Maxwell sociologist has been named a 2026-27 visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation in support of her research into how court-supervised programs, such as mandated treatment and electronic monitoring, shape the lives of the people assigned to them.

Kirk-Werner is one of 19 selected for the program, one of nation’s most selective social science fellowships. With collaborator Mary Ellen Stitt of Rutgers University, she will use the spring 2027 residency to write a book manuscript that reveals their findings on the alternative programs courts use to supervise people in lieu of or alongside incarceration. These programs include community service, electronic monitoring and mandated treatment for mental and behavioral health as well as substance use.

Drawing on interviews, ethnographic fieldwork and administrative records, the two researchers aim to document what these programs look like day-to-day for affected individuals. Kirk-Werner says their work challenges a widespread assumption that these alternatives represent a simple departure from punishment, revealing instead a court landscape that looks quite different from the one portrayed in most news coverage and academic research.

“Professor Kirk-Werner is at the forefront of scholars studying how everyday citizens interact with the legal system in the United States,” says , associate dean for research and Merle Goldberg Fabian Professor of Excellence in Citizenship and Critical Thinking at the Maxwell School. “This visiting fellowship is a recognition of that work and a launchpad for future work and collaboration.”

Kirk-Werner is an assistant professor of sociology at Maxwell and a senior research associate for the Center for Policy Research. Her work focuses on the intersection of law, economics and power—specifically, how financial incentives and institutional pressures drive decision-making within the U.S. legal system and how those dynamics produce or entrench inequality.

She also is a principal investigator of the Captive Money Lab, a public-facing research lab supported with a $1.5 million grant from Arnold Ventures that is currently examining the use of prison pay-to-stay statutes that leave millions of incarcerated individuals subject to the partial or total cost of their imprisonment.

Kirk-Werner’s work has been published in journals such as Social Problems, American Journal of Sociology, Sociological Forum, Sociological Perspectives and Punishment & Society. In addition to the Russell Sage Foundation and Arnold Ventures, her research has been supported by the Social Science Research Council and the American Society of Criminology’s Ruth D. Peterson Fellowship for Racial and Ethnic Diversity.

Founded in 1907 by Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, the Russell Sage Foundation is one of the nation’s oldest philanthropic organizations dedicated to strengthening social science research and improving public policy. It works to support innovative research that diagnoses social problems and advances evidence-based solutions. Through its visiting scholar program, it brings researchers from institutions across the country to its New York City headquarters to collaborate and advance their work.

Kirk-Werner says the fellowship’s structure—which places scholars together in shared space for the year—is a central part of its appeal.

“This fellowship is all about being in community with the other invited scholars—working, eating and living alongside each other,” she says. “I am honored and excited to be a part of this community and looking forward to the dedicated time for writing and working with my collaborator, Dr. Stitt.”

—Story by Jacob Spudich

Housing in cities across North America has become increasingly unaffordable. Most people blame land scarcity, rising construction costs or speculative investors.

But in a study , Austin Zwick, for the policy studies program in the and the , points to a less visible culprit: planning processes municipalities are using.

Zwick’s research, published in March, examines how de facto discretionary approval systems—which require developers to meet all code requirements but also see approval depending on back-and-forth negotiations with regulatory bodies and case-by-case judgments from planners, elected officials and sometimes organized public organizations—drive up housing costs and suppress supply.

In contrast, a “by-right” system allows developers to get approval, with no additional steps to follow, as long as they meet or “check every box” on the municipality’s list of requirements or standards.

“In theory, discretion is meant to allow flexibility and responsiveness,” Zwick says.

Negotiation with developers is intended to promote Ìębetter outcomes by requiring them to build public amenities and social housing units they wouldn’t otherwise build. In practice, though, builders with the time, money and political access can endure prolonged negotiations, and then they will pass those endured costs onto the buyers, whereas small-time builders can’t. The end result is that only large-scale luxury development gets built, not regular housing for regular people, he says.

Zwick offers a case study in his research of a stalled development in Vancouver, British Columbia, in which lengthy negotiations, public hearings and political approvals added hundreds of thousands of dollars per unit to a condo building before construction ever began. He suggests that tackling the housing crisis isn’t just about federal funding or sweeping new policy, but for local governments to streamline their own processes.

Below, Zwick, tells Íű±ŹĂĆ Today what’s broken in planning processes, why it matters for the housing crisis and what cities can do about it.

Publishing magnate Donald Newhouse H’16, whose family’s philanthropy changed the face of Íű±ŹĂĆ and set the course for generations of communications students, died May 26. He was 96.

“Donald Newhouse was one of the most consequential figures in American media and one of the greatest benefactors this University has ever known,” says Chancellor . “His generosity, leadership and vision have given generations of Íű±ŹĂĆ students the education, preparation and opportunity to pursue meaningful careers in journalism and communications. He built a media empire that pushed the industry forward, embracing the demands of modern storytelling while never wavering in his belief that local journalism is essential to informed and engaged communities. We are deeply grateful for everything he gave to Íű±ŹĂĆ, and our hearts are with the Newhouse family.”

“Donald Newhouse deeply understood Íű±ŹĂĆ—not just its history and mission, but its character,” says Chancellor Emeritus Kent Syverud, who worked closely with Newhouse during his tenure as chancellor. “Over the many years I knew him, I came to appreciate his abiding commitment to the idea that journalism done well is one of the highest forms of public service. Losing him is a profound loss for this university, and personally, for me. I am grateful for every conversation we had and for his great love and care for Íű±ŹĂĆ. My deepest sympathies go to Steven, Katherine, Michael and the entire Newhouse family.”

“Donald Newhouse set a standard for what it means to be a true champion of this university,” says Chairman of the Board of Trustees Jeffrey Scruggs. “As an honorary trustee, he inspired our board not just through his extraordinary philanthropy but through his genuine, tireless advocacy for Íű±ŹĂĆ—the kind that came from someone who believed in this institution with his whole heart and showed up for it in every way. My thoughts are with the entire Newhouse family, especially Trustee Michael Newhouse, as he and his family grieve an extraordinary man.”

