By Joe Arney
Photos by Jack Moody (StratComm’24)

The study of communication, as José G. Izaguirre III knows, is more than just interpreting the words. It’s also about how those words are heard—in a speech or an article, or in a post or on a poster.

It’s why he leans so heavily on showing communication in its original form, whether in the classes he teaches at CMCI or in a new book examining the formation of the Chicano movement.

“As I was analyzing these different texts, I was just struck by the intentionality to make things look a certain way, which really enriched the communication I was studying,” said Izaguirre, assistant professor of communication at the college, who goes by Joe. “It was clear that those aesthetics were part of the story, too—the degree to which photography, illustrations and designs played a significant role in movements.”

"It is possible for different people to come together around similar concerns, articulate different visions, but still try to work together to accomplish something good.
José G. Izaguirre III
Assistant Professor
Communication

Izaguirre’s book, , traces the beginning of the movement—which originated among striking farm workers in California—through its early years. His research examines the communications that organized Latin American voices into a global political power.

“The book highlights how race is always implicated in different political circumstances—while demonstrating that however much we try to get away from the language of race, it’s always there,” he said. “I tried to show the inescapability of race as a part of communication through a story about how Mexican Americans navigated racial dynamics and promoted a racial identity.”

A good example: “Chicano,” once a pejorative label, was itself reclaimed by the organization as it rejected assimilation and sought to assert its Indigenous roots. But while the movement united under one banner, it was never a singular voice. Izaguirre’s book shows how activists created a political power against the backdrop of the Cold War.

“I think the book highlights the importance of everyday activist movements, or even politically interested individuals who have concerns that are part of a broader community or communal concern,” he said. “It takes seriously these moments of everyday communication and spotlights them in ways that are maybe not typical.”

“Everyday communication” in the 1960s was, of course, very different than today, when demonstrations largely exist and are communicated in ephemeral digital spaces—what’s trending today is tomorrow’s relic. Much of Izaguirre’s source material was donated documents—leaflets, photos, newspapers and so on—that made this project possible. 

It’s how he was able to present so many period pieces in his book, alongside close readings of iconic artifacts like the National Farm Worker Association’s El Plan de Delano, or the poem “I Am Joaquin.” And there is value, he said, in seeing how those pieces are designed, even if it’s text-based, like the Delano document, co-written by Cesar Chavez, to guide their march through California. It contains a list of demands and concerns that, Izaguirre said, are valuable to see in their original context—and language. 

Another level of engagement

“When I show these materials in classes, I want to show that communication as close as possible to what it would have been like to encounter it at the time,” whether that’s a picture, a pamphlet or a speech, he said. “I wouldn’t call it an epiphany, but there’s some level of understanding that happens when I show them the whole document. Because it’s not just text pulled out of somewhere—it’s communication they can see for themselves.” 

That also means students encounter the original communication in its original language. For much of La Raza, of course, that’s Spanish. 

“I do show them an English version, so they understand the meaning of the words, but seeing it in its native language, they get almost the emotion of the words,” Izaguirre said. “Seeing the original document puts it in that cultural or historical context.”  

It’s something he hopes readers and students consider in the context of modern political movements, from the iconography at campaign rallies to how people find one another and organize digitally. But he also hopes those readers will be challenged to rethink the narrative that movements—or communities—can be viewed singularly. The Chicano movement is a prime example. 

“It can be harmful, to see communities being labeled in such a way that they’re cast as the opposition,” he said. “It’s easy to consolidate groups and label them as friend or foe. What’s harder is politics—which is really about building partnerships and opportunities for equal engagement.

“What I hope the book shows is that it is possible for different people to come together around similar concerns, articulate different visions, but still try to work together to accomplish something good.”

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 All things CMDI

Visit our CMDI resources page for more on the college name and FAQs about the opportunities this change will afford to students and alumni.

By Joe Arney
Photos by Kimberly Coffin (CritMedia, StratComm'18)

A childhood trek to visit Aztec temples in Mexico was the first time Cuauhtémoc Campos thought about a future in architecture. 

It wasn’t the last. 

Long before the first-year landscape architecture student set foot on the �鶹��Ƶ campus, Campos helped his father design a porch and a patio area for their home. Now, in his environmental design courses, he’s refining those skills and interests to bring his visions to life, from reusing physical space on campus to a design of his name that borrowed from those Aztec ruins that inspired him. 

“Most of the projects we do are hands-on and challenge us to experiment with our creativity,” Campos said. “But also, we do a lot of presentations to prepare us for when we need to talk about our work publicly.” 

He said he hopes to further strengthen his communication skills once the environmental design program becomes fully integrated with the College of Media, Communication and Information. On July 1, Campos and his peers will formally become part of CMCI, at which point the college will rebrand itself as the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information, or CMDI.

“I was a little shocked when I first heard we were becoming part of CMCI,” he said. “But I feel like the resources we’ll have from being part of the college will add more to what we’re able to learn, while hopefully introducing CMCI students to what makes ENVD special.” 

An important charge for Lori Bergen, founding dean of CMCI, was structuring the integration in a way that added value for ENVD students, alumni, faculty and staff without disrupting the cultures of either entity. As a department within the college, environmental design will be able to retain its identity while benefiting from enhanced and expanded services and networks.

“When we created CMCI, we had three concepts that guided our vision—think, innovate and create,” Bergen said. “Now, as we become CMDI, those principles are just as relevant to our identity. If anything, the intensely hands-on nature of an ENVD education reinforces our mission as a college that brings different, but related, disciplines together, to help us bring interdisciplinary insights to increasingly complex problems.” 

First forays at collaboration

Faculty and staff from environmental design became part of the college in July 2024, so some collaboration has already begun. Azza Kamal, an associate teaching professor of sustainable planning and urban design, is working with Pat Clark, an assistant professor of critical media practices, to give her students access to the college’s Immersive Media Lab later this semester.

“In my studio, we’re working on a virtual reality/augmented reality model for retrofitting neighborhoods in Denver to comply with green building codes and emission reduction bills, and we’ll use his facility so that students can work on their models, but also to explore and get hands-on with the technology,” Kamal said. “I was going to buy the equipment, but then found out Patrick had everything we needed in his lab. And he’s just amazing—he works around our schedule, students will have access to the lab 24/7, I couldn’t ask for more.”

