MediaMak with Dr. Shermak

Dr. Shermak puts a bow on the summer 2026 session!

Trust in the press is at an all-time low. How do we fix it? What's in place already?

Dr. Shermak introduces advertising and public relations through the lens of the World Cup.

Dr. Shermak explores television as the historical "bull in the China shop" of mass communication and how that has evolved into modern viewing.

During an intense week of content, Dr. Shermak explores the way words have been transmitted to our eyes and ears over many centuries.

As summer gets underway, Dr. Shermak welcomes students and listeners to the six-week session.

On the last episode of the semester, Dr. Shermak has some closing thoughts and a message for the future.

We've discussed the First Amendment and we will discuss it more on this episode - it is that important. Dr. Shermak will also dive into libel and attempt to tackle an interesting question: Does artificial intelligence have free speech protections?

This episode of MediaMak features the show's first-ever guest: Cuesta Political Science Professor Zach Gass. We discuss the press, democracy, "fake news" and more.

Video games are no longer a toy. They are a legitimate mass communication that is currently facing a crisis.

Dr. Shermak doesn't use the word "revolution" lightly. The internet brought one upon the mass communication world. Listen for more.

Dr. Shermak explains how television has changed rapidly in recent years and looks into some concerning new trends in local television news.

Dr. Shermak isn't much of a movie guy, but he sure knows a lot about them. Come hear what he thinks about the past, present and future of an industry in flux.

Dr. Shermaks explains that if video killed the radio star, streaming turned music into Frankenstein.

Did video kill the radio star? Dr. Shermak discusses on this Week 5 edition of Media Mak.

Dr. Shermak turns the pages on the magazine industry, from its history to its "age of specialization."

Dr. Shermak discusses one of his true journalism passions: newspapers. From his newspaper roots as a journalist to his optimism - yes, optimism - about the future, listen here for the Week 3 podcast.

Dr. Shermak recaps the Super Bowl numbers and add context before diving into the "mass communication OG" known as books.

This week Dr. Shermak explores the meaning of mass communication through the lens of the Super Bowl.

This one is especially for the students in the JOUR 200 Introduction to Mass Communication class at Cuesta College. Listen to learn more about expectations, goals, challenges and topics we will take head on this coming semester in our first episode of the Media Mak podcast.

This episode explores the research of Dr. Jeremy Shermak, a journalism instructor at Cuesta College and Cal Poly. He investigated interactions on social media between broadcast television meteorologists and the public. His findings are both fascinating and alarming, bringing light to motivated reasoning, gender-based bias and trust in science.

Our hosts reflect on Dr. Shermak's final lecture of the blazing-fast summer 2025 semester, highlighting the big takeaways and what to think about in mass communication going forward.