Learning Community: Media Relations & Writing

Underserved Audiences, Overlooked Media

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

2:00pm Eastern, 1:00pm Central, 11:00pm Pacific

Media owned and/or managed by African-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans, from Univision to African-American newspapers to tribal news websites, are an important bridge between people who don’t rely on other media sources and university communicators seeking wider audiences. Try as we might, we do not reach everyone who can benefit from the information we share about agriculture and agricultural science. We may be losing a valuable ally in our outreach efforts—media focused on underrepresented communities.Join the ACE Media Relations & Writing Learning Community for a webinar featuring analysis from experts about why we’re missing out on the opportunity to connect with ethnic media and what we can do about it.

Learning Community: Diversity

The Power of Communication: How What We See and Hear Shapes and Reinforces Hidden Prejudices

Friday, March 26, 2021

2:00pm Eastern, 1:00pm Central, 11:00pm Pacific

This 90-minute webinar will address how communication via various forms of media are at the heart of bias formation and reinforcement – what we encounter the most in our environment establishes conscious and unconscious associations, stereotypes and attitudes toward others. It is our unconscious beliefs – implicit biases – that can be most insidious because they are automatic, we do not know when they operate, and have no control over them. These biases can interfere with work in communications in subtle but damaging ways. For example, a photograph may unintentionally reinforce negative stereotypes about people of color or a written piece can make erroneous assumptions about gender if certain biases are not examined first. This webinar will create a space for communicators of all stages and fields to examine deeply rooted associations that have been powerfully influenced by media and to begin the process of identifying ways to dismantle them. While this program is designed as an introduction to implicit bias, people familiar with the topic will also benefit from attending.