That kind of collaboration is something Stacey Schulte hopes faculty will build on as the players begin to work together.

“No discipline exists in a vacuum,” said Schulte, director of environmental design. “I am excited to see how environmental design will collaborate with communication- and media-related disciplines, and vice versa. 

“As our students continue to create impactful work, they learn how to tell the story of their projects—the problems their designs are intending to solve, and how those solutions create positive community impact—in ways that resonate with stakeholders.”

Kamal said she’s still learning about the players in CMCI who would be good fits for collaboration, “but there is a lot of potential where technology meets storytelling.

“Communication has always been a challenge for architecture and planning students—how to communicate in lay terms. Helping students to take technical, complex designs and be able to tell a story through them—so their clients and the public can appreciate their vision—will be incredibly helpful in their careers.”

That’s a need students recognized, as well. Sophomore Ella Seevers, a landscape architecture student, got some professional communication experience last year, when she worked on a project for the city of Boulder and was challenged to make better use of sites along its creek path. Earlier this month, she went on a site tour and presented her vision to city officials and landscape architects working on a pop-up installation for the summer. Hers is one of three student projects that will influence the final design.

“It was an amazing experience to share our ideas and see that they were actually valued by professional designers who have been doing this for decades,” said Seevers, a teaching assistant in ENVD’s design studios and a mentor to first-year students. “So, I’ve had this opportunity to work with the city already, which is very exciting, because that usually doesn’t happen with a first-year project.

“If you can’t present your design well, and tell other people what you’re thinking and how it’s going to be implemented, then you won’t be a very effective designer,” she said.

 Helping students to take technical, complex designs and be able to tell a story through them—so their clients and the public can appreciate their vision—will be incredibly helpful in their careers."
Azza Kamal
Associate Teaching Professor
Environmental Design

‘The story we live in’

While both entities value hands-on learning, critical thinking and creativity, at first glance, it may not be immediately obvious how ENVD and its four majors—architecture, environmental product design, landscape architecture, and sustainable planning and urban design—fit into CMCI. However, “when you think about the stories we hear, tell and watch, environmental design becomes another dimension of the story that we live in,” said Stephanie Marchesi, president of WE Communications, a global integrated communications firm.

“Storytelling is verbal, written and visual—but through their environmental designs, these talented individuals are bringing stories to life in 3D,” said Marchesi (Jour’85), who sits on CMCI’s advisory board. “This will be something very defining for the college, because it’s taking storytelling to new dimensions—literally.”  

That’s something faculty in the college are excited to explore in depth. 

“My initial reaction to the news was one of intense joy and excitement over what’s possible,” said Bryan Semaan, chair of CMCI’s information science department. “Design intersects so many different spaces. Environmental design researchers are looking at many of the same problems and topics as people across CMCI and within our disciplinary communities, but they’re operating on a scale of how humans will experience and be shaped by the natural and built environments in ways that are important to a sustainable future.” 

That could be anything from a database that governs an algorithmic system to the impact of a data center on the environment and people who live nearby. 

Elena Sabinson, an assistant professor of environmental design, said an important part of her program’s culture is recognizing and creating things that match the needs of their users. It’s something she works on very closely as director of the Neuro D Lab, which studies how design can trigger innovations that support wellbeing and accessibility to those who are neurodivergent.

“I would say my colleagues in ENVD are interested in bridging those mismatches between the environment and the needs of a user,” she said. “And I think CMCI is already doing a lot of that in its own way, whether it’s documentary or information science or any of those spaces.” 

‘Who needs to learn about argument more?’

Alumni like Christopher Bell (PhDMediaSt’09) are watching to see how the college prepares students for the kinds of challenges he sees at work. Bell, a consultant and president of CreativityPartners LLC, said he’s excited to see student and alumni collaborations going forward, such as social media managers who can raise money and awareness for life-changing products coming out of environmental design. 

“People who believe they are ‘just’ technically focused are the people who need the most instruction in communication,” said Bell, also a member of CMCI’s advisory board and an instructor who teaches courses in screenwriting and cultural studies. “Those are the people who need us the most, because they are making arguments and sending messages. 

“Architecture and city planning are arguments. They’re arguments about what matters, who matters and doesn’t, how we see ourselves in relation to other people, and what is important to spend resources on. So, who needs to learn about argument more than environmental designers?”

 When you think about the stories we hear, tell and watch, environmental design becomes another dimension of the story that we live in.” 
Stephanie Marchesi (Jour’85)
CMCI Advisory Board member

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By Joe Arney

Deepfakes. Distrust. Data manipulation. Is it any wonder American democracy feels like it has reached such a dangerous tipping point?  

As our public squares have emptied of reasoned discussion, and our social media feeds have filled with vitriol, viciousness and villainy, we’ve found ourselves increasingly isolated and unable to escape our echo chambers. And while it’s easy to blame social media, adtech platforms or the news, it’s the way these forces overlap and feed off each other that’s put us in this mess.

It’s an important problem to confront as we close in on a consequential election, but the issue is bigger than just what happens this November, or whether you identify with one party or another. Fortunately, the College of Media, Communication and Information was designed for just these kinds of challenges, where a multidisciplinary approach is needed to frame, address and solve increasingly complex problems. 

“Democracy is not just about what happens in this election,” said Nathan Schneider, an assistant professor of media studies and an expert in the design and governance of the internet. “It’s a much longer story, and through all the threats we’ve seen, I’ve taken hope from focusing my attention on advancing democracy, rather than just defending it.”

We spoke to Schneider and other CMCI experts in journalism, information science, media studies, advertising and communication to understand the scope of the challenges. And we asked one big question of each in order to help us make sense of this moment in history, understand how we got here and—maybe—find some faith in the future.  

*** 

Newsrooms have been decimated. The younger generation doesn’t closely follow the news. Attention spans have withered in the TikTok age. Can we count on journalism to serve its Fourth Estate function and deliver fair, accurate coverage of the election?

