Experts Matter. Find Yours.
Connect for media, speaking, professional opportunities & more.
It was hyped, promoted and delivered a ratings bonanza for CBS. Oprah Winfrey’s exclusive, no-holds barred interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, left many aghast by her revelations of mistreatment, constant abuse in the media and even Meghan's experience of racism when it came to the status, security and skin color of her then unborn son. Even the day after, Oprah, praised for her masterful interviewing skills, is still revealing excerpts that shine a brighter light on the situation. The Duchess of Sussex claimed the press team that would defend the royal family "when they know something's not true" failed to come to their defense. Winfrey asked Prince Harry if he hoped his family would ever acknowledge that the differences in treatment were over race. "It would make a huge difference," he said. "Like I said, there's a lot of people that have seen it for what it was… like it's talked about across the world." The people who do not want to see it, Harry claimed, "choose not to see it." March 08 – CBS News The interview has the public discussing racism and misogyny and how these are playing out in the Royal Family dynamics and the British press. And if you are a journalist looking to explore this issue, then let our experts help. Dr. Adria Goldman’s research explores the intersectionality of race, gender, culture and its connection to communication and media. She enjoys examining media’s impact on perceptions, construction of identity, social relationships and belief systems. Dr. Goldman is available to speak with media regarding Oprah Winfrey's interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry and what it means when it comes to race, royalty and what impact it may have on the couple and the Royal Family moving forward. If you are looking to arrange an interview, simply click on her icon now to book a time today.
Evaluating the Impact of Facebook's Ban on Vaccine Misinformation
A new Facebook policy has banned misinformation about all vaccines on its platform. Villanova University professor Jie Xu, PhD, who specializes in science and health communication, examined this decision. "On one hand, there clearly is a lot of mis/disinformation on social media regarding vaccines; some of them are simply uninformed and, of course, harmful to public health," said Dr. Xu. "On the other hand, many details relating to the COVID-19 vaccine, in my view, are still open to scientific debate." So, what determines what is labelled misinformation? Dr. Xu believes this is a complicated determination. "Science itself is evolving with falsification and revision to previous claims when new evidence comes in," Dr. Xu noted. "Who is to say that some claims deemed true at this moment won't be overturned in the future? What are the standards to be used in defining what is true information or misinformation? And perhaps more importantly, who are the 'fact-checkers' that are considered trustworthy to the majority of Americans?" However, there are some benefits to Facebook's decision. "On a more positive note, there is some preliminary evidence indicating that labeling misinformation on social media may help to alleviate the negative influence of vaccine misinformation claims," Dr. Xu said. "The challenge is that the people that are most susceptible to misinformation, and those that health professionals really want to reach out to, are the ones that have the least level of trust on this type of intervention. In some corners, this will likely to be viewed as violation to free speech and perhaps backfire." How does Facebook's banning align with free speech? "My understanding of free speech is that it's not that we don't pay a price for it—unless it's inciting violence, most information has been allowed to flow relatively freely—but it's that the alternative could be much worse," said Dr. Xu. "At the end of the day, we need to create an environment in which honest, open and critical conversations are welcomed, and we do need each other to find the truth."
Villanova Professor Discusses the Presidency and Future Use of Social Media
During his presidency, Donald Trump heavily utilized Twitter and other social media platforms as a key communication mechanism. But President Joe Biden’s use of social media will likely look very different according to Villanova University political science professor Matt Kerbel, PhD. “I think we’re going to see a return to something resembling normalcy in the way President Biden communicates with the public and runs his office,” says Dr. Kerbel. “President Trump was singular in his ability to use Twitter as a mouthpiece for his unfiltered thoughts because that was his brand and the basis for his campaign and presidency. Social media was an extension of his personality and a forum to amplify his message.” But President Biden’s campaign did not follow the same strategy. Dr. Kerbel predicts his social media use will vastly differ: “I expect President Biden to use social media to communicate his message of unity and publicize his plans and accomplishments. Expect a return to routine press conferences and planned media events along with social media outreach resembling what we’ve seen from the transition team.” Dr. Kerbel is an expert on political communication, including how politicians or political parties utilize traditional and new media. Due to his experience as a television and radio writer, researcher and author, he is frequently interviewed regarding politics and the media. He also writes political analyses for his blog, Wolves and Sheep.
