faculty

John Oliver segment on public media gets major assist from CMDI

Joe Arney — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 18:13:50 +0000

John Oliver segment on public media gets major assist from CMDI Joe Arney Tue, 11/18/2025 - 11:13

Joe Arney

Host John Oliver introduces his show while the cover of Josh Shepperd's book is shown onscreen. Shepperd's work on the history of public media helped inform an episode on the federal government's dramatic cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Photo courtesy HBO.

When Josh Shepperd first discovered his research interest—the historical connection between the origins of communications research and public broadcasting—he was a University of Wisconsin graduate student eager to find his voice in the academic community

Today, that voice is carrying in directions he never could have imagined, with his work prominently featured in the season finale of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, on Sunday night.

“My work is explicitly focused on democracy and media,” said Shepperd, associate professor of media studies at �� Boulder’s College of Communication, Media, Design and Information. “The idea that there is interest in preserving the different types of ways that institutions, agencies and people try to build and maintain infrastructure for access and recognition is core to my research.”

As far as late-night comedies go, Oliver’s show consistently scores high marks from critics for its humor, as well as the deep dives it does on controversial topics, which this season included sports betting, presidential libraries, A.I. slop and deportations.

Shepperd consulted with the Last Week Tonight team over the course of two months, culminating in a timely episode about the federal government’s drastic cuts to public media.

“You put in these long hours in the archives with the hope that people will consider the historical context of what you’re saying, and use that context to inform the decisions we make today.”

Josh Shepperd, associate professor, media studies

Oliver’s monologue was a thorough overview of topics raised by Shepperd’s work; the producers even used the cover of his book, Shadow of the New Deal: The Victory of Public Broadcasting, as an on-screen graphic during the show.

“I think Oliver and his group learned about the book through the press I’ve been doing for the book, because a lot of folks at the show have close ties and sympathies with the public media sector,” Shepperd said.

Shadow of the New Deal is notable as the first academic attempt to present communication studies and public broadcasting as historically connected media reform enterprises. It was published in 2023, at a time when uncertainty about public media’s future—not to mention poisonous criticism of journalism in general—was growing. Shadow has since won the Book Award 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.

The book led to press at close to 50 media outlets, including an interview with the influential NPR show On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti, a Q&A with The Chicago Tribune, as well as a feature by Harvard University’s Nieman Journalism Lab over the past several months.

“What I like about the book being continually recognized is that it gives this research the opportunity to resonate beyond historians,” Shepperd said. “You put in these long hours in the archives with the hope that people will consider the historical context of what you’re saying, and use that context to inform the decisions we make today.”

Since he provided so much context for the show’s team, Shepperd was asked to recommend the names of other influential voices working in this space. Among those he listed was Willard Rowland, dean emeritus of the former School of Journalism and Mass Communication, which became CMDI a decade ago.

“I appreciate that CMDI is willing to steward humanistic work that explores democracy and media questions from a historical lens,” he said. “Historical research reveals a lot—but it takes a lot of time to do, and few communication schools have historians who ask these questions from that perspective.”

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

When Last Week Tonight wanted to talk about cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, its researchers called communication historian Josh Shepperd.

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10 for 10: Notable newsmakers

Amanda J. McManus — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 06:11:51 +0000

10 for 10: Notable newsmakers Amanda J. McManus Thu, 11/13/2025 - 23:11

Because of the multidisciplinary nature of their work—and their fearlessness in confronting the biggest problems—CMDI faculty are regularly featured in local and national media. Here are 10 times over the past decade when major news outlets have featured our faculty.

The New Republic: Nathan Schneider wrote an essay on the Slow Food movement, arguing a slow computing approach could repair our experiences with technology. May 19, 2015.
The Denver Post: Chris Vargo studied Twitter data to see how vaccine misinformation spread and took hold in particular American communities. Sept. 27, 2017.
The Washington Post: Angie Chuang wrote an op-ed on the problems her race and journalism class tries to solve, and the struggle businesses like Starbucks have faced in confronting them. June 13, 2018.
Forbes: Casey Fiesler sat for a Q&A on the need for ethics in the technology industry, particularly social media. Jan. 14, 2021.
The Guardian: Elizabeth Skewes talked about her research on whether news media covering school shootings influences future acts of violence. May 12, 2023.
Scientific American: Leysia Palen talked about the dangers of information isolation during disasters that knock out telecommunications services. Sept. 11, 2023.
KUNC/NPR: Josh Shepperd talked about the history and influence of public media, especially amid great economic change in the journalism industry. April 10, 2024.
The New York Times: Following the publication of her most recent book, on romance writing, Chris Larson explained the circumstances behind the breakup of Romance Writers of America. July 24, 2024.
The Associated Press: Erin Willis was interviewed about her work on patient influencers and the language used in pharmaceuticals advertising. Nov. 14, 2024.
Denver7 (ABC): Jed Brubaker discussed the launch of the Digital Legacy Clinic and the need to proactively manage our digital footprints before we die. Dec. 11, 2024.

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Band together

Amanda J. McManus — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 22:14:09 +0000

Band together Amanda J. McManus Tue, 11/11/2025 - 15:14

Joe Arney

What role does CMDI play in the university chancellor’s vision for an institution that leads on sustainability? From left, faculty experts Phaedra C. Pezzullo, Caitlin Charlet, Hong Tien Vu and Morgan Young explored that question from their different areas of expertise. The group was photographed at the tree office, which was built by environmental design students and installed on the �� Boulder campus in 2016. Photos by Kimberly Coffin.

Phaedra C. Pezzullo is a professor of communication and director of the Sustainability and Storytelling Lab. She is an expert on communication’s role in shaping and influencing environmental and climate justice movements.