Mike McDevitt, a former editorial writer and reporter, isn’t convinced the press has learned its lessons from the 2016 cycle, when outlets chased ratings and the appearance of impartiality over a commitment to craft that might have painted more accurate portraits of both candidates. High-quality reporting, he said, may mean less focus on finding scoops and more time sharing resources to chase impactful stories.

How can journalism be better?

“A lot of journalists might disagree with me, but I think news media should be less competitive among each other and find ways to collaborate, especially with the industry gutted. And the news can’t lose sight of what’s important by chasing clickable stories. Covering chaos and conflict is tempting, but journalism’s interests in this respect do not always align with the security of democracy. While threats to democracy are real, amplifying chaos is not how news media should operate during an era of democratic backsliding.”  

***

After the 2016 election, Brian C. Keegan was searching for ways to use his interests in the computer and social sciences in service of democracy. That’s driven his expertise in public-interest data science—how to make closed data more accessible to voters, journalists, activists and researchers. He looks at how campaigns can more effectively engage voters, understand important issues and form policies that address community needs. 

 The U.S. news media has blood on its hands from 2016. It will go down as one of the worst moments in the history of American journalism.”

 Mike McDevitt
 Professor, journalism

You’ve called the 2012 election an “end of history” moment. Can you explain that in the context of what’s happening in 2024?

“In 2012, we were coming out of the Arab Spring, and everyone was optimistic about social media. The idea that it could be a tool for bots and state information operations to influence elections would have seemed like science fiction. Twelve years later, we’ve finally learned these platforms are not neutral, have real risk and can be manipulated. And now, two years into the large language model moment, people are saying these are just neutral tools that can only be a force for good. That argument is already falling apart.

 I think 2024 will be the first, and last, 
A.I. election.”

Brian C. Keegan
Assistant professor, information science

“You could actually roll the clock back even further, to the 1960s and ’70s, when people were thinking about Silent Spring and Unsafe at Any Speed, and recognizing there are all these environmental, regulatory, economic and social things all connected through this lens of the environment. Like any computing system, when it comes to data, if you have garbage in, you get garbage out. The bias and misinformation we put into these A.I. systems are polluting our information ecosystem in ways that journalists, activists, researchers and others aren’t equipped to handle.”  

***

One of Angie Chuang’s last news jobs was covering race and ethnicity for The Oregonian. In the early 2000s, it wasn’t always easy to find answers to questions about race in a mostly white newsroom. Conferences like those put on by the Asian American Journalists Association “were times of revitalization for me,” she said.

When this year’s conference of the National Association of Black Journalists was disrupted by racist attacks against Kamala Harris, Chuang’s first thoughts were for the attendees who lost the opportunity to learn from one another and find the support she did as a cub reporter.

“What’s lost in this discussion is the entire event shifted to this focus on Donald Trump and the internal conflict in the organization, and I’m certain that as a result, journalists and students who went lost out on some of that solidarity,” she said. And it fits a larger pattern of outspoken newsmakers inserting themselves into the news to claim the spotlight. 

How can journalism avoid being hijacked by the people it covers?

“It comes down to context. We need to train reporters to take a breath and not just focus on being the first out there. And I know that’s really hard, because the rewards for being first and getting those clicks ahead of the crowd are well established.”  

“I can’t blame the reporters who feel these moments are worth covering, because I feel as conflicted as they do.   
Angie Chuang
Associate professor, journalism

***

Agenda setting—the concept that we take our cues of what’s important from the news—is as old an idea as mass media itself, but Chris Vargo is drawing interesting conclusions from studying the practice in the digital age. Worth watching, he and other CMCI researchers said, are countermedia entities, which undermine the depictions of reality found in the mainstream press through hyper-partisan content and the use of mis- and disinformation.

How did we get into these silos, and how do we get out?

“The absence of traditional gatekeepers has helped people create identities around the issues they choose to believe in. Real-world cues do tell us a little about what we find important—a lot of people had to get COVID to know it was bad—but we now choose media in order to form a community. The ability to self-select what you want to listen to and believe in is a terrifying story, because selecting media based on what makes us feel most comfortable, that tells us what we want to hear, flies in the face of actual news reporting and journalistic integrity.”  

“I do worry about our institutions. I don’t like that a majority of Americans don’t trust CNN. 
 

Chris Vargo
Associate professor, advertising, 
public relations and media design

***

Her research into deepfakes has validated what Sandra Ristovska has known for a long time: For as long as we’ve had visual technologies, we’ve had the ability to manipulate them.

Seeing pornographic images of Taylor Swift on social media or getting robocalls from Joe Biden telling voters to stay home—content created by generative artificial intelligence—is a reminder that the scale of the problem is unprecedented. But Ristovska’s work has found examples of fake photos from the dawn of the 20th century supposedly showing, for example, damage from catastrophic tornadoes that never happened. 

Ristovska grew up amid the Yugoslav Wars; her interest in becoming a documentary filmmaker was in part shaped by seeing how photos and videos from the brutal fighting and genocide were manipulated for political and legal means. It taught her to be a skeptic when it comes to what she sees shared online. 

“So, you see the Taylor Swift video—it seems out of character for her public persona. Or the president—why would he say something like that?” she said. “Instead of just hitting the share button, we should train ourselves to go online and fact check it—to be more engaged.”  

Even when we believe something is fake, if it aligns with our worldview, we are likely to accept it as reality. Knowing that, how do we combat deepfakes?

“We need to go old school. We’ve lost sight of the collective good, and you solve that by building opportunities to come together as communities and have discussions. We’re gentler and more tolerant of each other when we’re face-to-face. This has always been true, but it’s becoming even more true today, because we have more incentives to be isolated than ever.”   

***

Early scholarly works waxed poetic on the internet’s potential, through its ability to connect people and share information, to defeat autocracy. But, Nathan Schneider has argued, the internet is actually organized as a series of little autocracies—where users are subject to the whims of moderators and whoever owns the servers—effectively meaning you must work against the defaults to be truly democratic. He suggests living with these systems is contributing to the global rise of authoritarianism. In a new book, Governable Spaces, Schneider calls for redesigning social media with everyday democracy in mind.

If the internet enables autocracy, what can we do to fix it?