Dedicated to Communications Education

The is named for Newhouse’s father, Samuel I. Newhouse, who was born to immigrant parents in a New York City tenement in 1895 and by the time of his death in 1979 had built the publishing empire .

His $15 million gift to the University in 1960 supported the construction of the first two buildings of the Newhouse complex: Newhouse 1, , and Newhouse 2, . In recognition of his philanthropy, the school was named for Samuel Newhouse in 1971.

Donald Newhouse and his brother, Samuel I. “Si” Newhouse Jr., took over Advance Publications following their father’s death. They continued his legacy as shrewd and successful publishers, and as dedicated supporters of communications education at Syracuse.

“Donald Newhouse’s impact on American media, and the school that bears his family’s name, is difficult to put into words,” says Newhouse Dean . “He believed deeply in the core values of journalism, and in the importance of diverse voices in the newsroom as a way of strengthening coverage of the communities we serve. His generosity made it possible for Íű±ŹĂĆ to become home to the country’s top communications programs and train generations of journalists.”

Moving Into the Future

With continued philanthropy in the years following the naming of the school, the Newhouse family—through the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation led by Donald Newhouse—became the University’s largest benefactor. A $15 million gift in 2003 supported the construction of Newhouse 3, .

An $18 million renovation of Newhouse 2, supported in part by the Newhouse Foundation, produced the Newhouse Studio and Innovation Center—featuring Dick Clark Studios, the Alan Gerry Center for Media Innovation and the Diane and Bob Miron Digital News Center—which was dedicated by Oprah Winfrey in 2014. In 2020, a marked the largest-ever gift in University history.

Donald Newhouse visited the school to announce the gift in January of that year. In a full-circle moment, he posed in the Newhouse 1 lobby, just as he had done alongside his father and the rest of his family on the day of the Newhouse 1 dedication. “The Newhouse School resulted from my father’s dream to establish the finest journalism school in the world,” he said. “In this era in which public communications is undergoing continual and radical change, my family and I expect to continue our long-term commitment to ensure that the school my dad helped found almost 60 years ago remains the leading communications school in the world for another generation.”

Lifelong Connection

Donald Newhouse’s vision for the school embraced technology and innovation while honoring the core values of journalism that remained key to its foundation. In this new era, the Newhouse family’s generosity was indeed a cornerstone of the school’s strength. “Without this Newhouse money, the school would not be what it is today,” says Newhouse Dean Emeritus . The foundation’s gift in support of Newhouse 3, he says, “catapulted the school to the very top of communications education.”

Newhouse funds also supported technological advancements, endowed professorships, student scholarships and other areas of need. The Newhouse Dean’s Leadership Fund, established in 2007 with a $10 million matching challenge, provides discretionary funds allowing the dean to leverage opportunities to enhance the educational mission of the school. The , which began in 1994 as a partnership with the Advance-owned Syracuse Post-Standard, was undergirded by Donald Newhouse’s commitment to diversifying news reporting. “Donald recognized that the quality of journalism would only be as good as the people in the newsrooms who produced it,” Rubin says.

The family’s philanthropy touched other areas of the University as well, including , and the , where a gift from the foundation helped establish the Chancellor Kent Syverud and Dr. Ruth Chen Endowed Chair in Applied Artificial Intelligence. Newhouse also gave to the fund for the Marley Building, which is named for the parents of his late wife, . And he and was awarded an honorary degree in 2016.

Throughout his life, Donald Newhouse remained connected to the University, offering his quiet guidance and steadfast support—a presence that was appreciated by numerous deans, Rubin included.

“Despite his wealth and success, he was an idealist, a man devoted to the greater good, a man of warmth and empathy,” Rubin says. “Look around. How many such industry titans does one see who are like him?”

Three Newhouse School students set out to tell stories often overlooked: a business owner surviving a wildfire’s economic fallout, a traveling veterinarian’s life serving rural communities and a man lifting others out of homelessness. What they filmed earned top honors from the White House News Photographers Association—and lessons about the privilege of sharing someone’s story.

The annually recognizes the best in visual journalism with its “The Eyes of History” contest, and its calls out emerging journalists for their storytelling with video and photography.

The three honorees—Jess Van ’26, a photography major in the visual communications department; Kaitlin Campbell ’26, a broadcast and digital journalism major; and Alex Fairchild ’29, an active duty Marine Corps sergeant in the program—each approached their stories with the aim of looking past the obvious narrative and shared conviction that the people in front of their cameras deserved to have their stories told.

Jess Van: Ìę

Van was awarded first place in the category of in-depth features and documentary for her film “After the Ashes” on the economic impacts of the Los Angeles wildfires to small business owners in Pacific Palisades. The 13-minute documentary, which served as Van’s capstone project, follows Ruby, a nail salon owner whose building miraculously survived the flames but was still severely disrupted by the disaster.

Van, who is from Cambodia, has a personal connection to the Palisades. When she first came to the U.S. for school, she connected with two mentors who lived in the area.

She visited in March 2025 during spring break, months after the destructive fires swept through the community. Both mentors lost their homes in the fire.

“I always felt like it’s my second home,” Van says. “It was heartbreaking to see the town and the people that lost their homes. It’s not just property, it’s about memories and the connection that you have.”

Van, who minored in geography, decided to make a film focused on the impact to those who worked, but didn’t live, in the affluent neighborhood.

“The backbone of the place, like the gardener, the nail salon owner, the restaurant worker, who also were impacted by this fire,” Van says.

Through one of her mentors, she connected with Ruby, a nail salon owner, whose business survived the fires, even though everything around it burned to the ground. Still, the impact to Ruby’s livelihood was severe as the community’s local economy ground to a halt following the fires.

“It’s a privilege for me to be let in to someone else’s life,” Van says. “It’s their story, and the fact that they feel like comfortable enough to share their vulnerability with me is a privilege.”