Caitlin Charlet is an associate teaching professor of environmental design, specializing in regenerative architecture and urban ecologies. Her research is situated at the experimental intersection of transformative design strategies, biogenic materials and the built environment.

Hong Tien Vu is the director of the Center for Environmental Journalism at CMDI. His work examines journalism and communication practices in addressing global challenges, from environmental degradation to societal inequalities.

Morgan Young has decades of experience in branding, strategy and creative execution—including managing campaigns about, and clients working in, sustainability. He is an associate teaching professor of advertising at the college.

�� Boulder Chancellor Justin Schwartz has been clear that he expects Colorado’s flagship university to be a leader in sustainability. But what does “sustainability” even mean? How do we get there without becoming discouraged? And in the current political and social moment, how do we advocate for the steps needed to advance sustainability?

At the time of this conversation, Hong Tien Vu—an associate professor of journalism and director of the Center for Environmental Journalism—was so new to the college that most of his belongings were still in boxes after relocating from the University of Kansas to CMDI. But he has a long track record of doing environmental journalism, so we threw him into the deep end with three faculty experts who have been doing sustainability long before it became a buzzword—whether directing ad campaigns, being mindful of building materials or podcasting about plastics.

This conversation was edited for length and clarity.

Vu: I’d like to start by asking each of you about sustainability, and how you define it.

Pezzullo: I’m a little nerdy about the definition of sustainability. There’s a new edition of my textbook out now, and we literally have a boldfaced definition I make my students memorize. So, for me, sustainability is the capacity to negotiate environmental, social and economic needs and desires for current and future generations.

Charlet: I rarely use the word “sustainability,” actually. There needs to be something regenerative—not just sustainable—in how we build and design. I’m interested in the long-term cultivation of regenerative relationships, in terms of materials, ecosystems and communities. For most of human history, we’ve built with what we’ve been able to grow locally, and it’s been able to go back into the earth. There was care for the environment, animals and humans. That changed with the Industrial Revolution.

Young: I come at this from a different perspective. Advertising and branding is both a leader and a follower in society. And at this moment, the industry is more of a follower, as people try to figure out what’s going on in this administration.

Pezzullo: I think, interestingly, that the ambiguity Caitlin was talking about, around the term “sustainability,” works well in this moment. It’s not a banned word, because we could be talking about anything. We could be talking about, for instance, economic sustainability.

There’s no reason why CMDI can’t be a leader in sustainability, particularly with the incorporation of environmental design."

Morgan Young, associate teaching professor

Vu: That’s an interesting point. I’d like to hear more from you all on what you’re seeing in the world as it relates to those organizations and sustainability.

Young: One example: I’ve done a lot of work with General Motors; in fact, I was the first person to make a commercial for an electric vehicle. It was the Chevy Volt, and it was their first ad talking about a sustainable future. And, in my classes, we do projects on how brands can create extensions to existing product lines. How can we use sustainability as a marketing tool to reach people who will respond positively to that information?

Pezzullo: I think it’s important to note that over the summer, �� Boulder transitioned away from all single-use plastics in beverage bottles on campus. It’s a great sustainability story, because it’s a tangible difference in our everyday lives that was made systemically, following the wisdom of the growing climate justice movement.

Charlet: I’ve been working on a documentary to collect the stories of how women have used collaboration as a foundation to run material science departments in academic settings, and work toward scalable alternative material solutions—and to show how they will have a major impact in changing our built environment.

Pezzullo: Collaboration is the only way to get things done for systemic change. Otherwise, you just have individuals, which isn’t enough to generate impact. In my work with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, we co-create story maps of the five most-polluted communities in Colorado. And working with those communities—instead of just about them or at them—creates better outcomes for public participation.

Charlet: Oh, I agree. Individual behavior won’t solve this problem. How do we educate a generation of architects and designers to choose better materials? That’s a radical notion for an architecture school. And the choices they make in building things will have a larger impact, because the construction sector is responsible for so much destabilization—humans, animals and topographies—and carbon emissions. There is no one solution, but biogenic and regenerative architecture and design is a basis for a scalable, forward-looking model.

Vu: We talked about how to define sustainability earlier, but Morgan, I wonder if you can talk about challenges you have faced in working with brands and avoiding overuse of the term, so they’re not accused of greenwashing.

Young: The reality is, even some of the brands we think of as being best for the environment are greenwashing. And as an advertising person, we’re not so deep into the business that we can look at their entire supply chain and influence that. If you hire someone like me, I’m going to focus on the best things to accentuate for a specific target audience—but what we’re missing is the rest of that chain that doesn’t have that positive impact. And in advertising, we have to be careful not to get in front of our skis and pretend a client is someone they’re not.

Vu: So that’s kind of mobilizing companies. Phaedra, I know you’ve done a lot in terms of initiatives that mobilize communities. Can you share some of the challenges you’ve faced there?

Pezzullo: Well, there’s a reason I use the word “sustainability” in my lab—I was launching it knowing the administration was going to ban words. I was set up to work with the Environmental Protection Agency’s environmental justice office, and the week I was supposed to present to them, they sent me an email and said the department was being shut down. Part of what’s exciting about this campus and the Boulder community is that we’re not giving up on our values.

Young: To build on that, on this campus, we are different. I had 13 students with me in London for a month, and we were really struck by the complete absence of reusable water bottles there. They don’t have their Yetis or their Hydro Flasks like we do in Colorado. The point I’m trying to make is, much of the world is not there with us.

Vu: We’ve brought up current events a couple of times now. I wonder if we could talk about what the shift in public perception around sustainability has meant for your students, or the way you teach.

Young: A lot of my students are very business-minded. Some want to do advertising for the Environmental Working Group, the League of Conservation Voters or Earthjustice. But some would rather work for Chevron, Sephora or a fashion brand, like Kith. So, my goal is to create a student who can do external communications that show sustainability is good business.

