News 33 | College of Media

UIUC Student Film Festival 2022

Update on the winners of the 2022 UIUC Student Film Festival:

Jury Award: Joanna Raimo, for her film “A Tint of Red.” Among the jury’s comments was an appreciation of the film’s formal command and creative use of genre tropes.
Audience Award for favorite film: “Bodies of Water” by Ryan Leshock
World-Building Award for favorite film with a message of social justice: “Another Day” by Michael Leshock
Award for Favorite TikTok: “What Song” by Michael Leshock

Students in MACS 464: Film Festivals organized the first in-person festival since the pandemic caused the class to move the annual event online two years ago. The UIUC Student Film Festival, held April 30 in the Knight Auditorium at Spurlock Museum, drew 200+ attendees in person and 200+ views on the livestream channel.

Throughout Spring 2022, students organized, promoted, and produced this event featuring short films of all genres created by undergraduates, filmmaking clubs, and production classes across the University of Illinois campus. Watch the film fest recording here.

The UIUC Student Film Fest is sponsored by the Department of Media & Cinema Studies.

Below, see photos of the audience, production crew, and filmmakers. (Photos courtesy of Jon Knipp, lecturer in media and cinema studies, and instructor for this course.)

MACS and acting students collaborate on film project

In Spring 2020, seniors in MACS 480: Advanced Filmmaking, taught by Victor Font, lecturer in media and cinema studies, collaborated with a Department of Theatre class (Acting for the Camera). Unfortunately, as the pandemic unfolded, students had to halt filming in their second day of production, leaving this movie unfinished. Below, watch their final project, featuring nine minutes of two scenes from the movie The Invitation.

What does it look like behind the scenes? Get a sneak peek here:

ICR student Pham publishes research in ‘PLOS ONE’

Giang V. Pham, a doctoral student at the Institute of Communications Research who is graduating with the College of Media Class of 2022, has had a paper accepted for publication in the journal PLOS ONE.

Pham is the lead author of “Regretful pleasure: Toward an understanding of flow cost in media use.” Pham’s ICR advisor Brittany Duff, associate professor of advertising, is co-author.

The paper address the idea of “flow” states and how there can be negative sides to flow in media use.

Abstract: “Flow (state of intense focus) during media use has been largely considered a desirable experience, with technologies developed to maximize the chance of encountering flow in computer-mediated environments. However, the total absorption of attention due to flow could be problematic in contexts where the user has multiple predetermined goals, and engaging with the flow-inducing media could cost them resources that may be otherwise devoted to other goals. When flow imposes a cost on the user’s goal performance, it may also reduce their post-experience gratification with the flow-inducing media. The present study proposes a novel theoretical framework to begin understanding the potential cost of flow in media use with supporting evidence from two survey and vignette studies (N = 235 and N = 245). Its findings will extend human-computer interaction research by highlighting the double-edged impact that flow might have on media users’ larger goal performance and downstream well-being.”

ICR student secures IBM data science internship

Kat Tian, a PhD student at the Institute of Communications Research (ICR), has accepted a data science internship at IBM’s New York office this summer. The position involves intensive hands-on-experience with data analysis across a variety of business cases. Senior data science interns will deploy machine-learning models built using various platforms and handle data at scale, and make recommendations for managers with real business impact. At the internship, she will work with large, untidy datasets and deliver business solutions supported by statistical research.

In her doctoral program, Tian has been doing research on cross-cultural communication processes in the marketing and advertising context by applying big data analytics and machine learning techniques. At ICR, her advisors are advertising faculty members Mike Yao, the Sandage Department of Advertising interim head, and Michelle Nelson, associate dean for research and creative endeavor.

Leona Su named CAS Beckman Fellow for 2022-23

Leona Yi-Fan Su, assistant professor of advertising, was selected as a Center for Advanced Study Beckman Fellow for the 2022-23 academic year in an annual campuswide competition among faculty.

This year, the center appointed 11 CAS Associates, one CAS Fellow, and four CAS Beckman Fellows—the distinction as a CAS Beckman Fellow recognizes outstanding younger fellow candidates who have made distinctive scholarly contributions. The appointment grants faculty one semester of teaching release time to pursue an individual scholarly or creative project. Fellows also participate in a yearly roundtable discussion of research interests and are invited to offer a future CAS presentation.