In all, she spent 14 months working on the documentary, which she plans to continue submitting to film festivals.

“Hearing what people say after they watch the film, ‘I never thought about this’ and ‘This angle is very rewarding,’ we all know the disaster affects everyone, regardless of their economic background,” Van says. “But to have the opportunity to capture [it] in a way that people don’t really think about is the most important part. That’s the goal of the film, and to have that accomplished, and hearing that feedback, just feel really good.”

Kaitlin Campbell:

Campbell was awarded first place for her story “” in the category of broadcast news storytelling. Campbell wanted to do a feature story to push herself outside of the daily headlines she typically worked on. Driving around upstate New York, she was struck by the farms she passed and began brainstorming stories.

She began to notice, as she looked up farms in the area, that even separated by hundreds of miles, they listed the same veterinarian: Melanie Parker.

Campbell filmed Parker over the course of a few days and then put together the three-and-a-half minute feature. The story ultimately aired on , Newhouse’s broadcast and digital news outlet.

The best part of working on the story was getting to know Parker, Campbell says. Parker is someone, she says, who “hypes up other people, but doesn’t hype up herself.”

Having her story recognized by the White House News Photographers Association affirms for Campbell that she’s “doing the right thing” with her career.

“It just makes me feel like, ‘OK, I’m where I’m supposed to be,’” she says. “I’m supposed to be producing stories like these. I’m supposed to be getting out in the community and pushing myself.”

Alex Fairchild:

Fairchild was awarded second place in the category of broadcast news storytelling for his story “Hire Ground: A Hand Up, Not a Hand Out.”

Fairchild, an active duty sergeant in the Marine Corps, worked on the feature with classmates Dillon Buck and Devin Andrews as part of a broadcast journalism class with , associate professor and chair of broadcast and digital journalism at Newhouse. At the time, Fairchild was participating in the Advanced Military Visual Journalism program, but he is now pursuing an online .

The original goal, he says, was to do a story related to , a local nonprofit that hosts programs that help unhoused individuals in the Syracuse area.

“All of us had the mindset that the story is always more important than getting an assignment done,” he says.

The nonprofit connected Fairchild and his classmates to Kevin, a man who used to be unhoused but who now helps others through Hire Ground, a jobs program run by In My Father’s Kitchen. The story ended up airing on Spectrum News.

“The most rewarding part was actually being out there and participating in the work that In My Father’s Kitchen was doing,” Fairchild says. “Yes, we reached out to do a story on Kevin, but it ended up being an eye-opening experience for all of us and we met people that we’ll never forget.”

A new online database aimed at helping solve the local news crisis gives newsrooms, funders and policymakers access to critical research about how local news makes communities stronger and what we lose when local news sources close.

The was developed by the Local News Experimental Testing Lab () at Íű±ŹĂĆ’s in partnership with , a nonpartisan nonprofit coalition. The initiative brings together research from disciplines including communications, economics and political science.

Since the start of this century, nearly 40% of all local U.S. newspapers have closed, leaving 50 million Americans with limited or no access to reliable local news. The number of local journalists in the United States has fallen by more than 75% since 2002, according to Rebuild Local News’ .

This decline has led to a wave of new scholarship about the impact of local news, however, and the Research Hub aims to make that work accessible.

“Though the industry is facing many crises and issues, it’s an exciting time to study local news,” says , director of Local NExT Lab and senior researcher at the . “There is so much good work being done across disciplines. We wanted to help ensure that the industry can benefit and use this research to make arguments to policymakers, funders and audiences about their civic and economic value.

Darr is also an associate professor of communications in the , which co-leads the institute with the .

“To move the needle on policy, we need more than just anecdotes; we need data and evidence that demonstrates the specific needs and measurable impact of local reporting,” says Steven Waldman, president of Rebuild Local News.

The Local News Research Hub provides that essential evidence by showing policymakers how a lack of local news leads to higher taxes, increased corruption and lower civic engagement, Waldman says . “By identifying these gaps, we can help craft targeted solutions that ensure every community has the information it needs to thrive.”

The project also includes a search function, key findings and summaries, and links to source materials. The resource builds on an earlier developed by the Democracy Fund, an independent foundation that supports initiatives that foster reliable, equitable and community-focused journalism.

“We know a lot about why local news is declining and what’s at stake for communities,” says , IDJC research director and professor of at the Maxwell School. “This resource bridges the gap between that research and the people positioned to do something about it.”

Based in Washington, D.C., the IDJC engages in research, teaching, experiential learning, partnerships and events to address challenges to democracy related to the information environment.

“Strengthening local news reduces polarization and empowers communities,” says , Kramer Director of the IDJC and professor of practice of at the Newhouse School. “We are proud of Local NExT’s innovative work and our partnership with Rebuild Local News.”

The nonprofit Rebuild Local News is a coalition of more than 55 organizations representing more than 3,000 newsrooms and 15,000 journalists. The coalition advocates for public policies to strengthen community news and information.

For more information on the hub or to contribute to the database, contact Darr at jpdarr@syr.edu or Matt Baker, research director at Rebuild Local News, at mattbaker@rebuildlocalnews.org.

The University’s honored five of its alumni on April 30Ìę ,Ìę the school’s signature alumni recognition event. Held at the Íű±ŹĂĆ Washington, D.C., Center, the evening brought together members of the Maxwell community—alumni, faculty, advisory board members and friends of the school—for a lively, standing-room only celebration of careers that have spanned climate finance, diplomacy, food security, public administration and the law.

Dean David M. Van Slyke welcomed guests and set the tone for the evening with remarks that acknowledged both the weight of the current moment and the enduring relevance of Maxwell’s mission.

“We are gathering tonight at a moment when the ideals that animate this school—free inquiry, rigorous evidence, the willingness to engage across differences—remain under considerable pressure,” Van Slyke said. “Taken together, these five careers span climate, diplomacy, food security, equity and the law, but they share something more fundamental: a willingness to engage the hardest problems of our time with rigor, integrity and a genuine sense of public responsibility. That is what Maxwell prepares people to do, and these honorees have done it at the highest levels.”

