Our Projects
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Featured
Poverty Narratives in Pop Culture In 2019, the percentage of Americans who donated to charity was at an all-time low. To understand why, we must identify dominant cultural norms and narratives around charitable giving in the U.S. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation commissioned the Media Impact Project to analyze the narratives about giving conveyed through mass media news and entertainment, as well as what types of media content are consumed by potential donor audiences. Read our Interim Summary Report. |
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THE AFRICA NARRATIVE The Africa Narrative seeks to gain a deep understanding of the impact of media and entertainment in shaping perceptions and opinions of the continent and to develop a richer telling of Africa’s story. |
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HEALTH EQUITY NARRATIVES How do media narratives impact audiences’ understanding of health and well-being, disparities and solutions? Can entertainment play a role in shifting mindsets toward equity, justice and systemic change? |
FILM DIPLOMACY We are conducting program evaluations of a slate of fascinating projects sponsored by the U.S. State Department designed to share American entertainment expertise with media makers worldwide. |
IDEOLOGY & ENTERTAINMENT We polled some 3,000 Americans on their opinions about U.S. and world affairs as well as their favorite entertainment and news preferences. People with different political beliefs are drawn to different types of TV. |
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IMMIGRATION ON TV Our research with Define American studies portrayals of immigrant characters and storylines on TV. Our study, Change the Narrative, Change the World, finds nuanced depictions can inspire people to action. |
JOURNALISM STUDIES The studies explore how issue-based media can inspire action. Our studies provide an empirical assessment of how medium, message and storytelling elements affect changes in awareness, attitudes and behavior. |
NORMALIZING INJUSTICE This study with advocacy organization Color of Change looked at depictions of the U.S. criminal justice system on American television. Crime TV genre advance distorted representations of crime, justice, race and gender. |
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METRICS GUIDES FOR NEWS This ongoing series of Understanding Media Metrics guides can help media news organizations understand digital measurement tools and the data they can provide and illuminate media impact that occurs online. |
VIRTUAL REALITY In a series of studies with teams at PBS Frontline and HuffPo, our researchers analyzed the impact of virtual reality on participants’ knowledge acquisition, behavior and attitudes. |
CASE STUDIES & TIPSHEETS These case studies, tipsheets and white papers provide evidence-based research in social and behavior science that provides strategies to be leveraged to optimize messages for impact. |