2026 BEA OL

Join us for this lunchtime session!
This panel is designed for instructors teaching broadcast history courses with a specific focus on why history is relevant and necessary to understanding current seismic shifts in the business of making, distributing and regulating broadcasting. Panelists will discuss strategies and best practices for engaging students and helping them understand the through line from the enactment of policy (such as the Communication Act of 1934 and the Telecommunications Act of 1996) and the precedent set by early broadcast figures (such as Edward R. Murrow or Faye Emerson) to today’s broadcast ecosystem (using recent studies such as the battle over Jimmy Kimmel, the Nexstar-Tegna Merger, the adaptation of NextGenTV, and the controversy at 60 Minutes). Time will be allotted for engaged discussion with panel attendees.

The film festival as a course presents a unique opportunity for students to enrich their media education by helping plan and stage a centrally important media industry event while also developing transferable project-based skills. For emerging filmmakers, festivals provide valuable opportunities to engage audiences for their work while also offering professional development and networking exposure. But how might we understand the additional pedagogical benefits that programming such festivals create? In particular, producing a film festival in the classroom encourages students to consider a number of interrelated questions: What is the core function of a film festival and who is its intended audience? What are the various entanglements connecting the course to the university, community, and broader film industry? Is the film festival primarily a showcase of the program’s or school’s output or an opportunity to connect the program to other players beyond the university campus? How does the festival produce a uniquely curated experience? And relatedly, what methods of evaluation and judgment are used to curate a program whether that means establishing criteria of inclusion and exclusion or determining how films are to be ordered in programming blocks? This panel identifies the benefits of such efforts, which includes incorporating students into film curation practice, utilizing films as vehicles for instruction given their ability to enliven class content, and further connecting courses to the broader community through shared exhibition spaces.

This panel addresses a burgeoning tension in higher education: the conflict between maintaining traditional academic rigor and feeling the pressure to "meet students where they are." Inspired by Walt Hunter’s February 2026 article in The Atlantic, "Stop Meeting Students Where They Are," executive board members Thom Baggerman (Point Park University), Sara Magee (Loyola University-Maryland), Adam Kuban (Ball State University), and Jen Meadows (California State University-Chico) will facilitate a candid discussion on the pedagogical and professional impacts of "holding the line." As curricula are increasingly condensed to accommodate shortened attention spans and digital distractions, faculty reinforcing high standards often face being branded as "anti-student" or tone-deaf to modern learners' needs. This session explores the rationales and tactics of educators who refuse to abbreviate expectations, arguing that true student-centricity involves providing the rigorous training necessary for long-term professional competency rather than immediate academic comfort. Beyond the classroom, panelists will grapple with institutional ramifications, specifically regarding student retention and morale. In an era where administrators can often equate retention with student satisfaction, high academic standards can seem in conflict with university enrollment goals. Participants will discuss the "retention-rigor paradox," examining how to navigate pressures to inflate grades while preserving the integrity of the degree. By sharing strategies for communicating the value of "productive struggle" to both students and administrators, this panel aims to empower faculty to reclaim the classroom as a site of deep, sustained focus without sacrificing their commitment to student success.