Emily Fredenberg | Compass Award

The evening’s first honoree was Emily Fredenberg G’16, recipient of the Maxwell Compass Award, which recognizes an early-career alumna for professional accomplishments and impact. As senior officer of programs and advocacy at the Global Child Nutrition Foundation, Fredenberg has spent the decade since earning her M.P.A. degree and a master’s degree in international relations at Maxwell working to ensure that the world’s most vulnerable children have access to school meals—serving with the World Food Programme in Lebanon and Rwanda before moving to her current global role.

Reflecting on her time at Maxwell, Fredenberg credited not only her education but the community it gave her. She also offered a personal note: her husband, Sean Mills, a Íű±ŹĂĆ College of Law graduate, was at home in Alaska caring for their five-month-old son, Rhys.

“Becoming a new mom, this past year has made my work feel even more urgent,” Fredenberg said. “Holding my infant son, I feel the weight—and the hope—of the world he will grow up in which continues to motivate me. Maxwell helped shape my compass. It’s the place that taught me that service is not just a career path. It’s a lifelong journey.”

Susan T. Gooden | Charles V. Willie Advocate Award

Susan T. Gooden ÌęG’95, G’96, who received a master’s degree and Ph.D. in political science from the Maxwell School, was awarded the Charles V. Willie Advocate Award, named for the late Maxwell scholar and community activist. The award honors individuals whose contributions reflect Maxwell’s commitment to an environment that is welcoming to all and oriented toward engaged citizenship. Gooden is dean of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University, a founding editor of the Journal of Social Equity and Public Administration, and a past president of the American Society for Public Administration.

Accepting the award, Gooden reflected on what the honor meant in the context of its namesake’s legacy—and of what citizenship demands.

“Maxwell instilled in me the belief that scholarship must engage the world it seeks to improve, and that it must inform policy, strengthen institutions and expand opportunity,” she said. “I accept this award with gratitude and with a continued commitment to advancing a public service that is thoughtful, engaged, grounded in equity and worthy of the communities it serves.”

Jeff Eckel | Bridge Award

Jeff Eckel G’82, founder and longtime CEO of HASI, received the Maxwell Bridge Award, which honors outstanding, transformative leadership in business with a commitment to advancing the public good. Eckel, who earned an M.P.A. from Maxwell, pioneered the use of finance as a tool for accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy, including overseeing HASI’s 2013 public offering as the first dedicated climate solutions investor and developing CarbonCount, a tool for measuring how efficiently capital investments reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In his remarks, Eckel drew a direct line from his Maxwell education to the investment philosophy that has guided his career.

“The Maxwell School instilled in me the idea that the public and private sectors do not have to be opposing forces,” he said. “Our investment thesis is that in a world increasingly defined by climate change, we will make superior returns investing in climate solutions—that you can do well by doing good, and that capital can be a powerful tool in the transition to a low-carbon economy.”

The public relations programs at the University’s have been recognized as the best in the country by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

The NewhouseÌęÌęandÌęÌępublic relations programs each received prestigious Silver Anvil Awards during theÌęÌęon May 14 in New York City. The honor goes to the nation’s outstanding higher education programs in public relations.

, a professor of practice and chair of the PR department, andÌę, assistant teaching professor and director of the PR master’s program, accepted the awards for the Newhouse School.

PRSA is the leading professional organization serving the communications community through a network of more than 400 professional and student chapters in the United States and around the world. The Anvil Awards represent the highest standard of performance in the public relations profession.

The University’sÌęÌęannounced the winners of the 2026Ìę, which recognize excellence in media industry reporting.

The top prizes were announced Tuesday night at an event in New York City that also featured a conversation with NBC News journalist and “Dateline” anchor Lester Holt,Ìę.

Cheryl Wills ’89, an Emmy Award-winning journalist and anchor for Spectrum News NY1, served as master of ceremonies.

Finalists wereÌę. Chosen by a panel of journalists and journalism educators, the winners of the juried categories are:

Best Single Article/Story

Jesse Barron
The New York Times Magazine
“”

Best Profile

Antonia Hitchens
The New Yorker
“”

Best Commentary

Pamela Alma Weymouth
The Nation Magazine
“”

Best Media Newsletter

Oliver Darcy
Status

• “
• “
• “

Special Topic: Best Coverage of the Future of Late-Night Television

Kayla Cobb and Adam Chitwood
TheWrap
“”

John M. Higgins Award for Best In-Depth/Enterprise Reporting

Josh Dzieza
The Verge
““

Additionally, the followingÌę were formally presented:

Fred Dressler Leadership Award

NBC News award-winning journalist and “Dateline” anchor

Lorraine Branham Award

About the Mirror Awards

Established by the Newhouse School in 2006, theÌęÌęhonor the writers, reporters and editors who hold a mirror to their own industry for the public’s benefit. The competition is open to anyone who conducts reporting, commentary or criticism of the media industries in a format intended for a mass audience. Eligible work includes print, broadcast and online editorial content focusing on the development or distribution of news and entertainment. Winners are chosen by a group of journalists and journalism educators.

Ads generated by artificial intelligence are nearly indistinguishable from human-made ones, but new research shows they consistently underperform compared to human-made work when it comes to predicting short-term sales impact.

TheÌę from global research firm Ipsos in collaboration with two faculty members from theÌę tested 20 ads across 10 brands with 3,000 U.S. respondents. They found that human-made ads outperformed their AI counterparts, though the gap between the two was surprisingly slim.

The study paired existing human-made ads, produced before 2021 to ensure AI tools were not used, with fully AI-generated counterparts built from the same strategic brief, the document that ad professionals use to outline objectives, messaging and tactics for a campaign. Ads were then viewed by real consumers.

The results challenge assumptions the advertising industry can no longer afford to ignore, faculty ÌęandÌę say, while the project overall reflects Newhouse’s commitment to train students with the skills and forward-thinking strategies needed to be effective and ethical communicators.

