Author: TheConversation

By Jason Loviglio, Chair and Associate Professor of Media and Communication Studies, University of Maryland, Baltimore County From its start half a century ago, National Public Radio heralded a new approach to the sound of radio in the United States. NPR “would speak with many voices and many dialects,” according to “Purposes,” its founding document. Written in 1970, this blueprint rang with emotional immediacy. NPR would go on the air for the first time a year later, on April 20, 1971. NPR is sometimes mocked, perhaps most memorably in a 1998 “Saturday Night Live” sketch starring actor Alec Baldwin,...

By Antino Kim, Assistant Professor of Operations and Decision Technologies, Indiana University, Alan R. Dennis, Professor of Internet Systems, Indiana University; Patricia L. Moravec, Assistant Professor of Information, Risk and Operations Management, University of Texas at Austin; and Randall K. Minas, Associate Professor of Information Technology Management, University of Hawaii Online misinformation has significant real-life consequences, such as measles outbreaks and encouraging racist mass murderers. Online misinformation can have political consequences as well. The problem of disinformation and propaganda misleading social media users was serious in 2016, continued unabated in 2018 and is expected to be even more severe...

By Paige Marta Skiba, Professor of Law, Vanderbilt University; and Caroline Malone, Ph.D. Student in Law and Economics, Vanderbilt University Installment loans seem like a kinder, gentler version of their “predatory” cousin, the payday loan. But for consumers, they may be even more harmful. Use of the installment loan, in which a consumer borrows a lump sum and pays back the principal and interest in a series of regular payments, has grown dramatically since 2013 as regulators began to rein in payday lending. In fact, payday lenders appear to have developed installment loans primarily to evade this increased scrutiny....

By Patricia Illingworth, Senior Fellow, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Professor of Ethics, Northeastern University I teach a course on ethics and philanthropy and have written about how to donate to charities ethically. Recent news about people who make big charitable gifts acting badly is making me wonder whether philanthropy really does make the world better. Think about it: Members of the Sackler family, who have given millions to arts institutions, also own Purdue Pharma. That’s the company that patented and aggressively marketed Oxycontin, an approach that helped bring about the opioid...

By Diane Winston, Associate Professor and Knight Center Chair in Media & Religion, University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism Tinseled trees and snowy landscapes are not the only signs of the upcoming holiday season. Red kettles, staffed by men and women in street clothes, Santa suits and Salvation Army uniforms, also telegraph Christmastime. The Salvation Army is among America’s top-grossing charities. In 2018, its 25,000 bell-ringers helped raise US$142.7 million. That was part of the charity’s $3.8 billion year-end revenue from bequests, grants, sales, in-kind donations and investments as well as direct contributions. William Booth,...

By Eranda Jayawickreme, Associate Professor of Psychology, Wake Forest University Frank J. Infurna, Associate Professor of Psychology, Arizona State University In our culture, there is the idea that enduring a tragedy can be good for your personal growth. But what does the science say? Surviving adversity will provide you with a newfound appreciation for life. You will be grateful for your friends and family. You will learn from the experience. You will become more resilient. This theme appears in media coverage, time and again, in the wake of natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Is there actually value in pain...