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.

Annual Graduate Students in Communications fall picnic open to all graduate students, faculty and staff. Please bring a dish to share. Families and/or significant others are welcome.

Special welcome back event for College of Communications students, faculty and staff featuring Berkey Creamery ice cream. Event sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs, with representatives from student organizations available.

Lee Ahern, associate professor in the Department of Advertising/Public Relations, presents the Communications Colloquium.

ABSTRACT: Past research supports the notion that Fox News Channel (FNC) is more dismissive of global warming than other news outlets. In addition, FNC covers the issue much more often. A qualitative-quantitative content analysis indicates that—for the leading US broadcast and cable news networks overall—coverage of global warming relies on traditional news values such as political-elite cues and event magnitude. FNC, however, exhibited a news agenda favoring more coverage of global warming and climate change (relative to the other leading news outlets). Additional analysis indicates that FNC often co-opts the issue as an exemplar of “political correctness” and of the excess of political progressivism. Other networks, conversely, are more likely than FNC to cover the actual causes and impacts of global warming. Findings are situated in the context of gatekeeping theory; implications of observed network differences are discussed.

An information and involvement fair -- free to all Penn State students -- focusing on sports communications, marketing and media opportunities at Penn State and in Centre County. "Sports Night at the Museum” will bring together representatives from more than a dozen communications and media outlets that provide opportunities for students to garner hands-on experience toward an eventual career. Participating outlets include: ComRadio, The Daily Collegian, ESPN Radio, Onward State, Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics, PSN-TV, StateCollege.com, WPSU and more. Check-in for the event at the Penn State All-Sports Museum begins at 6 p.m., followed by an hour-long session that includes brief information about each of the participating organizations. A catered networking session will follow, allowing interested students to meet with representatives from all of the groups in attendance.

First meeting of the semester for College of Communications Student Council. Get information about involvement with THON, Peer Mentors, tour guides, Open House events, the Honor Code, fundraising and more!

Jake Herman ('13), assistant account executive at Grey Advertising in New York City, will discuss the day-to-day duties of an account executive at one of the largest ad agency brands in the world.