About the Center
The Jimirro Center for the Study of Media Influence was launched in 2003 with the generous financial support of Distinguished Alumnus Jim Jimirro (’58).

The Center, founded to further Jimirro’s long-term interest in capturing and understanding the complex relationship between the mass media and the public, supports the study of how the mass media shape public opinion, and the extent to which television, the Internet, film, newspapers, and radio broadcasts impact citizens.

The Center’s mission is accomplished by supporting credible, objective opinion research, and sharing the results with journalists, government agencies, academics, researchers, and citizens.

Unlike any other period in history, Americans are exposed to 24-hour-a-day news coverage in formats ranging from traditional newspapers to iPods and Blackberries. Individual exposure to advertising has been estimated at a minimum of 1000 advertising messages everyday.

In an effort to provide greater understanding of media in society, the Center works to:
• connect journalists with specialists on media influence in areas such as terrorism, politics, health, advertising, and multicultural issues;
• provide access to data, current studies about media influence, and resources such as bibliographies on mass media and terrorism, and risk perception;
• offer expert commentary on issues related to the media, public opinion, and public action.

In addition to research, undergraduate and graduate students have the opportunity to participate in integrated classroom research projects, to work with faculty as research assistants, to participate in guided independent research, and to work one-on-one with faculty in survey data analysis, research design, and project development.

Undergraduates also serve as interns at the Center and gain experience in media relations. Located in 105A Carnegie Building, the Center also has access to a telephone survey laboratory.

The Center provides support for graduate students through grants, research assistantships, and facilities support. Penn State alumna, Lindsey Polonec (’03) earned her master’s degree as a research assistant at the Center where she collected her master’s thesis data. She currently works in the National Center for Health Marketing at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

The Center is supported by a six-member board of directors. During the past three years, the Center has supported four undergraduate interns, and has provided 144 undergraduate students with integrated classroom learning experiences focusing on communication and health, the environment and national elections. These programs evolved out of partnerships with the Penn State Office of Health Promotion and Education and the Pa. Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Every October, the Center sponsors the Public Relations Society of America’s Educators Academy Reception, a forum bringing together public relations professionals, journalists, and educators for dialogue. In partnership with RoperASW, the Center held a panel discussion in New York City titled “Challenges in Measuring Public Response to Terrorist Threats: Risk Perception, Media Performance, and Interpersonal Communication in Disaster Response.” The Center also partnered with the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health in sponsoring the “Effective Strategies for Communicating Health Messages to the Media”program for media professionals in Harrisburg, Pa.

Contact information
Ann Marie Major, associate professor and director
(814) 865-3069 / amm17@psu.edu

More about the Center:
About Jim Jimirro
Board of Directors
Current Research / News