Su will work on a project called “Conversational Agents for Correction of Health Misinformation.”

She plans to build a comprehensive knowledge base on the debunking mechanisms and efficacy of digital-messaging tools known as conversational agents. Conversational agents, such as chatbots, are increasingly prevalent in misinformation-correction efforts.

Based on the project’s findings, Su’s goal is to support the development and refinement of new digital technologies that can effectively correct health misinformation—”a task with strong practical and scientific importance in this age of digital misinformation,” she said.

Su’s research examines the interplay between media and society, with a particular focus on how social media and new technologies influence human communication and social behaviors in the context of scientific and health topics, as well as brand communication. Her recent research examines the effects of humor, social media, and new technologies on science communication.

ICR congratulates Class of 2022 doctoral degree candidates

The Institute of Communications Research congratulates the degree candidates for a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in communications and media! For 2021-2022, the degree candidates, their dissertations, and their advisors are:

Susmita Das
“Speaking the International Language: A Transnational History of the Indian Advertising Industry, 1955-1969”
Advisor: Professor Amanda Ciafone

Xiaohan Hu
“Exploring the role of control in digital advertising effectiveness”
Advisor: Professor Kevin Wise

Morten Stinus Kristensen
“Discourse, Platforms, and Racialization: Danish Muslims Navigating Hegemonic Danishness on Social Media”
Advisor: Professor Angharad Valdivia

Giang Vu Hang Pham
“The Cognitive, Motivational, and Affective Cost of Flow Experiences in Media Use”
Advisor: Professor Brittany Duff

Yilin Ren
“How Do Tactile Interactions and Movement Orientations Affect Information Processing of Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS) on Mobile Devices”
Advisor: Professor Kevin Wise

Ann Elisabeth Strahle
“Flag Waving Doesn’t Help when the Bullets are Coming Down the Line: Dialectical Tensions of Religious Communication in the National Guard Chaplaincy”
Advisor: Professor Emeritus Clifford Christians

Yanyun Wang
“Effects of Augmented Reality on Risk Perception of E-cigarettes for Young Adults: From the Perspective of Construal Level Theory”
Advisor: Professor Mike Yao

Kerry Bernice Wilson
“Black Moms Matter: Competing Discourses of Black Motherhood in the Age of Black Lives Matter”
Advisor: Professor Isabel Molina-Guzmán

Journalism alum Murray wins Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting with ‘Tampa Bay Times’ team

While meeting with the family of a former battery recycling plant manager whose son had lead poisoning, a Pulitzer Prize-winning story crystallized for Eli Murray (BS ’15, journalism), investigative reporter at the Tampa Bay Times.

The family had been suffering because their son was born with a lead level that creeped higher each year.

“The lead could only be coming from the factory where [the] husband worked and it had driven a wedge into their family and put them at odds with each other,” Murray said. “I could see what was at stake for this family and the hundreds of other workers’ families.”

Murray, and fellow investigative reporters Corey G. Johnson and Rebecca Woolington, received the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting for their series “Poisoned,” described as “a compelling exposé of highly toxic hazards inside Florida’s only battery recycling plant that forced the implementation of safety measures to adequately protect workers and nearby residents.”

“The investigation by the Tampa Bay Times into dangerous conditions at a lead smelter spurred immediate improvements for health and safety,” said Pulitzer Prize Board member Nicole Caroll. “This newsroom changed workers’ lives, and its reporting shows the critical importance and impact of strong local journalism.”

Murray said he’ll never forget visiting that family: “Every day since it has been a driving source of motivation to shine light into these dark corners to tell these workers’ stories and hopefully effect change.”

The investigative team had spent almost two years gathering data and reporting before the first article in the series was published in 2021. Murray spent months building a database from thousands of pages of PDFs and analyzing the results.

After their Pulitzer Prize was announced on May 9, the Tampa Bay Times reporters shared remarks. Murray acknowledged some University of Illinois journalism faculty members for helping him on his career path. (See video.)

“I wanted to thank a few of my other mentors: Brant Houston, Stretch Ledford, and Jennifer Follis, who encouraged me to follow the data and the programming side of things and to find a way to make that work in journalism and in telling great stories,” Murray said.