“We could design our networks for collective ownership, rather than the assumption that every service is a top-down fiefdom. And we could think about democracy as a tool for solving problems, like conflict among users. Polarizing outcomes, like so-called cancel culture, emerge because people don’t have better options for addressing harm. A democratic society needs public squares designed for democratic processes and practices.”  

***

It may be derided as dull, but the public meeting is a bedrock of American democracy. It has also changed drastically as fringe groups have seized these spaces to give misinformation a megaphone, ban books and take up other undemocratic causes. Leah Sprain researches how specific communication practices facilitate and inhibit democratic action. She works as a facilitator with several groups, including the League of Women Voters and Restore the Balance, to ensure events like candidate forums embrace difficult issues while remaining nonpartisan.

What’s a story we’re not telling about voters ahead of the election?

“We should be looking more at college towns, because town-gown divides are real and long-standing. There’s a politics of resentment even in a place like Boulder, where you have people who say, ‘We know so much about these issues, we shouldn’t let students vote on them’—to the point where providing pizza to encourage voter turnout becomes this major controversy. Giving young people access to be involved, making them feel empowered to make a difference and be heard—these are good things.”   

***

Toby Hopp studies the news media and digital content providers with an eye to how our interactions with media shape conversations in the public sphere. Much of that is changing as trust and engagement with mainstream news sources declines. He’s studied whether showing critical-thinking prompts alongside shared posts—requiring users to consider the messages as well as the structure of the platform itself—may be better than relying on top-down content moderation from tech companies.   

Ultimately, the existing business model of the big social media companies—packaging users to be sold to advertisers—may be the most limiting feature when it comes to reform. Hopp said he doubts a business the size of Meta can pivot from its model.

How does social media rehabilitate itself to become more trusted? Can it?

“Social media platforms are driven by monopolistic impulses, and there’s not a lot of effort put into changing established strategies when you’re the only business in town. The development of new platforms might offer a wider breadth of platform choice—which might limit the spread of misinformation on a Facebook or Twitter due to the diminished reach of any single platform.”   

***

 Images have always required us to be more engaged. Now, with the speed of disinformation, we need to do a little more work.”
 

Sandra Ristovska
Assistant professor, media studies

CU News Corps was created to simulate a real-world newsroom that allows journalism students to do the kind of long-form, investigative pieces that are in such short supply at a time of social media hot takes and pundits trading talking points.  

“I thought we should design the course you’d most want to take if you were a journalism major,” said Chuck Plunkett, director of the capstone course and an experienced reporter. Having a mandate to do investigative journalism “means we can challenge our students to dig in and do meaningful work, to expose them to other kinds of people or ideas that aren’t on their radar.” 

Over the course of a semester, the students work under the guidance of reporters and editors at partner media companies to produce long-form multimedia stories that are shared on the News Corps website and, often, are picked up by those same publications, giving the students invaluable clips for their job searches while supporting resource-strapped newsrooms. 

With the news business facing such a challenging future, both economically and politically, why should students study journalism?

“Even before the great contraction of news, the figure I had in my mind was five years after students graduate, maybe 25 percent of them were still in professional newsrooms. But journalism is a tremendous major because you learn to think critically, research deeply and efficiently, interact with other people, process enormous amounts of information, and have excellent communication skills. Every profession needs people with those skills.”

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By Lauren Irwin (Jour'22)

How to support CMCI

Alumni, parents and friends who want to support CMCI while creating a personal legacy often choose to establish an endowment with the University of Colorado Foundation. Endowments are held in perpetuity and invested to provide annual support for donor-specified purposes through market gains.

Donors can create endowments to support scholarships, programs, departments, faculty chairs and professorships, or nearly anything else at CMCI. The minimum gift to establish an endowment is $25,000, which can be given over up to five years. To learn more or establish an endowment, contact Mary Beth Searles, CMCI assistant dean for advancement.

An internship in Washington, D.C., changed Heidi Wagner’s life. Now, she’s working alongside her alma mater to create similar opportunities for CMCI students.

“D.C. is one of those places that opens doors,” said Wagner (Jour’86). “You really can’t go wrong getting some experience here in Washington.”

As a college senior, Wagner was accepted to the Sears Congressional Internship, where she did media-related and administrative work for Rep. Stan Parris, of Virginia.

Wagner had set out to be a broadcast reporter but was surprised by how much she liked learning about politics, policy and process—an interest “that just grew exponentially from being a part of it all.”

“That internship changed the trajectory of my life.”

She stayed in D.C. after graduation and is currently senior vice president and global head of government affairs at ElevateBio, a biotechnology company. Additionally, she serves as a university trustee and member of the University of Colorado Foundation Board, and was a founding member of CMCI’s advisory board.

It wasn’t a path the Boulder native envisioned when she enrolled at the university, but her time at CU “gave me a sense of the possibility that was out there for me,” she said.

Looking back to the beginning of her career, she wanted to be a part of providing students with life-changing opportunities similar to what she experienced. CMCI in D.C., which allows students to earn both course and internship credit as they explore Washington, matches that vision.

  “That internship changed the trajectory of my life.”
Heidi Wagner

The CMCI in D.C. staff leverages an extensive network of professional contacts to curate internships in the fall, spring or summer semesters that suit the interests and career goals of each student. Over the summer, 20 students studying advertising, information science, journalism and media studies lived in Washington, where they interned at The Hill, The Brand Guild, Williams Whittle, The Parks Channel and elsewhere.

As both the biggest benefactor and “number one cheerleader” of the program—she regularly meets with participants while they’re in D.C.—Wagner hopes students appreciate the possibilities Washington has to offer.

“It’s really important to expose yourself to other things, because you just don’t know what’s out there,” she said.

Wagner said she and Dean Lori Bergen set a goal that a D.C.-based experience shouldn’t be limited to those who can afford to make the move. Over the last five years, she has created an endowment that allows CMCI to offer this experience to more students.

“If the barriers aren’t eliminated, then there’s all kinds of reasons not to do it,” Wagner said. “So, if we can eliminate those barriers, let’s do it.”

After graduating with her journalism degree, Wagner worked in political communications before going to law school, holding multiple high-profile roles in government affairs and policy. She said the skills she learned in her journalism courses have been invaluable to her success working in policy and lobbying.

