Jeffrey Cole | |
---|---|
Occupation(s) | Media analyst, author and speaker |
Awards | Ellis Island Medal of Honor, Ellis Island Honors Society (2023) UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award (twice) |
Academic background | |
Education | B.A. History, UCLA M.A. History, UCLA PhD Mass Communication and History, UCLA |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Center for the Digital Future University of Southern California |
Website | digitalcenter |
Jeffrey I. Cole is a media analyst and Research Professor in the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. [1] He is the Founder and Director of Center for the Digital Future [2] and the World Internet Project, [3] the longest-running study of the impact of digital technology on users and non-users. [4] [5]
Cole is most known for his work studying evolving global issues in information technology and emerging media,particularly as a keynote speaker at conferences in the United States,Europe,Asia,Latin America,the Middle East,and Africa on the intersection of media and technology. He has served as an adviser on digital strategies for White House staffs in several administrations,government agencies,NGOs,and corporations.
At the announcement of the creation of the World Internet Project,former Vice President Al Gore commended Cole as a "visionary who provided valuable insights to the public on understanding the impact of media". [6] He has also collaborated with White House staff during both the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. [7] [8] Cole received the 2023 Ellis Island Medal of Honor for contributions to creating digital strategies. [9]
Cole was a member of the Executive Committee at Academy of Television Arts &Sciences,and serves on the Investment Committee at Global Disruption Fund identifying innovative companies.
Cole received his undergraduate degrees and graduate training at UCLA,earning a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Master of Arts degree,followed by a PhD in Mass Communication and History. [10] He was the first person to earn a PhD in Communication at UCLA and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. [11]
Cole began his career in the 1980s and taught Communication Studies at UCLA. [8]
Cole was the co-creator of the Superhighway Summit at UCLA on January 11,1994,the first public conference on digital technology that brought together the leaders in industry,government,and academic leadership in the field. The keynote speaker at the Superhighway Summit was Vice President Gore. [12]
In 1999,Cole founded the World Internet Project (WIP),which conducts a long-term examination of the impact of computer and Internet technology across more than 35 countries. [13]
From 1997 to 2001,Cole served as a member of the Executive Committee and the founding governor of the Academy of Television Arts &Sciences (ATAS) Interactive Media Peer Group. [14]
In 2016,Cole was one of the founders of the Global Disruption Fund (GDF),a technology investment fund based in Australia. [15]
Since 2017,Cole has written more than 100 columns for the Center for the Digital Future primarily focusing on topics such as disruption,media,entertainment,and technology. [16]
From 1993 to 2004,Cole served as a Director of the UCLA Center for Communication Policy within the Anderson Graduate School of Management while also serving as a faculty member during this period. [17] In 2004,he joined the USC Annenberg School for Communication,assuming the role of Research Professor, [18] and concurrently,has been fulfilling the responsibilities of Director at the Center for the Digital Future. [19]
Commentary and analysis by Cole on technology,the digital realm,and the disruption caused by COVID-19 have been featured in media publications,podcasts,and interviews. At the 2023 CinemaCon,he emphasized the enduring importance of theatrical movie experiences,highlighting their significance in achieving billion-dollar box office earnings. [20] In discussions about the Paramount's president of international theatrical distribution,he acknowledged the strength of the theatrical industry while noting the challenges faced by streaming platforms. [21]
Cole is highlighted in an MIT Sloan Management Review feature on the regulation of Artificial Intelligence that both the United States and other countries have been slow in developing regulatory frameworks,not only for AI but also for areas like social networks. [22] He was also featured on The Signpost ,discussing the internet's impact on news where he highlighted how technology has shifted advantage and control from traditional news sources to empower citizens. [23] In the Chicago Tribune ,he emphasized evolving internet communication patterns and growing privacy concerns,with a particular focus on corporate monitoring,which he viewed as a more significant concern than government surveillance. [24] In a New York Times article about internet users and their social interactions,he noted that people don't sacrifice their personal lives for online activities revealing that a significant portion of the population remains resistant to adopting online technologies. [3]
Cole investigated the relationship between technology and behavior in the context of internet usage by taking part in the report aimed to document the ongoing evolution in digital technology and how Americans adapt to these changes. [25] From 2004 to 2021 he directed the World Internet Project,compiling findings from countries in Asia,Europe,the Middle East,South America,and the United States which were featured in The Guardian, [26] The Herald Sun, [27] The Billings Gazette , [28] and The Toronto Star . [29] The reports explore a range of issues involving online technology and highlight the importance of building a global coalition of partner countries to gather knowledge about Internet use and perspectives on a worldwide scale. [30]
In the 1990s,Cole worked closely with the four broadcast networks (ABC,CBS,NBC and Fox) and U.S. Senator Paul Simon to deal with television programming issues under an anti-trust waiver that allowed the networks to work together for the first time. Cole issued annual reports on broadcast violence and related issues to the television industry,congress,and the nation. When the first report was released in Autumn 1995, [31] [32] [33] There was media coverage for the quality of the reports and their contribution to the television content debate. [34] [35]
Within the Center for the Digital Future,Cole conducts in-depth trend analysis,research,and policy development,all aimed at maximizing the positive impact of mass media.
