illustration of 2022 news stories

Top media moments in 2022

January 2, 2023

University News

Mainstream national media and top industry publications frequently turn to UR faculty to add perspective to headline news and serve as experts on issues of national and international importance. UR experts are a trusted source for journalists with more than 100 faculty quoted in national news stories during 2022.

Additionally, faculty were featured in top specialty and trade publications with loyal readerships, including Healthline, Essence, and Lifehacker.

From the use of rap lyrics in court to monkeypox, a sampling of top hits from 2022 are highlighted below.

War in Ukraine

Ten UR faculty offered insights related to the war in Ukraine on a wide range of topics, including an article in The Conversation about Ukrainian refugees and a Fast Company piece on the role maps play. Political science professor Stephen Long was sought after for his expertise in international relations and foreign policy. Long’s comments were published by Britannica, The Sydney Morning Herald, and the Baltimore Post-Examiner.

"It is understandable for people to want to assign blame or credit to President Biden or former President Trump for what is happening now in Ukraine, but I think it is important to realize that much of what is happening there is not about the U.S. or its policies."

headshot of Stephen Long
Stephen Long
Associate Professor of Political Science and International Studies

The recession

Faculty in the Robins School of Business shared insights on the economy, including the impacts of inflation with MSN and The Independent to Biden’s infrastructure bill with Marketplace. Dean Croushore, an economics professor and former Fed employee, weighed in on the expected recession in stories that appeared in the Financial Times, the Washington Examiner, and Newsweek.

"It's always tough to bring inflation down once you let it out of the bottle," Croushore told the Financial Times in June. "If they would just accelerate the rate increases a little bit more, it might cause a little financial volatility in the short-run, but they might be better off by not having to do as much later."

headshot of Dean Croushore
Dean Croushore
Professor of Economics

Rap on Trial

Liberal arts professor Erik Nielson was featured in more than 20 national news stories this year related to his expertise on the use of rap lyrics in court, including Time magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and BBC News. Nielson, coauthor of the book Rap on Trial, was also one of the authors of the Rap on Trial bill, a piece of legislation focused on protecting artists from their lyrics being used against them. A Los Angeles Times article noted that Nielson, who has worked with artists like Jay-Z and Young Thug, “has become the go-to national consultant,” on this topic. Nielson was interviewed on two national ABC News broadcasts — Nightline and Good Morning America. He was also quoted in Rolling Stone and The New York Times, in March and May.

"It’s insidious. It plays upon racial stereotypes to secure convictions when there might not be much else in the way of evidence,” Nielson told The Washington Post about the use of rap lyrics in criminal proceedings.

headshot of Erik Nielson
Erik Nielson
Professor of Liberal Arts

Global health

Health studies professor and epidemiologist Kathryn Jacobsen’s expertise on monkeypox was featured in more than a dozen national news outlets, including The Huffington Post. She was interviewed as an expert alongside the CDC and White House in a story for Verify, which aired on 60 TV stations across the country. Jacobsen also authored several articles for The Conversation: An explainer, a piece on why monkeypox was declared a global health emergency, and a third when the U.S. declared it a national public health emergency. Jacobsen’s second article was republished by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"As a global health expert who specializes in infectious disease epidemiology, I do not think that most people need to be worried about monkeypox,” Jacobsen wrote when monkeypox was declared a public health emergency of international concern. “This decision by the WHO, though it may sound ominous, is not a sign of bad things to come. Rather, it is a way to prevent monkeypox from becoming a global crisis."

headshot of Kathryn Jacobsen
Kathryn Jacobsen
Professor of Health Studies

Mental health

UR’s psychology faculty addressed numerous issues related to mental health in the national news, including ADHD in adults in The Philadelphia Inquirer and what driving rats can teach us about our own brains for France 24.

Clinical psychologist and professor Janelle Peifer studies the intersection of trauma and identity. She discussed golden child syndrome with Women’s Health, Gen Z’s approach to mental health with Bustle, and the mental health benefit of moving forward from the COVID-19 pandemic with ABC 15 in Arizona.    

"What we do know about humans is they're not meant to stay in states of this level of stress for prolonged periods of time,” Peifer said in an interview that appeared on dozens of TV stations across the country, including in Denver, Tallahassee, and Richmond. “How do you find a balance point where you can acknowledge the risk and the need to attend to your mental health and wellness and go back to some of the experiences and opportunities essential for your wellness that may have been out of reach before."

headshot of Janelle Peifer
Janelle Peifer
Assistant Professor of Psychology

To see more national media coverage featuring UR faculty experts, visit Media Mentions on UR Now.