General News 6 | DEV College of Media

Media Career Services to hold first annual Media Career Week for students February 24-27

February 4, 2025 | Kelly Youngblood

Media Career Services is holding its first annual Media Career Week, featuring workshops, guest speakers, and media professionals offering helpful insights to prepare College of Media students for a campuswide career fair as well as their post-graduation career.

*Media Career Services hosts a panel with recruiters.*

Media Career Week will kick off Monday, Feb. 24, and run through Thursday, Feb. 27, culminating with the Hire Illini Career and Internship Fair, which typically attracts hundreds of employers recruiting for a wide range of jobs and internships. The event is organized by The Career Center on campus and held at the Illini Union.

Daniel Almanza, assistant director of Media Career Services, said he wanted to try something new this year, taking events that would normally be held throughout the academic semester and planning them during the same week to build momentum leading up to the main career fair held every spring at the University of Illinois.

“What I had in mind was to offer different workshops, different opportunities for students to be able to prep for the Hire Illini Career and Internship Fair, but also to start thinking about what they want to potentially do as a career,” Almanza said.

Media Career Services is partnering with other units on campus to put on daily events throughout Media Career Week, including The Career Center, the Media James Scholar Program, the Richard and Leslie Frank Center for Leadership and Innovation in Media, and the Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies.

Events include resume reviews with local professionals, student internship panel, an alumni career night, and more.

Students are encouraged to self-select which events they attend, based on their interests and needs, whether it’s talking tips, networking opportunities, or learning more about a specific field in the media industry.

“It’s really about helping students prepare for their future career and attending events they think are going to help them ultimately at the career fair,” he said.

Almanza, who has led Media Career Services for more than three years, recently shared some of his career advice in Getting from College to Career by Lindsey Pollak.

In the book, Almanza highlights webinar tips, provides interview recommendations, and suggests how to showcase previous experiences and skills.

Almanza hopes the inaugural Media Career Week will help Media students become fully equipped to succeed at the annual Hire Illini and Internship Fair.

“I’m excited to do this, to see how well it works and really pilot [this program] and see if students enjoy a condensed week of professional development,” he said.

A full schedule of Media Career Week events can be found here.

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Ebertfest to Celebrate 40th Anniversary of ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’ and Adds ‘His Three Daughters’ and ‘Touch’ to 2025 Lineup

Actress Rosanna Arquette and Directors Azazel Jacobs, Baltasar Kormákur, and Susan Seidelman will attend this year’s festival

February 3, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, IL (February 3, 2025) — Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, also known as Ebertfest, announced today the addition of three new films to this year’s festival:

40th Anniversary Screening of Susan Seidelman’s DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN starring Rosanna Arquette, Aidan Quinn, and Madonna
Azazel Jacobs’ HIS THREE DAUGHTERS starring Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, and Elizabeth Olsen
Baltasar Kormákur’s TOUCH starring Egill Ólafsson, Kōki, and Palmi Kormákur

The Virginia Theatre will be partying like it’s 1985 when Susan Seidelman’s DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN celebrates its 40th anniversary with a special screening and Q&A with director Susan Seidelman and actress Rosanna Arquette. Originally released theatrically on March 29, 1985, the film was highly successful at the box office grossing $55.3M in the U.S. and becoming the 31st highest grossing film of the year. DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN, which features an all-star cast including Rosanna Arquette, Aidan Quinn, Madonna, John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, Laurie Metcalf, and Steven Wright, received two film awards including a BAFTA Award and six nominations.

DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN tells the story of New Jersey housewife Roberta Glass (Rosanna Arquette) who spices up her boring life by reading personal ads, especially a series of them being placed by a mysterious denizen of New York City named Susan (Madonna). When one of Susan’s ads proposes a rendezvous with her suitor (Robert Joy) at Battery Park, Roberta secretly tags along. But when her voyeuristic jape ends in permanent memory loss and a new jacket, Roberta begins to gather a lot of unwanted attention from some unsavory characters.

“What I liked in Desperately Seeking Susan was the cheerful way it bopped around New York, introducing us to unforgettable characters, played by good actors,” said Roger Ebert in his 3-star review.

“We are thrilled to welcome Susan Seidelman and Rosanna Arquette to Champaign to celebrate this trailblazing movie about women,” said Chaz Ebert, co-founder and producer of Ebertfest.