Murray was drawn to data journalism because of the ability to tell a story visually that resonates with audiences.

“Eli was an excellent, dedicated student who was a natural at data journalism and great to work with,” said Brant Houston, Knight Chair of Investigative Reporting and professor of journalism. “I am so pleased, but not too surprised, with all his accomplishments and the recognition he has received. I expect there will be much more to come.”

“Beyond Eli’s obvious and prodigious talents as an investigative reporter and data journalist, I think it’s important to recognize that talent can take one only so far down the road to success,” said Charles “Stretch” Ledford, associate professor of journalism. “What brought Eli to this place of international recognition are the same humanistic qualities that made him an outstanding student and vital collaborator here at Illinois—a thirst for knowledge, a restless mind, an unflinching commitment to the truth, and—I don’t know a better way to say it—a heart of gold. These qualities would have carried Eli to great things no matter his chosen field. The people of Tampa Bay, and beyond, are indeed fortunate that he found his calling in journalism.”

Murray was hired at the Tampa Bay Times as a data reporter following an internship there in 2015. As a journalism student at Illinois, he received the Glenn Hanson Scholarship in Visual Communications from the College of Media. He also worked at The Daily Illini as a reporter covering Urbana city government during his junior year, and became a web developer in charge of building the Salary Guide during his senior year.

To learn more, see Tampa Bay Times reporters win Pulitzer Prize for ‘Poisoned’ series.

—Holly Rushakoff

Media students present at 2022 Undergraduate Research Symposium

Update May 10, 2022:

Congratulations to Ethan Grinberg, sophomore in computer science + advertising (pictured above), for winning the Undergraduate Research Symposium’s Outstanding Award in the category of Numbers, Data, and Computation for his poster presentation on “The Mechanisms of Misinformation: Clustering Diffusion Networks of Low Credibility Sources by Topology.” His research mentor was Jacob Fisher, assistant professor of advertising.

Students from each major in the College of Media are participating in the 15^th annual University of Illinois Undergraduate Research Symposium, held Thursday, April 28, in the Illini Union. The symposium features presentations, posters, and performances from students across campus.

Media student poster presentations include:

“Virtual Reality and Its Immersive Capabilities: Can It Stimulate Pro-Environmental Behavior”
9–10:15 a.m., Illini Room A—Science and Technology Session

Justin Sun, Senior, Advertising
Minghao Sun, Junior, Advertising
Henry Rose, Senior, Advertising

Research Mentors: Chen (Crystal) Chen, ICR doctoral student/Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising, and Ewa Maslowska, Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising

“Analyzing the Relationship between Fear and Election Violence”
9–10:15 a.m., Illini Room C—Social Science and Behavior Session

Billy Wojcicki, Senior, Advertising

Research Mentor: Tolgahan Dilgin, Department of Political Science

“Analyzing Life Experiences through Oral History Methods”
1:30–2:45 p.m., Illini Room A—Health and Wellness Session

Vivian La, Sophomore, Journalism

Research Mentor: Sana Saboowala, Program in Ecology, Evolution, & Conservation Biology

“Investigating the Influence of Parenting Styles on Children’s Online Language Intensity in the Context of Celebrity Worship: Emotion Regulation as a Mediator”
1:30–2:45 p.m., Illini Room C—Social Science and Behavior Session

Sherry Zhang, Senior, Media & Cinema Studies

Research Mentor: Chen (Crystal) Chen, ICR doctoral student/Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising

“The Mechanisms of Misinformation: Clustering Diffusion Networks of Low Credibility Sources by Topology”
3:15–4:30 p.m., Illini Room South Lounge—Numbers, Data, and Computation Session

Ethan Grinberg, Sophomore, Computer Science + Advertising

Research Mentor: Jacob Fisher, Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising

Ethan Grinberg, CS+advertising sophomore, was also a semi-finalist in the Image of Research competition with his submission “The Shape of Misinformation.” See his image and description.

Two Media students also participated in the Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program to assist advanced graduate students with their research projects:

Billy Wojcicki, advertising senior, worked with research mentor Tolgahan Dilgin in the Department of Political Science
Vivian La, journalism sophomore, worked with research mentor Sana Saboowala in the Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology

View the Undergraduate Research Week program .

