Elihu Katz: Remembering a Pioneer in Communication

In this film, Annenberg remembers Israeli-American Communication Scholar Elihu Katz, his founding contributions to the field of Communication, and his warm and intellectually generous personality.

Video by Shawn Kornhauser

At the 72nd annual International Communication Association Conference in Paris this May, the Annenberg School screened a short film honoring late Distinguished Trustee Emeritus Professor Elihu Katz. The film, Elihu Katz: Remembering a Pioneer in Communication,  explores his many, many contributions to the field of communication and the connections he made with students and teachers across the world. 

The film includes interviews with Christopher Ali (University of Virginia), Menahem Blondheim (Hebrew University), Larry Gross (University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism), Ruth Katz (Hebrew University & Elihu's wife), Nathaniel Katz (Tel Aviv University & Elihu's son), Jeff Pooley (Muhlenberg College), and Barbie Zelizer (University of Pennsylvania Annenberg School for Communication.)

In addition to academic appointments at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, Katz had also held long-time positions at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at USC and the University of Chicago. In the 1960s, he helped to bring television to the state of Israel, and went back and forth between Israel and the U.S. for much of his life. He was the author or co-author of so many canonical texts in the field and a mentor to generations of scholars.