In the national news: January 2017

Photo Credit: Newspapers
Fri, 02/03/2017 - 09:29

Harvest Public Media, which reports on issues facing rural areas of the Plains states and Midwest, spoke to Kirk Dombrowski, sociology, about how rural social ties contribute to the epidemic of opioid addiction plaguing rural areas and small cities. That’s because rural people, perhaps counterintuitively, tend to have larger social networks and makes it more likely they know someone who can sell them drugs. The story originally aired Jan. 3 on a handful of stations in Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas, but was heard on stations nationwide after it was included on the All Things Considered national news program on Jan. 23. Many news outlets also carried an announcement that Dombrowski had been named to the education board of the American Health Council.

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An innovative study that investigated how fruit flies evolved their impressive tolerance for alcohol generated international attention for Kristi Montooth, biological sciences. During the study, Montooth worked closely with her former undergraduate student, who now is pursing a doctorate at the University of Chicago. The Science Daily news site carried two reports on Jan. 13 and Jan. 16, on the study; Science 360, the National Science Foundation’s news service, included a link to the report; A TV news report was carried on a number of ABC affiliate web sites, and the International Business Times in the U.K., Yahoo! News and the Business Standard carried versions of the story.

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The Winston-Salem Journal carried a BH Media story quoting Dawn Braithwaite, communication studies, on how couples can navigate winter’s thermostat wars in their households.

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Salon.com cited a past interview with Daniel Brooks, biological sciences, for a Jan. 28 report on how ignoring climate change could lead to increased disease outbreaks.

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Sidnie White Crawford, classics and religious studies, was cited in a Jan. 12 Bangor Daily News article “That’s Not in the Bible.” The story extensively referred to a 2015 CNN story that included Crawford among the exports discussing “phantom” Bible verses.

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The Jamaica Gleaner recognized the Calabash Literary Festival, established by Kwame Dawes, English, with an honour award, reported Jan. 29.

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Wheeler Winston Dixon, film studies, discussed some web businesses’ attempts to move from ad-based to subscription-based revenue models for a Jan. 19 article published by the trade journal Tradestreaming.com. He’s not sure it will work.

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U.S. News & World Report interviewed Courtney Hillebrecht, political science, for a Jan. 19 report on elections around the world that involve the same national and populist movements that shaped the election of President Trump and the Brexit vote in Great Britain. A version of the story was carried by Yahoo! News.

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USA TODAY COLLEGE included student Caitlin Holman, political science, in a piece about members of College Republicans who attended President Trump’s inauguration.

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Ari Kohen, political science, was quoted in an Associated Press story that examined “Trump’s America” as illustrated by the nearly even political divide in Lincoln and Lancaster County. The story was carried Jan. 17-19 by outlets across the United States and Canada, including Voice of America, and Minnesota Public Radio.

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Dennis Molfese, psychology, and Victoria Molfese, child, youth and family studies, were quoted in a widely carried Associated Press report about legislation to recognize dyslexia as a learning disability in state law. The story originated in the Lincoln Journal-Star.

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Max Perry Mueller authored a Jan. 19 Slate.com column about the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and some Mormons’ dislike of President Trump.

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Research by Kenneth Price, English, to compare the various first-edition versions of Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass,” was featured in the Winter 2017 issue of Fine Books & Collections magazine.

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The January issue of Solid State Technology: Insights for Electronics Manufacturing covered recent advances in fabricating graphene nanoribbons for use as computer chips. Alexander Sinitskii, chemistry, is a leader in the research effort.

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Faculty, administration, student and staff appearances in the national media are logged here. If you have additions to this list or suggestions for national news stories, contact Leslie Reed, the university's national news editor, at lreed5@unl.edu or 402-472-2059.