The Media, Inequality & Change Center

On the latest episode of Annenberg Conversations, Annenberg Professor @victorpickard.bsky.social, co-director of the @miccenter.bsky.social, explained how the loss of local journalism affects civic knowledge, political engagement, and our democracy as news deserts become more widespread.

Emerging Scholars Program

Now accepting applications for the 2026 Milton Wolf Seminar's Emerging Scholars Program!

This year's theme is "Tech Juggernauts: AI, Freedom of Expression, and Shifting Geopolitical Alliances," and scholars in related fields are encouraged to apply by February 13.

Application instructions here:

About COMPASS provides placement assistance and a weekly lecture taught by leading media policy experts for graduate students from participating universities to undertake meaningful summer fellowships in Wa...

We are now accepting applications for the 2026 COMPASS Summer Fellowship Program, which places PhD students with DC-based communication-related institutions to gain hands-on experience in communication policy.

Application letters and CVs are due no later than Jan 16, 2026.

More info here:

Eroding the market’s hidden hand: toward a Post-Capitalist media system Abstract. Media-related problems facing democratic societies around the world today often stem from various kinds of market failures and structural limitat

In his recent essay for @ccc-journal.bsky.social, @victorpickard.bsky.social analyzes the capitalist logics at the root of many media-related issues and provides a framework for shifting to a less capitalist, more democratic media system.

Read here: buff.ly/AYvibor

Fellows will participate in a weekly seminar in Washington, DC on the practice of communication policy.

The seminar will be taught by @gbsohn.bsky.social, a Benton Institute Senior Fellow and Public Advocate and the Executive Director of the American Association of Public Broadband.

About COMPASS provides placement assistance and a weekly lecture taught by leading media policy experts for graduate students from participating universities to undertake meaningful summer fellowships in Wa...

We are now accepting applications for the 2026 COMPASS Summer Fellowship Program, which places PhD students with DC-based communication-related institutions to gain hands-on experience in communication policy.

Application letters and CVs are due no later than Jan 16, 2026.

More info here:

The Political Economy of the US Media System: Excavating the Roots of the Present Crisis - Roosevelt Institute Bilal Baydoun, Shahrzad Shams, and Victor Pickard trace the roots of the US media crisis to decades of deregulation and commercial capture, outlining how consolidation, news deserts, and platform domi...

A new report from MIC Co-Director @victorpickard.bsky.social
as well as @shahrzadshams.bsky.social and @bilalb.bsky.social maps the political economy behind today’s media crisis and asks the urgent question:

What would a media system designed to strengthen democracy actually look like?

Promotional poster for the "Beyond Endurance: Reimagining Media Praxis" annual symposium, hosted by the Center for Media at Risk at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication, scheduled for December 4–5. The design features a stylized vintage computer monitor with red tiles dispersing from the screen, symbolizing digital media. The poster highlights keynote speaker André de Quadros on December 4 and interactive panels with artists, journalists, and scholars on December 5. Names of participants and a registration link are included.

How do you center hope in your research, activism and media work?

Join our annual symposium in two weeks to imagine new possibilities for media research and practice at this time of profound upheaval.

Keynote: music educator, André de Quadros

Register: bit.ly/beyondendurance @asc.upenn.edu

Promotional poster for the "Beyond Endurance: Reimagining Media Praxis" annual symposium, hosted by the Center for Media at Risk at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication, scheduled for December 4–5. The design features a stylized vintage computer monitor with red tiles dispersing from the screen, symbolizing digital media. The poster highlights keynote speaker André de Quadros on December 4 and interactive panels with artists, journalists, and scholars on December 5. Names of participants and a registration link are included.

There is hope, and we must use it! Join us at our annual symposium next month to envision new possibilities for media research and practice at this time of profound upheaval. Register here: bit.ly/beyondendurance @asc.upenn.edu

YouTube video by LastWeekTonight Public Media: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

Was thrilled to help consult for this fantastic John Oliver segment on the tragic plight of U.S. public media and why, if we hope to be a democracy, we still need public media for so many things that commercial media will never provide. Deserves a wide viewership. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yknM...

Content Confusion We often blame social media for the rampant problem of disinformation, but mainstream news media is also at fault. Not only do news outlets disguise paid con...

🎉 Excited to share that Content Confusion publishes today! It dives into how news orgs & advertisers—including fossil fuels—blur journalism & ads, fueling disinfo & distrust. Available now! Use code MITP30 today for 30% off at MIT Press. Thanks for the support! 🙏
mitpress.mit.edu/978026255360...

A Critical Crossroads for Free Speech and Local News Local news and freedom of speech across the country are under threat. Due to federal funding cuts, NPR and PBS affiliates of all sizes have announced that they will need to lay off staff, reduce progr...

Attacks on press freedom are devastating newsrooms and leaving communities without reliable local news.

Join @freepress.bsky.social on 11/13 for a conversation with FCC Commissioner @agomezfcc.bsky.social about the barriers to free speech and local news NJ residents are facing.

buff.ly/3njhEfG

Five years of work. One concise guide. Free to view and download now. – Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting

By changing the way gun violence is covered, reporters can take an active role in minimizing harm to injured people, communities, and society—and even make an important contribution toward preventing gun violence.

