Communications | Penn Today

Fox News viewers are getting mixed messages about whether to take the coronavirus vaccine

Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center said people tend to trust the hosts of shows they regularly watch. “Combine that trust with ongoing exposure and reinforcement in other media channels, and a popular host who creates or reinforces concerns about a COVID vaccine or about COVID vaccination in general can reduce the likelihood of vaccination among devoted viewers,” she said.

COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs increased among users of conservative and social media

Belief in conspiracies about the COVID-19 pandemic increased through the early months of the U.S. outbreak among people who reported being heavy users of conservative and social media.

Study: Conservative media drove belief of COVID-19 conspiracies

Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center spoke about research she co-authored with Dan Romer, which explored the links between beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories and reliance on conservative and social media outlets for information.

What’s next for Chicago’s flagship newspaper

Victor Pickard of the Annenberg School for Communication weighed in on the future of the Chicago Tribune.

She called out health care misinfo on TikTok. Then, the trolls found her

Jessa Lingel of the Annenberg School for Communication spoke about the history of callout culture on social media. “Cancel culture, callout culture, that really comes from practices on Black Twitter of bringing attention to an issue and saying, hey, this is a thing where we need to align. Whether it’s #MeToo in its early days, that originated on Black Twitter, or whether that’s tied to Black Lives Matter or police brutality. Callout culture originated on Black Twitter,” she said.

head shots of Marisa Bartolomei, M. Celeste Simon, Michael Kearns, and Diana Mutz

Four Penn faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences

The new members of the Academy, honored scholars recognized for their unique and ongoing contributions to original research, include researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Annenberg School for Communication.

Shhhh, they’re listening—inside the coming voice-profiling revolution

Joseph Turow of the Annenberg School for Communication writes about the problems with voice-profiling technology, which companies see as integral to the future of marketing.

A black-and-white illustration with many lines and circles and a person sitting in the middle.

A new theory for what’s happening in the brain when something looks familiar

This novel concept from the lab of neuroscientist Nicole Rust brings the field one step closer to understanding how memory functions. Long-term, it could have implications for treating memory-impairing diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Damon Centola is a professor in the Annenberg School for Communication and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and director of the Network Dynamics Group.

(Image: Courtesy of Annenberg School for Communication)

Untapped insights, network dynamics, and a unique approach to NBA scouting

A new book from Annenberg’s Damon Centola describes why some ideas succeed while others fail and uses case studies to illustrate the science behind what drives change.

A hand holding a television remote, pointed at a blurry TV straight ahead. On the TV are many colored boxes signifying many show options.

Q&A

A link between gun violence on TV and firearm deaths

Research from Annenberg Public Policy Center’s Daniel Romer and Patrick E. Jamieson found that gun use on television doubled from 2000 to 2018, rising in parallel with the proportion of homicides from firearms in the U.S. during the same period.

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