Pezzullo: I think one of our biggest challenges, in communication, is A.I., which has radically changed our classrooms and what we understand labor to be—for creative content makers, for storytellers and for people just doing research. This generation is going to need to rise to the challenge of whether A.I. can become sustainable.

Charlet: I love this question. I’ve taught a design course where I challenge students to create a resilient ecological strategy for urban design with A.I. And the biggest thing that they learn is that it’s really hard to design with A.I.—it’s a tool like others already in use in architecture. It isn’t magic. In parallel to that, I ask them to consider the environmental detriment of using A.I.—not only the energy use, but the building facilities themselves. What impact do they have on communities? Where do the materials come from? Considering those two aspects of A.I. in parallel is really important for them to think about.

Vu: Caitlin, is that what students are looking for, from the standpoint of their career paths?

Charlet: Architecture is often seen as an exciting, but inherently safe, choice for students. It rests somewhere between the creativity of art and the challenges of engineering—so it’s a middle ground, and a respected profession. And I think the students come in with confidence, knowing they will be able to get a job. In terms of environmental design, there’s such a movement toward regenerative and biogenic architecture now, and the reuse and recycling of materials within buildings. There are a lot of firms with research departments that our students feel very comfortable and very prepared to go right into, and work on certifications like LEED, WELL and Passive House.

Young: I already mentioned advertising is more of a follower than a leader right now, but oftentimes, advertising is a reflection of society, as well. Right now, we see companies pulling back and hiding on sustainability issues. There are good companies—Patagonia, Outside magazine—that will continue to stand up and fight. But those that are more about their bottom line will let go of their sustainability programs to keep making money. This is where we have to work with our students, to show them these companies don’t have a moral high ground and will change with whatever the environment is in order to look good. But—is this important to all our students? I’m not sure, en masse, that they’re much more focused on sustainability than past generations were.

Pezzullo: There are lots of reasons to be alarmed and depressed, and I’m Italian American, so I can have, like, 100 emotions in five minutes. But I do have hope. You know, when South Park started—it was written by two �� Boulder grads, you know—

Young: Yes! I went to college with them.

Pezzullo: That’s right, so you know they began South Park making fun of climate change, saying Al Gore believes in this thing called ManBearPig, and there’s no such thing. But South Park has, over time, recognized climate change does happen, and they even apologized to Al Gore. It’s important to remember that attitudes change, and we can shape public opinion in creative ways.

There needs to be something regenerative—not just sustainable—in how we build and design.”

Caitlin Charlet, associate teaching professor

Vu: Let me ask one final question. After listening to your colleagues, what’s one thing you’re inspired to explore?

Charlet: I’m inspired by and appreciate the chance to learn more about my colleagues’ work. Especially advertising—that’s a field I’ve never delved into. How might that impact the field I’m working in? Does it pertain to architecture firms and how they forefront buildings and construction ethics? Is there a measurable impact?

Pezzullo: That’s what I love about being part of a college like this—the opportunities to publish, edit, co-author or just talk to people in so many different disciplines. So, when we have a challenge like sustainability, we approach it from a more systemic, holistic perspective. We all bring different experiences from the institutions and companies and communities we’ve worked with.

Young: I think this college is in a rapid growth trajectory. We are very well positioned to have a big impact on the next generation—specifically, A.I. I’m inspired by people like Caitlin, who are already building A.I. into their syllabi, because I don’t have a handle on how A.I. will be incorporated into our academics. But I am worried about intellectual property rights around it—specifically related to advertising, but also areas like architecture, design and communication. Our college needs to tackle that—it’s a great opportunity for us to become a leader within that sector, because right now, nobody has a handle on it.

Vu: So, can CMDI be a leader in sustainability communication?

Young: Absolutely. I think our students are more concerned about this matter than those at other universities. There’s no reason why CMDI can’t be a leader in sustainability, particularly with the incorporation of environmental design.

Pezzullo: I absolutely agree with you, Morgan. It’s not that we don’t know the science, or what’s wrong, or what we could do to have a more sustainable future. It’s that we have to find ways to bridge differences, and that’s a strength of ours. With our expertise across a wide range of human expression, I really believe CMDI has a strong role to play in sustainability in the future.

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

Photographer Kimberly Coffin graduated from CMDI in 2018 with degrees in media production and strategic communication.

When it comes to sustainability, individual actions aren’t enough. The same is true for how we look for solutions, so we asked a group of CMDI experts how collaboration might save the day.

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Illustration by Dana Heimes

Coloring outside the mines

Regan Widergren — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 00:27:14 +0000

Coloring outside the mines Regan Widergren Thu, 11/06/2025 - 17:27

Joe Arney

When you represent the interests of an industry like mining, you’re bound to make a few enemies.

In the case of PDAC—the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada—an increasingly sharp thorn in its side is a collective, Beyond Extraction, that finds creative ways to disrupt the mining group’s annual convention.

Its latest salvo? A coloring book that shows children a less-sanitized view of mining’s environmental impact than the industry acknowledges.

“All our projects seek to counter something PDAC is doing,” said Zannah Mae Matson, an assistant professor of landscape architecture at CMDI. A previous campaign, she said, involved creating an audio tour of the minerals exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum, in Toronto, that drew attention to mining’s labor and environmental calamities.

For the coloring book, Beyond Extraction took aim at PDAC’s educational wing, Mining Matters, which builds lesson plans to extend the industry’s ideology into Canadian schools. Mining Matters also creates coloring books featuring kid-friendly characters who show that when mining companies complete operations, “they remediate everything, and everybody’s happy—the water’s clean, the trees are fine,” Matson said. “Whatever.”