The information superhighway is a late-20th-century phrase that aspirationally referred to the increasingly mainstream availability of digital communication systems.
Peter Lunenfeld is a critic and theorist of digital media,digital humanities,and urban humanities. He is a professor and the Vice Chair of the Design Media Arts department at UCLA,director of the Institute for Technology and Aesthetics (ITA),and founder of mediawork:The Southern California New Media Group.
Henry Guy Jenkins III is an American media scholar and Provost Professor of Communication,Journalism,and Cinematic Arts,a joint professorship at the University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He also has a joint faculty appointment with the USC Rossier School of Education. Previously,Jenkins was the Peter de Florez Professor of Humanities as well as co-founder and co-director of the Comparative Media Studies program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has also served on the technical advisory board at ZeniMax Media,parent company of video game publisher Bethesda Softworks. In 2013,he was appointed to the board that selects the prestigious Peabody Award winners.
Entertainment-Education (EE) is a communication strategy that aims to alleviate a social issue or educate the public through a custom-tailored piece of entertainment. It is defined by a set of techniques and methodologies which all aim to use various levels of mass media to communicate social and behavior change.
George Gerbner was a professor of communication and the founder of cultivation theory. He taught at Temple University,Villanova University,and the University of Pennsylvania.
The USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism comprises a School of Communication and a School of Journalism at the University of Southern California (USC). Starting July 2017,the school's Dean is Willow Bay,succeeding Ernest J. Wilson III. The graduate program in Communication is consistently ranked first according to the QS World University Rankings.
The Annenberg School for Communication is the communication school at the University of Pennsylvania. The school was established in 1958 by Wharton School alum Walter Annenberg as the Annenberg School of Communications. The name was changed to its current title in 1990.
The Superhighway Summit was held at the University of California,Los Angeles's Royce Hall on 11 January 1994. It was the first public conference bringing together all of the major industry,government and academic leaders in the field. It began the national dialogue about the information superhighway and its implications. The conference was organized by Richard Frank of the Academy of Television Arts &Sciences,and Jeffrey Cole and Geoffrey Cowan,the former co-directors of UCLA's Center for Communication Policy. It was introduced by former UCLA Chancellor,Andrea L. Rich. The keynote speaker was Vice President Al Gore.
Al Gore is a United States politician who served successively in the House of Representatives,the Senate,and as the Vice President from 1993 to 2001. In the 1980s and 1990s,he promoted legislation that funded an expansion of the ARPANET,allowing greater public access,and helping to develop the Internet.
Ernest James Wilson III is an American scholar. Wilson was the Walter Annenberg Chair in Communication,and Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California (USC),Los Angeles,California from 2007 to 2017. He stepped down as dean in June 2017 and was succeeded by Willow Bay. Dr. Wilson is the founder of USC Annenberg's Center for Third Space Thinking,which is devoted to research,teaching and executive education on soft skills in the digital age. Through the center,Dr. Wilson's most recent research focuses on critical workforce competencies and talent and skills development in the 21st Century. As a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University,he currently is writing a book on utilizing competencies via the framework of Third Space Thinking.
