December 10, 2025 The Institute of Communications Research marked a highly productive year at the 2025 National Communication Association convention from November 19-23 in Denver, Colorado, with faculty members, students, and alumni presenting research, chairing panels, and contributing to programming at the 111th annual event. In addition to this strong scholarly presence, several members of […]
October 29, 2025 Faculty and graduate students across the College of Media are pursuing a range of activities aimed at understanding challenges to media literacy and developing interventions to improve it. Recent activities include: A team including Michelle Nelson, professor of advertising, Amanda Ciafone, associate professor of media and cinema studies, Stephanie Craft, professor of […]
October 23, 2025 | NPR Public Editor When journalists don’t have access to historical tools, and don’t have that impetus to go and check out things, they are presenting news that is really not informing the public. And nobody wants to do that. Melita Garza, Associate Professor and Tom and June Netzel Sleeman Scholar in […]
Email: sjheo2@illinois.edu Research Interests My research focuses on human–AI interaction in advertising and marketing contexts, with particular emphasis on how AI-driven advertising shapes consumer perception, attitude, and underlying psychological mechanisms. Specifically, I examine (1) virtual influencers as persuasive agents, (2) large language model (LLM) interfaces as persuasive environments, and (3) social robots as embodied communicators. […]
October 6, 2025 K-pop, short for “Korean pop,” is a music genre from South Korea celebrated for its dynamic mix of styles, elaborate choreography, and visually captivating performances. Its influence now extends beyond music, reaching film and other media. This summer’s animated movie KPop Demon Hunters not only became the most-watched film in Netflix history but also […]
October 6, 2025 As AI chatbots become more sophisticated, people are increasingly turning to them not only for information, but also for companionship. Concerns are growing over increasing cognitive, emotional, and social reliance on AI tools. The College of Media spoke with Ewa Maslowska, associate professor of advertising and expert in consumer-brand interactions in the […]
September 3, 2025 Updated 9/22/2025 to include Summer 2025 results. Congratulations to all the College of Media faculty and teaching assistants who were ranked as excellent by their students! This list is based on Instructor and Course Evaluation System questionnaire forms completed by students during the Spring 2025 and Summer 2025 semesters. Only those instructors […]
September 2, 2025 Recently, there has been heightened media attention around the potential misuse of generative AI tools like ChatGPT—ranging from stories about individuals using it in harmful ways to concerns about people becoming overly dependent on it for companionship or therapy. While these accounts may represent extreme cases, they raise important questions about the […]
Email: azamh2@illinois.edu Research Interests Azam is a multidisciplinary film and theatre artist with an MA in Cinema from the University of Tehran and an MFA in Film and Media Arts from Temple University. With over eight years of focused experience in filmmaking, she brings a rich background in both artistic practice and academic research. Her […]
Email: luciana8@illinois.edu Research Interests Before joining ICR, I completed my Master’s degree in Media Studies at UFRN (Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte), in Brazil. My dissertation focused in Quality Television and public journalism. My Bachelor’s degree is in Social Communication with emphasis in Journalism and Radio & Television studies. During my undergraduate I […]