“I rely heavily on what I learned in journalism classes, just in terms of writing well, writing quickly, writing succinctly, being able to communicate directly and effectively, and being able to advocate internally very effectively,” she said.

Whether it’s journalism, public relations or corporate communications, Wagner hopes the internship program creates a strong pipeline of CMCI students in Washington. She knows the opportunities are waiting to be grasped.

“I certainly found a life here that I love and a career and all that comes with it, but I think Washington is a uniquely wonderful place for young professionals,” she said.

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Jordan Campbell takes a selfie after spending more than a week in what he called a ‘not-so-safe safehouse’ that was under attack from Russian forces. Photo by Jordan Campbell.

By Hannah Stewart (Comm’19)

The clouds and clear skies fought for dominance over Kyiv, reflecting the tension on the ground, as Jordan Campbell stepped off the worst bus ride of his life—a 24-hour slog from Kraków, Poland, to Ukraine’s capital.

It was the second of what would be many trips to Ukraine, and the beginning of an ambitious documentary film. Standing at the bus station, weighted under camera 
gear and body armor, he considered himself a storyteller.

Now, after three further visits to the front lines, he sees himself as a war journalist.

“It’s breaking my heart to see one of my favorite countries being hit like this,” Campbell (Comm’91) said. “I was embedded with NGOs, riding around in an ambulance, because I’m fascinated by humanitarians doing amazing work around the world. And the best thing I can do to serve humanity is go out, tell the stories and come back safe.”

Campbell traversed literal and figurative mountains to become the filmmaker he is today. Climbs in Tibet and Nepal gave him an up-close look at injustice and inequality, awakening a passion for humanitarianism. His work in media—in a senior communications role with Marmot and as a freelancer for National Geographic—gave him the tools to tell life-changing stories from across the globe.

“I was a corporate guy with a love of moonlight journalism,” he said.

In 2011, on assignment for National Geographic in  war-ravaged South Sudan, Campbell documented the work of cataract surgeon Dr. Geoff Tabin. Upon returning to the States, he was approached by filmmaker Michael Herbener—who is also working on the Ukraine project—with the idea of using Campbell’s footage to make a documentary.

That film, Duk County: Peace Is in Sight in the New South Sudan, went on to win awards and was screened twice at the United Nations.

“The awards feel good, but I want to connect with the audience and have them feel the same way I felt when I was in the field,” Campbell said. “To take it to the United Nations twice, that’s the stuff that makes me feel like we’re having an impact.”

The desire for humanitarian impact—combined with his experience as a communications professional and visual storyteller—prompted Campbell to found Ramro Global 
in 2019.

Its seven-person advisory council contributes insights into global challenges. Christina Tobias-Nahi, who specializes in the Middle East and North Africa for Ramro, met Campbell in 2018 when she spoke at CU Boulder’s Conference on World Affairs.

She is based in Washington, D.C., and as director of public affairs, research and advocacy for Islamic Relief USA, she often travels to places with mass displacement.

“I do a lot of advocacy,” she said. “Everything is so political and contentious, and I admire Jordan’s willingness to use his voice to change political will in Washington.”

Somewhat unconventionally, Campbell also appoints advisors for issues that demand global attention, which is how Michael Carter—an expert in the geopolitics of power and energy—came to the board.

Carter’s experience comes from more than 25 years in the energy industry, where he works on issues of transparency and inequity, like lack of access to sustainable power and movement toward a lower-carbon future.

“It takes a very thoughtful and calm, compassionate mind to look at inequity and do something about it,” he said. “That’s the essence of what Jordan is trying to accomplish.”

As a business strategist, Carter has helped Campbell develop Ramro Global from concept to company. As an energy expert, he provides unique insight into the humanitarian projects Campbell chronicles.

  Jordan puts his life in danger to bring these stories to people. I really admire his bravery.”

Christina Tobias-Nahi

“Some of the first targets the Russian army hit were the Ukrainian power plants,” Carter said. “Power allows us to communicate—especially through mobile phones—and I want to help Jordan communicate his message. He has dedicated himself to humanitarianism.”

Campbell is also dedicated to truth and authenticity, which is why he kept returning to Ukraine despite the rising risk. He hasn’t shied from documenting the desperation and destruction he saw working alongside Project Konstantin, a front-line medical evacuation team. Last year, when the U.S. Senate hosted a Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum event, Campbell presented a six-minute cut of the film, Ukraine Under Fire. He also met with Ukrainian Embassy staff.

“There were representatives from 60 countries in attendance who appreciated my testimony because I was an expert witness on what was going on there,” he said. “I’m not a cataract surgeon, I’m not a pediatric cardiac surgeon. But I’m a journalist and I’m a visual storyteller, and I can make some noise and do good things in the world.”

Campbell’s goal with Ukraine Under Fire is to capture a slice of the war while focusing on themes like democracy, sovereignty and—perhaps most important—resilience. He posted a teaser on the company’s website for public viewing and hopes screenings of the completed film in Washington and throughout Europe will help to further those themes.

“This can turn into such a bigger conflict,” he said. “The scale and scope drew me to the subject. And if you’re a journalist, you want to capture something, add value—and then get out of the way.”

Not only has he been shaken by the devastation while on the front lines, but 
the impacts have followed him home: Nearly every place he visited has since been bombed, and he’s lost friends to the conflict, as well. It has, as he put it, “gotten under my rib cage.”

That’s only strengthened Campbell’s commitment to honoring their courage and sacrifice through his film.

“Some people become the bystanders, and some people become the heroes,” Tobias-Nahi said. “Jordan puts his life in danger to bring these stories to people, and it gives a face to that humanitarian need. I really admire his bravery.” 

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William W. White Outstanding Seniors are chosen by department faculty to recognize academic merit, professional achievement and service to the college. The Outstanding Graduate award honors the CMCI student with the highest overall GPA in his or her graduating class.

White, a Boulder native, graduated from CU’s School of Journalism in 1933. He was a reporter in Boulder, Denver and New York before becoming the foreign editor of Time from the early 1940s through the mid-1950s, based in London, Brazil and Montreal. At the advice of his friend Edward R. Murrow, who told him “it doesn’t matter what you do, what matters is that you do it where you want to live,” White returned to Boulder, where he started the White and White public relations firm. White and his wife, Connie, established this endowment in 1998.