HIS THREE DAUGHTERS will feature a post-screening conversation with director Azazel Jacobs, who returns to the festival for a three-peat following screenings of TERRI in 2011 and FRENCH EXIT in 2022. The critically-acclaimed film received 10 awards including wins at the Gotham Awards and Film Independent Spirit Awards and is Rotten Tomatoes Certified Fresh with a 98% score.

From writer-director Azazel Jacobs (French Exit, The Lovers), HIS THREE DAUGHTERS is a bittersweet and often funny story of an elderly patriarch and the three grown daughters who come to be with him in his final days. Katie (Carrie Coon) is a controlling Brooklyn mother dealing with a wayward teenage daughter; free-spirited Christina (Elizabeth Olsen) is a different kind of mom, separated from her offspring for the first time; and Rachel (Natasha Lyonne) is a sports-betting stoner who has never left her father’s apartment—much to the chagrin of her stepsisters, who share a different mother and worldview. Continuing his astute exploration of family dynamics in close-knit spaces, Jacobs follows the siblings over the course of three volatile days, as death looms, grievances erupt, and love seeps through the cracks of a fractured home.

“As a father of three daughters, this film resonates with me on a deeply personal level,” said Festival Director Nate Kohn. “Azazel is masterful at balancing a delicate story with comedic elements when appropriate. Like his other screenings in previous years, I have no doubt that the Ebertfest attendees will appreciate seeing this film and hearing from Azazel immediately following.”

Baltasar Kormákur will make his Ebertfest debut for a Q&A to discuss his critically-acclaimed TOUCH, which received the coveted Audience Award at the 2025 Tromsø International Film Festival in Tromsø, Norway. Additionally, the film was chosen as Iceland’s official entry for Best International Film at the 97th Academy Awards where it was named to the shortlist and is currently Rotten Tomatoes Certified Fresh with a 92% score.

A romantic and thrilling story that spans several decades and continents, TOUCH follows one widower’s emotional journey to find his first love who disappeared 50 years ago, before his time runs out. “Touch is just flat-out romantic, and so grown-up in its execution,” said Chaz Ebert. “Sometimes we say they don’t make them like this anymore; well, Kormákur proves that they do. This is the kind of movie that takes its time to allow your heart to soar.”

As previously announced, the 2025 Roger Ebert’s Film Festival will open with a new 70mm print of the Western classic THE SEARCHERS (1956), starring John Wayne and Natalie Wood, on Wednesday, April 23. Additionally, Guy Maddin’s RUMOURS will screen and Todd Phillip’s THE HANGOVER will close out the festival on Saturday, April 26.

Additional updates to the festival program will be announced in the coming weeks.

Ebertfest passes are currently available to purchase online or by calling the Virginia Theatre box office at 217-356-9063. Individual festival passes to see all films cost $200, which includes reserved seating.

Roger Ebert was a Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, University of Illinois journalism alumnus, and Urbana native.

Chaz Ebert is also the author of the indie bestseller It’s Time to Give A FECK: Elevating Humanity through Forgiveness, Empathy, Compassion, and Kindness.

Ebertfest is hosted by Chaz Ebert and Nate Kohn, the festival director since the very beginning, in collaboration with the College of Media at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

For additional information, please visit ebertfest.com and follow us on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ebertfest/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ebertfest/

To become a supporting Festival Sponsor please contact Molly Cornyn, the Festival Coordinator, at mcornyn2@illinois.edu.

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PRESS CONTACTS:

Molly Cornyn
mcornyn2@illinois.edu
217-333-1590

Lee Meltzer
Lee@LeeMeltzerConsulting.com
551-208-8617

Todd Phillips’ ‘The Hangover’ to close 26th annual Ebertfest

January 15, 2025

Guy Maddin’s Rumours gets set for this year’s lineup

Producer Scott Budnick and Director Guy Maddin to attend this year’s festival

CHAMPAIGN, IL (January 15, 2025) — Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, also known as Ebertfest, announced today that Todd Phillips’ The Hangover starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, and Justin Bartha will close the 26th annual festival on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at the historic Virginia Theatre in Champaign, IL. There will be a Q&A with producer Scott Budnick immediately following the screening.

In his 3.5/4 stars review, Roger Ebert called The Hangover “a funny movie, flat out, all the way through…a movie that deserves every letter of its R rating…. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, especially after you throw up.”