The title Beyond Extraction selected for its book, What It Takes, counters Mining Matters’ message—that mines give jobs, technology, bicycles and so on. The project argues that the industry doesn’t give those things without cost. It explains technical concepts like free-entry staking and labor exploitation in ways that allow teachers and caregivers to start conversations with kids about adverse impacts of mining.

Simplifying the message

“The biggest challenge was simplifying,” Matson said. “The illustrations had to be colorable and fun, and the message had to be approachable.”

The book is not about ending mining; rather, it offers a more complete picture of mining’s human and environmental impacts. That’s crucial as the industry positions itself as a champion of the sustainability movement, since the metals miners unearth help power alternatives to fossil fuels.

“We don’t live in a world where nothing needs to be taken out of the ground—but there is this false dichotomy that if you don’t like mining, then you love oil,” Matson said. “We can’t fall into this trap of believing we all bear the same responsibility for mining because we all use a laptop computer.”

Instead, she said, we need to introduce lower levels of consumption while holding companies accountable to higher standards.

We need to create higher levels of standards to hold companies accountable, and introduce lower levels of consumption.”

Zannah Mae Matson, assistant professor

The Beyond Extraction collective has released a coloring book, which Zannah Mae Matson co-illustrated, in five languages. Its message is designed to disrupt the work mining organizations do to influence curricula and position themselves as champions of sustainability. Photos by Kimberly Coffin.

“As someone who’s been researching mining for a long time, and seeing how these companies cover up the problems they cause, I have serious doubts they will be the heroes of a green, more just future,” she said.

Matson’s research investigates how infrastructure impacts communities and the environment. That might mean what a road system in Colombia indicates about its colonial history, or how mining operations create lasting damage to nearby communities. It’s work that takes her around the globe but is especially prevalent in her native Canada, which has worldwide mining operations.

That’s a key reason Beyond Extraction is translating the coloring book into different languages. It launched last year, but this spring, translations into American English, French, Spanish and Portuguese came online—countering Mining Matters’ multilingual approach, which also has editions in Indigenous languages, like Inuktitut.

“It’s so problematic that these materials are presented in the languages of people that the mining industry has dispossessed,” Matson said.

The collective hopes to translate its coloring book into Dene, Inuktitut and Cree, but for now, it’s too costly for Beyond Extraction’s budget activism. The book relied on volunteer members’ expertise in media studies, landscape architecture and beyond; Matson also was one of two illustrators.

Like many researchers, Matson is used to collaboration. Beyond Extraction, she said, is next level.

“When you’re facing such complex problems, you need collective ways of resisting them and finding answers,” she said. “It’s nice to know you’re not alone, and feel your work is rising to meet those challenges.”

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

Photographer Kimberly Coffin graduated from CMDI in 2018 with degrees in media production and strategic communication.

Mining companies are positioning themselves as heroes in the transition to sustainability. A coloring book illustrated by a CMDI professor is throwing shade on the idea.

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Building a case for A.I.

Regan Widergren — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 23:42:53 +0000

Building a case for A.I. Regan Widergren Thu, 11/06/2025 - 16:42

Joe Arney

Sandra Ristovska in the Wolf Law courtroom. Ristovska is spending the academic year at Stanford’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences as she fleshes out her research into visual evidence and the U.S. justice system. Photo by Kimberly Coffin.

I am surrounded by people who are at the top of their fields, working in areas like artificial intelligence, democracy and equality, immigration, the environment. It’s incredible.”

Sandra Ristovska

The first day of classes at �� Boulder this fall was also the day Sandra Ristovska got the keys to her office—or study, as such spaces are known at Stanford University’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences.

Unsurprisingly, she sounds much like a new student herself, excited about having so much to look forward to and full of energy and enthusiasm about what awaits her. (Like a new �� student, she’s quick to gush about the views, which in her case include forests, palm trees and dramatic overlooks of Silicon Valley.)

“I am surrounded by people who are at the top of their fields, working in areas like artificial intelligence, democracy and equality, immigration, the environment. It’s incredible,” said Ristovska, associate professor of media studies and director of the college’s Visual Evidence Lab.

Being selected as a fellow to the center is a high honor. Among its alumni, CASBS counts a host of Nobel, Pulitzer and MacArthur winners, along with such luminaries as Ruth Bader Ginsburg and George Shultz, U.S. secretary of state under Ronald Reagan.

Just being included in such company would be distinguished enough, but at the outset of the yearlong residency, Ristovska learned she was awarded the Leonore Annenberg and Wallis Annenberg Fellowship in Communication at CASBS.

It’s a full-circle moment for Ristovska, who earned her PhD from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania; she said it was “very meaningful and very special” to get an endowed fellowship from the family.

CASBS is renowned for providing a home for scholars engaged in pioneering research into complex contemporary problems. The interdisciplinary nature of each class of fellows encourages the kinds of stimulating conversations that help push researchers outside their niches and make broader connections to major societal challenges.

Ristovska is counting on that cross-pollination to help her in drafting her next book, tentatively titled Deepfaking Images, which will offer a legal and social history of the use of technology to manipulate evidentiary media.

New twist on an old problem

Although the use of generative A.I. to distort real images, or cook up fake videos, is certainly a contemporary challenge—the Visual Evidence Lab is examining this topic in depth—it’s just the latest tool in a problem going back more than a century. For instance, video can be sped up or slowed to distort its meaning, while photo manipulation is as old as photography itself.

What interests Ristovska about the use of visual assets in court is what such evidence indicates about access to justice.

“Oftentimes, the best-resourced party has the language and ability to use or challenge this type of evidence when it’s presented against them—or to hire videographers or software experts to present such evidence in the first case,” she said. “In criminal cases, this tends to tilt the scales in the prosecution’s favor.”

