Professor Eszter Hargitti of Northwestern University will present the Pockress Lecture. Hargittai's research focuses on the social and policy implications of digital media with a particular interest in how differences in people's web-use skills influence what they do online. The event is free and open to the public.

Kevin Hagopian, a senior lecturer in the Department of Film-Video and Media Studies, presents the Communications Colloquium.

The return of AdClub's popular Creative Panel will feature a group of Penn State alumni working in various creative jobs around the country and will include advertising art directors, advertising copywriters, graphic designers and creative directors. Panelists include: Melanie DiCaro ('12), junior designer, Lightstream Group (Phildelphia); Taylor Wenner ('13), junior designer, Brian Communications (Philadelphia); Andrea Tinkoff ('13), designer/media planner, Harmelin Media (Philadelphia); and Becky Kitlan ('07), digital art director, AKQA (New York City).

Distinguished Professor Mary Beth Oliver of the Department of Film-Video and Media Studies presents the Communications Colloquium.

ABSTRACT: Research in entertainment psychological has frequently examining the harmful aspects of entertainment such as violence, stereotyping, or unhealthy behaviors. However, a growing number of scholars have begun to examine the positive aspects of entertainment and how it can contribute to social good and well-being. This colloquium will overview this program of research, focusing on the meaningful sides of media entertainment.

Start-of-semester meeting for all College of Communications faculty members.

Sarah Sharma, an associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the Univesity of North Carolina, will present the Social Though Program fall lecture in communication. The event is free and open to the public.

Bu Zhong, associate professor in the Department of Jouarnalism, presents the Communications Colloquium titled "Under the Weather: A study on the links between air pollution and news reporting of the Olympics."

ABSTRACT: To better understand how journalists make news decisions, it is necessary to explore not only known patterns of journalistic practices but also some exogenous factors, such as weather. By using computer-aided content analysis, this lecture will introduce a study examining how Beijing’s weather, which was measured by the Air Pollution Index (API), temperature, and cloudiness (sunny or cloudy), might influence the news coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics by four major U.S. newspapers. The findings show that the API and temperature were significantly related to the negativity of the news reports that were filed from Beijing. Specifically, as Beijing’s temperature rose or air pollution level increased, U.S. journalists used more negative words in reporting on the Olympics. This lecture will be more on how to come up with research ideas, which also includes a brief intro to computer-aided content analysis.

Former Oakland A's president Roy Eisenhardt will address the responsibilities of team ownership during a free public session open to students, faculty, staff and the general public. Eisenhardt’s visit is part of a campus-wide, year-long colloquium on the Role of Sports in Social Transformation. The colloquium is a collaborative effort of various campus units including: Institute for Law, Policy and Research; Center for Sports Business & Research; the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism; College of Liberal Arts; and the Department of Kinesiology.

Eisenhardt graduated with honors from the University of California’s Boalt Hall School of Law in 1965. He previously attended Dartmouth College and served in the Marine Corps before law school. He was a partner in a San Francisco law firm practicing business law for 12 years; in 1979, he took a hiatus to serve as a visiting professor at Boalt. He but left the academy in 1981 to assume the presidency of the Oakland Athletics. The MLB team had been purchased by Walter A. Haas, Jr., the CEO of Levi, Strauss & Co., from Charles O. Finley. Finley foresaw and resisted the changing world of free agency in baseball. The new ownership was significantly motivated by it's desire to maintain a team in Oakland and to contribute to economic and civic development in that city. Facing the need to compete with teams with a far greater marketing base, Eisenhardt and his former law partner, current Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson, launched a number of innovations in sports management, including increased use of analytics. In recent years, he has returned to Boalt Hall to teach the course in sports law.

Public affairs professionals from Dow Chemical Company will discuss career and internship opportunities, as well as inform students about Dow, its products and how communications play a critical role in the company’s success.

Mullen Pittsburgh's president and executive creative director, Brian Bronaugh ('83), will bring a crew of Mullen staffers to campus to talk about each of their individual job duties and their specific departments. This will be a great event to give students some insight into how the various departments work together within a typical ad agency, as well as to find out about the culture at Mullen and future internship and career opportunities in the agency's Pittsburgh office.