The Greek word kairos is often used in rhetoric to mean something akin to "timeliness." Or, as Merriam-Webster defines it, it means "a time when conditions are right for the accomplishment of a crucial action." Kairos is thus the thematic backbone of this blog for three reasons. First, it uses current events to illustrate how… Continue reading Introducing Kairos: A Communication Studies Blog
Kairos: A Communication Studies Blog
Galvanizing Student Voters: Lessons from the Inaugural Semester of “Plattsburgh Votes” at SUNY Plattsburgh
Galvanizing Student Voters: Lessons from the Inaugural Semester of “Plattsburgh Votes” at SUNY Plattsburgh The United States typically sees an uptick in the general public’s interest in civic issues during presidential election years. According to the Pew Research Center, Americans more closely follow the news during such years, and the 2024 election cycle was no… Continue reading Galvanizing Student Voters: Lessons from the Inaugural Semester of “Plattsburgh Votes” at SUNY Plattsburgh
Navigating Representation in News Coverage of War: A Conversation with Journalist Aleksandra Sidorova
Image credit: Aleksandra Sidorova This conversation between student journalist Aleksandra Sidorova and Communication Studies professor Ben Medeiros took place live in a talk show-style format during SUNY Plattsburgh’s "Black Solidarity Day" event in November 2024. Drawing on her experience as a journalist and her personal background, Sidorova critiques the framing of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in… Continue reading Navigating Representation in News Coverage of War: A Conversation with Journalist Aleksandra Sidorova
Boosting Campus Voter Engagement with Plattsburgh Votes
A more substantive reflection on turnout among young voters is coming soon. In the meantime, please find below some press coverage that we were able to generate for the new voter engagement organization that we launched on campus this fall called Plattsburgh Votes: Student Organization Touts Importance of Voting (Plattsburgh Press-Republican) Student group encourages peers… Continue reading Boosting Campus Voter Engagement with Plattsburgh Votes
Will AI Replace Human Journalists?
As in many other industries, the role that AI technology will play in the future of journalism is uncertain. In the past year, several news organizations have been caught using generative AI in questionable ways, and generative AI routinely produces subpar results when given basic reporting prompts, such as summarizing sporting events using box score… Continue reading Will AI Replace Human Journalists?
Book Smart: Communication Studies Alumnus Tyler Light Pursues School Library Career
SUNY Plattsburgh does not have a Library Science major or minor. When Tyler Light '22 started the Communication Studies major, a library career was not on his radar. Given the versatility of communication studies, though, it is no surprise that Light is now thriving as a second-year graduate student in the M.S. program in Library… Continue reading Book Smart: Communication Studies Alumnus Tyler Light Pursues School Library Career
Are AI Content Creators “Real?”
One of the major contributions of the academic humanities and social sciences has been in providing a way to think critically about our identities and how we relate to others. One of the ways we think about who we are involves what are called "social identities, which concern "[our] knowledge that [we] belongs to certain… Continue reading Are AI Content Creators “Real?”
Streaming Services Stand at a Critical Juncture
And Students of Mass Media Can Help Imagine the Future In the last year, numerous reports in media and technology press have indicated that streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Max (formerly HBO Max) face unprecedented challenges. Consumer appear increasingly frustrated by rising prices, subscription plans that change frequently, and hit-or-miss content. Yet these companies… Continue reading Streaming Services Stand at a Critical Juncture
AI News Spotlight: Joe Biden Says “Don’t Vote”
It will surprise no-one that AI-generated material is now being used in political campaigns, and that the uses are not always benign. But how exactly is it being used, and what regulations might be necessary? Voters in a number of states have apparently received robocalls in recent months with AI-generated voices impersonating those of public… Continue reading AI News Spotlight: Joe Biden Says “Don’t Vote”
FIRE on the Future of Free Speech Online
The content moderation decisions of social media platforms -- the choices about what rules to impose on the speech of their users, and how to judge when they're broken -- has become front page news in the past several years. Much of this work is left up to the platforms themselves, though that doesn't mean… Continue reading FIRE on the Future of Free Speech Online
AI News Spotlight: Getting Real about Synthetic Voices
Part of a recurring series that highlights some piece of AI news that is particularly interesting from a communication perspective
Benjamin A. Medeiros 