BEA2012

This panel address’ not only the lack of equal access to technology-based educational and technical resources for minority youth, but how they can be empowered through MultiMedia Centers, which expose youth to new media, technology, hands-on training, and career possibilities. 
Moderator: Dyke "DK" Redmond, Los Angeles Unified School District
Panelists: Dana Coester, West Virginia University
James Stephens, Tennessee State University  

The web's impact continues to grow, but who is being represented and heard in this new medium? It’s been dominated by straight, White American men in the past. Has the ease of publishing on the web allowed it to be a more diverse medium as early users expected? The panel will examine these questions from a variety of standpoints--each defining "diversity" a little differently with something new to contribute to the discussion this year. Moderator: Louise Benjamin, Kansas State University
Panelists: Naeemah Clark, Elon University; Minority Entrepreneurship in the Interactive World
Alison Bryant, Play Science Lab; The New Kaleidoscope Playground
Jeffrey Wilkinson, United International College; Baby Steps and Giant Leaps: Exploring Diversity in China’s Web
Donald Heider, Loyola University Chicago; Online Racial Identity
Sara Netzley, Bradley University; GLBT News Sites: Educating and Empowering?

The technological advances in electronic communication have further complicated the nationalist viewpoints which many countries have struggled to preserve over the years. The position is even more compounded with the easy access to media through increased and borderless connections via the Internet. Tri-Continent and/or so-called Third World countries are especially vulnerable in preserving or propagating local, cultural, and indigenous and symbolic vestiges of the so-called pre-globalization era. It is instructive to note that it is not only popular/dominant societies that infiltrates or even clouds these issues, but diasporic groups from these so-called “subaltern” nations are sometimes conflicted by populist views propagated through social media. The discussion then is how do the so called “subaltern” nations react, regain and preserve local cultures, ideologies and identities or whether ( to play devil’s advocate) the issue needs to be a focus on a global culture?
Moderator: Coreen Jackson, Tennessee State University
Panelists: Carmeta A. Blake, Lynn University
Coreen Jackson, Tennessee State University
Yvonne Prather, Austin Peay University
Donald Page, Tennessee State University
James Stephens, Tennessee State University

Attention to racial/ethnic and gender issues in the media is of vital importance in our society – not only for researchers but also for teachers and students. This panel represents a selection of new material appearing in the third edition of Rebecca Ann Lind’s “Race/Gender/Media,” to be released in January 2012 by Allyn & Bacon. With almost all of the readings new to this edition, the book and the panel considers race, gender, and class issues in the media from the perspective of audiences, content, and production. This is conceived as a “high-density” session, with panelists presenting short, conversational overviews of their work. Following the overviews, the floor will be open for discussion and question-and-answers regarding the work itself and how the research can be incorporated into a classroom setting – even a lower-division undergraduate course. We are consciously not including a respondent, because we want to allow more time for interchange among all participants – panelists and audience members. A similar format has been used to present new work from the prior two editions of the book, and it was well-received by the audience (hence the “3.0” in the session title). All of the work to be presented here is new, and has not been presented at any other conference. Moderator: Rebecca Ann Lind, University of Illinois at Chicago
Panelists: Lori Bindig, Sacred Heart University; Media Literacy in Eating Disorder Treatment
Leslie A Grinner, Syracuse University; Bella’s Choice: Deconstructing Ideology and Power in The Twilight Saga
Stacey Irwin, Millersville University; Mothers in Media
Diego Costa, University of Southern California; Becoming Modular: The (Re-)Assembled Queer “Male” Body and Its Digitally-Enabled Sexual Economy
Melinda S Krakow, San Francisco State University; Michelle A. Wolf, San Francisco State University; Rebecca Taff, San Francisco State University; Women with Physical Disabilities, Body Image, Media, and Self-Conception
Travis Lars Gosa, Cornell University; Crank Dat Barack Obama! Social Media and the 2008 Presidential Election
Cindy S. Vincent, University of Oklahoma; POOR Magazine and Civic Engagement through Community Media
Kiana Cox, University of Illinois at Chicago; Gender and Race as Meaning Systems: Understanding Theoretical, Historical, and Institutional Implications of Sexualized Imagery in Rap Music
Dina Ibrahim, San Francisco State University; Aymen Abdel Halim, San Francisco State University; How TV News Makes Arabs and Muslims Feel about Themselves
Mark Saxenmeyer, KSTP-TV; Exploring Gay/Straight Relationships on Local Television News

Controversies erupt in classrooms and in the professions concerning diversity, and many of these controversies include ethical components. For instance, is the sexual orientation of a significant company’s CEO newsworthy?  Should news organizations publish mug shots if research shows they contribute to stereotyping?  Journalists may disagree about what is appropriate, but all usually cite ethical principles in justifying their positions. This panel will help educators see the ethical angles in these situations and become more comfortable with talking about them in productive ways with students.
Moderator: Brad Gorham, Syracuse University
Panelists: Patrick Parsons, Pennsylvania State University
Cristina Azocar, San Francisco State University
Shannon Bowen, Syracuse University

More actors of color are being included in American programming, however, determining which groups are represented becomes a challenge for people who want to see themselves. Because of casting directors' efforts to use racial ambiguity in their selection of actors, some viewers still believe they cannot see themselves. This panel will examine the types of programs in which people of color are or are not seen and why we may appear to be "missing in action". Moderator: Coreen Jackson, Tennessee State University
Panelists: Cindie Yanow, Southeast Missouri State University
Respondent: Maria Williams-Hawkins, Ball State University

When we consider the conference theme, Tipping Points, we would note that Reporters were once protected from personal contact with the public when they were off the clock. They are now required to shift from keeping reporters' and anchors' private lives private to having them discuss their most personal medical procedures and marital problems in blogs, e-mails, tweets and all types of social media. This panel would look at several markets and how they are adjusting to this challenge.
Moderator: Maria Williams-Hawkins, Ball State University
Panelists: Rhunette Diggs, Columbus State Community College; Everybody Wants Me!: Network Anchors' Use of Social Media
Terrance Likes, Tennessee State University;  Black Male or Blackmail:  African American Male Reporters' Professional Use of Social Media
Brandon Pope, Ball State University;  Asian American Reporters Share News and Culture With American Viewers
Maria Williams-Hawkins, Ball State University; Do I Have to Show the Pictures Too?:  Female Reporter's Share Their True Stories

This panel will focus on the lead female images presented in forensic science genre popular television programs (the CSIs, Bones, NCIS,?). How are the African-American females depicted? Is there a difference between the way the white female forensic scientists and black female scientist are presented? What are some of the prominent common characteristics of the female forensic scientists? This panel will attempt to answer these questions and more.
Moderator: Lona D. Cobb, Winston Salem State University
Panelists: Traci Williams, Kent State University
Phillip Powell, Valparaiso University
Skye Dent, University of North Carolina