The Research Team

Peruta, director of theÌęÌęM.S. program, and Riby, professor of practice in theÌę, led the University side of the study. Ryan Barthelmes, senior vice president of creative excellence at Ipsos, guided the project for the research firm.

Peruta oversaw the technical process of deconstructing existing ads and building the pipeline to produce their AI counterparts. AI was assigned to do everything a creative team would do, from interpreting strategy to developing a concept to producing the final spot.

“The human ads and the AI ads started from the same brief,” Peruta says. “The only thing that changed was who made them, and that’s exactly what we wanted to measure.”

Riby brought advertising strategy and creative expertise, including insights drawn from her The Big Idea in Advertising class, where Newhouse students have spent three years creating AI-generated ads and evaluating the results.

The 10 brands selected for the project spanned various sectors, including consumer packaged goods, fashion, automotive and technology: Cheerios, Chewy, Febreze, Fiat, H&M, Old Navy, Herbal Essences, Ray-Ban Meta, TurboTax and Visa.

Raina Rice ’26, an advertising major, supported the project behind the scenes, helping organize and manage the ad assets across all 10 brand pairings.

What They Found

The study produced three findings that promise to generate conversation across the advertising industry.

• Consumers largely cannot tell the difference.ÌęOnly 13% of viewers who saw an AI-generated ad were at least somewhat confident it was made by AI—the same share as viewers who suspected human-made ads were AI-generated. With 40% of all viewers uncertain either way, the line between human and machine-made advertising is blurring quickly.

• Despite that perceptual similarity, a measurable effectiveness gap emerged.ÌęUsing Ipsos’ sales-validated measures of advertising performance, human-made ads over-indexed against the benchmark by 11 points on average, while AI-made ads under-indexed by five. In practical terms, human ads are predicted to drive stronger short-term sales impact. AI can produce credible work, but on average it does not move the needle the same way.

• AI performed best when the brief was straightforward and product-driven, but struggled when the creative challenge called for storytelling, emotion or a genuine point of view.ÌęThe strongest result in the study came from the Cheerios pairing, where a deeply human brief produced the highest combined effectiveness scores across both versions.

“Every semester in my class, I watch students create AI ads about themselves, and not one of them has ever loved their output enough to put it on their refrigerator,” Riby says. “That reaction is the premise of this entire study. If the creators themselves are underwhelmed, why would we expect consumers to feel differently? The data now backs that up.”

An Industry Perspective

Barthelmes says the study addresses a question the advertising industry has been circling but is reluctant to answer directly.

“Every [chief marketing officer] is being asked whether AI can replace their creative agencies, and creative directors are wondering about their futures,” Barthelmes says. “This research gives us a framework for that conversation. AI is a powerful tool, but the data shows that the human capacity for storytelling and emotional connection still creates a measurable competitive edge. The future is humans and AI working together.”

Looking Ahead

The Newhouse-Ipsos partnership reflects the school’s broader investment in industry-facing research that shapes how the next generation of communicators understands and works alongside AI.

The study’s key recommendation is clear: do not settle for “good enough.” AI has an important role in modern campaign strategy and execution, but it is not a replacement for the human-led creativity needed to deliver a competitive advantage.

On Jan. 2, Justin Dalaba’s phone rang.

It was his former professor, , who teaches photojournalism, documentary photography, filmmaking and visual storytelling at the , with a question.

Did Dalaba G’25 want to come with him on assignment for National Geographic to photograph turtles under the Canadian ice? Before he could second-guess himself, Dalaba said yes.

“It was definitely a rare opportunity,” Dalaba says. “Those kinds of stories don’t just happen in that way. And he pretty much said, ‘Well, we’ve got to leave in about an hour. So are you ready to go?’”

Luckily, Dalaba had his go-bag ready and the batteries for his cameras were charged. Later that day, the Newhouse graduate was driving to Canada with his former graduate advisor.

Peering Under the Ice

The January assignment Snyder brought Dalaba onboard for is part of work he’s been doing for the last three years for the Preserving Legacies project. The organization funded by the National Geographic Society highlights how World Heritage Sites, along with cultural heritage and natural heritage sites, can be adapted to climate change. Working on a long-term grant, Snyder tells the stories of communities working to adapt and preserve the sites.

One of the stories he was assigned to work on was about how biologist GrĂ©gory BultĂ© is studying a . The creatures are one of the world’s northernmost reptile species in the system, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that runs from Ottawa to Lake Ontario. During the winter months, the turtles live underwater and bring their body temperatures down to near-freezing. They don’t eat, breathe or mate, waiting under the ice until they can emerge in the spring.

BultĂ©, who has been studying the turtles for 20 years, has observed when ice thins during the winter, principally because of climate change, it allows river otters to slip under and eat the turtles. In 2022, he documented 10% of the turtle population in Ontario’s Opinicon Lake died, likely because of otters.

“Because they can’t move, it’s a free snack,” Snyder says.

In 2025, Snyder went up to do a story on Bulté and his work, but a blizzard prevented him from getting the images he needed.

For the return trip in January, Dalaba helped Snyder design a rig system to capture the images of the turtles under the ice. Not only was it freezing and underwater with low visibility, but they had to be sensitive to the turtles and avoid disturbing them.

“They’re not supposed to move very much,” Snyder says. “You have this tiny window to operate.”

The videos and photos they captured were published as part of a in National Geographic, one of the publication’s most-viewed stories of the month. The images may also be the first-ever published of turtles under the ice.

What Went Into the Shoot

Snyder says the recent Newhouse grad proved “instrumental” in helping him get video and photographs on the shoot.

“He’s both incredibly technically capable and he’s a very, very good image maker and storyteller,” Snyder says. “He can do that across platforms with photo, design, video, and that’s super, super important.”

The shoot required them to get up at 4 a.m. and trek through the snow, pulling their gear on a sled across the frozen lake. At one point, the equipment got too cold and the mount they were going to use to submerge the camera broke, so they had to remount their gear on the fly.

