2026 George Gerbner Lecture in Communication: Michael Serazio (Ph.D, '10)
- Annenberg School for Communication, Room 109
The Media That Fakes It (To Make It): Studying Cultural Production and the Authenticity Industries
About the Talk:
Authenticity: a zeitgeist buzzword; an article of faith; or a carefully calculated charade? Audiences, consumers, and citizens are said to crave authenticity – influencers who seem real on social media; brands with moral purpose; politicians who speak candidly. And that’s precisely what the authenticity industries are prepared to sell us. In his latest book, Michael Serazio reveals the story of America’s obsession with authenticity through a panoramic, behind-the-scenes tour of the professionals, strategies, and practices working to keep it ‘real.’ He’ll reflect on the larger project of studying ‘up’ in media production – from guerrilla marketers and campaign consultants to sports broadcasters and brand journalists – as new technologies disrupt and commercial pressures intrude.
Order Now – The Authenticity Industries Book
About the Speaker:
Michael Serazio is a professor and chair of the Department of Communication at Boston College who studies media production, advertising, popular culture, political communication, journalism, and new media. His books include The Authenticity Industries: Keeping it ‘Real’ in Media, Culture, and Politics (Stanford University Press, 2024); The Power of Sports: Media and Spectacle in American Culture (New York University Press, 2019); and Your Ad Here: The Cool Sell of Guerrilla Marketing (New York University Press, 2013). A former journalist, he has written essays for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Vox, and other media outlets, as well as scholarly venues like the Journal of Communication, Media, Culture & Society, and the Journal of Consumer Culture. He very gratefully received his Ph.D. in 2010 from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
Event Format:
- 5:00-5:30pm Reception
- 5:30-6:30pm Lecture
- 6:30-7:00pm Reception Continues
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