Houston helps preserve investigative news content of FairWarning

The University of Illinois Archives has acquired and is preserving the website of FairWarning.org, a nonprofit investigative news organization founded and edited by Myron Levin. Brant Houston (pictured at right), Knight Chair Professor of Investigative Reporting in the Department of Journalism, helped arrange the archiving of FairWarning’s content.

FairWarning produced and published the work of staff writers and independent journalists, and its archives are being added to a rich collection of communication materials preserved by the University of Illinois Archives.

FairWarning issued watchdog reports with an emphasis on public health, consumer, labor, and environmental issues, and related topics of government and business accountability. Over 11 years of operation (2010-2021), its stories were published on its website and were also co-published by nearly 200 online, print, and broadcast news organizations across the country.

“I am pleased that the wonderful work of FairWarning has found a home at the University Archives,” Houston said. “It will now be a valuable and preserved resource for all journalists, especially investigative reporters. We thank the staff at the archives for all the work they put into this project.”

The preserved copy of the FairWarning website is found in the Wayback Machine, the web archive service built by the Internet Archive. The collection is accessible from the University of Illinois Archives Holdings Database at https://archon.library.illinois.edu/index.php?p=digitallibrary/digitalcontent&id=15537. Or go directly to the archive at https://wayback.archive-it.org/16877/20210929142827/https://www.fairwarning.org/.

Levin, the site’s founder, said he was happy to see the work has found a permanent home.

“When we knew that FairWarning would be closing, it was our overriding goal to ensure that our deeply reported stories would be accessible to journalists, researchers, students, and others,” he said. “For that reason, we’re thrilled to know that our watchdog journalism will be preserved in the University of Illinois Library Archives.”

Alumni inducted into Illini Media Company’s Hall of Fame

The Illini Media Company, which oversees The Daily Illini student newspaper, WPGU 107.1 FM radio station, and the Illio yearbook, inducted 20 people into its Class of 2022 Hall of Fame at a ceremony on April 9, 2022. Fourteen were College of Media alumni, including:

the late Nelson Algren (BS ’31, journalism), winner of 1950 National Book Award for Fiction for The Man with the Golden Arm
Susan J. Smith Cornwell (BS ’77, journalism), retired congressional correspondent at Reuters
Amara Enyia (BS ’05, journalism), Chicago attorney and activist
Jon Hansen (BS ’06, journalism), Emmy Award-winning host of WGN’s “Your Money Matters”
Paula Kamen (BS ’89, journalism), author of the book Finding Iris Chang, about her friend and Illinois journalism classmate
John J. Kim (BS ’97, advertising), photographer at Chicago Tribune and winner of 2011 Pulitzer Prize with reporting team at Chicago Sun-Times
Natasha Korecki (BS ’96, journalism), senior national political reporter at NBC News
Will Leitch (BS ’98, journalism), contributing editor at New York Magazine, founder of Deadspin, MLB.com national correspondent, and author
the late Allan R. Loudell (BS ’77, radio & TV), National Association of Broadcasters Crystal Radio Award winner
Steve Osunsami (BS ’93, journalism), Emmy Award-winning senior national correspondent at ABC News
John Paul (BS ’77, radio & TV; MS ’10, journalism), retired TV broadcaster at WCIA-TV in Champaign and journalism instructor at UIUC
Rick Sallinger (BS ’71, MS ’72, advertising), Peabody Award-winning reporter at CBS4 in Denver, Colorado
Bernard Schoenburg (BS ’76, journalism), retired political journalist
Pat Wingert (BS ’77, journalism), reporter at Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media, former correspondent at Newsweek

The members were recognized for “their distinguished professional careers and contributions to Illini Media as students, professional staff, and alumni,” according to the Illini Media website.

Photo courtesy of the Illini Media Company.

Row 1 (left to right): Bernard Schoenburg, Rick Sallinger, Susan J. Smith Cornwell, Pat Wingert Kelly, Paula Kamen

Row 2: Ralph Nozaki, Jon Hansen, Natasha Korecki, Will Leitch, John Paul, Sean Long

Row 3: Ann Dwyer, Steve Osunsami, Brad Fuhr, John J. Kim