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MIT Communications Forum

The MIT Communications Forum has played a unique role at MIT and beyond for more than twenty-five years as a site for cutting edge discussion of the cultural, political, economic and technological impact of communications, with special emphasis on emerging technologies. Leading scholars, journalists, media producers, political figures and corporate executives have appeared at conferences and panels sponsored by the Forum. Translating specialized or technical perspectives into a discourse accessible to non-specialists is a defining ambition of the Forum. When engineers, scientists, other academics or media practitioners address the Forum, they accept a responsibility to speak in a common language that must be understood and used by literate citizens and professionals in many fields. The Forum's founding director was the late Ithiel de Sola Pool of the MIT Political Science Department, a pioneer in the study of communications. The Forum is funded by contributions from members of the MIT Industrial Liaison Program, other corporations and foundation grants.

http://web.mit.edu/comm-forum/

  • An [MIT Communications Forum](https://commforum.mit.edu/) You heard news in 2019 about more epic forest fires, of the loss of many of the oceans coral reefs and of more glaciers falling into the sea. As Planet Earth reaches the global warming brink, journalists are striving to translate the impact of climate change and hold the powerful accountable. Meet two of them in this forum hosted at MIT: Propublica's Lisa Song and The New York Times' Kendra Pierre-Louis discuss the media’s role in illuminating environmental issues, promoting environmental justice and ethics, and the future of climate journalism. Beth Daley, Editor and General Manager for [The Conversation](https://theconversation.com/us), moderates. Photo: [National Park Service,](https://www.nps.gov/dena/blogs/mount-russell-patrol-report-part-two.htm) Mountaineering ranger on mountaineering patrol on the remote Dall Glacier in the western Alaska Range.
    Partner:
    MIT Communications Forum
  • David Poltrack and Jorge Schement examine the changing economic base of American television, the role of audiences and audience-measurement, and the broader role of consumption and advertising in the evolution of American television. Though younger technologies such as iPods and cell phones signify the emerging digital era in the popular imagination, the transformation of television from a broadcast medium offering limited channels to a digitally enhanced environment of (apparently) infinite choice may be far more significant in social and historical terms. Find out more about the new economics of television by visiting [MIT Communications Forum](http://web.mit.edu/comm-forum).
    Partner:
    MIT Communications Forum
  • The Planning Democracy conference explores how advanced telecommunications technologies and policies can help strengthen local communities. For over a decade, the convergence of the computer and telecommunications industries has inspired grand predictions of a bright new world of freedom and prosperity, an "e-topia." We have seen advanced communications technologies help improve business practices, enhance medical services, enrich educational opportunities and deliver a wide array of entertainments to our home. How can these advanced telecommunications services be used to foster strong democratic communities? How are these communications technologies being used, if at all, in the City of Cambridge? What role, if any, does local government play in making sure that 21st Century communications technologies serve public needs?
    Partner:
    MIT Communications Forum