In The Hangover, Doug (Justin Bartha) and three friends (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis) drive to Las Vegas for a wild and memorable stag party. In fact, when the three groomsmen wake up the next morning, they can’t remember a thing; nor can they find Doug. With little time to spare, the three hazy pals try to retrace their steps and find Doug so they can get him back to Los Angeles in time to walk down the aisle.

“In 2009, a cult phenomenon was born when Scott Budnick, Todd Phillips and the entire team involved with The Hangover unveiled this offbeat comedy classic,” said Chaz Ebert, Co-Founder and Producer of Ebertfest. “This film made me realize the amazing flexibility of all the actors, but especially Bradley Cooper. Shortly after the film debuted in America, I ran into Bradley in Cannes and was surprised to see him speaking perfect French while being interviewed on French television, a far cry from his ‘Hangover’ character. Both Roger and I enjoyed the outrageousness of the movie, and I look forward to hearing the laughter and excitement from the packed house in the Virginia Theatre!”

The festival is pleased to share that Guy Maddin’s Rumours, released in 2024 and starring Cate Blanchett, will officially screen as part of this year’s lineup. Director Guy Maddin will be returning to the festival following a well-received screening of My Winnipeg at the 2009 event.

In his review of Rumours, RogerEbert.com’s Brian Tallerico says, “[Maddin is] A filmmaker that Roger admired so much has once again burst his imagination onto the big screen in what will surely be one of the highest-profile projects of his career (Cate Blanchett can do that)…. After all, Roger’s statement is still true: Few filmmakers obviously love movies as much as Guy Maddin.”

Rumours follows leaders of the world’s wealthiest democracies who gather for the annual G7 Summit to draft a provisional statement regarding an unnamed global crisis. They soon become spectacles of incompetence, contending with increasingly surreal obstacles as night falls in the misty woods and they realize they are suddenly alone.

“The ‘Rumours’ are true…Guy Maddin’s work of art is officially slated for our incredible Ebertfest audience!” said Festival Director Nate Kohn. “As a festival that not only celebrates the very best in film, but also the creative geniuses that masterfully tell these stories, it is only fitting that Guy Maddin be honored at this year’s event.”

As previously announced, the 2025 Roger Ebert’s Film Festival will open with a new 70mm print of the Western classic The Searchers (1956), starring John Wayne and Natalie Wood on Wednesday, April 23.

Additional updates to the festival program will be announced in the coming weeks.

Roger Ebert was a Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, University of Illinois journalism alumnus, and Urbana native.

Chaz Ebert is also the author of the indie bestseller It’s Time to Give A FECK: Elevating Humanity through Forgiveness, Empathy, Compassion, and Kindness.

Ebertfest is hosted by Chaz Ebert and Nate Kohn, the festival director since the very beginning, in collaboration with the College of Media at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

For additional information, please visit https://ebertfest.com/ and follow us on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ebertfest/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ebertfest/

To become a supporting Festival Sponsor please contact Molly Cornyn, the Festival Coordinator, at mcornyn2@illinois.edu.

###

PRESS CONTACTS:

Molly Cornyn
mcornyn2@illinois.edu
217-333-1590

Lee Meltzer
Lee@LeeMeltzerConsulting.com
551-208-8617

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College of Media spaces for faculty, staff in Gregory Hall undergo renovations

November 7, 2024 | Kelly Youngblood

College of Media faculty, staff, and students can see notable changes at Gregory Hall after several major remodeling projects that began in May 2024 have been completed or are scheduled to wrap up this fall semester.

Thanks to a sizeable investment from campus, the college has been able to focus on facility as well as technology improvements, including a new administrative suite for the academic departments and a unit-reservable event space.

“We are grateful to the Office of the Provost for support in pursuing these projects, which are reflecting of the confidence campus has in our departments and units. These updates will enable us to accelerate our momentum even further,” said Tracy Sulkin, dean of the College of Media.

Facilities & Services staff have completely overhauled the space for the academic department suite (pictured at right), combining a classroom and adjoining office to create three new offices and a large lobby area, adding new walls, floors, lighting, doors, and transom windows that will allow natural light into the lobby.

The new suite will be the administrative home for the college’s three academic departments, with offices for the heads of the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising, the Department of Journalism, and the Department of Media & Cinema Studies, and their administrative support.

The College of Media main office in 119 Greg Hall will house the Office of the Dean, the college’s business office, and a small reservable meeting space adjacent to the administrative suite.

