12/1/2025

Two research teams, including two WCSU professors and five Kathwari Honors students who assisted with the work, presented a panel entitled “Framing Values, Democratic Backsliding, and Political Polarization” at the Broadcast Education Association (BEA) conference in Denver in October with interconnected topics:  

“Two Americas: Contrasting Television News Coverage” led by JC Barone, PhD, Professor of Communication & Media Arts (Film & Broadcasting), with Honors Students: 

Jackson Chase, Creative & Professional Writing 

Yianna Kariotis, Media Arts Production (Film & Broadcasting) 

Matthew Moody, Media Arts Production (Film & Broadcasting) 

Emelie Myhill, English & Interdisciplinary Studies 

“Hateful Misinformation and Democratic Backsliding” led by Jessica Schofield, PhD, Assistant Professor of Political Science, with Honors Student:  

Kate Jackson, Political Science 

This panel session investigated the role of traditional and digital media in reinforcing ideological divides within the current political landscape, exploring how democracies can be affected by unchecked information. For both professors and students, this was an impactful experience.  

Professor JC Barone valued the opportunity to work with students on an important topic that affects all of us. He describes the dedication the team had for the project, meeting on Sundays to work on research. Professor Barone also appreciated having the opportunity to mentor students and learn from them during the process. He writes, “Students actively participating in university and faculty research is vital because it transforms their education from passive learning to hands-on intellectual engagement…. they gain direct experience in inquiry, evidence-based reasoning, and problem-solving—skills that are central to higher education and highly valued in professional fields.”

Honors student and Political Science major Kate Jackson enjoyed learning about the political processes of other countries through the research and presenting in a professional environment. She writes, “I recognize the unique opportunity that working one-on-one with a professor is, and I am deeply grateful to Dr. Schofield for the experience.” Jackson values the Honors Program’s focus on opportunities outside of the classroom, including research and travel to gain real-world experience. This experience showed her “how important it is for different fields of study, such as political science and media, to grow together through interdisciplinary study.” In the future, Jackson would like to work in a career that allows her to collaborate with colleagues on field-advancing ideas.