purposes,鈥� he said. 鈥淪aying that corporations just want profits, full stop, is perhaps way too simple, and does an injustice to both businesses and the good people who work in them.鈥�

鈥楧ysfunction鈥� as a business driver

For businesses to pursue both purpose and profit鈥攖o walk and chew gum at once鈥攊s a good thing, because being open to multiple outcomes can help companies develop new lines of business. Chasing the idea that an organization must choose a single form of value often creates the dysfunctions managers think they need to neutralize. 

  鈥淧urpose tends to be seen as this device that produces similarity, produces unity, produces a setting or a culture where everybody is on the same page. And that is a fantasy.鈥�
Tim Kuhn, professor, communication

By way of example, Kuhn鈥檚 book mentions Coinbase, which operates a cryptocurrency exchange platform. In 2020, as social tensions heated up from the pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement and a charged pre-election climate, CEO Brian Armstrong said there would be no political conversations permitted on workplace channels. 

鈥淎nd, as you can imagine, employees revolted,鈥� Kuhn said. 鈥淓mployees said, 鈥楾his company is about shaking up the way the world works. Politics is core to who we are.鈥欌�� 

Coinbase offered severance to employees who left over the policy, and while the business was private at the time, making it hard to evaluate impact, Kuhn said this was an opportunity lost. 

鈥淲hat if you thought of strategy not as an attempt to create unity and a simple trajectory for your firm?鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat if you thought of strategy as developing from the many possibilities for our future鈥攖he many voices that made up the organization? What new practices, what appeals to new audiences, might have emerged from that?鈥�

Leaders, Kuhn said, 鈥渟hould be less fearful of conversations that stray from our predetermined purpose or strategy, and instead foster conversations that develop emergent, perhaps unanticipated, practices that could be considered part of our complex organization.鈥�

Exit strategies

That sort of adaptability is crucial for corporations charged with innovating amid change and competition. Unfortunately, they don鈥檛 always get there. As part of his research, Kuhn observed a high-tech incubator in action. While the entrepreneurs housed there had big ideas about disruption, the accelerator鈥檚 model was laser-focused on exit strategies for the startups, as that鈥檚 where their money came from. 

鈥淭hat makes sense, in that we often think that鈥檚 the only way corporations think about value,鈥� Kuhn said. 鈥淏ut as I spoke with many of these startups, they were interested in a variety of other forms of value. Many wanted to fight the corporate machine, were really interested in civic values or just wanted to do something technologically cool, whether it paid off or not.鈥� 

Instead, he said, they were pushed to sell out in ways that didn鈥檛 always make sense for the long-term viability of their companies, 鈥渁nd it was telling for me that there was a corporation鈥攖he accelerator鈥� that was doing the pushing鈥攁 form of communicative capitalism that was making these nascent firms into something they didn鈥檛 want or need to be.鈥�

The book is a collection of theoretical deep dives into how communication, purpose and authority intersect, but there are plenty of practical takeaways for leaders looking for an edge in innovation.

鈥淥rganizations are these conglomerations of humans, practices, places, things, passions, times, histories and so on,鈥� Kuhn said. 鈥淚f managers think their proclamations will directly produce the outcomes they want, they are probably not long for their positions. Because nothing is that simple.鈥�

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