Room 225 on the second floor that formerly housed Media Tech—which has been relocated to a set of offices on the east wing of the first floor, convenient to the Media Technology Center on the lower level—has been remodeled to serve as a unit event space for departments and units for talks, faculty meetings, workshops for students, orientation and prospective student events, and more.

This new event space (pictured at top) is designed to accommodate about 25 people. Additions to the room include fresh paint, new flexible meeting furniture, a large-screen display, Owl webcam, and Apple TV.

Conference Rooms 231 (Peterson Room) and 336 (Sandage Room) have also been outfitted with new displays, Owl webcams, and Apple TVs.

Upgrades to the foyer in the suite of faculty offices on the second floor include removal of cubicles, additional furniture for informal gatherings, new paint, and the creation of a copy room with network and electrical upgrades.

Gregory Hall will see more changes in the summer of 2025 when the lower level will undergo renovations and create a new hybrid, flexible classroom, thanks to a generous gift from Richard and Leslie Frank. Read more about those plans.

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College of Media Career Week

Join us for the College of Media’s 2026 Career Week, organized by Media Career Services. Events are scheduled on Monday, Feb. 23, through Friday, Feb. 27, featuring workshops, guest speakers, and media professionals who will offer great insights for students as they prepare for their post-graduation career!

Monday, February 23

Rapid Resume Review

1:30-3:30 p.m.
18 Gregory Hall
Presented by Media Career Services

Conquer career fair season by visiting Media Career Services and getting your resume reviewed during our Rapid Resume Review drop-in hours. Experienced media professionals, including a Broadcast Creative Director, Digital Media Associate Director, and Communication Coordinator will be participating and meeting with students.

This event will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be sure to bring a printed copy of your resume.

Media Career Night: Young Alumni

5-6 p.m.
213 Gregory Hall
Register here to attend
Presented by Media Career Services

Join us for Media Career Night where College of Media alumni share stories about their career path and offer career advice. Students will have the opportunity to hear about their career journey and ask them questions. We are excited to have the following alumni panelists participating in the event:

Penny Bradford (BS ’25, journalism)
Marketing & Digital Content Manager at Parkland College

Carson Gourdie (BS ’23, journalism)
Sports Reporter at WICS News Channel 20

Olivia Moffitt (BS ’21, media and cinema studies)
Influencer and Founder & Tour Guide at A Girl About Champaign-Urbana

Tuesday, February 24

Pop-Up Headshot Lab

11 a.m.-1 p.m.
29 Gregory Hall
Brought to you by The Career Center and Media Career Services

Get career ready by getting FREE professional headshots. Join us on a first-come, first-serve basis as you prepare for the job and internship market. Each session should take 3-5 minutes. Students are encouraged to come early as the cut-off will be 15 minutes prior to closing. Professional dress suggested.

Student Internship Panel Showcase

4-5 p.m.
31 Gregory Hall
Register here to attend
Presented by Media Career Services

Panelists include:

Aaron Anastos, senior in journalism and anthropology
Reis Glover, senior in advertising
Shirley Ma, senior in CS + advertising
Ella Yoder, junior in media and cinema studies

Join your fellow Media peers as they share stories about their past internship experiences, including at business such as Ogilvy and GE Appliances. The student panelists will discuss internship search tips, the interview experience, skills they learned, and much more!

Wednesday, February 25

Resume Print and Go Drop-Ins

2:30-4 p.m.
13 Gregory Hall
Presented by Media Career Services / Sponsored by College of Media Student Services

College of Media students are invited to print up to 10 copies of their resume in preparation for the Hire Illini Career and Internship Fair. Resume paper will be provided by College of Media Student Services Center. This is a FREE event for College of Media students.

Resume Revamp: AI Strategies to Level Up Your Resume

5-6 p.m.
Gallery of Siebel Center for Design
Presented by Media Career Services / Sponsored by American Advertising Federation

Join our interactive workshop to learn practical strategies for using AI tools to revise and enhance your resume. Whether you’re starting from scratch or refining an existing resume, you will learn how to leverage AI platforms to create a strong, results driven resume that highlights your skills.

Thursday, February 26

Hire Illini Career and Internship Fair

1-5 p.m.
Illini Union
Presented by The Career Center

Unlock your future and join us at the Hire Illini Career and Internship Fair. This is an excellent opportunity for you to explore a vast array of career and internship opportunities at 100+ of the nation’s leading employers (and the list is still growing). Open to Illinois students of all majors and class levels, this event promises to connect you with recruiters who are eager to engage with talent like you! Whether you are seeking an internship, a full-time position, or just eager to expand your network and knowledge of your chosen field, this fair is the perfect platform for you to kickstart your professional journey. Registration is encouraged but not required.

