New Center for Media and Society at UMass Boston

By Ed Hayward

A new Center on Media and Society has been added to the research and policy lineup at the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies to link UMass Boston to the world of media and communications practice.

Approved in January, the center is directed by Ellen Hume, a former White House correspondent for the Wall Street Journal who is now a senior research fellow teaching media analysis at UMass Boston. Hume has already planned an April 7 conference on campus featuring ABC News commentator George Stephanopoulos and a round-table on ethnic and community news media in Boston.

"We needed a way to build a bridge between the academic community and the world of professional journalism and communication," said Hume, a former executive director of the Shorenstein Center on the Press at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. "For starters, the center will provide access and the tools our students need to understand the role of the news media."

Hume said the focus of the center will include programs and research for the audiences and producers of print and electronic media. Hume and American Studies Professor Mark Schlesinger are also reviewing the possibility of developing a Media and Communication Studies major with a focus on similar issues of theory and practice.

The center begins its work by focusing on two themes: news media and political power, and ethnic and community journalism.

The Center for Media and Society and the McCormack Graduate School will kick off their new partnership with the April 7 conference "Dangerous Intersection: Where Media and Politics Collide." The program, underwritten by FleetBoston Financial, begins with keynote speaker Stephanopoulos, a former White House media advisor. The day-long series of seminars also features a discussion on emerging trends in ethnic journalism in America, and the release of a poll on the Massachusetts voter's news consumption and political attitudes.

The conference fits with the unique contributions Hume hopes the center can make to the community at large, not only locally but nationally and internationally.

"We hope that the conversations that need to be held among politicians, citizens, academics, and journalists about standards, ethics, and impacts of the news can be held here on a neutral ground of the university," Hume said.

Hume has created a partnership with Harvard University's Nieman Program for journalists to produce a special daily student newspaper, The Boston Buzz, during the Democratic Convention in Boston from July 26 to 29. The UMass Boston-Harvard newspaper project will focus on the media's role at the convention, along with other political news. Nieman official Seth Effron, assisted by Hume and syndicated newspaper columnist David Nyhan, will edit the newspaper, which will be distributed free to the participants at the convention.

"It will be a real boot camp for student journalists. We teach about theories and case studies in the classroom, but I also want interested students to get a taste of the challenges of daily journalism," said Hume. There are openings left for the project, Hume said. Students interested in applying should send a resume, writing sample, and letter of interest by April 26 to Ellen Hume, Room 6-086, Wheatley Hall.

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