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Michael J. Socolow

Associate Professor, Communication and Journalism, University of Maine

Michael J. Socolow is a media historian whose research centers upon America’s original radio networks in the 1920s and 1930s. His scholarship on media history has appeared in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, The Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Technology & Culture, and other scholarly journals. He is the author of Six Minutes in Berlin: Broadcast Spectacle and Rowing Gold at the Nazi Olympics (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2016). He was awarded the 2018 Broadcast Historian Award by the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation and the Broadcast Education Association for Six Minutes in Berlin.

He is also a former broadcast journalist who has worked as an Assignment Editor for the Cable News Network and as an information manager for the host broadcast organization at the Barcelona, Atlanta, and Sydney Olympic Games. He has written pieces on media regulation and media history for Slate, Columbia Journalism Review, the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Chronicle Review, and other journalistic outlets. In the Department of Communication and Journalism, he serves as Internship Coordinator and teaches CMJ 211: Journalism Studies I, CMJ 237: Journalism Across Platforms, CMJ 380: Advertising, Media & Society, CMJ 489: Seminar in Media Ethics, CMJ 520: Media History, CMJ 525: Propaganda and Political Persuasion, and other courses.

For more on Professor Socolow’s scholarship check out his Google Scholar profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=YxTJsxoAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao. He tweets at @michaelsocolow.

Good profits from bad news: How the Kennedy assassination helped make network TV news wealthy

Nov 21, 2023 04:02 am UTC| Politics

In journalism, bad news sells. If it bleeds, it leads is a famous industry catchphrase, which explains why violent crime, war and terrorism, and natural disasters are ubiquitous on TV news. The fact that journalists and...

Don't trust the news media? That's good

Mar 15, 2023 15:53 pm UTC| Insights & Views

Everyone seems to hate what they call the media. Attacking journalism even accurate and verified reporting provides a quick lift for politicians. Its not just Donald Trump. Trumps rival for the 2024 Republican...

Olympic Games are great for propagandists – how the lessons of Hitler's Olympics loom over Beijing 2022

Nov 13, 2021 07:48 am UTC| Sports

On the morning of Aug. 14, 1936, two NBC employees met for breakfast at a café in Berlin. Max Jordan and Bill Slater were discussing the Olympic Games they were broadcasting back to the United States and the Nazi...

Aiming for novelty in coronavirus coverage, journalists end up sensationalizing the trivial and untrue

May 20, 2020 15:21 pm UTC| Insights & Views

For centuries, what has made news valuable and news organizations profitable has been the speed at which journalists collect and disseminate information. This is useful for both commerce and public service. But the rush...

The first fireside chat calmed an anxious nation and provides a model for today

Mar 12, 2020 15:48 pm UTC| Politics

President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his advisers knew he had to do something. The U.S. banking system faced imminent collapse; depositors around the country waited anxiously in line to withdraw their funds. To stop the...

Misinformation, evasion and the informational problem of live TV interviews

Oct 02, 2019 02:59 am UTC| Insights & Views Business

First, it happened on Fox News. Chris Wallace asked White House adviser Stephen Miller about the presidents decision to use private lawyers to get information from the Ukrainian government rather than go through …...

Audiences love the anger: Alex Jones, or someone like him, will be back

Aug 08, 2018 11:31 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Confrontational characters spouting conspiracy theories and promoting fringe ideas have been with us since the invention of American broadcasting. First on radio, then on television, the American audience has consistently...

Economy

Asian Technology and Chipmaking Stocks Slide as AI Spending Concerns Shake Markets

Asian technology and chipmaking stocks fell sharply on Monday as investor caution intensified over growing uncertainties surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) spending and its impact on future earnings. The sell-off...

China’s November Economic Data Signals Slowing Industrial Output and Weak Consumer Demand

Chinas economic momentum showed further signs of strain in November as key indicators pointed to slower growth in industrial output and a sharper-than-expected slowdown in consumer spending, according to official data...

Oil Prices Rebound as U.S.-Venezuela Tensions Offset Oversupply Concerns

Oil prices edged higher on Monday, recovering part of last weeks sharp decline, as rising geopolitical tensions between the United States and Venezuela fueled concerns over potential supply disruptions. These worries...

