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Newsletter

Sign up for our newsletter to receive our rundown of media worth exploring. Information overload has left many feeling burnt out and unmotivated to trudge through the torrent of news to extract the best stories. Issued three times per year, our newsletter highlights stories across platforms, disciplines and fields of study, all while celebrating the victories of those working to further free and critical media practice and scholarship. You can also follow the Center’s updates via LinkedIn and Bluesky.

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Programming

Opportunities

Steering Committee

Membership in the Center for Media at Risk steering committee offers an opportunity for graduate students enrolled at the Annenberg School for Communication to become consistently involved with the Center’s research and programming. By joining the steering committee, students benefit from:

  • A collaborative community of researchers, activists and media practitioners.
  • Research funding and additional funded opportunities to produce reports, infographics, interviews, podcasts, film reviews or multimedia work in collaboration with local and national affiliates. 
  • An Alumni mentor.
  • The opportunity to curate events on issues you care about and participate in the planning and delivery of the Center’s annual symposium.

Graduate students enrolled at Penn’s Annenberg School for Communication can express interest in joining the Steering Committee by emailing media.risk@asc.upenn.edu.

Lisbon Winter School

Graduate students enrolled at Penn’s Annenberg School for Communication are invited to apply to attend the Lisbon Winter School. Jointly organized by the Faculty of Human Sciences (Universidade Católica Portuguesa) and the Center for Media@Risk (Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania), the Lisbon Winter School offers an opportunity for doctoral students and early career post-doctoral researchers to strategize around the study of media together with senior scholars in the field. It is held in coordination with the Annenberg Schools of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Southern California, the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s School of Journalism and Communication, the University of Helsinki’s Institute for Social Sciences and Humanities, and The Europaeum.

Undergraduate Fellowship

The Center offers two undergraduate fellowships each academic year. Over the course of the year, fellows either produce 1) single research project, 2) long form investigative piece or 3) multimedia project, such as a podcast series, short film or art exhibit. Outputs are hosted on the Center’s website. Fellows learn about media at risk by joining the Center’s community of scholars and media makers, taking part in Center discussions and attending Center events. Fellows receive close mentorship from the Center’s research director, who helps them to conceptualize, theorize, produce, edit and publish their work. Fellows will also have up to $1,500 in funding available for research, travel and project materials. Students cannot receive academic credit for this fellowship. However, students already enrolled in the COMM Senior Honors/ComPS Thesis class can integrate this fellowship into their thesis year, with their poster serving as their fellowship output. 

The Center welcomes project proposals on any topic related to media and risk. Students at any stage of their undergraduate journey and from any Major are encouraged to apply. This opportunity would be well suited to aspiring media researchers, student journalists or media practitioners who want to conduct an in-depth exploration of a topic related to journalism, media freedom and risk. Because fellows work closely with experienced media researchers, including our postdocs and visiting scholars, this opportunity would also benefit those seeking to develop their research skills or those seeking to pursue graduate study in media and communication. Applications open in September of each year.

Alumni Engagement

Alumni are encouraged to remain involved with the Center as mentors and affiliates. Alumni mentors support the work of current graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and staff. Alumni affiliates provide ongoing support for the Center’s research and programming. Alumni can express interest in becoming mentors or affiliates by emailing media.risk@asc.upenn.edu.

Visiting Opportunities

Each year, the Center welcomes one media scholar and one media practitioner to join its efforts to defend media freedom. This competitively funded fellowship is open to scholars and practitioners from anywhere in the world whose work addresses media and risk. Visiting scholars and practitioners attend Center for Media at Risk events, collaborate on media projects with doctoral students and contribute a piece of their choice to the Center’s website. Additionally, they deliver a public lecture or workshop related to their expertise and play an active role in organizing the Center’s annual symposium. To express interest in our visiting opportunities, send a CV and cover letter to media.risk@asc.upenn.edu.