Journalism students travel to Sierra Leone to film documentary about period poverty

March 29, 2024 | Kelly Youngblood (Photos by Charles “Stretch” Ledford.) A group of journalism students heard harrowing stories from the local women they interviewed while filming a documentary about period poverty in Sierra Leone, West Africa, over spring break. “Girls talked of being bullied at school when they got their period. Mothers talked about […]

Ebertfest 2024 full program announced, including ‘Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi’

March 29, 2024 AUDIENCE CHOICE FILM IS ROBERT ALTMAN’S  ‘COOKIE’S FORTUNE’ NEWLY LAUNCHED ‘LITTLE INDIAN GIRL COLLECTIVE’ PANEL IN DIALOGUE AND PERFORMANCE ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING ‘ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS  MIND’ TO  BE SCREENED Roger Ebert’s Film Festival is pleased to announce its full program, with the additions of the documentary Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi […]

Students explore media industry in Chicago during inaugural spring break media tour

March 27, 2024 | Kelly Youngblood A group of College of Media students participated in a spring break media tour in Chicago, meeting Illinois alumni and visiting various industry sites including advertising agencies, news organizations, and a film studio. Led by faculty members Victor Font, lecturer in media and cinema studies, and Margaret Ng, assistant […]

Advertising and ICR faculty and graduate students recognized at 2024 AAA conference

March 22, 2024 Faculty and graduate students in the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising and Institute of Communications Research were honored with awards and presented research at the annual conference of the American Academy of Advertising, held March 14-17, 2024, in Portland, Oregon.  Professor Michelle Nelson, head of the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising, won […]

Ebert Symposium 2024 to address ‘Representations and Their Critics’

March 15, 2024 Updated 4/30/2024: Recordings are now available to watch. This year’s Chaz and Roger Ebert Symposium, presented by the Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies, will address “Representations and Their Critics.” Discussions will consider the current state of film criticism, the interpretive power of media critics, and how this work might evolve over the next […]

Sony Pictures Classics co-president to present Academy Award-nominated feature ‘The Teachers’ Lounge’ at 25th anniversary of Ebertfest

March 13, 2024 Writers Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski to screen ‘Man on the Moon’  Director Andrew Davis and brother Richard Davis to bring their Chicago-rooted film ‘Stony Island’ Filmmakers Christine and Michael Swanson, actors Lynn Whitfield and Renee Elise Goldsberry join indie film ‘Albany Road’   Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, also known as Ebertfest, announced […]

Journalism alumna appointed to Reuters Global Race and Justice team as U.S. Correspondent 

Bianca Flowers (BS ’13, journalism) was recently appointed to Reuters Global Race and Justice team as its first U.S. correspondent. In her new role, she will pursue new and ambitious projects with a focus on producing agenda-setting coverage in the areas of race, identity, and social justice. Flowers, who is based in Chicago, has spent the last two […]

Advertising alum wins prestigious award for ag entrepreneurism

Alumna Karlie Elliott Bowman (BS ’09, ACES; MS ’10, advertising), and her husband Andrew Bowman, were awarded the 2024 Glen “GB” Brandt Prize for Ag Entrepreneurism, announced during the 2024 AgTech Summit hosted by the University of Illinois Research Park. The prestigious award recognizes a grower, producer, or farmer who exemplifies an entrepreneurial spirit and advances innovation in agricultural […]

Derek Long takes on history of Hollywood film distribution in his first book, ‘Playing the Percentages’

March 11, 2024 | Kelly Youngblood Derek Long, assistant professor of media and cinema studies, sheds light on a rarely covered piece of Hollywood history in his first book, Playing the Percentages: How Film Distribution Made the Hollywood Studio System. Praised as “invaluable to media industry scholars of the past and present,” the book is a comprehensive history of […]

How will generative artificial intelligence affect political advertising in 2024?

March 7, 2024 | University of Illinois News Bureau It’s estimated that $12 billion will be spent on political ads this election cycle—30% more than in 2020. The sheer volume of ads is remarkable, and there is vast potential to use this political information to contribute to democracy: to reach more potential voters and provide […]

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