Dollar Struggles as Markets Eye Key Central Bank Decisions and Global Rate Outlooks

The U.S. dollar remained under pressure on Monday, extending losses near a two-month low, while the euro and British pound held relatively steady as investors awaited a series of critical central bank decisions this week....

Asian Stocks Slide as Central Bank Decisions and Key Data Keep Investors Cautious

Asian stock markets opened the week lower as investors reduced risk exposure amid thin year-end liquidity, looming central bank decisions, and a packed schedule of delayed economic data releases. Early Monday trading saw...

Politics

Special Prosecutor Alleges Yoon Suk Yeol Sought North Korea Provocation to Justify Martial Law

A South Korean special prosecutor has accused former President Yoon Suk Yeol of attempting to provoke North Korea into an armed confrontation as part of an alleged plot to justify the declaration of martial law in December...

Supporters Gather Ahead of Verdict in Jimmy Lai’s Landmark Hong Kong National Security Trial

Supporters of Hong Kong democracy activist and media tycoon Jimmy Lai queued overnight outside the citys High Court on Monday as anticipation grew ahead of the verdict in his landmark national security trial, a case that...

Korea Zinc Plans $6.78 Billion U.S. Smelter Investment With Government Partnership

Korea Zincs board is set to convene on Monday to vote on a major overseas investment plan that could significantly strengthen the supply chain for critical minerals in the United States. According to a source familiar with...

Hong Kong Democratic Party Disbands After Member Vote Amid Security Crackdown

Hong Kongs last major opposition party, the Democratic Party, has voted to disband, marking a significant moment in the citys political history and underscoring the impact of Chinas national security crackdown on liberal...

Ukraine’s NATO Concession Unlikely to Shift Peace Talks, Experts Say

Ukraines recent offer to abandon its long-standing ambition to join NATO is unlikely to have a major impact on ongoing peace talks with Russia, according to several foreign policy and security experts. During discussions...

Science

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Blue Origin’s New Glenn Achieves Breakthrough Success With First NASA Mission

Blue Origins massive New Glenn rocket marked a major milestone as it completed its first mission for paying customers, sending two NASA satellites toward Mars and successfully landing its reusable booster at sea. The...

Cogent Biosciences Soars 120% on Breakthrough Phase 3 Results for Bezuclastinib in GIST Treatment

Cogent Biosciences (NASDAQ: COGT) shares skyrocketed over 120% after the biotech company announced groundbreaking results from its Phase 3 PEAK trial evaluating bezuclastinib in combination with sunitinib for patients with...

Trump and Merck KGaA Partner to Slash IVF Drug Costs and Expand Fertility Coverage

U.S. President Donald Trump and German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA have announced a groundbreaking deal aimed at lowering the cost of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments while boosting access to fertility care in...

Technology

iRobot Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Amid Rising Competition and Tariff Pressures

iRobot, the company behind the popular Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States as it prepares to go private through an acquisition by Picea Robotics, its primary...

Nvidia Weighs Expanding H200 AI Chip Production as China Demand Surges

Nvidia is evaluating whether to expand production capacity for its powerful H200 artificial intelligence chips after demand from Chinese customers significantly exceeded current supply, according to multiple sources...

SpaceX Begins IPO Preparations as Wall Street Banks Line Up for Advisory Roles

SpaceX has reportedly begun the early stages of preparing for a potential initial public offering (IPO), marking a significant milestone for the private aerospace company founded by Elon Musk. According to a report from...

SpaceX Insider Share Sale Values Company Near $800 Billion Amid IPO Speculation

SpaceX, the aerospace company founded by Elon Musk, has reportedly authorized an insider share sale that places its valuation at approximately $800 billion, according to a Bloomberg News report published Friday. The move...

Mizuho Raises Broadcom Price Target to $450 on Surging AI Chip Demand

Mizuho Securities has raised its price target on Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO), highlighting accelerating momentum in the companys artificial intelligence business and a rapidly expanding long-term backlog. The brokerage...