Meet our graduates and read their stories.

Andrew Schwartz: College of Media, Communication and Information

Andrew's advice to students is to try everything and talk to as many people as you can—especially outside your major. That way, you'll broaden your perspective.

   When it comes to impact and being able to make something I’m proud of, a big part of that is being able to make technology for the people to use it, and make things that people enjoy using and improve their lives. Info places a big emphasis on that."

  Read more 

Lisa An: Department of Critical Media Practice

Lisa started her CU career as a computer science major before switching to media production. She said this was one of the best decisions she ever made because through the program, she discovered a passion for photography.

  "I learned that keeping your work to yourself because of the fear of not being good enough does no good. If you share your work and receive feedback, you are able to improve your craft and obtain opportunities you otherwise never would have been able to.

  Read more 

Elijah Boykoff: Department of Information Science

Going into college, Elijah's goals for himself were to learn as much as he could and make it to the finish line. He says he's made good on those goals, and this award is an exciting bonus.

   Your professors are people just like you. Get to know them—if you are able to resonate with your professors on a deeper level, you will be much more enriched by the knowledge they have to share."

  Read more 

Bianca Perez: Departments of Communication, Media Studies

Bianca is the first CMCI graduate to win outstanding student honors from two different majors. She's now off to a prestigious Ph.D. program.

  "What I have is like a wish coming true. You can work very hard and that can still not be enough, and I’ve seen that happen to people around me my whole life.

  Read more 

Sujei Perla Martinez: Department of Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design

For Sujei, a first-generation college student, graduating means she's carving a new path for her family.

   My community helped foster a place for self-discovery and encouraged me to be unapologetically myself while helping me grow within my values and beliefs."

  Read more 

Nic Tamayo: Department of Journalism

Nic's CMCI experience in three words: fulfilling, inspired, treasured.

  "I will take with me the connections I’ve been able to make with people from so many corners of life. They’ve taught me lessons that I may never have learned without their friendship and mentorship.

  Read more 

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By Joe Arney
Photos by Kimberly Coffin (CritMedia, StratComm’18)

When Bianca Perez called her mom in the middle of the day to tell her she’d been accepted to a prestigious doctoral program at one of the nation’s foremost universities, she expected there might be some tears.

She wasn’t wrong. But it wasn’t her mother who cried.

Perez’s mother, Leyda, was born and raised in Mexico, while her father, Ernesto, came to the United States from Peru. For almost 30 years, they have worked tirelessly at growing Perez Cleaning Services, in Steamboat Springs, in order to provide their daughter with opportunities they couldn’t imagine—and don’t always understand. When she explained that she was applying to schools to be a doctor, Perez (Comm, MediaSt’24) would clarify “a doctor of words,” since her family thought she was maybe interested in a medical career.

Now, as she explained on speakerphone that she was accepted to the PhD program at the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Annenberg School for Communication, in Philadelphia, “my mom wasn’t sure what to make of it,” Perez said. “I could tell she was happy because she could hear the excitement in my voice.”

But the client her mother was speaking with when Perez called couldn’t believe his ears.

 What I have is like a wish coming true. You can work very hard and that can still not be enough, and I’ve seen that happen to people around me my whole life.”
Bianca Perez (Comm, MediaSt’24)

“He was like, ‘Did I just overhear that your daughter's going to graduate school at Penn?’” she recalled. “And I could hear him start crying, and my mom said to me, ‘Oh, no, I have to go, one of the clients is upset.’ But he wasn’t—the guy went to UPenn for his undergrad, had wanted to go to grad school there but couldn’t, and he was so happy and excited for me.

“I think for my mom, seeing a random person cry like that and be so joyful, helped her understand just how exciting this was for me.”

Driven to change the world

It’s not the first time she’s had to overcome the barrier separating her lived experiences from those of her parents. But her working-class upbringing—combined with her curiosity, care and enthusiasm for working hard—has already made her a promising scholar in the realm of artificial intelligence and labor.

“It’s because of her humble background that she understands that the ability to be in college, to read books and write for a living, is a privilege,” said Sandra Ristovska, an assistant professor of media studies at the College of Media, Communication and Information at the �鶹��Ƶ, and Perez’s advisor. “It’s unsurprising she’s interested in questions around technology and labor because she is seeking, through her research, to improve the lives and livelihoods of working-class people, immigrants and people of color.”

Perez studies generative artificial intelligence and labor through the lens of copyright law. In the past year, artists and publishers have sued tech companies that have used copyrighted work to train generative A.I. platforms like ChatGPT, opening up a larger question of how to fairly value labor—not just of plaintiffs like J.K. Rowling, Stephen King and The New York Times, but everyday social media users, whose likes and shares train algorithms to better recommend content that keeps people online.

Because that data is disassociated from the users, the labor of whoever generated that data—those likes and shares—is obscured, meaning they can’t be compensated. And these are, of course, some of the world’s deepest-pocketed tech companies, whose forays into the development of A.I. are far ahead of gridlocked government regulators and already-alarmed ethicists.  

“We have no way to check these models, even though we’ve all been producing them through our work,” Perez said. “It’s a new and complex expansion of wage theft. They’re taking all our labor and remixing it to make something else—but it’s still our labor. How is that fair?”

Fairness focus

That question of what’s fair is central to Perez’s identity. Just the time and space to work as hard as she does, she said, is a privilege, especially when in high school she would see other smart, ambitious students fall behind because of work or family commitments.

“I always feel that there’s only a few degrees separating me being a migrant daughter who’s picking cherries, to my being here,” she said. “My parents taught me how to work very hard—I can’t underscore that enough—but what I have is like a wish coming true. You can work very hard and that can still not be enough, and I’ve seen that happen to people around me my whole life.”

Fairness also ties into her related research interest in the exploitation of Black and Latino tech labor—like DoorDash drivers during the pandemic, or Amazon warehouse workers toiling in hotter facilities in a warming climate. The combination of her interests has resulted in some unique scholarship that’s already getting noticed: This summer, Perez will present her thesis at the annual conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research, in Christchurch, New Zealand—an honor usually reserved for PhD students and faculty.

