The Metamorphosis of Mass Communication Research: Celebrating Milestones, Looking Ahead, on the Occasion of Sandra Ball-Rokeach’s Retirement

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

To celebrate a milestone in the extraordinary 40-year career of Sandra J. Ball-Rokeach (Ph.D., University of Washington), both as a researcher and a mentor, this panel brings together some of the leading scholars and professionals in Communication to reflect on the contributions of her work to the field and also its impact beyond academia, to discuss intersections between her work and theirs, but also to engage in conversation amongst themselves and with the audience on the future of mass communication research and practice. Sandra Ball-Rokeach, a Professor of Communication and Sociology at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California, is also an ICA fellow, has received ICA’s B. Aubrey Fisher Mentorship Award, and, at last count, had published 7 books and 90 journal articles, book chapters, and white papers. She is internationally known for the development and elaboration of media dependency theory (MSD), which she first articulated in the late 1970s, influenced by the work she did, just after completing her Ph.D. degree, as co-chair of the Media and Violence task force of the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence (formed by then U.S. President Lyndon Johnson). In the 1990s, in the aftermath of the unrest sparked by the Rodney King trial and verdict—a critical time in the history of Los Angeles—Sandra launched the Metamorphosis Project, which continues today as a one of the most in-depth studies of the transformation of urban communities under the forces of globalization, population diversity and new communication technologies. The work produced by the Metamorphosis research team represents one of the most significant contributions of Communication to the broader and growing multidisciplinary literature around why place (still) matters and how it shapes individuals’ lives. Through this research emerged communication infrastructure theory, which has been applied to environments beyond Los Angeles, including, but certainly not limited to, Atlanta, Georgia and New York in the U.S., but also China’s Pearl River Delta, Seoul, Korea, and New Delhi, India. In the over 15 years of Metamorphosis’ existence, Sandra has mentored dozens of graduate and undergraduate students, and she has directed over 15 dissertations. The occasion of her retirement in 2017 offers a unique opportunity for mass communications scholars to reflect on the state of the field, but also to contemplate and shape the future.

Sub Unit

• Mass Communication

Chair

• Matthew D. Matsaganis, Rutgers University

Participants

• Sarah Banet-Weiser, U of Southern California

• Jonathan Cohen, University of Haifa

• Lewis A. Friedland, U of Wisconsin - Madison

• Myria Georgiou

• Larry Gross, Univ of Southern California

• Gary Gumpert, Urban Communication Foundation

• Barbara Osborn, U of Southern California

• Gerry Power, M&C Saatchi World Services

• K. Viswanath, Ohio State U

• Young Mie Kim, U of Wisconsin-Madison

Respondent

• Sandra J. Ball-Rokeach, U of Southern California