Douglas Thomas is an American scholar,researcher,and journalist. He is Associate Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California where he studies technology,communication,and culture. He is author or editor of numerous books including Reading Nietzsche Rhetorically,Cybercrime:Security and Surveillance in the Information Age,Hacker Culture,and Technological Visions:The Hopes and Fears that Shape New Technologies. He has published numerous articles in academic journals and is the founding editor of Games and Culture:A Journal of Interactive Media.
W. Russell Neuman is Professor of Media Technology,NYU Steinhardt School of Culture,Education,and Human Development and Professor (Emeritus),Communication Studies,University of Michigan. From 2001 to 2013,Dr. Neuman was the John Derby Evans Professor of Media Technology at the University of Michigan. Neuman received a Ph.D. And M.A. At the University of California,Berkeley Department of Sociology as well as a B.A. from Cornell University's Department of Government. He has an extensive teaching and research career at Yale University,Harvard University,University of Pennsylvania,and the University of Michigan. He is one of the founding faculty members at MIT Media Lab and with Ithiel de Sola Pool,MIT's Research Program on Communication Policy. From 2001-2003 he served as a Senior Policy Analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy working in the areas of information technology,broadband policy as well as biometrics and international security.
Ramesh Srinivasan is a professor of Information Studies.
The World Internet Project (WIP) is a collaborative research program that brings together academic institutions in 46 partner countries to study the social,economic and political impact of digital technology.
The Center for Global Communication Studies (CGCS) is a research center located within the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. CGCS serves as a research hub for students and scholars worldwide studying comparative communication studies,media law,and media policy. The center also provides consulting and advisory assistance to academic centers,non-governmental organizations,regulators,lawyers,and governments throughout the world.
Geoffrey Cowan is an American lawyer,professor,author,and non-profit executive. He is currently a University Professor at the University of Southern California,where he holds the Annenberg Family Chair in Communication Leadership and directs the Annenberg School's Center on Communication Leadership &Policy. In 2010,Cowan was named president of The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands,a position he held until July 2016. In this role,Cowan was commissioned with the task of turning the 200-acre estate of Ambassador Walter Annenberg and his wife Leonore into "a venue for important retreats for top government officials and leaders in the fields of law,education,philanthropy,the arts,culture,science and medicine." Since Sunnylands reopened in 2012,Cowan has helped to arrange a series of meetings and retreats there. In 2013–14,President Barack Obama convened bilateral meetings at Sunnylands with President Xi Jinping of China and with King Abdullah II of Jordan. In 2016,President Obama hosted the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the site,where they released the Sunnylands Declaration. Prior to his time at Sunnylands,Cowan was appointed by President Bill Clinton as Director of Voice of America.
The vice presidency of Al Gore lasted from 1993 to 2001,during the Bill Clinton administration. Al Gore was the 45th vice president of the United States,being twice elected alongside Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. Gore is considered to have been one of the most powerful and influential vice presidents in American history.
Social Impact Entertainment (SIE) is "all storytelling that is self-aware of its potential impact on its audiences and incorporates that knowledge to effect positive change at the individual,local,or global scale on one or more social issues", as defined by the SIE Society.
Safiya Umoja Noble is a professor at UCLA,and is the co-founder and co-director of the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry. She is the author of Algorithms of Oppression,and co-editor of two edited volumes:The Intersectional Internet:Race,Sex,Class and Culture and Emotions,Technology &Design. She is a research associate at the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford. She was appointed a Commissioner to the University of Oxford Commission on AI and Good Governance in 2020. In 2020 she was nominated to the Global Future Council on Artificial Intelligence for Humanity at the World Economic Foundation.
Nicco Angelo Mele is an American academic,writer,and businessman. He is one of several managing directors of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation. From 2016 to 2019 he was the director of the Shorenstein Center on Media,Politics and Public Policy,an academic research center in the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University that examines media policy and innovation. Mele was previously a senior executive at the Tribune Media Company and deputy publisher at the Los Angeles Times and,prior,the founder and chief executive of Echo&Co,a digital and political consulting firm born out of the presidential campaign for Howard Dean. Earlier,he was the head webmaster for Dean's campaign.