Trump, the Capitol, and Social Media – Let our expert answer the questions everyone is asking
Social media played a significant role in the storming of the U.S. Capitol, and its influence in shaping American politics is unlikely to wane, says UConn's Marie Shanahan. And that’s why UConn recently published a piece where Professor Shanahan took on a lot of the trickier questions people are asking in the wake of the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6. In a piece just published – she addresses these key questions: While obscure social media platforms like Parler, Gab, and Telegram have gotten a lot of attention recently as gathering places for the kinds of far-right activists who were instrumental in what happened at the Capitol, most of the planning for that event seems to have taken place in the open, on sites like Facebook and Twitter. To what extent was this event a product of social media? It’s hard to talk about Donald Trump’s presidency without talking about social media. What might change now that he seems to have been permanently banned from the most popular platforms? Speaking of that deplatforming, even though Facebook and Twitter can ban any user who violates their terms of service, is there some validity to the argument that in doing so they’re restricting free speech? What kinds of things can be done to address some of these problems in how the public discourse is shaped? Is repealing Section 230 actually a good idea? The piece is attached and it is an insightful must-read for anyone following these developments. Professor Shanahan is an expert in the intersection of journalism and digital communication technology, online news, and digital discourse. If you are a journalist looking to cover this topic and would like to arrange an interview with Professor Shanahan – simply click on her icon now to arrange a time to talk today.
How to Get Along During the Holidays Despite Post-Election Conflict
With partisan lines drawn and family gatherings approaching, you may be thinking, "How am I going to survive the holidays?" Well, if you don't want to sever relationships with friends and family, it's essential to understand some key elements of communication. Heidi Rose, PhD, professor and chair of Villanova University's Communication Department, has expertise in speech communication—and gave some tips to remember at your next holiday get-together. When speaking to others about controversial topics, she advises, "It is important to think about how the other person might perceive or hear you and what you can control, e.g., tone of voice and calm manner. It's also important to actively listen to the other person, e.g., to remain present (don't plan your reply before they're done), to not interrupt, to suspend judgment and to ask questions when you don't understand." While some conversation concerning politics might be tempting, remembering where your relationships stand with others is important to maintaining these bonds. At a gathering, Dr. Rose also gave tips to understand where you fit in with your group dynamic. "Recognize the different selves we perform and different roles we play with different people in our lives and how those roles and selves impact the interpersonal dynamics and the consequent challenges of talking openly and transparently. These roles and selves are especially important to recognize at holiday times, even if the usual large gatherings are less likely to occur in person this year," said Dr. Rose. In the end, prioritizing relationships may take precedent over differing views—and require acceptance that you can't always change another person's perspective. "Ultimately accepting that despite your best efforts you may not achieve closure—but at least you'll have moved towards greater understanding of where the other person is coming from, and you'll have done so with respect and empathy, on your terms, with what you can control," said Dr. Rose.
Georgia Southern University President Kyle Marrero delivered a virtual State of the University fall 2020 address to faculty and staff, broadcast live from the Performing Arts Center on the Statesboro Campus on Aug. 12. Maxing out with 1,507 viewers at one point, University members tuned in from remote locations to hear the president discuss how Georgia Southern is successfully adapting during extraordinarily difficult times and will continue to be nimble during the fall semester. “We are being asked to be innovative, flexible, nimble and willing to adapt and change,” Marrero said after welcoming all back to the three campuses. “And I want to thank you. You all have been tremendous, remarkable, heroic even, as we made it through these times and as we navigate through these uncertain times.” Marrero touted the herculean efforts of faculty and staff, who maintained the integrity of the University’s five pillars — student success, teaching and research, inclusive excellence, operational efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability, and community engagement, in the midst of a pandemic that caused the University to move fully online in March. He cited specific examples of performance excellence since March with the following collective efforts: Moved more than 5,000 classes to fully online to complete the Spring 2020 Semester; Delivered summer term fully online while seeing credit-hour generation move up by more than 4%, compared to the Summer 2019 Semester; Moved 4,600 students out of housing and provided support for more than 100 students who remained on campus; Refunded almost $11 million in housing, dining and fees to students; Held virtual Spring 2020 Commencement, viewed by more than 100,000 worldwide; Provided more than $11 million in CARES Act grant funding directly to students; Developed and began implementation of Initial Return to Campus and Return to Campus Plans, based on input from more than 130 faculty staff across campus and public health guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Georgia Department of Public Health; Modeled a 14% state budget reduction for FY21, then completed a 10% realized reduction, totaling $14.2 million; Developed and implemented flexible and remote work processes; Assessed and modified almost 5,000 courses for fall 2020; Prepared campus with signage, cloth face coverings, face shields, PPE, hand sanitizer stations; Formed and implemented the CARES Service Center; Continued communication, coordination and monitoring of community health care providers, public/private schools, municipalities and agencies. Marrero also presented August figures showing that fall 2020 enrollment looks strong compared to this same time last year, however, he was quick to note that the figures may fluctuate based on various factors throughout the semester. Final fall enrollment figures will be released in October. “We can continue to move forward,” he said. “We can continue to elevate and live our mission and our vision and our values even in these times. We will adapt, we’ll be nimble and we’ll ensure that every day that the public health and safety of our faculty, staff, students and our community is of paramount importance. “I am confident that we are ready as we can be and together we’ll assess and navigate the entirety of the fall semester with the goal and outcome of our students being successful. As a whole Georgia Southern University can make it through this together.” If you are journalist and would like to know more about Georgia Southern university and how it is succeeding during COVID-19, simply reach out to Georgia Southern Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.
