Media Highlights

July 2006

This summary highlights media placements members of the UCSC community have garnered during the month of July 2006. (See document with media outlets highlighted in bold.)

National and international

Providing analysis of the Mexican presidential election, Jonathan Fox of Latin American and Latino studies appeared on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and was interviewed by the San Jose Mercury News and the National Journal. . . . The Boston Globe ran a story about Far from the Madding Gerund, a new book by linguistics professor Geoffrey Pullum and Mark Liberman of the University of Pennsylvania, featuring some of the best posts from the blog Language Log. . . . Economist Michael Hutchison was pleased to see his new book about Japan's economic downturn during the 1990s featured prominently in an article in the Economist magazine about Japan's recovery. . . . Brent Haddad of environmental studies discussed desalination on the nationally syndicated radio program A World of Possibilities. . . . Bill Domhoff of psychology was quoted in a Washington Post article about U.S. society's fascination with conspiracy theories. Domhoff noted that for all their populist flavor, conspiracy theories usually end up attributing more power to elites than they actually have. . . . Seismologist Emily Brodsky was quoted in stories about her research on earthquakes and groundwater flow by Scripps Howard News Service, Reuters, ABCNews.com, Space Daily, Hindustan Times, and Xinhua General News Service, as well as by Science Letter, Life Science Weekly, and other newsletters. . . . Economist Rob Fairlie's research on entrepreneurship continues to generate media interest, including a recent mention in the New York Times, coverage in the Colorado Springs Business Journal, and questions from ABC News about older workers and entrepreneurship. He was also quoted in the Wilmington News Journal regarding Delaware's last-place ranking in a recent national review of entrepreneurial spirit around the country that Fairlie conducted for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Fairlie also appeared in the Columbus Dispatch in an article about business associations that encourage entrepreneurship among immigrants, noting that such networks have helped fuel the growth in immigrant-owned businesses. . . . Sociology's Dane Archer was featured in an Albany Times Union article about social norms and blunders in public restrooms. . . . In a Dwell magazine cover story on radical architecture, film and digital media professor Chip Lord was quoted about the innovative Ant Farm art and architecture collective he cofounded in 1968. . . . Genomic research by Gill Bejerano and others in UCSC's Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering was covered in Genomics and Genetics Weekly, Health & Medicine Week, Biotech Week, Science Letter, and other newsletters. . . . In an article about widespread economic anxiety in the United States, U.S. News & World Report honed in on economist Lori Kletzer's proposal for a wage insurance program. In addition, Kletzer was in Washington, D.C., for a Brookings Institution event that got some press coverage from U.S. News Wire and other outlets. . . . Newhouse News Service interviewed psychology instructor Veronica Tonay for a story about dreams that appeared in papers around the country, including the Post-Standard of Syracuse and the Oregonian. . . . Sociologist Ben Crow was tapped by the Concord (New Hampshire) Monitor for comment about new water and electricity systems being developed for the Third World by Segway inventor Dean Kamen. Crow pointed out the social and political challenges of the world's water issues that have so far defied technological "quick fixes." . . . Psychology's Anthony Pratkanis was quoted in an Associated Press article about people who rent billboards to deliver messages and make personal appeals. The practice can be expensive but effective, he said. . . . Geophysicist Steven Ward has been featured in several episodes of the History Channel's Mega Disasters series--"West Coast Tsunami," "East Coast Tsunami," and "Asteroid Apocalypse." . . . Biologist Daniel Costa's research on fur seals was covered in the Cape Times (South Africa). . . . Ellen Moir of the New Teacher Center was interviewed by Black America Web for a story about the nationwide shortage of certified teachers. . . . Research on ribozymes by William Scott, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and graduate student Monika Martick was reported in Medical Research News. . . . Science and Theology News ran a story about the new book Quantum Enigma by physicists Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner. . . . Diverse Issues in Higher Education noted that the Koret Foundation will divide $1.25 million in grants to support Jewish Studies programs at UC Santa Cruz, Stanford, UC Berkeley, and UC Davis.

State and regional

The new major in computer game design received extensive media coverage--Ira Pohl, professor and chair of computer science, was interviewed by the San Jose Mercury News, Santa Cruz Sentinel, TV stations KTVU and KION, and radio stations KGO, KLIV, KSCO, and KCSN. Stories also ran on the AP and UPI news wires, in the San Jose Business Journal, Sacramento Business Journal, San Francisco Business Times, Washington (D.C.) Business Journal, and numerous other business journals across the country, as well as on online news sites such as SiliconValley.com, Monsters and Critics, and GameSpot. . . . The author of an editor's note in the Los Angeles Times turned to Patricia Zavella of Latin American and Latino studies for insight into the use of the word mojado in an article. The word, Spanish for "wetback," has increasingly been adopted by undocumented immigrants as a badge of honor, said Zavella. . . . An article in the Fresno Bee about peregrine falcons included quotes from Glenn Stewart of the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group.

Local

Michael Brown of politics appeared on KUSP Radio's Talk of the Bay to discuss Hoover Institution fellow Shelby Steele's new book, White Guilt: How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era. . . . The Mid-County Post ran an article about seismologist Emily Brodsky's research on earthquakes and groundwater flow. . . . Chip Lord and Margaret Morse, professors of film and digital media, were quoted in a Metro Santa Cruz article about experimental art at UCSC. . . . The Santa Cruz Sentinel ran a lengthy Q&A with UCSC's new athletic director, Linda Spradley, on the front page of the sports section. . . . Farnaz Fatemi of the Writing Program was featured in an article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel about a new anthology of writing by Iranian American women to which she has contributed. . . . The Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote about the New Teacher Center's latest local initiative, working with 24 of the area's best teachers to help them reach the next level of excellence.

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