The pair also had to work closely and build trust with Bulté, listening when the scientist expressed concern about the impact on the turtles if they pushed the shoot longer.

“That’s a powerful learning opportunity for someone working in the documentary space to understand—it’s not all about you, it’s not even all about the image,” Snyder says. “At the end of the day, it is about the ethics that underlie this practice. It is about relationships, and it is about doing the maximum amount of good with the work you’re doing.”

He says Dalaba had the ability to be adaptive, not just with the changing weather around them and the physical demands of the assignment, but to be collaborative and responsive to the other people and species involved.

“Both the practice and the product of documentary work is relationship building,” Snyder says. “You need to be highly relational. It’s a soft skill in a lot of ways, and he has this aplomb.”

Dalaba and Snyder both came to photojournalism and documentary work with science backgrounds. Dalaba previously worked as a wildlife biologist in conservation, while Snyder is a geologist and climate scientist by training.

For Dalaba, working on the assignment felt like the culmination of his path as a wildlife biologist turned storyteller.

“Seeing that come together went beyond the personal gratification and more of that deep hearted feeling of this is what a collaboration feels like,” he says. “It was a collaboration between two storytellers, scientists, multiple climate custodians who are working to adapt their heritage in Canada.”

The experience also resulted in additional work for Dalaba with Preserving Legacies. The former wildlife biologist says he’s excited to continue that work, telling stories of hope and resilience related to climate change.

has called Super Bowls, NBA Finals, the Olympics and the Kentucky Derby from broadcast booths around the world. On Sunday, he returned to where it all started to send Íű±ŹĂĆ’s Class of 2026 off with a challenge: keep chasing your dreams, and “don’t leave your childlike wonder behind.”

“All of you have a Syracuse story,” Tirico told the approximately 6,679 graduating students inside the JMA Wireless Dome. “Here, you formed a foundation of resiliency. You learned to deal with the curves that the road ahead provides. I hope in years to come, when you tell your Syracuse story, it involves your dreams and it’s eventually going to include how you kept chasing them.”

Tirico, who serves as vice chair of the , is the of “Sunday Night Football” and “NBA on NBC,” and serves as the primetime host for NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Olympics. He has interviewed such elite athletes as Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, four-time NBA champion LeBron James, and Olympic gold medalists Michael Phelps, Simone Biles and Lindsey Vonn.

Tirico compared the graduates to those world-class athletes, encouraging them to draw on the same traits that carried them through Syracuse to achieve professional success.

“They thrived because of their minds, their strength and their ability to out-plan, to outthink and to withstand the scrutiny,” said Tirico, a member of the . “They share a commonality [with you]. They loved what they did and love what they do. Go out and find what you love. Go find what makes you happy and let that fuel you to your future.”

With his mother, Maria, and his wife, Deborah Gibaratz Tirico ’89, in attendance, Tirico took a moment to celebrate the moms who were cheering on their graduating students. Tirico asked the Class of 2026 to get out of their seats and give the moms a round of applause and a big wave while wishing them a happy Mother’s Day.

Tirico recalled growing up in a single-parent household, crediting the support he received from “a village of amazing family members” with helping him become a first-generation college student. Tirico earned dual bachelor’s degrees in political science from theÌęÌęand theÌę,Ìęand in broadcast journalism from theÌę.

He emphasized maintaining the strong relationships the Class of 2026 formed with their friends and professors while on campus.

“Many of you are surrounded right now by your closest friends and you’re sitting with your crew. Forty years after starting the journey, for me, my life is still filled with my day ones from Syracuse. The people I met in that very first class at Newhouse. The people who I called games with on ,” Tirico said. “Many of those people are going to be your people for the rest of your life.”

Tirico closed by welcoming the newest members of the Íű±ŹĂĆ alumni network, consisting of more than 250,000 alumni worldwide.

“Since I live in the space of sports, today is one of the best game days of the year because we get a few thousand new teammates,” Tirico said. “You are now part of the Syracuse alumni team, and it’s the best team in the world.”

When shots sounded at the , Ben Bascuk’s first instinct was to reach for his phone to start reporting.

Bascuk ’27, a broadcast and digital journalism major in the , was attending the event as a White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) scholar and was seated in the ballroom of the Washington Hilton. Recounting the events to Íű±ŹĂĆ Today, he says he heard a series of muffled pops.

At first he thought it was an issue with the music playing—or a tray being dropped or someone pounding on a table.

“Those noises were anything but gunshots,” Bascuk says. “When the music stopped, I sat there staring at the back of the room. The room fell into an unnerving quiet. Around me, students began ducking under tables as red wine seeped across white tablecloths.”

Soon Secret Service agents rushed past, shouting “shots fired, get down,” he says. The agents brushed against his chair as they moved toward the stage, where counter assault teams raised weapons toward the crowd from the podium.

Bascuk says he watched as Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, was escorted out behind him.

With one hand gripping the back of his chair, Bascuk says his other hand held his phone, recording. He soon called his mom and began answering a flood of texts to let loved ones and friends know he was safe.

“Moments later, a CSPAN photographer told me the shots had been fired in the hotel lobby, not inside the reception room,” Bascuk says. “That was the relief I needed to start reporting.”

The man accused of attempting to storm the dinner early into the evening allegedly tried to run near the ballroom, exchanging gunfire with Secret Service agents. The man, later identified as Cole Tomas Allen, was tackled and taken into custody. He has been of President Donald Trump.

Once he knew the danger was not immediate, Bascuk, who has been interning for Spectrum News in Washington, D.C., made his way to his network colleagues in the banquet room. He began sending updates to , the University’s student-run television station, and his Spectrum colleagues.

In the hour following the shooting, Bascuk says he went fully to work in reporter mode “without fully processing what had happened.”

“I wouldn’t say I was ever scared or in fear of danger,” he says. “I was shocked and startled. Others, especially those closer to the back, experienced it differently. Some cried, some gasped and others . In that moment, there was confusion, but not chaos. My first priority was making sure my family knew I was OK.”

