BEA2026

Artificial intelligence tools have become part of the academic and professional landscape, raising new questions for student organizations and the faculty who advise them. This panel explores how advisors of student groups are navigating AI in their work with students. What policies (formal or informal) are advisors adopting? How are they guiding students on ethical use, accuracy, and originality? And how are students themselves experimenting with AI? Panelists will share their experiences, including successes, challenges, and unresolved questions, in advising student groups during this time of rapid technological change.
Moderator: Hal Vincent, Elon University
Panelists: Kelli Matthews, University of Oregon
Alexander Luchsinger, Elon University
Jeffrey Ranta, Coastal Carolina University

No surprise that AI has made its way into program assessment, the process of gathering and analyzing student work and other data to improve student learning. This interactive panel explores practical applications of AI in the assessment process—from analyzing syllabi and student learning outcomes to streamlining data interpretation. Participants will examine real-world scenarios that highlight both the benefits and limitations of AI tools, including critical considerations around ethics, data security, and appropriate use.
Moderator: Timothy E. Bajkiewicz, Virginia Commonwealth University
Panelists: Angela Criscoe, Georgia College & State University
Laura K Smith, University of South Carolina

This student-led panel showcases how future journalists are learning to navigate artificial intelligence in media production. Students from JMS 495: Artificial Intelligence in Media Production share lessons from hands-on experimentation with AI and reflect on how the course prepared them for journalism careers.

Their projects explore enduring issues: recognizing limitations like hallucinations, avoiding over-reliance, harnessing AI-enhanced creativity, and examining ethical and business implications.

Rather than focusing on specific platforms, the panel highlights critical skills, adaptability, and ethical frameworks that will remain vital as journalism continues to evolve alongside AI.
Moderator: Shawn Montano, University of Northern Colorado
Panelists: Gregory Edward Egbert, University of Northern Colorado
Kinsley Walker, University of Northern Colorado
Jaylen Lee, University of Northern Colorado

The incorporation of AI, automation, and robotics in today’s television productions is no longer optional. Integrate these technologies into your teaching and production workflows—or risk becoming obsolete. This highly visual and practical presentation explores how institutions are building converged, dynamic environments where technology fuels critical thinking, creativity, and interdisciplinary collaborations.
Moderator: Julian Rodriguez, University of Texas - Arlington
Panelists: Brian Wheeler, Pikes Peak State College

This panel for students and advisors engages Audience Interaction about Artificial Intelligence in today’s job market. Media managers and broadcast experts explore the fusion of legacy expectations and contemporary innovations that will keep your skills sharp and your spirit savvy as you craft your career.
Moderator: Marjorie Yambor, Dalton State College
Panelists: Jamie Pence, Owner/Creative Director/Editor, Videobred Inc.
Dez Rowe, Chief Photojournalist, KXRM Fox 21 News
Jeremy Whiting, General Manager, WDBM Impact 89 FM
Jon Whiting, Advisor, MSU Telecasters

Consistent with BEA’s mission to advance research on media technologies and education, this panel addresses how AI reshapes the study of journalism — not only as an object of analysis but as a methodological revolution in media research itself. It aligns with the convention’s focus on technological transformations, algorithmic cultures, and the future of scholarly inquiry in media and communication.
This panel offers a timely and urgently needed scholarly conversation for the BEA 2026 Convention by illuminating how artificial intelligence is transforming journalism not only as a professional practice but also as a rapidly evolving domain of academic inquiry. Uniquely distinguished by the prominence and interdisciplinary reach of its participants, the panel features leading scholars and industry experts whose work has shaped national and international conversations around AI, media innovation, and communication research. ICA Fellows Don Shin and Shuhua Zhou bring perspectives on AI epistemology, algorithmic fact-checking, and audience cognition; Kerk F. Kee, an interdisciplinary principal investigator with over $13M in prestigious grants, contributes cutting-edge insights into AI-driven risk communication systems and their implications for journalistic verification; Alexandra M. Merceron, a senior industry executive and faculty expert in emerging media technologies, connects academic theory to real-world innovation as she examines the rise of LLM-based information ecosystems and generative engine optimization. Nigerian journalist, founder and executive editor of Minority Africa Caleb Okereke speaks on the panel both as a researcher and practitioner with a focus on questions of ethics and representation in AI and journalism. His current research work examines automating the journalistic "gut feeling." His research team uses LLMs to select images to accompany news stories in a large-scale study. Collectively, these leading AI experts demonstrate the depth, rigor, and forward-looking vision that aligns with BEA’s mission to advance research and education on emerging media technologies. Their combined expertise ensures that this session will offer attendees unparalleled insights into the theoretical, methodological, and practical transformations reshaping journalism in an AI-integrated media environment.

Kerk F. Kee
Professor, Texas Tech University

Alexandra M. Merceron
Executive Vice President, Rubenstein Communications
Faculty, New York University

Caleb Okereke
Founder and Executive Editor of Minority Africa

Don H. Shin
Professor, Texas Tech University
Editor, JoBEM (Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media) Special Issue “AI, Misinformation, and the Future of the Algorithmic Fact-Checking”
Doctoral Fellow, Northeastern University

AI is here to stay. In 2026, virtually all digitally literate people would agree, even (or especially) including Generative AI. That being the case, is Amendment I to the U.S. Constitution, celebrating its 235th anniversary this year, here to stay as well? Does it still have relevance? Or even practical applicability? Those are the provocative questions this panel will explore.
Moderator: Carey Martin, Liberty University
Panelists: Cory Carpenter, Lander University; Wait, What? That's Not My Voice! First Amendment and Commercial AI Use
Stephanie A Longo, Penn State Scranton; Moving Toward AI Legal Standards
Adam Schwartz, Towson University; What We Don’t Hear: Audio Editing, AI, and Reframing the Truth
Heather Walters, Missouri State University; AI, Free Speech, & Uncertainty: An Analysis of Garcia vs. Character Technologies, Inc.