Ristovska, her advisor, also attended a prestigious conference as an undergraduate before going on to Annenberg for her PhD, and is excited to see how sharing her work at one of the field’s most prestigious events influences Perez’s future work.

“What she does is bring the human back to the discourse around A.I. and technology,” Ristovska said. “Her work makes us think about how human creativity and human engagement are central to the development of A.I., and why it’s so important we figure out labor protections now, before the technology is even more advanced.”

‘Someone who knows how to push me’

Perez called Ristovska “an incredible influence on me—someone who knows how to push me and who has held my hand on this journey, even though we were going uphill sometimes.” Among her mentors, she also counts professors Omedi Ochieng and Danielle Hodge, of the communication department, as well as Rory Fitzgerald Bledsoe, who is pursuing a PhD in media studies; Perez called her first course with Bledsoe the foundational moment of her time at CU.

Bledsoe recalled Perez for both her insatiable curiosity and her writing talent, which she called “refreshing and invigorating in an increasing sea of generic ChatGPT.”

“Bianca will be successful in her PhD for the normal things, like being diligent and curious, but also for her inimitable voice—both creative and critical—that I have no doubt will contribute to our field and make it better,” Bledsoe said. “People would benefit from being a little more like Bianca, by following your passion until it blooms in full force.”

“Her work makes us think about how human creativity and human engagement are central to the development of A.I., and why it’s so important we figure out labor protections now, before the technology is even more advanced. 
Sandra Ristovska, assistant professor, media studies

Perez’s focus wasn’t always so direct. She arrived at CU Boulder thinking she’d major in media production, given her interest in documentary filmmaking, but after exploring different paths, arrived at her current combination after briefly considering information science. At commencement, she was honored as the William W. White Outstanding Senior for both communication and media studies, the first time a student has been recognized by two departments. The White awards are chosen by CMCI faculty and honor students for their academic accomplishments, professional achievements and service to the college.

“My different majors helped me discover different frameworks of thinking about the topics I was interested in, which has helped me think about my research more critically,” she said. “It wasn’t always a specific lesson I was taught, but professors like Dr. Hodge showed me to think about whether what I’m working on actually speaks to the community—and you do that by speaking with that community.”

It’s a new twist on what Perez said is the most important lesson she learned at home.

“The best thing my parents taught me was to actually care about what you’re doing—to show up for others when it matters,” she said. “Maybe cleaning is trivial to some people, but their business is pretty exceptional in our town, and it’s because they care very much for their reputation and the people they serve.”

That’s why her mentor is convinced Perez will make her CMCI professors proud years after she has graduated.

“Whether she chooses an academic career or the policy realm, I really think she’ll make the world a better place, because her commitment to justice is ingrained in her,” Ristovska said. “I’m so excited for what comes next for her.”

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CMCI students from all departments develop their portfolios through classes, competitions, internships and more.

Here we have collected a variety of student work that highlights their personal and professional passions explored during their academic careers at CU Boulder.

  View the work

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New NIL course will equip newsmakers, aspiring media professionals for a sports landscape undergoing seismic change

Coach Prime’s arrival at CU Boulder has brought new visibility to Buffs in every sport. A new CMCI course is drawing on Deion Sanders, other former pro athletes and sports media luminaries to illustrate the changing nature of athletics, journalism, celebrity and culture in the age of NIL. Photo of Sanders, above, by Nathan Thompson. Below photos are by Glenn Asakawa (left) and Kimberly Coffin (right).

By Joe Arney

Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders saw the value of an athlete’s public persona long before his football or baseball contemporaries.

Now, as the �鶹��Ƶ takes the wraps off a NIL-themed course on sports media, management and culture, it’s hard to imagine a better model. 

 Athletes are media celebrities whose identity gives them access to commerce, reputation, fame, all these kinds of things. But the person who puts on the helmet has to become another person in front of the cameras.”
Rick Stevens, associate dean

“Coach Prime recognized this model before there was a model,” said Rick Stevens, associate dean of undergraduate education and an associate professor of media studies at the College of Media, Communication and Information. “He understood how to perform an identity that allowed him to accomplish the business, social justice, performance and celebrity goals needed in our media system.”

College sports have undergone tremendous upheaval following the NCAA’s adoption of a “right to publicity” that gave athletes control over their name, image and likeness—NIL for short. But those changes have rippled throughout the landscape, meaning media professionals need a new set of skills and perspectives.

The new course—called, fittingly, Prime Time: Public Performance and Leadership—is about teaching student-athletes how to create those personas, while preparing aspiring media professionals to tell stories effectively in an age where what college athletes say as students can affect their potential earnings and influence.

“The course will teach student athletes to tell their stories strategically, in ways that help them be who they want to be, and will help journalists learn how to enable, challenge and help the stories they’re telling evolve,” Stevens said. “We have to rethink those relationships and dynamics between media icons and the media who cover them.”

A prime time to create impact

Few people anticipated the new age of college sports like Sanders, who demonstrated the value of an athlete’s personal brand as a two-sport phenom in the 1990s. As head coach of the Buffaloes football team, Sanders’ personality and social-media impact have driven incredible returns to the university and city.

Coach Prime has already delivered a lecture on managing social media to the class, but Stevens said the name of the course is more about the prime time personas each athlete has the opportunity to create in a limited window. 

One of the most hotly anticipated guest speakers in the Prime Time course was, predictably, Professor Prime. The coach spoke about personal branding, authenticity and the college sports media landscape while answering extensive questions from students. The course has been written about in , and others. Photos by Kimberly Coffin.

“Athletes are media celebrities whose identity gives them access to commerce, reputation, fame, all these kinds of things,” Stevens said. “But the person who puts on the helmet has to become another person in front of the cameras. The class is trying to build a particular kind of media literacy, so that those who need to develop a prime-time narrative can think about what the pieces are and how they fit together, and make the right choices accordingly.” 

A deep bench of experts

In addition to an ambitious set of topics—everything from athlete personas and sports betting to confronting racism and how to empower others—classroom lectures will be enhanced through regular appearances by athletes, sportswriters and other media professionals.

