News Summary:
On August 26, 2026, a publication explored the contested social roles of journalism, detailing how journalists define their societal contributions to guide their daily work and defend their authority against competing visions. Also on August 26, "Avatars: What They Are and Why They Matter" was released, featuring media psychologist Rabindra Ratan, who drew from two decades of pioneering research to explain how avatars shape thought, feeling, and connection in an increasingly mediated world. Earlier the same day, Nick Couldry, Professor of Media Communications and Social Theory Emeritus at the London School of Economics and Political Science, authored "Predatory AI: How We Can Resist Corporate Capture of the Human Mind." Additionally, Seth C. Lewis, the inaugural Elcan Jefferson Scholars Foundation Distinguished Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Media Studies at the University of Virginia, co-authored "Journalism in the Age of AI: From Acceleration to Reimagination" with Rodrigo Zamith and Tomás Dodds. Previously, on August 12, Christopher M. Kelty, a professor at the University of California Los Angeles whose research focuses on the cultural significance of information technology, authored "The Internet We Could Have Had."
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