Published works of CASBS fellows are permanently stored in the center’s Tyler Collection; when completed, Ristovska’s book will be among them. It’s fitting, since already her work is benefiting from interactions with other fellows.

“We have lunch every day with the other fellows, and of course we all ask each other what it is we do,” she said. “It’s invigorating to tell people about my work, hear their excitement about it and also listen to their ideas for how the different things they focus on might get me to think differently about my book.”

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

Sandra Ristovska’s research into video evidence and deepfakes is getting further refined during a prestigious fellowship at Stanford.

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#Jailbreak

Regan Widergren — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 23:22:43 +0000

#Jailbreak Regan Widergren Thu, 11/06/2025 - 16:22

Joe Arney

Illustration by Dana Heimes

A decade ago, when Ian J. Alexander first became interested in studying the U.S. carceral system, imprisonment was a less visible, but by no means unimportant, field of research.

Since then, we’ve had “lock her up,” Alligator Alcatraz and National Guard deployments in American cities.

“Like many people who study systems of structural oppression, I wish my research was less relevant,” Alexander said. “But beyond just the massive expansion of ICE, there’s a larger question around what social and political function prisons serve—and what the state is saying about itself through its carceral system.”

Alexander is interested in studying the histories of media technologies to make sense of political dynamics in the present. Right now, that means looking at the moments these tools including radio, television, phones, smartphones and tablets, and video visitation—were introduced into U.S. prisons and jails.

“Media have never been introduced into prisons by accident,” Alexander said. “Instead, it is a very intentional, central aspect of carceral management and operation.”

Alexander, an assistant professor of media studies, joined CMDI in the fall from Carnegie Mellon University, where he was a visiting assistant professor. His research into media in prisons started while he was pursuing his PhD at New York University, and grew out of some of the advocacy work he was doing, such as tutoring people who were imprisoned and trying to stop the expansion of prisons in the city.

Media technologies, he said, “are different degrees of a kind of weaponry to isolate people. I look at these technologies as tools of struggle, oppression, isolation and manipulation—but also as tools of connection. For instance, the way people inside are using them to make radio shows or podcasts, produce literature, or build solidarity and community and raise political consciousness.”

Media have never been introduced into prisons by accident. Instead, it is a very intentional, central aspect of carceral management and operation.”

Ian J. Alexander, assistant professor, media studies

His research has included phone and video calls with imprisoned people, as well as digging into the archives of when these technologies were first introduced—and the circumstances surrounding them. For instance, you might expect a prison would use radio to allow guards to alert the community of an escape—and you’d be correct—but it also led to the formation of prison bands, including some that were escorted to radio stations to perform over the air.

In most cases, the technology has been dual edged. Video visitation, as one example, makes it easier for those who are imprisoned to see family members. But it also makes it easier for wardens to limit in-person connections to family and friends on the outside.

Ultimately, Alexander’s work into those media technologies aims to understand the social and political functions prisons serve, which is important at a time when government spending on incarceration has dramatically increased. He said limiting social connections, restricting reading and managing when people speak—all bedrocks of the U.S. penal system—each are kinds of media practices.

“They are managing channels of communication and meaning-building at the level of trying to manipulate a person’s sense of self, sense of belonging and community, and ultimately sense of guilt and shame and correction,” he said.

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

The histories of how media technologies have been introduced in U.S. prisons offer clues as to the government’s dramatic rise in spending on the carceral system.

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Deer in the spotlights: What Bambi tells us about animation and death

Joe Arney — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 15:45:51 +0000

Deer in the spotlights: What Bambi tells us about animation and death Joe Arney Thu, 11/06/2025 - 08:45

Joe Arney

When she asks her classes who remembers this scene from Bambi, Marissa Lammon says everyone's hand goes up. But while you probably can also recall this image, this isn't a scene from Bambi—it never appeared onscreen. A new paper from Lammon studies what this recollection teaches us about how we encounter and interpret violence and death as children.

You know that heartbreaking scene in Disney’s Bambi, in which the title character cuddles up to his mother’s lifeless body after she’s been shot by a hunter?

No, you don’t. It never happened.

“I show this image to my students all the time in class, and ask who remembers this scene,” said Marissa Lammon, a lecturer in the communication department at the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information at �� Boulder. “And everyone raises their hand, even though this is never shown onscreen.”

Lammon (PhDMediaSt’24) is an expert in popular culture and children’s media, especially as they relate to death. And, she said, the widespread misremembering of how Bambi’s mother dies is a testament to the impact her death has on audiences.

“The image represents collective trauma, and how the vast majority of people interpreted this death as traumatic,” Lammon said. “We talk about animated deaths that really stick with us, and Bambi’s mother is the one. And it actually changes the way we remember the film.”

In a new paper in Omega, Lammon looks at the story of Bambi’s mother dying and what it says about Western culture, which has made death taboo, and how children interpret the media they absorb.

“We tend to think about children as passive, blank slates,” she said. “My work suggests children are active agents who are creating and negotiating meaning from what they see and hear. And what’s fascinating is that, as a culture, we don’t talk about death, but we show it profusely in media.”

How children create meaning from media

“Children are active agents who are creating and negotiating meaning from what they see and hear.”

Marissa Lammon (PhDMediaSt’24), instructor, communication

Lammon’s interest in mediated death started while she was studying psychology as an undergraduate at UCCS, and evolved while she was doing her master’s work there.

“Children create meaning in ways different from how we do, but they’re still very social,” she said. “I wanted to bridge this gap between psychology and media and cultural studies to understand how children use media to reinforce or challenge ideology in ways that are significant to their development.”

It’s particularly important work at a time when our environment is becoming even more hypermediated.

“If we, as adults, are struggling to discern what is factual information and what is ‘fake news,’ then it’s more crucial than ever to encourage media literacy, critical thinking and reflection with children, so they can develop those skills,” she said.