On the day of the fair, feel free to stop at the Career Coaching Corner (located in the Pine Lounge of the Illini Union) for any last-minute advice. Our expert career coaches will be available to assist you with any last-minute questions you may have as you navigate your career fair experience.

Friday, February 27

Frank Center Student Workshop: Q&A with Alum Joe Sargis, Senior Producer at Fox News

12-1:30 p.m.
Frank Newsroom at Richmond Studio
RSVP to Colleen King, cck@illinois.edu, Frank Center Director
Presented by the Richard and Leslie Frank Center for Leadership and Innovation in Media

Learn more about the career journey of Joe Sargis (BS ’13, journalism) and his time at Fox News as a senior producer.

During his time at U of I he was an on-air personality at WPGU-FM, an active member at UI7 News, and a Student U broadcaster for the Big Ten Network. Sargis worked at WCIU-TV in Chicago as a production assistant, associate producer, and then line producer. He began his career at Fox News as an associate producer for Special Report with Bret Baier and is currently the senior producer.

New experiential learning opportunities for Media students include international, domestic trips

January 13, 2025 | Kelly Youngblood

Three experiential learning opportunities are being offered to students this spring including two new trips—one to the nation’s capital and another to two Scandinavian countries—as well as a return visit to the West African country of Sierra Leone.

Washington, D.C., March 19-22

Colleen King, clinical assistant professor of journalism and director of the Richard and Leslie Frank Center for Leadership and Innovation in Media, will be taking eight students to Washington, D.C., to visit news outlets and key government locations.

In addition to participating in newsroom tours, students will receive journalism advice for coursework and career planning; learn to identify local journalism beats; and understand the basics of how professional newsrooms and control rooms operate.

The trip is designed to help students gain invaluable knowledge about U.S. history and the First Amendment to better cover politics, campaigns, and elections, as well as the day-to-day workings of the U.S. government.

Some of the sites the students will visit include the NBC News/MSNBC Washington bureau, the CBS News Washington bureau, Politico, the Albritton Journalism Institute and its website NOTUS (News of the United States), a tour of Capitol Hill, and a visit to the National Archives.

(Update: See photos from their trip to DC.)

Sierra Leone, West Africa, March 14-22

Charles “Stretch” Ledford, associate professor of journalism, and Alison Davis, lecturer in journalism, will lead a return trip back to Freetown, Sierra Leone, with six students in the “Globally Focused Advanced Documentary Filmmaking” class.

Under the supervision of Ledford, Davis, and Dr. Francis Sowa, dean of communications, media, and information studies at the University of Sierra Leone’s Fourah Bay College, Illinois and Fourah Bay journalism students will continue production of the documentary film Uman Tok: Tailoring Hope, Reclaiming Futures. An early cut of the film won first place in the 2024 Illinois Broadcasters Association Student Silver Dome Award for Television Photojournalism.

The multi-year international reporting project tells the story of Uman Tok, a small, woman-led nonprofit in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital city. Uman Tok (“woman talk” in the local language) employs 15 marginalized women at a living wage to produce reusable, washable menstrual pads for schoolgirls around the country who otherwise would not have a means of managing their monthly periods.

In addition to collaborating on the documentary film, students will be working on a virtual reality experience, a podcast, and an ink-on-paper comic book for readers of any level.

The media the journalism students produce will be used in an advertising campaign for Uman Tok created by students in the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising’s capstone course this spring.

This year, both Illinois journalism students and their peers from Fourah Bay College will not only work together in the field, but also live together on the same compound, in an environment designed to foster organic collaboration, shared learning, and more authentic and deeply reported stories.

Scandinavia Tour, May 26-June 4

Marisa Peacock, senior lecturer in advertising, is planning a 10-day study abroad trip for 21 students to Copenhagen, Denmark, and Stockholm, Sweden.

Designed to give students a deep dive into the branding, advertising, and cultural strategies of major global companies, the trip will also provide a broader exploration of Scandinavian design, architecture, and culture.

Students will visit corporate headquarters of iconic companies like LEGO, IKEA, H&M, and UNIQLO to understand their global marketing strategies and meet with alumni working with these brands in fields of design, marketing, and communication.

Additionally, the itinerary includes visits to renowned cultural and design sites such as the Swedish Museum of Architecture and Design, Nyhavn harbor, and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.