Impact of Masks on Social Interaction
In the midst of the current pandemic, wearing masks in public has become the norm. However, masks present challenges for in-person social interaction. The deaf community, in particular, has had to adapt to losing the ability to lipread and cues from facial expressions. According to Heidi Rose, PhD, professor and chair of Villanova University's Communication Department, "Most people take communication for granted." Simple things, such as seeing facial expressions, are crucial to fully understanding each other. "We get a lot of cues from voice (tone) [and] inflection, but the face communicates so much," said Dr. Rose. For instance, new relationships through face coverings may become difficult to develop. "If you don't know them, you miss a lot; in a classroom or work situation, until you know them well, it creates a big barrier." Not being able to see the face is a major barrier in understanding speech in the deaf community. Dr. Rose, who has written and researched communication in the deaf community, sees clear masks as a solution. "Now there's a market for them; they help facilitate facial expression; it helps you feel closer to someone," Dr. Rose said. These masks, which have clear plastic windows, allow for more understanding. The key, Dr. Rose emphasizes, is to positively adapt to new communication challenges. Clear masks could be a step toward shaping the future of communication. "Instead of lamenting the losses, focus more on adaptability—what we recognize as essential to good communication and how we overcome these barriers," she added. As history has proven, the way we communicate is constantly changing. "We always evolve in interesting ways," said Dr. Rose. "The invention of the telephone didn't stop neighbors from talking to each other."
Digital Media Consumption in Canada is Being Dramatically Impacted by the Coronavirus Crisis
A Canadian perspective on Comscore’s ongoing special investigation into how the COVID-19 pandemic is leading to significant audience and consumer behaviour changes across digital platforms. Insights from our Analysis: News, news and more news: Canadians are consuming news at a record pace Social media and messaging: Canadians are staying ultra-connected with their communities Entertainment, music, and spirituality content: increased consumption seen as behaviours change Government: information from government websites are becoming top-of-mind Finance: increased focus on investments and payments Analysis of News & Information Category We have seen an explosion on engagement with news and information sites. In looking at the news categories and its subcategories, the week of Mar 9-15, 2020 saw big increases in engagement over the benchmark week of Dec 30, 2019 - Jan 5, 2020. As a trend, news consumption in general is also on the rise in Canada in terms of aggregate daily unique visitors and visits over time. Analysis of Social Media and Messaging Category As Canadians respond to the Coronavirus reality, we are seeing that their engagement with digital communication channels has increased significantly. When comparing daily engagement with email, instant messengers and social networking sites between the week of March 9-15, 2020 and the benchmark week of Dec 30, 2019 -Jan 5, 2020 as it relates to the % change in usage, we saw large increase in activity. The raw increase in numbers in social media provides greater detailsof the growth in usage: Analysis of Entertainment, Misc and Religious / Spiritual Category Content is Queen, King, Prince, and Princess – between the weeks of Dec 30– January 5 and March 9-15, greater amounts of time at home and the associated increased screen time drove incremental usage of the Entertainment category and the Religious/Spiritual subcategory. Driving the growth is the explosion of Entertainment – Music, which saw an increase of 32% in aggregate daily UV, a 33% increase in visits, and a 31% increase in minutes during this time. Analysis of Government Category Another category that has seen an explosion of visitation and engagement is government sites. Overall there has been huge audience and time spent with government-related content. Here is the build of visits and aggregate Daily UV over the past 10 weeks: We reviewed the Government category between week of Dec 30, 2019 – January 5, 2020 to March 9 – March 15, 2020 and looked at the % change in usage, which really showed a large increase in activity by Canadians. Based on this trend and growing global cases of Coronavirus, it is expected that Canadian audiences will continue to flock to the content from the government in these uncertain times. Analysis of Finance Category There is a saying that we hear in society – “Follow the Money”. The digital behavior of Canadians has been analogous in recent weeks as we have seen increased measures taken relating to the Coronavirus. Overall the Business/Finance