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Center for Media & Social Impact

Center for Media & Social Impact

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The Center for Media & Social Impact (CMSI) is an innovation lab and research center that studies, s

The Center for Media & Social Impact at American University, formerly the Center for Social Media, is an innovation incubator and research center that creates, studies, and showcases media for social impact. Focusing on independent, documentary and public media, the Center bridges boundaries between scholars, producers and communication practitioners across media production, media impact, public p

Photos from Center for Media & Social Impact's post 07/08/2026

Have you checked out this amazing episode of We Disrupt This Broadcast? We talk to Liz Meriwether and Kim Rosenstock , the brilliant minds behind Dying for S*x. We talk about cancer, s*x, death… you know, just light, casual conversation. We also talk to groundbreaking s*x educator Emily Nagoski about her work consulting on the show and why at the end of the day, we all just want to feel “normal” about s*x. Check it out on your preferred podcast platform!

We Disrupt This Broadcast is a co-directed co-production of the Peabody Awards and the Center for Media & Social Impact, distributed by PRX.

06/15/2026

Black Music month is in full swing! Now is a great time to check out our interview with the director of the HBO Max documentary Stax: Soulsville U.S.A. Jamila Wignot and the co-founder of Black Music Month herself Dyana R. Williams. Available on all podcast platforms!

06/12/2026

Join us at DC/DOX Film Festival for Caty Borum's presentation of the 2026 State of the Documentary Field research, in conversation with filmmaker Brandon Kramer. The study reflects the voices and experiences of hundreds of documentary makers and professionals around the world as they navigate funding and distribution challenges and speak truth to power.

Photos from Center for Media & Social Impact's post 03/16/2026

CMSI’s 2026 State of the Documentary Field reports are officially available on our website now + We are partnering with the Global Impact Producers Alliance to launch The Documentary Influence: A Social Science Investigation of Film Impact Campaigns, featuring the research leads behind four powerful new studies. More details and registration links here in our latest newsletter here - https://mailchi.mp/american/march-2026

Photos from Center for Media & Social Impact's post 03/06/2026

Last panel of ! Thank you to our group for Challenges and Opportunities in Entertainment and Tech for Social Good. The vibes here have been great, even in the face of some tough topics. Thanks to everyone who joined us on site, or online.

03/06/2026

Bringing it all home, our last speaker Nima Shirazi (nimashirazi.com) VP of Spitfire Strategies (spitfirestrategies.com) pulls it all together to tell us the story of storytelling; historically, politically, dynamically, in a humanistic and personal way.

03/06/2026

Julie Ann Cromwell () defines “creative abrasion” and gives us the tools to navigate it to positive collaboration.

03/06/2026

Winning most charts in a presentation, Andrew deWaard () walks us through the research that went into his book Derivative Media: How Wall Street Devours Culture.

03/06/2026

After lunch we opened up the mic for the “fishbowl” when audience members can tell the room a little bit about themselves.

Photos from Center for Media & Social Impact's post 03/06/2026

Huge thank you to our fantastic panel on Documentary Storytelling and the Future (Distribution, Production, Ethics). We’ll be back after lunch!

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Location

Washington D.C.

Category

Educational Research Center

Website

Address


American University
Washington D.C., DC
20016

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm