Grady Research Radio

Dr. Bartosz Wojdynski is an associate professor in the Department of Journalism, a Jim Kennedy New Media Professor, and the Director of the Digital Media Attention and Cognition (DMAC) Lab here at Grady College. He currently teaches courses in multimedia journalism, interactive media, and the psychological effects of communication technology. His work with the DMAC Lab focuses on better understand...

Lauren Musgrove, an assistant professor in the Department of Entertainment and Media Studies at Grady College, teaches Production Basics and Intro to Cinematography. Outside of the classroom, she is the co-founder and co-owner of Purple Magnet Productions, a female-led production company that started up in 2020. She is also working with the Athens Film Festival and is a judge for the student-led b...

Kim Landrum is a senior lecturer in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at Grady College. She teaches Social Media Content and Production, Integrated AdPR Campaigns, and Podcast Branding and Production, among other courses, at the College. Landrum is also the faculty advisor for the UGA chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA).  In this episode, guest host...

Dr. Carolina Acosta-Alzuru (MA ’96, PhD ’99) is a professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at Grady College and the recent recipient of a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Award.  In this episode of Grady Research Radio, Acosta-Alzuru takes us through her research path, which largely focuses on the links between media, culture and society, centering specifically on melodramati...

Booker T. Mattison , an associate professor in the Department of Entertainment and Media Studies at Grady College, teaches screenwriting and directing for the screen courses at Grady and actively works as writer, director and filmmaker. In this episode of Grady Research Radio, Mattison takes us through his career, sharing his inspirations, the aspects of his work that stand out to him, how his pro...

In this episode of Grady Research Radio, Dr. Hye Jin Yoon takes us through her research path, largely inspired by what she describes as the “healing power of humor” and how it can be used for the greater good in advertising and communication, specifically when communicating complex or serious topics, such as health or the environment.  Dr. Yoon goes on to explain how she prioritizes research with...

For a large portion of his career as a researcher, Dr. Nathaniel Evans has looked at areas of advertising that were on the Federal Trade Commission's radar about potentially being deceptive and, through his research and from a consumer protection standpoint, has offered insights and recommendations on what advertisers should do differently.  In this episode of Grady Research Radio, Dr. Evans w...

Dr. Ahn, director of the Center for Advanced Computer-Human Ecosystems (CACHE) Lab at Grady College, dives into her research testing and analyzing how virtual reality can be used as a tool to improve lives and prepare people for unforeseen circumstances, such as a natural disaster. Dr. Ahn also speaks about the rapid evolution of virtual reality over the past decade and predicts a future for the f...

Dr. Andrea Hudson (ABJ ‘12, PhD ‘21), a lecturer in the Department of Journalism at Grady College, teaches a variety of journalism classes, including photojournalism and reporting and writing across platforms. Broadly, her research is grounded in visual communication and women’s studies.  In this episode, Dr. Hudson speaks about her passion for the power images and visual journalism, as well as a...

Dr. Denetra Walker, an assistant professor in the Journalism Department, started her role in fall 2022. While she’s still new to the College, her research draws from years of experience both studying the topic of social justice journalism and working in several behind-the-scenes roles in television news markets in Augusta, Georgia, New York, Houston, Las Vegas and Columbia, South Carolina.  Walker...

For many, watching television is a part of daily life, and those clips that show up on screens can begin to leave a lasting impression. Television shows’ portrayals of different people and groups, even in subtle ways, can influence the way individuals and cultures are perceived. Understanding this, Dr. Laurena Bernabo , an assistant professor in the Department of Entertainment and Media Studies, u...

In this episode, we speak with Moni Basu , an award-winning journalist and author and the director of our Master in Fine Arts in Narrative Nonfiction program. The Low-Residency Master in Fine Arts in Narrative Nonfiction program , based in Grady College, bridges the gap between journalism and literature, preparing students to not only produce impactful pieces, but also to have them published. The...

The film industry in Georgia is flourishing. Generating $4.4 billion for the state last fiscal year, film and TV productions made in Georgia include a long list of box office top earning feature films, streaming programming, commercials, music videos and independent films. Spider-Man: No Way Home, Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, Stranger Things, and Loki are just several of the hundreds of...

In 2021, after hearing that the Oglethorpe Echo, the community paper of Clarke County’s neighbor, Oglethorpe County, was shutting its doors, Grady College devised a plan to save it. For over a year now, after transitioning the paper to a nonprofit, the Oglethorpe Echo has been staffed by student journalists. Dr. Amanda Bright, the director of the Journalism Innovation Lab for the James M. Cox Jr....

Brands and organizations want to attract consumers and gain their trust. Accomplishing both of these tasks, though, is no easy feat. Two factors that greatly impact the attractiveness of advertisements and consumer trust are the personalization of advertisements — adding names and images to ads, for example — and disclosing if and how an advertisement, whether its an image, video or user review, m...

With the Dec. 6 Senate runoff election in Georgia soon approaching, the Grady Research Radio podcast brought back Dr. David Clementson , an assistant professor in Public Relations at Grady College and a political communication researcher, to discuss the communication strategies of Sen. Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger Herschel Walker heading into the election.

The current media landscape is full of unreliable and deceptive information, through deep fakes, click bait, conspiracies and more. With advancements in technology and the sheer amount of information out there, discerning between what is real and fake has perhaps never been more challenging. With this issue in mind, Grady College’s James M. Cox Jr. Institute for Journalism Innovation, Management a...

A discussion with game studies researcher, author and associate professor in the Department of Entertainment and Media Studies Dr. Shira Chess about her research, why video games may not get the attention they deserve, and what the future may hold for the field. 

Leading up to the midterm elections in Georgia, this episode features a discussion with Joseph Watson, Jr. , the Carolyn Caudell Tieger Professor of Public Affairs Communications in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at Grady College, about the state of political advertisements. Watson has over 20 years of experience working in public affairs, campaigns and communications.

Leading up to the midterm elections in the state of Georgia, this episode features a discussion with Dr. David Clementson , an assistant professor in Public Relations at Grady College and a political communication researcher, about the state of political debates, whether they have any real influence, why some politicians shy away from debates, the art of dodging questions and more.

A conversation with Dr. Karin Assmann, an assistant professor in the Journalism Department and director of the Qualitative Research Lab, a lab for any Grady College graduate or undergraduate student who wants to pursue qualitative research, which involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data, such as talking to people or conducting thematic content analysis. She explains recent research tha...

A conversation with Dr. Glenna Read, assistant professor of advertising and director of the Brain, Body and Media (BBAM) Lab, which is used to research psychophysiological reactions to different forms of media and messages. Dr. Read discusses the functions of the lab, recent research conducted in the lab, and how those interested can get involved. 

Grady College's Department of Journalism was recently named one of the nation's first solutions journalism hubs, a designation given to only three other colleges in the United States. We check in with Grady's solutions journalism experts Dr. Amanda Bright, Dr. Kyser Lough and Ralitsa Vassileva, who explain what solutions journalism is, what the new designation means, and how students, educators an...