BEA2026: Full Schedule

9:00am PDT

Research Symposium: Communicating in an AI Driven World: The Impact of AI on Creators and Consumers of News and Entertainment -- Session 1: AI, Education, and Human Meaning-Making

Sunday April 19, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am PDT

W310

Research Symposium: Communicating in an AI Driven World: The Impact of AI on Creators and Consumers of News and Entertainment -- Session 1: AI, Education, and Human Meaning-Making

Artificial intelligence is changing the way the world interacts with machines and people, as well as how media organizations operate. As society grapples with the use of AI, those in the field of mass communication must consider the how the opportunities AI offers come with ethical ramifications. Professional organizations (RTDNA, PRSA, AAF, NAB) have adopted professional codes and guidelines for using AI in industry.

The 2026 BEA Research Symposium will examine AI research in mass communication. As AI is implemented, it is important to remember the human connection those working in the media industry bring to communicating information. Media professionals transmit information that is influenced by their broader understanding, shared background, and empathy. How can the media industry ethically adopt a technology that is disrupting how people seek, consume, and produce information?

Moderator: Seungahn Nah, University of Florida

Almost Human, Not Quite: Exploring Human Responses to Physical AI
Michael Lee, Ball State University & Hyungseok Jang, Ball State University

‘T.O.M.I.! Pull up drone footage’: Children’s responses to AI-integrated storytelling in tackling climate literacy in an African cartoon
Twange Kasoma, Appalachian State University

Discourse on an AI Society in Media Education: Netnographic Analyses of Media Educator Conversations on AI “Best Practices”
Adam C. Earnheardt, Youngstown State University & Mary Beth Earnheardt, Youngstown State University

Moderators

Seungahn Nah

University of Florida

Seungahn Nah, Ph.D. is a Professor of Journalism at the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications, where he holds the inaugural Dianne Snedaker Chair in Media Trust and serves as Research Director of the Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology, part of... Read More →

Speakers

Adam C. Earnheardt

Professor & General Education Coordinator, Youngstown State University

Dr. Adam C. Earnheardt is professor of communication in the Department of Communication and General Education Director at Youngstown State University. He has authored or co-authored five books, including The ESPN Effect: Examinations of the Worldwide Leader in Sports (co-edited with... Read More →

Michael Lee

Ball State University

Hyungseok Jang

Ball State University

Mary Beth Earnheardt

Youngstown State University

Twange Kasoma

Appalachian State University

Sunday April 19, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am PDT
W310

2026 Research Symposium: Communicating in an AI Driven World, Paper Competition | BEA, Paper Competition | AI Spotlight, Paper Competition

10:15am PDT

Research Symposium: Communicating in an AI Driven World: The Impact of AI on Creators and Consumers of News and Entertainment -- Session 2: AI, Trust, and Social Consequences

Sunday April 19, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am PDT

W310

Moderator: Seungahn Nah, University of Florida

Synthetic Realities in Political Deepfake News: Exploring AI-Generated Disinformation Consumption
Miao Guo, University of Connecticut; Carolyn A. Lin, University of Connecticut & Brett Andrew Williams, University of Connecticut

Trusting the Machine: The Authenticity Model for Trust Building in Journalism During the Rise of Artificial Intelligence
Sarah Fisher, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi

Talking About AI: Family Communication Patterns and AI Attitude Agreement
Huma Rasheed, University of Pennsylvania; Robert Lance Holbert, University of Pennsylvania & Brandon Harrison & University of Pennsylvania

Moderators

Seungahn Nah

University of Florida

Speakers

Miao Guo

Associate Professor, University of Connecticut

Sarah Fisher

Huma Rasheed

University of Pennsylvania

Sunday April 19, 2026 10:15am - 11:15am PDT
W310

2026 Research Symposium: Communicating in an AI Driven World, Paper Competition | BEA, Paper Competition | AI Spotlight, Paper Competition

11:30am PDT

Research Symposium: Communicating in an AI Driven World: The Impact of AI on Creators and Consumers of News and Entertainment -- Session 3: AI, Power, and Cultural Transformation

Sunday April 19, 2026 11:30am - 12:30pm PDT

W310

Moderator: Seungahn Nah, University of Florida

Reshaping News Production Time: Temporal Experiences and Professional Practices of Journalists in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Jing Fang, Communication University of China

The Role of AI and Automation in Transforming Journalistic Labor, Economic Structures, and Inequality in the News Media Environment
Azade Asadi Damavandi, Bowling Green State University

Simulated Homelands: AI-Generated Video as Exilic Resistance in Eritrean Diaspora Media
Yonatan Tewelde, Penn State Harrisburg

Moderators

2026 Research Symposium: Communicating in an AI Driven World, Paper Competition | BEA, Paper Competition | AI Spotlight, Paper Competition

BEA2026

9:00am PDT

Seungahn Nah

Adam C. Earnheardt

Michael Lee

Hyungseok Jang

Mary Beth Earnheardt

Twange Kasoma

10:15am PDT

Seungahn Nah

Miao Guo

Sarah Fisher

Huma Rasheed

11:30am PDT

Seungahn Nah

Azade Asadi Damavandi

Yonatan Tewelde

JING FANG

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