Confirmed guest lecturers include Sanders; Kordell Stewart (Comm’18), former NFL star and media analyst; journalists Brent Schrotenboer (Jour’96) and Michael Lyle; analyst Joel Klatt (Econ’05); Tom Garfinkel (Comm’91), president of the Miami Dolphins; and Abbey Shea, assistant athletic director for NIL at CU. 

Those choices might include which products to endorse, what organizations to follow on social media and what causes to align with. Case studies that the students will examine will follow the career arcs of athletes like Colin Kaepernick, Ricky Williams and Richard Sherman, whose prime times coincided with controversy. The final project will ask teams of students to consider the best possible paths for athletes entering their prime times, both theoretical opportunities for historic cases as well as—especially as the course becomes established—CU athletes exploring their social media identities or what endorsements represent the brands they want to build.

A range of perspectives

Invited lectures, which will feature athletes, media personalities and experts from CU's athletics department, will take place one day each week. The other course day will feature a rotating cast of faculty representing CMCI’s thought leadership expertise in media studies, information science, journalism, communication, advertising and public relations.

One of those professors is Jamie Skerski, associate chair for undergraduate studies and an expert in communication and culture. She sees the course as an opportunity to look at the individual components that make up sports culture to better understand how it’s created.

“We have this opportunity to pull apart the different elements—the representation, the producers, the consumers, the regulations, the identities—that go into this new athletics landscape,” Skerski said. “When you do that, you get a more nuanced, leveled view of the way the pieces of the culture interact and become normalized.”

That is especially interesting to her from a gender standpoint. Could a more nuanced understanding of the way we consume sports change how NIL deals are executed—say, if a male athlete gets a certain amount of sponsorship, an equal amount must go to a woman?

“Because it’s basically the wild west right now, it’s a good time to question the status quo,” she said.

Stevens said the new perspectives of faculty invited to participate in the course have helped him think differently about pop culture, sports and media influence. It’s a feature of CMCI, which was formed about a decade ago to solve the kinds of complex, future-oriented problems coming out of media-related disciplines that are increasingly interconnected in the real world.

“This course is very in keeping with our college’s spirit,” Stevens said. “You have this new condition of NIL, resulting in a new arrangement among media, athletes, institutions and systems, and none of our departments are precisely positioned to answer the questions that are arising. But most of our departments have a piece of the puzzle, so by involving this many faculty, we’re able to get a more complete picture of all the dynamics involved.”

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By Hannah Stewart (Comm’19)
Photos by Jack Moody

The Olympics. The Super Bowl. The Final Four. The Stanley Cup Final. 

Alumni from the �鶹��Ƶ have made their mark reporting on and working in the sports world. Many are award winners—including National Sportswriter of the Year—and many more have seen their love of the game reach millions of fans worldwide.

That track record of excellence led the College of Media, Communication and Information to develop its sports media minor, which prepares students for careers in sports, whether behind the scenes or in front of the camera. Students take classes covering traditional topics, such as writing and broadcasting, but also courses that look at sports from academic and business perspectives. 

And while a signature feature of the program is the opportunity to connect with the world-class alumni network in sports, there’s much more to the minor.

“Networking is just one of the components,” said Marina Dmukhovskaya, associate director of the sports media minor. “It’s also about finding their niche. By having a variety of classes, both conceptual and skills heavy, it can offer them a great choice.”

Interested in this minor?

If you are a CMCI major, you may discuss and declare the minor with your CMCI advisor. You can also declare by filling out a .

For students outside of CMCI, the minor can only be declared once you’re enrolled in CMCI 2001: Intro to Sports Media Practices. 

Senior Kennedy Pickering credited the minor with helping her discover her niche. She came to CU Boulder because she was interested in the relationship between people and social media. Thanks to the minor, she has had the opportunity to create replay packages for a CU volleyball game; develop technical skills, like working a camera; and network with media professionals when CU Athletics hosted Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff pregame show.

“With the sports media minor, I’ve been able to take classes that gave me more hands-on experience, like Sports Writing and Sport Broadcasting,” Pickering said. “One of my professors is in charge of , and through him I’ve been able to work with the camera. At first, I wanted to be a sideline reporter, but then I realized that being on the screen was not for me.” Her goal now is to work in social media for the NFL or Nike.

Community through sport

More than 200 CU Boulder students are currently enrolled in the minor. Not all are athletes, but most aspire to work in the industry, like Eli Grimm, a lifelong figure skater who wants to get into the sports communications field. Beyond their own interests in athletics, Grimm said they see sports as a way to create impact because so many people engage with sports. Even less-mainstream events like Formula 1 races have become more popular thanks, in part, to the Netflix series Drive to Survive.

“Sports are a platform for mass communication. In the Sports Writing class, I got to write about the events I was already watching,” said Grimm, a senior majoring in strategic communication who learned about the program after arriving at CU Boulder as a transfer student. “It was nice to feel like the experience was personalized around my interests.”

  “With the sports media minor, I’ve been able to take classes that gave me more hands-on experience.”
Kennedy Pickering, senior

Jacob Dilling, a junior studying communication and a member of the CU ski team, chose the sports media minor as a way to develop a fuller perspective of the industry.

“I still plan on skiing professionally after school. But I think this will help me build connections within my sport and other sports, so that once I’m finished, I have something to fall back on,” Dilling said.

Both students said one thing they enjoy most about the program is the challenge to explore new perspectives on sports and topics they are passionate about. Dmukhovskaya said that enthusiasm is a good indicator of their success after graduation. She herself has worked in the sports media world for years—in addition to covering the Olympics four times, she has been a media manager for the Russian Skating Union, worked with the International Biathlon Union and wrote for the International Paralympics Committee.

“Our students feel equipped, competent and confident as they are entering the job market,” she said. Just as important to their success, though, is the students’ enthusiasm for the course material—key for aspiring professionals looking to enter a highly competitive field.

Those aspiring professionals also benefit from the extensive network of media experts, who offer mentorship and exposure to career opportunities. Winter graduate Cassidy Davis (StratComm’23) said she found professional guidance from alumnus Mike Davies (Jour’94), an executive vice president for Fox Sports based in Los Angeles.

“The best part of my time at CU has been getting such broad experience, including public relations, sports media and graphic design,” Davis said. “Being able to study all of my little niches and learning how to put them together has made me confident about applying what I’ve learned at work.”

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