Josh Braun
@joshbraun.bsky.social
2.7K followers 1.5K following 240 posts
Associate Professor at UMass Amherst studying the civic impacts of media distribution. I work in our Journalism Department and also co-edit the Distribution Matters series for The MIT Press. Opinions mine. Mastodon: @[email protected]
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joshbraun.bsky.social
@dianabutlerbass.bsky.social Stumbled across your 2018 podcast interview with Dan Harris yesterday and it was what I needed to hear in that moment. Thank you.
joshbraun.bsky.social
But when you've gone on @ezraklein.bsky.social's program, and presumably others, the bulk of your conversations have taken siren's-call politics as a given, then focused on how progressives can finally start to win at it. The restructuring argument feels much more necessary to me in this moment. 2/2
joshbraun.bsky.social
@chrislhayes.bsky.social I deeply love the argument in "The Siren's Call," but something's been nagging me about how you've deployed it. In the book itself, you make this thoughtful, well-sourced case for why and how we need to restructure our politics to avoid the logic of the siren's call…1/2
joshbraun.bsky.social
Speaking of which, the latest entry in MIT's Distribution Matters series (which I co-edit with Ramon Lobato) is "Reparative Media" by the ever-amazing @ajescoffery.bsky.social. It now has a gorgeous cover and a pre-order page (hint). So proud to have had the opportunity to work with Aymar. #commsky
Reparative Media
Can producing stories and developing platforms to support people who have been harmed by multiple, intersecting systems heal those systems? In Reparative Med...
mitpress.mit.edu
joshbraun.bsky.social
Annually, I prepare a list of books undergrads in my Media, Technology & Culture course can select for their final projects. Always fun to assemble and I get kick out of sharing it, too, so here it is! #commsky

Pic of Seth Long's book, my favorite new cover.

umass-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/person...
The cover image for Seth Long's new book, "The Last Mixtape: Physical Media and Nostalgic Cycles." It is a stylized line art image that makes the front of the book resemble the old classroom tape decks so ubiquitous in the 1970s and 1980s, complete with a loaded audio cassette and physical playback buttons. The color scheme is late 70s/early 80s, too, with the body of the recorder in a blue-green color that belongs to the same color palette as avocado wallpaper and appliances. There are similarly retro red-orange highlights. The whitespace is colored to look like aged paper.
joshbraun.bsky.social
It looks at the company's original ambitions of bridging television and the internet, and how—as TV audiences moved online—it grappled with forging coherent online strategies amid the tangle of branding relationships across NBC News, MSNBC and (then) Microsoft. 2/2
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
This Program Is Brought to You By . . .
Journalism, television, cable, and online media are all evolving rapidly. At the nexus of these volatile industries is a growing group of individuals and fir...
yalebooks.yale.edu
joshbraun.bsky.social
Now, as MSNBC spins off into its own company, distinct from NBC News, it seems like a good time to mention that I wrote a book on MSNBC. 1/2

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/b...
Goodbye, MSNBC. Hello, MS NOW.
www.nytimes.com
joshbraun.bsky.social
Still asking the hard questions, I see. 😂
joshbraun.bsky.social
I'm returning from sabbatical, so this is a bit too on the nose for me right now, lol. 😬
Reposted by Josh Braun
Reposted by Josh Braun
susielaurie.bsky.social
non-affiliated friends and colleagues this is good news!
buffaloresearch.com
Heads up, you do NOT need to be affiliated with a college or university to get access to JSTOR! Here's how to sign up as an independent researcher! You can read up to 100 articles per month. You cannot download or print PDFs. All of this is FREE.

support.jstor.org/hc/en-us/art...
How to Register & Get Free Access to Content
What's in this article: What is a personal account? Who uses a personal account? How do I register for a personal account? What can I do with a personal account? What is a personal account? A re...
support.jstor.org
joshbraun.bsky.social
Journal spammers really putting their back into it.

#academicSky
Screenshot of a low-effort spam email with the subject line "Article request notice." The complete body text reads:

"Hello,
Dear Author
Have any manuscripts for publication?"
Reposted by Josh Braun
robertrosenthal.bsky.social
I taught myself to type on an Olivetti portable manual typewriter in the 70's. People who didn't practice evenly hitting the keys so the z would come out just as dark as the f don't get to tell me how many spaces to put after a period, and need to get off my lawn.
joshbraun.bsky.social
@chrislhayes.bsky.social Just finished "The Siren's Call" and it's fantastic. In addition to being excellent on its own merits, it hit at the perfect moment for me, as I'm thinking more about attention in my teaching and research, as well as in my own life. Thank you.
joshbraun.bsky.social
The audio archives are. Their podcasts are free for several days when they first post.
Reposted by Josh Braun
ericlipton.nytimes.com
The fear among academics and lawyers now talking on the record on just about any topic that involves the federal government or the White House is really extraordinary and worrisome, and getting worse, it seems to me, every week. Dissent by an establishment figures becoming verboten in the US
Reposted by Josh Braun
attorneynora.bsky.social
I’ve been inundated w/ Q’s about the boundaries of our constitutional rights. Q’s about whether & how people can protest, considerations & calculus for whether they should exercise their speech rights. Freedom in the age of revenge is a fragile premise. We are all feeling the fear. That’s the point.
Reposted by Josh Braun
doc-jlmeier.bsky.social
Great news: NIH postbac program is recruiting again! If your grad school plans were affected by program cutbacks or admissions freezes this year I highly encourage you to apply, this could be a perfect opportunity. Please repost.

www.training.nih.gov/research-tra...
www.training.nih.gov
joshbraun.bsky.social
I greatly appreciate everything that Christopher Eisgruber says in this interview, but, more than that, it's increasingly a relief to hear someone in a position of authority willing to be sane in public. #academicSky #eduSky

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/p...
The University President Willing to Fight Trump
Christopher L. Eisgruber of Princeton University talks about the administration’s move to freeze billions of dollars in funding to higher education institutions.
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Josh Braun
silentfilmmusic.bsky.social
The world premiere of the new wind band arrangement of my score for Buster Keaton's COPS received a standing ovation. Concert was held last night in Luxembourg.
joshbraun.bsky.social
U.S. media history is pretty straightforward, honestly.

#commsky
The text reads "At the behest of corporations and trade groups touting its tremendous potential for education, development, and social uplift, regulators cleared the way for radio, only for it to become another aggressive marketing channel predicated on the sale of useless crap."

The word "radio" is crossed out and replaced by the word "cable," which is crossed out and replaced with the words "online services," and so on with "the commercial internet," and "mobile internet" crossed out as well. Beneath all the text that's been struck through is the latest iteration: "generative AI?"
joshbraun.bsky.social
Of course! And I can only imagine. I’m missing ICA as well this year, though I’m happy to connect by Zoom or perhaps a future conference. Again, thank you for the wonderful book.
joshbraun.bsky.social
Was just having a conversation elsewhere about what a wonderful book this is. Written not just with great insight, but with great empathy. Both more important now than ever.
Reposted by Josh Braun
silentmoviegifs.bsky.social
Movies that take place at roughly the same time