Viewers of “The Colbert Report” who watched faux-conservative TV host Stephen Colbert set up a super PAC and 501(c)(4) organization during the last presidential election cycle proved to be better informed about campaign financing and the role of money in politics than viewers of other news channels and shows, according to a new study by researchers at the Annenberg Public Policy Center.
Michael Rozansky
Director of Communications, APPC
Michael Rozansky has worked as an editor, writer and reporter for 30 years. Before joining the Annenberg Public Policy Center as director of communications, he spent more than 20 years at the Philadelphia Inquirer, most recently supervising its arts and entertainment coverage. He has reported on the arts, media, business, politics, national and regulatory issues. Rozansky also developed and taught a class at Temple University on the history and practice of celebrity journalism. He received a bachelor’s degree in English and American literature from Brown University and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
National Security Experts Urge Reform in Congressional Oversight of Homeland Security
More than 60 leaders in national defense urged Congress today to reform the way it oversees homeland security, saying that the current system jeopardizes national security and leaves the nation vulnerable to cyber-attacks, bioterrorism, and other threats.
Parents’ Education Affects Children’s Performance on Tasks Involving ‘Working Memory’
Working memory, the ability to hold information in your mind and use it to guide behavior, develops through childhood and adolescence and is key for successful performance at school and work. A new study has found that parents’ education is related to children’s performance on tasks of working memory and that neighborhood characteristics are not.
Teen drivers need better training to counter inexperience and inattention
Better driver training and closer parental supervision of young drivers could reduce some of the major risks that lead to teen driver crashes, according to a review of recent studies published online this month in the Journal of Adolescent Health. “A lot of crashes involving adolescent drivers are due to inexperience, as opposed to recklessness or the inability to pay attention to the road,” said the lead author, Daniel Romer.
Leonore Annenberg arts fellow Bryce Pinkham nominated for Tony Award
Bryce Pinkham, a 2012 Leonore Annenberg Arts fellow, has been nominated for a Tony Award for lead actor in a musical for his performance in “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.” “It’s just one of those moments you are always dreaming about as a little kid, practicing in front of the mirror," Pinkham told Broadwayworld.com.
FactCheck.org’s double Webby win
FactCheck.org was named best Politics website for the 18th Annual Webby Awards. The Webbys, called “the Oscars of the Internet,” are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
Amy B. Jordan to receive Penn Provost’s award for teaching excellence
Amy B. Jordan, adjunct professor of communication at the Annenberg School for Communication and Associate Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, has been named a 2014 recipient of the Provost’s Award for Teaching Excellence by Non-Standing Faculty.
Declining visibility of tobacco use on TV linked to drop in smoking rates
The declining visibility of tobacco products on prime-time U.S. broadcast television shows is linked to a drop in smoking of nearly two packs of cigarettes per adult per year, according to a study by Annenberg Public Policy Center researchers published online in the journal Tobacco Control. The study found that the drop in portrayals of smoking and tobacco use in TV dramas mirrored the decline in consumption
Q&A: Visiting scholar Karin Fikkers on Penn and her media violence and youth studies
Doctoral candidate Karin Fikkers, from the University of Amsterdam, has been studying at the Annenberg School for Communication this winter as part of an exchange program with the Amsterdam School of Communication Research. She talks about her research and the differences between studying in the Netherlands and the United States.
Household smoking bans found effective at curtailing home cigarette use
A pair of studies involving more than 450 parents in Philadelphia that examined the effects of household smoking bans found that homes that imposed smoking bans were effective at reducing the number of cigarettes smoked at home. One study, in the American Journal of Public Health, found that smoking levels in a home did not determine whether a home imposed a ban; the other, in Preventive Medicine, profiled smoking policies in homes with children under the age of 13.