About the Center for Media & Social Impact (CMSI)
The Center for Media & Social Impact (CMSI), based at American University’s School of Communication in Washington, D.C., is an innovation lab and research center that creates, studies, and showcases media for social impact. Focusing on independent, documentary and public media, the Center bridges boundaries between scholars, producers and communication practitioners across media production, media impact, public policy, and audience engagement. The Center produces resources for the field and academic research; convenes conferences and events; and works collaboratively to understand and design media that matter.
About the Report
This report was prepared and written by a team at the Center for Media & Social Impact. CMSI director Caty Borum Chattoo served as principal investigator. The report was written by David Conrad, CMSI postdoctoral researcher, and Lori Young, PhD candidate at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, with the tremendous support of three American University (AU) School of Communication researchers: Aras Coskuntuncel, PhD candidate, Sarah Huckins, a graduate student, and Samantha Dols, a PhD candidate. This work was facilitated by the work and support of Varsha Ramani, CMSI communications and program manager. This work was funded by a grant from the Funders for Housing and Opportunity.
