ABSTRACT Public discourse about disability has long been shaped by dominant models that reinforce stereotypes and misconceptions. Recently, stand-up comedy by comedians who identify as disabled has emerged as a powerful means of disrupting ableist narratives. By sharing lived and embodied experiences with audiences online and offline, these comedians challenge stigma and reclaim control over how disability is represented and understood. Despite its growing visibility, this phenomenon remains underexplored in media scholarship. This study addresses that gap through a content analysis of 80 Instagram Reels posted by 21 disabled comedians. Guided by an intersectional framework, we consider how identity markers—such as race, gender, and type of disability—shape comedic content and perspective, recognizing the diversity of disability experiences. The study’s innovative methods incorporate researchers’ subjective responses to humor, enriching traditional content analysis and accounting for the interpretive nature of comedy. Findings indicate that disability comedy on social media provides a productive space for negotiating identities and influencing audience perceptions. Comedic topics and targets vary and appear linked to differences in social power and identity. Additionally, researchers’ reactions reveal complexity and uncertainty that predict audience engagement.

ABSTRACT As artificial intelligence (AI) technologies continue to proliferate our lives and our popular consciousness一as well as our classrooms一questions of students' attitudes toward AI and the possible sources of those attitudes become increasingly important to address. To that end, the current research conducted a replication of a similar study about influences on students' attitude toward social media (and face-to-face communication), but replaced “social media” with “AI”一intentionally broad labels, so as to capture respondents' heuristic reactions rather than specific technological features or platforms. Similar to the original study, school/teachers were the most frequently cited source of information about the negatives of AI, although significantly more often than all other sources (unique to this study). Interestingly, peer influence was a non-significant influence in this research (contrasting with prior work on social media) but personal experience was the most prevalent, potentially suggesting that regarding the benefits of AI usage, these might be wholly a function of personal experimentation. Our findings are discussed with an eye toward collecting data of this kind in the future.

ABSTRACT Exposure to political comedy content has served as a gateway to greater, albeit modest, involvement in the public sphere, encouraging those who would otherwise sit on the sidelines of political life to seek out additional information, participate and engage on key issue debates, and feel better about their own political efficacy, or ability to understand and influence politics. As a textual form, comedy has elevated our deliberative discourse, inspired collective activism and culture jamming, and reshaped our public culture. In 2025, it is no longer clear whether entertaining political content is helping to encourage a more active, responsible, and well-informed citizenry or whether it is simply preaching to the choir, only reaching those who agree with the political orientation of the programming. Does political comedy still have the power to bring us together or does it further separate us into our ideological silos? Focusing on implications and with an eye towards the future of political humor as we begin a new quarter century of media engagement, the research outlines what political comedy needs to do to adapt to continue to play a role in fostering a more engaged, less polarized, and more informed citizenry.

ABSTRACT Peer review is often cited as essential to maintaining a variety of academic systems, yet it is also considered by many to enforce a system of gatekeeping that permits some voices and excludes others, but this conflict has not been explored within the realm of political communication. We explore the role of peer review and potential gatekeeping within this discipline in this paper by interviewing 26 reviewers in political communication to see how they review papers for journals and conferences. Using an informed, constructivist grounded theory, we analyze the data to identify practices, concepts, and categories to produce a theoretical framework demonstrating reviewers analyze a submission for a multitude of arguments and how those arguments fit into the larger conversation of relevant literature in the field. We conclude by offering translational benefits for authors and reviewers alike.

ABSTRACT The study of ignorance has attracted a lot of attention from academics in recent decades, especially in the fields of political science and political communication science, to address social issues and improve decision-making processes. This study provides a summary of the growing body of research that explores the meanings, consequences, and origins of ignorance in relation to larger political and communication contexts. It identifies major themes, methodologies and measurements in the research on ignorance by conducting a scoping review of 119 scientific articles published between 2000 and 2023. Furthermore, this review underscores implications for policy-making, educational strategies, and public awareness initiatives, particularly considering contemporary phenomena, such as misinformation, cognitive biases and proliferation of conspiracy theories, which have amplified challenges related to ignorance and information dissemination. It concludes by advocating for more longitudinal studies, critical examination of normative assumptions underlying ignorance studies, and analysis of power structures perpetuating ignorance.