CMDI advisory board member Christopher Bell (PhDMediaSt’09) advised Lammon’s master’s work, and gave her opportunities to consult in the industry. They have become close collaborators on researching popular culture.

“Marissa has fully embraced the idea of public scholarship—the idea that the knowledge generated at the academic level should belong to the public,” said Bell, president of Creativity Partners and a longtime consultant in animation. “When she goes to Pixar or Skydance and presents her work to people who make things, it changes how these companies produce media for children. It literally changes the world.”

That’s something she’s trying to do with Bemoaning Bambi: Visual Communication of Trauma From Witnessing One of Disney’s Saddest Character Deaths.

Marissa Lammon, right, presents work on animation and death at Fan Expo Denver. ‘Children’s media actually are the most violent out there, but when we think about animation, we tell ourselves it’s just fantasy, it’s just fun, it’s not actually harmful,’ she says. Photo by Kimberly Coffin.

“Children’s media actually are the most violent out there, but when we think about animation, we tell ourselves it’s just fantasy, it’s just fun, it’s not actually harmful,” Lammon said, adding that our culture uses violence to teach moral lessons. “In the case of Bambi’s mother, her death embodies traumatic frames in ways that make it so salient in our recollections of animated death.”

Those frames, she said, are homicide, gender coding—especially the theme of maternal sacrifice—and character development after the act of violence.

‘Completely shattered’

While most of us remember Bambi’s mother being shot in the early stages of the movie, “in fact, it happens about 40 minutes in,” Lammon said. “So for 40 minutes, you see this loving and nurturing relationship develop, and then Bambi’s world is completely shattered.”

That trauma changes how Bambi develops, “leaving you, as an audience member, thinking about how he has to completely change the way he exists,” she said.

And that goes for the children in the audience, as well.

“The conversations I have with children are so deep and intellectual,” she said. “If parents really talked with their children about what they’re seeing and how they’re interpreting it, they would be so surprised with what they’re picking up on and how they reflect on it.”

Lammon’s hope is that her findings change both how the industry communicates themes around death and how parents and caregivers have conversations about what their children absorb.

“There is a lot that the industry is doing well, but we need to change media texts to include death that is natural, not just murder, so we can prepare them for what bereavement will look like in their own lives,” she said. “Meanwhile, we need to make parents more comfortable about having these conversations with their children, instead of just ignoring what they’ve watched or prevent them from seeing it.”

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

Children aren’t just blank slates—they create meaning from the media they experience. An expert says that’s a reason to think about how we show themes like violence and death.

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Virtue-al reality: VR Veterans Day exhibit at CMDI showcases honor, sacrifice

Joe Arney — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 16:03:51 +0000

Virtue-al reality: VR Veterans Day exhibit at CMDI showcases honor, sacrifice Joe Arney Mon, 11/03/2025 - 09:03

Joe Arney

A centerpiece of Eyes of Freedom is ‘Silent Battle.’ This statue, of a serviceman grieving as he holds the dog tags of a fallen comrade, is seen as visitors to the immersive exhibit would experience it through a virtual reality headset. Photo by Patrick Clark.

Twenty years ago, Lima Company—a reserve infantry unit in the Marine Corps—was activated and deployed to Iraq, where the company suffered intense losses.

The stories of that unit, and the 23 service members killed in action that year, have been told around the country through a traveling exhibition that includes paintings of the fallen veterans, along with the boots they wore in combat.

If you go

What: Eyes of Freedom Immersive, a virtual reality-enabled experience of the traveling art exhibit.

When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Veterans Day, Tuesday, Nov. 11, CASE E330. Advance registration required.

Who: Members of the university and Boulder community are encouraged to attend.

Why: The exhibition highlights the sacrifices of a Marine company that suffered heavy losses in Iraq in 2005. The virtual version, created through the Immersive Media Lab, can bring the art installation to places it otherwise could not be seen.

Now, thanks to the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information at �� Boulder, the stories behind this memorial could enjoy a much wider reach. Owing to technology in the college’s Immersive Media Lab, an extended version of the exhibit may soon allow audiences to experience and interact with the project virtually.

“It’s a really good way to bring art and technology together, but beyond that, it’s a way to put an important focus on how we honor service and sacrifice,” said Patrick Clark, an assistant professor of critical media practices and director of the lab. “Hopefully, people walk away with an understanding of what our service members have given to our country, sacrificed for us—and leave with a sense of connection to these real human beings that were just like a lot of us.”

In Eyes of Freedom, the artist Anita Miller created larger-than-life paintings of casual moments in her subjects’ lives, as well as a statue called “Silent Battle”—showing a grieving warrior holding the dog tag of his friend—prominently displayed. Placards and information panels tell the stories of the men who were killed in combat.

Battling trauma, post-traumatic stress

Seeing it in person offers a kind of raw emotion that can be hard to capture virtually. But the virtual exhibition allows the story of these servicemen to reach places that the full experience cannot. Miller was inspired to create this project as a way to help veterans struggling with loss, trauma and post-traumatic stress.

“Pat’s work really opens up the doors to so many possibilities—veterans in hospice, chaplains in military bases, retreat centers,” she said. “To me, this exhibit is a therapeutic tool to get to the deepest parts of ourselves—and with virtual reality, we can bring this tool to more people and allow them to experience the healing of it from anywhere.”

Clark, a filmmaker and visual artist, has been a driving force behind the Immersive Media Lab since it opened in 2018. From its humble origins as a closet in Folsom Field, the lab has expanded to house top-of-the-line headsets, cameras and sensors that allow students to create unique journalism projects, games, documentaries and other interactive projects.

