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Camera Looks, Laugh Tracks, and TV Comedy
Michael Z. Newman / University of Wisconsin-MilwaukeeDr. Newman explores how the use of camera looks in sitcoms like Abbott Elementary serves as a comedic device that establishes a direct connection with the audience, blending old and new traditions of comedic performance to invite viewer participation and emotional response.
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Advertising, AI, and the Political Economy of Media and Communications
Matthew Crain / Miami UniversityMatthew Crain argues that advertising’s integration into AI-driven media technologies, such as Perplexity’s AI search engine, is not driven by natural market tendencies. Instead, it results from systemic commodification and political-economic forces, as analyzed through the Political Economy of Media and Communications (PEMC) framework.
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Silicon Valley’s Human Shields
Gerald Sim / Florida Atlantic UniversityGerald Sim critiques Big Tech’s lobbying strategies against antitrust legislation, arguing that companies use technoliberal narratives, racialized imagery, and nationalist rhetoric, such as the “China Argument,” to manipulate public opinion, obscure exploitative labor practices, and maintain dominance.
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Fair Payment in the Film and Television Industries
Roderik Smits / Erasmus University RotterdamDr. Roderik Smits explores various factors affecting what constitutes “fair pay” in the film and television industries.
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Welcome to Wrexham and Representations of Management in Football (Soccer) as a Product of the “Media Sports Cultural Complex”
Dr. Andrew Stubbs-Lacy / University of StaffordshireAndrew Stubbs-Lacy explores the representation and construction of management in football with a focus on Welcome to Wrexham.
Over*Flow

Over*Flow: Effort is Overrated: The Dissonance of AI Integrations with the 2024 Olympic Games
Kathryn Hartzell / University of Texas at Austin
Kathryn Hartzell examines the integration of Artificial Intelligence into the 2024 Summer Olympics and how this endeavor clashes with values surrounding sports, performance, and equality.