Even when focused on reporting, he says it was important to take a moment “to be human.”

“Journalists are some of the most loving, caring and kind people you will ever meet, and that was truly on display [that] night,” Bascuk says. “Reporting in crisis situations isn’t something you think about in the moment or even remember after. What I do remember are the conversations I had and the faces of those around me.”

Bascuk has been in Washington for the spring semester reporting for Spectrum News while studying away at . The dinner was his first time reporting on an active scene.

In those moments, he says he found, “instinct is everything.”

“Instinct comes from practice,” he says. “Before any reporting happens, you have to protect your own safety and the safety of others, mentally and physically. Every story, no matter how small, helps build the skills you’ll rely on when you least expect it. A live shot from a derby race, a feature of a local butcher shop or a story about Christmas lights—each one builds the instincts you’ll rely on when it counts.”

Newhouse Dean Mark Lodato was also in attendance that night, present as a guest of alumna Weija Jiang G’06, the current WHCA president and senior White House correspondent for CBS News. , Lodato pointed to Bascuk’s reporting during the unsettling circumstances.

“Ben, like so many other journalists in the room, jumped into action and reported for,’s student-run television studio,” Lodato wrote. “I want to note when the Newhouse team checked in on Ben, he immediately replied to let them know he was safe, so not only was he being a professional journalist, but he was also keeping the school informed.”

Bascuk, for his part, says he’s not sure he could have continued to report the events of the evening without the support of his fellow WHCA scholars and Spectrum colleagues.

“They were my crutch in the moment and in the days that followed,” he says. “I feel incredibly fortunate to have such a strong support system in Washington, D.C., Syracuse and back home in Ohio. I’m deeply grateful to my friends, family, professors, the WHCA and my mentors for their continued support and outreach after [that] night. The Newhouse community was spread throughout the ballroom at the Washington Hilton, and somehow, I was able to connect with so many of them before and after everything unfolded.”

Even with what he experienced, Bascuk says it was an honor to attend the dinner.

“Although the evening didn’t go as expected, it hasn’t discouraged me from reporting; in fact, it reinforced just how vital storytelling is to our democracy,” he says.

Not everyone interested in pursuing a law degree lives in a large metropolitan area or near a bustling college town. In fact, many students enrolled in the College of Law’s hybrid online (JDi) program are located in faraway places, whether a small Alaskan city, an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean or rural areas throughout the U.S.

For many of them, remaining in their communities is not just practical but purposeful due to personal obligations or a long-held desire to serve their communities.

Meet four recent graduates from out-of-the-way places who have successfully joined the legal profession through the JDi program.

Dawnelle Forsythe L’26, Oahu, Hawaii

As a native of Hawaii, Dawnelle Forsythe lives in a small city of 44,000 on the Big Island of Hawaii. Back in the early 2000s, she wanted to become a lawyer, but the only law school in Hawaii was on Oahu, and the travel and expense was prohibitive.

Instead, she went to work for the County of Hawaii Office of Housing and later the State of Hawaii Department of Hawaiian Home Lands under the , which helps provide affordable housing to qualified native Hawaiians.

However, in 2019, two pivotal events made Forsythe reconsider law school. She says the first was “fate” when she saw an article about a newly established hybrid JDi program that could enable her to earn a law degree without leaving home.

Around the same time, she accompanied her husband to observe a protest centering around the construction of a massive at the top of Mauna Kea, the Big Island’s highest mountain and an area considered sacred by the native people.

When they arrived, more than 100 protestors had formed a protective human wall in front of the kƫpunas (revered elders). The kƫpunas had sought to halt the construction of the 18-story telescope atop Mauna Kea and were blocking the road from construction vehicles, while the crowd chanted in support of preserving land put in trust for the Hawaiian people to ensure the continuation of their culture. As Forsythe watched, state troopers began removing those blocking the road.

“Some of the troopers were related to the aunties and uncles they were arresting, and many on both sides were crying together,” Forsythe says. “It was such a somber event, and it made a lasting impact on me. I decided then that I had to go to law school to be an advocate for my ‘Ohana’ (family), the people of my community.”

She quit her job at a hospital to focus on the JDi program.Ìę“Not only would it allow me to stay at home, but I was drawn to its trial advocacy program that would help me become an attorney ready to go into court and advocate for people,” she says.

Forsythe is now thrilled she found “her New York Ohana” made up of the “geniuses in her cohort,” as well as faculty she admires, including Distinguished Professor of Law Nina Kohn and Associate Dean for Academic Programs Shannon Gardner.

Forsythe is committed to soon using her law degree pro bono to help Hawaiian residents, particularly those facing land rights cases who lack money for legal representation.

“It isn’t about making money; it’s about something that will totally fulfill my heart,” she says. “I’m excited to finally reach my goal of becoming a lawyer, and I know that it would not have been possible without Syracuse Law’s JDi program.”

Sarah Frank Roberts L’22, Kenai, Alaska

There are no law schools in Alaska, so when Sarah Frank Roberts decided to pursue a law degree, she knew her options were limited. A mother of six, Roberts lives with her husband and family in Kenai, Alaska, a town of about 5,000 people, most of whom work in the fishing or oil and gas industries.

When Roberts discovered the JDi program, it seemed to be a solution. She could take classes and get her work done after her children went to sleep, and the four-hour time difference between Alaska and New York was manageable. She was accepted into the program’s second cohort since its founding in 2019.

“The experience was rigorous,” Roberts says. “There was no hiding in the back of the room when professors likeÌęÌęcould see your face up close on the screen. I certainly got the same high level of education that those in an on-campus program received.”

According to Roberts, there is a huge need for lawyers, particularly public defenders and district attorneys, in Alaska, but with no law schools, people tend to leave to go to school and never return. Roberts was able to stay because of the JDi program, and today she is an assistant public advocate and conflict counselor for the state of Alaska, focusing on family issues like custody and guardianship.