Thanks to the technology in the lab, Clark was able to enlist students in scanning the artwork as well as some of the artifacts Miller collected, like letters from the servicemen that virtual visitors can interact with.

“In terms of the college, this is a great example of how we find different ways to tell stories to ensure they create impact,” Clark said. “How does technology change the way we’re telling the story, or how that story resonates with people? Those are things we’re interested in, whether you’re talking about journalism, documentaries or anything else.”

Climbing the statue

“If the VR portion of it makes it more engaging or appealing, or just more accessible, to students, and gets them to take a moment to appreciate the memory of these guys, then I think we’ll have accomplished something important.”

Patrick Clark, assistant professor, critical media practices

While this is the first time the immersive experience will be displayed, a beta test over the summer was well attended, and identified a few bugs for Clark to squish, like participants loading into the corners of the exhibit, or being able to climb the “Silent Battle” statue, “which I don’t think is something Anita intended,” Clark said.

In fact, the statue is a linchpin of the exhibit. Miller modeled it on Brian Zimmermann, who shared his experiences in Iraq with the artist and helped her understand the exhibit could be more than a testament to sacrifice.

“He described this scene of seeing his friend sitting on the floor, holding the dog tags of guys who had just died,” Miller said. “I told him I was looking for something uplifting and hopeful. He said to me, ‘You don’t understand, You don’t just go from the depths of darkness to reaching the light—it’s too big of a step. The first step in healing is knowing you’re not alone. And if you make that sculpture, other people will know they’re not alone with their pain.’”

That’s what she hopes the immersive edition of Eyes of Freedom can accomplish. The showcase, and survey data taken from participants, can help guide next steps, like releasing it to app stories or installing it on headsets and sending them to schools, hospitals and the like.

“I had one person who told me she preferred the virtual, because she was able to experience it without the distractions of other people,” Miller said. “It can be a much more personal and meditative experience when you have time with the art and aren’t rushed to get out of there.”

For his part, Clark said he hopes students leave the exhibit with an understanding of the sacrifice these veterans made in service of their country.

“These people were the same age as the students in my classes. In another world, these could have been their peers,” he said. “And if the VR portion of it makes it more engaging or appealing, or just more accessible, to students, and gets them to take a moment to appreciate the memory of these guys, then I think we’ll have accomplished something important.”

Patrick Clark uses a camera to scan one of the paintings that make up Eyes of Freedom just outside the Immersive Media Lab. Working with students, Clark scanned the paintings and other artifacts from the exhibit to make them accessible via virtual reality headset.

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

Thanks to the Immersive Media Lab, the celebrated Eyes of Freedom art project will expand its potential for healing and remembrance.

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Expert calls East Wing destruction a rejection of history, culture: ‘This should not have been allowed to happen’

Joe Arney — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 16:59:50 +0000

Expert calls East Wing destruction a rejection of history, culture: ‘This should not have been allowed to happen’ Joe Arney Fri, 10/31/2025 - 10:59

Joe Arney

The demolition of the East Wing of the White House was ‘utterly negligent,’ says Azza Kamal, an associate teaching professor of environmental design and someone who has worked in historic preservation. Photo by Jacquelyn Martin/The Associated Press.

Remember the Alamo? Yeah, Azza Kamal remembers the Alamo. She also remembers, as a member of the historic preservation committee for San Antonio, a redevelopment plan that threatened to encroach on the historic site’s borders.

Kamal, an associate teaching professor of environmental design at the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information, stepped down from the committee before it rendered a decision about how the proposal addressed the delineation of the historic footprint. But she remembered being unimpressed with the proposal’s lack of respect for the boundaries of the battle that made the fort famous.

“This pivotal moment in Texas history does not have a physical boundary, like a fence, and part of this plan ignored that boundary,” Kamal said. “If you look at East and West Germany, there are places where you can see where the border existed between them. That’s what we asked for—to recognize that this is history, and needs to be designated in a visible, dignified way that aligns with this historical icon.”

“You’re standing up for a history, a culture, and a way people connect with buildings and engage with their communities. To disregard that with a building as significant as the White House is problematic.”

Azza Kamal, associate teaching professor, environmental design

When she looks at the pile of rubble that used to be the East Wing of the White House, she sees “a much worse and utterly negligent” disrespect for the history and culture associated with an important building.

“There is a complicated process for a building like this. It should take years,” said Kamal, who is not involved in the White House project but has served in a preservation role in Gainesville, Florida, in addition to San Antonio. “Typically, anytime you’re talking demolition with a historic landmark, a preservation committee is among the first steps in your due process.”

The destruction of the East Wing was undertaken by Donald Trump to add a ballroom to the White House, and is the second time he’s embarked on a controversial renovation project to the building and its grounds: Earlier this year, he paved over the Rose Garden to install patio seating.

A great deal of media attention on the ballroom project has focused on the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which was adopted to create processes to protect historic resources. Notably, the act exempts the White House, U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court building, but in proceeding immediately to demolition, Trump is ignoring the precedent established by other presidents, who have sought approvals to make smaller renovations.

Potentially illegal

While she’s not a legal scholar, she said it may also have been illegal.

“If you read the text of the act, it specifically says those exemptions must be consistent with the purpose of this act,” Kamal said. “And the purpose of the act is historic preservation, and these buildings are designated landmarks importance sense of our shared cultural heritage, in the sense that important decrees, decisions and discussions happen in these places. This should not have been allowed to happen.”

Scholars are trying to build the legal case against this action, but Kamal pointed to another important dimension—the environmental impact. Something she talks about to students in her sustainable planning courses is the impact new development has, including energy use to tear something down, filling landfills with destroyed materials and extracting raw materials to enable new construction.

Alternatives like rehabilitation or adaptive reuse of a building, or deconstruction—where the building materials are kept intact or repurposed—can alleviate the environmental impact of a new building or prevent materials from ending up in a landfill. Neither appears to have been considered for the East Wing.