category has seen some increased usage over the time period reviewed. Banking, Payments, Investments, and especially Taxes have seen high visitation. Between the week of Dec 30, 2019 – January 5, 2020 to March 9 – March 15, 2020 we saw an increase of +19% and +59%, respectively, in visits in the Investments and Payments subcategories. Additional insights from Comscore’s initial COVID-19 insights for Canada show that: Overall Digital Consumption across the Total Internet has increased. During the time period of this review visits have increased by 10% and time spent has increased by 14% In a time of crisis, people turn to News/Information Websites There have been significant increases in activity by Canadians on Social Media, Email, and Messaging pointing to the need for communication. Social distancing is safe on the internet. Interest soars for government information sources – where we see an explosion of usage. Increases in certain content Categories like Entertainment, Games, Music, Dating, and Religion/Spirituality have spiked Spikes in traffic are occurring for the e-commerce giants as social distancing and local restrictions impact in-store retail – with specific focus on Food and Supermarket Global movement restrictions lead to tumultuous traffic for travel sites
This presidential election will undoubtedly be the most contentious, controversial, and probably extraordinary in American history. If you thought 2016 was a spectacle, now Joe Biden and Donald Trump are facing off during a global pandemic, which will inevitably force the traditional styles of campaigning like whistle stops and rallies to pivot toward digital town halls and online chats. Despite polling, both parties know they cannot take anything for granted. And there are a lot of factors at play: Has anyone done an almost exclusively online campaign before? What will a lack of massive rallies mean for Donald Trump? What can Joe Biden learn from the Clinton campaign? What are the key states at play and why do they matter so much? Can either candidate bridge the divide between a very divisive America? The next 99 days will be a long and drawn out marathon of drama, policies, and political punches. And if you are covering, let Dr. Stephen Farnsworth be your go-to for everything you need to know during this election. Dr. Stephen Farnsworth is a sought-after political commentator on presidential politics. He has been widely featured in national media, including The Washington Post, Reuters, The Chicago Tribune, and MSNBC. He is author or co-author of six books on presidential communication. Dr. Farnsworth is available to speak with media and help with your coverage – simply click on his icon to arrange an interview today.
Individuals With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities More Likely to Contract COVID-19
Recent news coverage has indicated that individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) are more likely than those without ID/DD to contract COVID-19 and to die as a result of it. "Similar to other individuals with disability, those with ID/DD often have pre-existing health conditions that increase their risk," says Suzanne C. Smeltzer, EdD, RN, the Richard and Marianne Kreider Endowed Professor in Nursing for Vulnerable Populations at Villanova University's M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing. Some people with ID/DD live in group settings in which they come in contact with others who may be infected with COVID-19. The frequent turnover of personal assistants and contact of persons with ID/DD with multiple personal assistants may increase the risk of COVID-19 in part because of their exposure to multiple potential carriers and the need for many of their personal assistants to use public transportation. Dr. Smeltzer says, "There is also concern in the disability community, among family members of individuals with disability and among disability advocates that those with these disabilities will be viewed as less deserving of more aggressive therapies, such as ventilators. The quality of life of persons with ID/DD may be considered by others as low, even though quality of life can only be judged by the people themselves." Initial limitations put in place in many health care institutions included the exclusion of family members and other support persons because of risk for COVID-19 infection. However, a groundswell of advocacy resulted in changes in this policy because individuals with ID/DD hospitalized during the COVID-19 pandemic were being deprived of essential support. "These support persons are needed to help those with ID/DD understand what was happening in the hectic health care settings and to help with communication and decision making," says Dr. Smeltzer. "Individuals with ID/DD need the same care as others and must receive explanations about their care and must be allowed to participate in making decisions about their care."