ABSTRACT This study examines the political economy, discursive legitimations, and effectiveness of the primary U.S. policy response to narrowing the digital divide: public subsidies for internet service. Using Philadelphia as our case study, we analyze municipal efforts to enroll low-income communities in low-cost commercial broadband plans supported by the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Like many other U.S. cities in the neoliberal era, Philadelphia sought to organize its digital equity initiative as a decentralized network of public agencies, commercial broadband providers, and nonprofits. Drawing on expert interviews, focus groups with ACP-eligible subscribers, and policy documents, we find that despite the city’s goal of achieving universal service, the networked initiative ultimately advanced the economic interests and market position of Comcast, the city’s monopoly broadband provider – with only minimal gains in connectivity. We argue that the evolving relationship between Comcast and the city of Philadelphia exemplifies what we refer to as the dialectic of the network. While often assumed as opposing forms of economic and social organization, the monopoly – centralized, vertically organized, hierarchical – and the network – decentralized, horizontal, leaderless – actively reinforce and legitimize one another as part of the neoliberal conquest of America’s communication infrastructure.

🚨 New article out, great colab w/ @davidberman.bsky.social, assessing the primary U.S. response to the digital divide: the corporate subsidy. Using mixed methods, we show how networked "digital equity" reinforces network monopoly. @miccenter.bsky.social
www.tandfonline.com/eprint/2BPFG...

Informing Philadelphia: Strengths and Gaps in Local Media's Coverage of Critical Information Needs Title in white text on red backdrop next to an image of the Philadelphia skyline.

Local news plays a vital role in helping people stay safe, healthy, and connected to their communities.

@theine.bsky.social and Carlotta Verita look at how well Philly’s local news media keep residents informed about the issues that matter most in this new report: buff.ly/jJO22o8

Trump Administration Wields Its Full Toolbox to Bring Media to Heel

Talked to Jim Rutenberg at the NYT about whether there were any historical precedents in the U.S. for Trump's frontal assault on our media, especially this kind of FCC intervention focused on silencing dissent, directly violating free speech, etc. Could think of none: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/b...

If there was ever a time for bold new public infrastructure to support local news and informed communities, this is it.

This is too important to miss.

Join us w/ @reprabb.bsky.social @victorpickard.bsky.social @abigailhiggins.bsky.social @mikerispoli.bsky.social next week.

RSVP: bit.ly/fpabbsoc9

book cover with a red background featuring four missile silhouettes. The title "HOW THE COLD WAR BROKE THE NEWS" is displayed in white capital letters at the top. Below the title is an image of a folded newspaper. The subtitle reads "The Surprising Roots of Journalism's Decline." At the bottom, the author's name "BARBIE ZELIZER" is written in white capital letters.

American journalism has serious problems. But how did we get here? @bzelizer.bsky.social’s new book 📚 How the Cold War Broke the News📚 uncovers the surprising roots of journalism’s decline and offers a plan to make it better. Pre-order now: bit.ly/4mqcr68

"Big media conglomerates would rather cave to the president than stand up for their constitutional rights." -- Free Press' @timkarr.bsky.social

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-nbc-abc-licenses

Public Media Cuts: Annenberg Answers Experts comment on Congress’s elimination of $535 million a year in federal funding for PBS, NPR, and local stations across the country.

Last week, the House voted to cut roughly $535 million a year in federal funding for PBS, NPR and local stations nationwide. We asked Annenberg experts to explain how this sweeping move could reshape the landscape of public broadcasting:

Iman Abid on the Economy of Genocide, Victor Pickard on Paramount Settlement The UN's Albanese has long opposed Israel’s genocide of Palestinians—but what broke US warmongers was her naming corporations profiting from that genocide.

Really enjoyed this conversation about the structural media reform that we need with the wonderful Janine Jackson for @fairmediawatch.bsky.social's CounterSpin: fair.org/home/iman-ab...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Sharing my latest pub, "News Inside: What Mainstream Journalism Can Learn From the Radical Humanism of Prison Journalism." Particularly proud b/c incarcerated/formerly incarcerated folks can teach us a lot about democracy & media. A pleasure to collaborate w/ @lizhallgren.bsky.social on this:

The Media, Inequality, and Change Center Publishes “Is Another AI Possible? Platforms, Political Economies, and Alternatives”

What viable pathways exist for building equitable, publicly accountable AI systems in the face of entrenched corporate and state power?

"Is Another AI Possible?" by @anismedia.bsky.social addresses this question and explores alternatives focused on public interest.

Read here: buff.ly/vLo5vLt

The Media’s Profits Trump Democracy, Once Again Paramount’s settlement with Trump is a symptom of deep structural rot in our corporate media system.

"In the face of government strong-arming, profit-seeking media organizations predictably sacrifice their journalistic principles rather than jeopardize their commercial interests."

Read @victorpickard.bsky.social's newest article on the implications of Paramount's settlement with Trump:

At 4:15pm today at UDC:

Make sure to catch "The Dialectic of Broadband" presented by @sydneyforde.bsky.social in Cherry Parkes 105.

Great discussion today at @uniondemcomm.bsky.social about the future of nonprofit journalism and whether it preserves old forms or leads to new democratic relationships in local communities. @miccenter.bsky.social @davidberman.bsky.social

Today at 9:30am at UDC:

@davidberman.bsky.social @victorpickard.bsky.social and Aaron Hyzen will present "Between Restoration and Transformation in Pennsylvania’s Nonprofit News Ecosystem" in Cherry Parkes 106.

Also in Cherry Parkes 105 at 2:30pm:

"Research Capture: Assessing Big Tech Funding of Academic Research on Digital Platforms" presented by @sydneyforde.bsky.social @theine.bsky.social @ppopiel.bsky.social followed by a panel titled "Corporate Power Beyond Media Ownership Concentration"

2:30pm today at UDC, catch these presentations in Cherry Parkes 105:

First, Aaron Hyzen presents "Capture and Corruption: how the AI industry can be dominated by a narrow elite"