“It seems like demolition was the first step in the process, and for that to happen, you have to skip a lot of steps,” Kamal said. “And people will say the only function preservation committees have is to make life difficult for people, but serving in these roles is a great responsibility and honor that I cherished. You’re standing up for a history, a culture, and a way people connect with buildings and engage with their communities. To disregard that with a building as significant as the White House is problematic.”

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

A preservationist and professor of sustainable planning laments leveling of White House section to add a ballroom.

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No ifs, ands or buts. (Bots, on the other hand…)

Joe Arney — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 15:05:34 +0000

No ifs, ands or buts. (Bots, on the other hand…) Joe Arney Tue, 10/28/2025 - 09:05

Joe Arney

WooJin Kim, an assistant professor of advertising, studies the potential of artificial intelligence to influence positive social behavior. That work led to Kim’s appointment as CMDI’s first DeLuca Faculty Scholar in Advertising earlier this fall. Photo by Nathan Thompson.

Growing up in Ansan, South Korea, WooJin Kim was heavily influenced by his family. While his parents made sacrifices in order to send him to college—the first in his family to do so—it was the values he drew from his grandfather, a pastor, that shaped his experiences as a student and researcher.

“He always encouraged me to help others and to support my community and society,” said Kim, an assistant professor of advertising at the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information at �� Boulder. “It’s why I first started looking at the potential for advertising to shape and influence human behavior, especially through advanced technology.”

Kim studies how artificial intelligence—in the form of chatbots and personalized advertising content—can position the right message in front of the right audience to drive social behavior, such as encouraging people to adopt sustainable practices, get vaccines, donate to worthwhile causes—even stop cyberbullying among students.

It’s work that led to Kim’s appointment as CMDI’s first DeLuca Faculty Scholar in Advertising earlier this fall. Kim’s work in A.I. and his impressive track record of publications—his work has been featured in the prestigious Journal of Advertising as well as the Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Business Research and others—led to this three-year appointment within the Department of Advertising, Public Relations and Design.

Kim called the endowed position “a great honor that shows my research has the potential to contribute to the college and the community.”

“The more he’s able to understand—and teach—the power behind A.I., the more I can see students understanding what a wide net they can cast with it.”

Peter DeLuca (StratComm’83)

Getting Kim’s work beyond the campus is something Wendy and Peter DeLuca (StratComm’83) hope their gift makes possible.

“I enjoy talking to students when I go back and visit the campus, and this research really showcases a way to apply A.I. in a way that changes the conversation around it,” said Peter DeLuca, a retired chief creative officer and senior vice president with T-Mobile and a member of the college’s advisory board. “The more he’s able to understand—and teach—the power behind A.I., the more I can see students understanding what a wide net they can cast with it. This will help change the conversation from just displacing people or replacing jobs.”

An international perspective

Kim first became interested in the potential of advertising to positive shape human behavior as a high school student growing up in conservative South Korea. International students visiting from places like Bangladesh, the Philippines and Indonesia showed him how diverse points of view benefited schoolwork and friendships, “which made me very curious about how I could change attitudes and raise awareness about important social issues related to diversity,” he said.

Now, as generative artificial intelligence rewrites the playbook for advertising, Kim said he sees ethical, responsible use of those tools as key to building a better society.

One example he studies is A.I. chatbots.

“During interactions between humans and chatbots, the A.I. agents can access and collect our personal data, which can raise ethical issues and privacy concerns,” Kim said. “But at the same time, by analyzing our data—education, income, demographic information—they can identify target audiences and offer personalized, pro-social messages that benefit health outcomes and the environment.”

Generative A.I. has set off waves in the creative and communication communities, as ethical, legal, privacy and other concerns disrupt the ways we gather, analyze and share information. It’s why Lori Bergen, founding dean of the college, is excited to see how this appointment helps unlock additional insights from Kim.

“What makes our college special are the interdisciplinary insights our faculty bring to new and complex problems,” Bergen said. “WooJin’s work in advertising and A.I. promises to help us rethink how new tools and evolving techniques can positively influence public discourse.”

Breaking the black box

Better literacy around artificial intelligence, Kim said, is key to unlocking its potential as an agent for positive social change. It’s why he’s excited for the DeLuca endowment, which will allow him to do more work in algorithmic transparency.

“We need a better understanding of A.I. and a better ability to critically evaluate and understand knowledge and information generated by this technology,” he said.

“I know we can use A.I. to help others, but A.I. and its underlying mechanisms are a black box. If we could build in additional transparency, so that people understand how the underlying mechanisms work, it would change how they interact with and use such tools, and influence how likely they are to accept A.I.-generated decisions.”

The DeLucas, who also sponsor scholarships at CMDI, said they hope that work helps change the way students behave online.

“He’s a great teacher who clearly loves being in the classroom,” said Wendy DeLuca, who worked in finance before devoting herself to raising her family and extensive volunteer service. “If he could just influence a handful of his own students through what he’s learning from this research, it will be impactful.”

“Bullying does not stop when you get out of high school—in some ways, it can be worse in college,” Peter DeLuca said. “We wanted to support this research because it’s an opportunity to touch an individual who then can touch multiple students, and create long-lasting impact that’s felt throughout the college and beyond.”

From left, Dean Lori Bergen, Wendy DeLuca, Peter DeLuca, WooJin Kim and Kay Weaver, chair of the APRD department, gathered to give the DeLucas a chance to meet the recipient of the endowed position they created. ‘If he could just influence a handful of his own students through what he’s learning from this research, it will be impactful,’ Wendy DeLuca said.

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

A researcher who studies A.I.’s potential impact on advertising has been named CMDI’s first DeLuca faculty scholar.

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