Peacock said she pitched the idea of visiting the area due to an interest in Scandinavian design, which blends functionality with simplicity and modernity, and because brands like IKEA, LEGO, and UNIQLO incorporate corporate responsibility with a dedication to diversity, inclusion, and sustainability, which is also an important hallmark of brand building.

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2025 Roger Ebert’s Film Festival to kick off with ‘The Searchers,’ first-ever Western screened at Ebertfest; passes go on sale November 18

November 14, 2024

Chaz Ebert and the University of Illinois College of Media announce that the opening night film of the 2025 Roger Ebert’s Film Festival will be a new 70mm print of the Western classic The Searchers (1956), starring John Wayne and Natalie Wood. The four-day festival, named for famed film critic Roger Ebert, will be held Wednesday, April 23, through Saturday, April 26, 2025. Festival passes will go on sale on Monday, Nov. 18.

“We are pleased to bring the first Western to our Ebertfest audience, and it just so happens that a film from the Golden Age of Hollywood directed by John Ford was recently restored by Warner Bros. in collaboration with the Film Foundation,” said Chaz Ebert, CEO of the preeminent movie review site Rogerebert.com and cofounder of Ebertfest. “Roger gave the film four stars, but also acknowledged the racial attitudes of the time, asking whether the film sought to endorse them, or dramatize and regret them. We look forward to a vigorous post-screening discussion with film scholars and audiences about representation in film.”

Passes to see all the films screened at Ebertfest can be purchased through the Virginia Theatre website, or at their box office by calling 217-356-9063 or visiting 203 W. Park Ave. in downtown Champaign. All films will be shown at the historic Virginia Theatre.

Individual festival passes cost $200. VIP Sponsorship packages start at $1,800 and include VIP seating for two, lunch and dinner with the filmmakers, invitations to all festival special parties and events, and much more.

Roger Ebert was a Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, University of Illinois journalism alumnus, and Urbana native.

Chaz Ebert is also the author of the indie best seller It’s Time to Give A FECK: Elevating Humanity through Forgiveness, Empathy, Compassion, and Kindness.

Ebertfest is hosted by Chaz Ebert and Nate Kohn, the festival director since the very beginning, in collaboration with the College of Media at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Watch for announcements of films and filmmaker guests over the next few months. The full festival program will be announced in March.

For the latest updates, please visit ebertfest.com and follow Ebertfest on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ebertfest/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ebertfest/

Roger Ebert’s Film Festival relies on generous gifts from donors and sponsors. Gifts of all sizes are vital to the festival and can be made online through the College of Media by selecting “Roger Ebert’s Film Festival Fund – 11331422.” For additional sponsorship options, visit the Ebertfest website: ebertfest.com/become-sponsor.

PRESS CONTACT:

Molly Cornyn, Festival Coordinator, mcornyn2@illinois.edu, 217-333-1590

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Excerpts from ‘Bridging Divides’ series: What Does it Mean to Be an Informed Critic?

Jenny Oyallon-Koloski and Michael Phillips

November 13, 2024

As part of the College of Media’s three-part webinar series this fall, “Bridging Divides: Conversations on Media and Disagreement,” faculty from the Departments of Advertising, Journalism, and Media & Cinema Studies led Q&As to explore how productive discussions occur across lines of disagreement and difference.

Below, read excerpts from “What Does it Mean to Be an Informed Critic?” Note: Answers have been condensed for length and clarity.

Panelists:

Jenny Oyallon-Koloski, Assistant Professor, Department of Media & Cinema Studies; author of Storytelling in Motion: Cinematic Choreography and the Film Musical
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune Film Critic; College of Media Ebert Fellows Mentor

Oyallon-Koloski: What’s the value of criticism, especially in these polarized times? Why do we need voices of critics, people like yourself, especially ones who are informed about those kind of artistic and cultural works that they write or communicate about?

Phillips: I’ve never stuck to one firm belief or answer on that because it really responds to the times you’re in. I think it’s important to have to acknowledge that every single human being has their own tastes and opinions and prejudices and responses to everything. And I just like to try to write so that your preconceptions and maybe expectations are not set in concrete. They can actually bend and they’re more porous. You can have your mind changed by a film that you didn’t think would be for you, but there are elements of it that are really working. Really in the end I think criticism works best and is most alive when it is acknowledging that you have more than two feelings about something, and they might go in opposite directions. That’s why I look to critics that I respect who try to sort out all the wildly conflicting elements that make anything worth talking about.