ABSTRACT The rise of media in the political arena has sparked debate among scholars regarding the media-politics relationship. Some argue that certain media outlets operate independently, free from the influence of power centers. Others contend that truly independent media is an illusion and that media often serve as tools for political agendas, especially during critical events like conflicts and wars, where media must align with governmental or organizational policies. This study explores this debate by examining coverage of the Israel-Iran confrontation by two major broadcasters-the American CNN and the Russian news agency TASS-through the lens of news framing theory. All news content from April 1 to April 11, 2024, was analyzed thematically. The findings reveal that TASS frames the conflict with the theme “fish in troubled water,” reflecting Russia's strategy to navigate Middle Eastern developments, while CNN adopts a theme of “full support for Israel against Iran,” consistent with U.S. policy. Distinct linguistic strategies were identified: TASS uses diplomatic language aimed at Eastern audiences, whereas CNN employs emotive rhetoric targeted at Western viewers. This comparative analysis contributes to understanding how state-run and private media frame international conflicts and highlights the complex interplay of media ownership, journalistic culture, and geopolitical interests.

ABSTRACT The peer review process is considered the gold standard of academic publishing. However, when exploring the process in greater detail, biases and challenges exist. By exploring existing literature, this paper highlights biases within academic peer review, including gender discrimination, language barriers, and the implications of institutional prestige. Additional challenges including reviewer fatigue, harsh feedback, and the tendency of journals to publish statistically significant results are discussed. Potential solutions to combat these issues include implementing mandatory peer review training programs and diversifying editorial boards. Ultimately, this paper adds to a larger conversation surrounding fairness in publishing and how the communication discipline can better its existing practices to best serve those who dedicate so much to its development and success.

ABSTRACT Minority groups are often subjected to disparagement and blame for various societal issues including unemployment, health crises, and terrorism. This disparagement is sometimes conveyed not through overt hate speech but through humor, particularly in memes, which serve to demean, humiliate, or mock others. Guided by prejudiced norm theory and affective disposition theory of humor, this study examined the effects of exposure to disparaging memes targeting Asian minority groups and user comments on social media on the acceptance of prejudice, support for Asian minority groups, and the intention to share disparaging content. The findings revealed that exposure to disparaging memes led to higher levels of acceptance of prejudice toward Asian minorities and increased the likelihood of sharing disparaging content. However, these disparagement memes did not significantly influence support for Asian minority groups. Additionally, user comments endorsing disparagement were found to increase the acceptance of prejudice, increase intentions to share such content, and decrease the support for minority groups compared to comments that disapproved of the disparagement. Moreover, prior negative attitudes toward Asian minorities moderated the relationship between exposure to disparaging memes and the acceptance of prejudice, with those holding stronger negative attitudes showing greater acceptance of prejudice when exposed to such memes.

ABSTRACT In this review essay, I focus on how rurality is understood within rhetorical studies. I consider how rural places are important sites of rhetorical inquiry that need to be rethought within our field. To highlight the contemporary complexity of rural places, I begin by presenting places of meat production within the United States as a brief example that demonstrates how COVID-19 transformed some rural places into sites of violence that disproportionately impacted racialized bodies. Further, sites of rural violence, like meat-processing communities, can help rhetorical studies critically rethink our (mis)assumptions about rurality and who lives there. Next, this essay reflects, reviews, and gently critiques three themes of literature that may aid in rhetorical scholarships’ commitment to more effectively advance innovative strategies for studying rurality. First, I investigate how rural extraction has become increasingly racialized. Second, I challenge the normativity of rural space and place by contemplating who is deemed “in place” to rethink race, gender, and rurality. Finally, I confront the racialization of rural containment. I end the essay by concluding and reflecting on areas of tension and future possibilities for rhetorical scholarship when rurality, race, and place are theorized together.