Oyallon-Koloski: Do you consider global perspectives, even if you’re targeting local audiences of your media outlet? How does the global perspective or the global audience play into criticism?

Phillips: This is something we all need. We just need to see, we need to hear from more than a certain kind of American filmmaker in our lives. Because then otherwise, we’re just risking a kind of cultural nationalism that does not help us at all.

Oyallon-Koloski: It often feels like what literacy there is today tends to come filtered through a decontextualized bite-sized meme culture. How much does criticism thrive on a culture where media is curated for you in intentional ways? How much does that historical knowledge play into all of this?

Phillips: It’s important. It’s also important to acknowledge that, broadly, everybody worth reading is going to have 10 very different reference shelves in their psyche. I think it’s always worth championing and reintroducing certain classics to people. But the reasons change through the decades.

I think the critic or the academic or the media studies professor should always be reconsidering what needs to be shown to these people this semester because it will spark the kind of split or debate. Maybe it’s a film that is just begging for a cultural divide to happen literally in the classroom. And then I think it’s the critic or the professor’s role to just simply kind of referee it. And it’s wonderful to experience. It gets more dicey when you’re talking about films that have tremendously controversial content. I also don’t believe in shelving those works because they’re too hot to handle. But boy, oh boy, you really have to figure out how and when and if this is the right context. We forget or whitewash the past at our own peril in every aspect of American life.

As for the memes and the satire, I’d hate to just settle for that because that’s kind of a faint echo of the original.

Read excerpts from the other “Bridging Divides” Q&As:

Engaging with People, Perspectives, and Policies When You Don’t Agree: Lessons from Journalism

Reaching Across the Aisle: Advertising and Messaging in an Age of Polarization

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Excerpts from ‘Bridging Divides’ series: Reaching Across the Aisle: Advertising and Messaging in an Age of Polarization

November 13, 2024

Below, read excerpts from “Reaching Across the Aisle: Advertising and Messaging in an Age of Polarization.” Note: Answers have been condensed for length and clarity.

Panelists:

Jason P. Chambers, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Professor, Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising; author of Advertising Revolutionary: The Life and Work of Tom Burrell
Michael Strautmanis (BS ’91, advertising; JD ’94, law), Executive Vice President for External Affairs, Obama Foundation

Chambers: We live in a world in which people either love the AFC or the NFC, you either like Coke or Pepsi, Apple or Samsung, Democrat or Republican. We live in a world of these bifurcations and find your tribe and all of that. So how do you deal with those differing belief systems when you’re trying to establish a message? How do you present a core value or what might be some of those core values that you try to illustrate for people?

Strautmanis: If there is something that is a part of your identity, that is core to who you are, from which your values stem because of your experiences or because of the people that have taught you things, then I think in some ways it’s not [just] okay, it’s necessary to articulate them, to make them known, to make them seen.

But I guess the question is, what’s your goal? These things that divide us—and it could be our political parties, it could be our race, it could be our beliefs—could be used to build a connection, even if the connection comes from a different and opposing place.

Our identities don’t have to be fixed and that can be an interesting story to tell that can often create common ground as well.

Chambers: I like the way that you put that, that our identities don’t necessarily have to be fixed. Does it sometimes feel as though we hold to things as though they must be a moment of learning for me? But if I accept that then I’m somehow being inauthentic to my tribe or I’m somehow being a traitor to the things that I’ve, at least up until this educational moment, thought that I believed in. So how do you approach those environments where you may be entering a space where you’re thinking [you’re] really going to have to work hard to find the points of common ground for folks, because at least in terms of belief system we may be on such wildly different planes?

Strautmanis: I think for me, when I’ve struggled with that, it’s because I’m afraid. And I might be afraid for good reason. I might be afraid because I’m in an environment where I feel like people are making assumptions about me based upon my identity that will hurt my ability to be successful.

I’d say one of my most basic values is learning and education. A fixed mindset that leaves you having a base—if you can think about it visually like a permeable fence that you can stand in—where you’ve got your people who love you, the people who know you, the people who you can be yourself completely with. The core of who you are. You’ve got that. And I think that really helps you then let things in and out of that fence and be able to shift and change along the way, based upon the different experiences that you’ve had.

Literally, I can’t imagine this, but if you are mentally in your mind the same person at 50 that you are at 20, I just can’t think of anything more sad than that. That you have not been able to live a life [where you] grow and change and evolve. There is no better place to do that than in college. That’s what college is for—to come to an environment with a bunch of other people who don’t come from where you come from, who don’t look like you, who have different experiences than you have, and be in an environment that the whole point of it is to learn.

Chambers: As one who deals with audiences and creating messaging and dealing with folks of different perspectives, belief systems, politics, and other ways of thinking about messaging, do you have guidance or insight for thinking about some of these social media tools and this awesome power that we now have as individuals, as well as organizations, in a broader society?

Strautmanis: We had this experience often, particularly in 2008, where part of the strategy to defeat [Barack Obama] politically, was to make people afraid of him, to connect him to things that were scary, and to play on a lot of very old tropes around Black men, very old tropes around Chicago, and try to find ways to have people leap over the intellectual part and go to something very core, like, ‘I need to be afraid.’

So, what we had to do is try to find a way to stimulate the ‘Is that true?’ instinct in people. If you ask yourself, when you see something, you read something, [and wonder] ‘Is that true?’ it kind of gives you the opportunity to do some of your own research.

I think that kind of messaging and strategy that has people connect to their best selves can really work across lines of difference. Our belief and our experience has been that people don’t really like hating everybody and being mad at everyone.

So, we do like to give people an opportunity to say: ‘You are a hopeful, optimistic, capable person who sees the best in others.’ And what we found is most people are like, ‘Yeah, that is me.’

Read excerpts from the other “Bridging Divides” Q&As:

Engaging with People, Perspectives, and Policies When You Don’t Agree: Lessons from Journalism

What Does it Mean to Be an Informed Critic?

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Excerpts from ‘Bridging Divides’ series: Engaging with People, Perspectives, and Policies When You Don’t Agree: Lessons from Journalism

November 13, 2024

Below, read excerpts from “Engaging with People, Perspectives, and Policies When You Don’t Agree: Lessons from Journalism.” Note: Answers have been condensed for length and clarity.

Panelists:

Leon Dash, Professor and Swanlund Chair, Department of Journalism; 1995 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Explanatory Reporting
Colleen King, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Journalism; Director of the Richard and Leslie Frank Center for Leadership and Innovation in Media; former Executive Producer for MSNBC’s The 11^th Hour with Brian Williams

King: How do you have all your life experiences and not put them in a story?

Dash: You get used to keeping your personal opinion, your personal reactions out of stories. It’s discipline that becomes a part of you and working as a reporter. And, you know, an editor is not going to let your opinion go past him or her. They’re going to stop you and say, ‘Oh, no, no, you’re giving me your opinion here.’

King: News judgment really cannot be totally objective. So how do journalists approach the selection of stories at times of great polarization?

Dash: Probably from their personal interests. News objectivity is a goal, but as I said, it is very difficult to achieve pure objectivity. But you know when you’re being unfair. And so that was, for me, my measure. Fairness or unfairness. [As for] what stories to select to cover, they almost present themselves.

King: How can the press go about rebuilding trust with audience members, especially younger audiences who maybe aren’t as familiar with traditional news media?

Dash: That’s a good question because [I’m] dealing with a freshman class this semester and I’ve been surprised when they tell me they get most of the information from TikTok.

And I really don’t have an answer to that question. I talk to them and I give them a current events quiz. Some of them do quite well on it. The ones that do well on the current events are reading traditional news outlets. Here the students have access as part of their student fees to The New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal. And some of them do take advantage of that and read those papers regularly, not daily, and so they’re well up to the mark on current events.

Others follow traditional social media that they have always followed and they’re not really up on current events. So, I really don’t have an answer for that. I would like to see an answer for that. Maybe this is a part of an evolution that we have to go through as a society.

King: What are some of your big takeaways or advice for students in public affairs reporting?

Dash: It’s important to remain calm and not be defensive or offensive. I’m always telling them you have to have a bit of aggression in terms of advocating for the public, the politicians, and with the people who are elected officials. You must always be polite, and professional, but ask the question that needs to be asked.

If it’s a matter of embezzling money, you ask about it. If you know the amount of money that was embezzled, you cite that in your question and it’s public. So always be prepared to do that, no matter what the reaction of the official or the politician is to your question.

Read excerpts from the other “Bridging Divides” Q&As:

What Does it Mean to Be an Informed Critic?

Reaching Across the Aisle: Advertising and Messaging in an Age of Polarization

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