“I get to help people, many of whom have made a lot of mistakes but still deserve representation,” Roberts says.

Megan Poole L’23, Cortland, New York

Megan Poole grew up on a dairy farm in Cortland County, New York, but, knowing the challenges of farming, her parents encouraged her to pursue a different career.

After earning an undergraduate degree in criminology, Poole wanted to be a probation officer but didn’t get the position she originally intended. Instead, she says, “Rejection is divine redirection,” and decided to take the LSAT and pursue law school.

In the meantime, she was offered a job in the Cortland County Department of Social Services (DSS) as a case worker handling foster care, child protective services and adoption cases. She still wanted to go to law school, but she was “too heartbroken to leave” the difficult job of helping families in need. However, when she found the JDi program, she realized she could pursue a law degree while continuing her job with DSS and helping on the family farm.

“The JDi program was certainly just as difficult as an on-campus program,” says Poole, who enjoyed the required in-person residencies, where she was able to interact with fellow students and faculty both on-campus and in various other cities.

After completing the JDi program, she continued to work at the DSS in Cortland. About a year later, the Hon. A.L. Beth O’Connor, a family court judge in the 6^th Judicial District of New York, which includes Cortland County, reached out to Poole about being her court attorney.

“I see both the terrible and the good, but that’s part of the job,” she says. “I think I’m making a big difference in my community, particularly for people who don’t have the resources for good legal counsel, and the JDi program was a big part of making that possible.”

An added bonus of becoming a lawyer was the opportunity for Poole, her mother and sister to turn the family farm into Spring Valley Views, a woman-owned LLC, with plans to expand it into a venue and campground.

Tania Rivera Bullard L’25, Houston County, Georgia

Tania Rivera Bullard earned an undergraduate degree in psychology, figuring she would be a social worker like her mother. Instead, Rivera Bullard decided to pursue a path offered to military spouses to become a paralegal. As she studied for her paralegal certification, she started to think, “Why can’t I be a lawyer?”

Interested in being a public defender or a civil rights attorney, she was accepted into a JD at an on-campus law school that required a four-hour round-trip commute from her home in rural Georgia. However, a complicated pregnancy made it impossible, and she was forced to defer her start. Rivera Bullard began looking for alternatives and found the JDi program, which would allow her to remain with her family while pursuing a law degree.

Not long after, Rivera Bullard, then the mother of a 2-year-old and an 8-month-old, began the JDi programÌęand found it manageable. “I became a night owl,” she explains. “After the kids went to sleep, I would concentrate on asynchronous work and getting my reading done, and I spent long hours on the phone with my dear friend Nathan McKay L’26, my study partner, who made such a difference for me. It certainly was a careful balancing act, but if you’re willing to find the time, you can make it happen.”

After finishing her law degree and passing the Alabama bar exam, she went to work as an assistant public defender for the Houston County (GA) Public Defenders’ Office.

“As a public defender, you handle felony cases that nobody else wants, and, arguably, you’re experiencing the toughest, scariest times of people’s lives. I get to help them through a system that, to many, feels like it is set up to fail them,” Rivera Bullard says. “At the end of the day, I go home and feel good about the work I’ve done in my community. The Syracuse JDi program really made it possible for me to achieve my goals.”

Professor has developed an artificial intelligence bot that uses curated, course-specific materials to assist students in mastering the applicable legal rules and their application. These digital “coaches” are available 24/7 to assist students in understanding challenging concepts and then to quiz students on their application, providing immediate feedback in a variety of question and answer formats. Thus far, Graves has deployed the concept in his evidence and contracts courses.

Graves uses OpenAI’s private custom GPT feature, which allows him to provide students with an interactive experience that is narrowly tailored to his specific course. Graves accomplishes this with a comprehensive set of instructions (i.e., prompts) telling the custom coach exactly what to do—providing guardrails to keep it focused on the objective of assisting students in this course—and uploading copies of the course text and other key instructional materials that facilitate Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG). This domain-specific RAG layer increases the accuracy of the coach’s responses in the context of this specific course and dramatically reduces the potential for errors, as compared to a generic Large Language Model (LLM) trained on generic data of varying quality.

This “walled garden” of course-specific material addresses the common issue with LLM AI platforms that indiscriminately draw from all information on the internet.

“The LLMs pick up a good deal of erroneous information from unreliable sources, and they miss a lot of really good information that’s behind firewalls,” Graves says. “The bot has been instructed to respond to students when they ask for answers by walking them through in a Socratic-style dialog much as I might in class or office hours. When assisting students, the coach relies first and foremost on the information uploaded in its RAG layer, not only helping to explain and quiz the students on accurate course doctrine, but pointing students directly to appropriate sources within the course text itself.”

Of course, the key to this approach is a collaborative relationship between Graves and the publisher of his course textbooks. While Graves is a co-author of his contracts textbook, the copyright is held by West Academic (the publisher of both the Learning Evidence and Learning Contracts textbooks used by Graves).Ìę Graves worked closely with West Academic in developing an approach that would appropriately protect all copyrighted material uploaded to the coach’s RAG layer, and his use of both Learning Evidence and Learning Contracts is done under license from West Academic.

The use of the primary course text within the RAG layer effectively expands the value of the text far beyond the initially assigned readings. At the core of the coach’s domain-specific content, the textbook continues to anchor the coach’s role in assisting and quizzing students as they better learn to apply that content.

Supplementing the Teacher’s Role

Graves says, “the teacher’s role is not being outsourced to the coach—it is being supplemented in new ways for which narrowly tailored AI is uniquely suited.”

“The Coach does not replace basic course prep or attendance,” he says. “It is purely a supplement to these traditional teaching and learning tools—albeit a very effective one, arguably far more effective than traditional generic study aids or generic LLMs often used by students today. Perhaps most valuable is the coach’s ability to provide students with unlimited opportunities to apply the course material in a variety of assessment formats, all of which are subject to immediate feedback. At the end of the day, this is often the single most effective teaching and learning tool for law students, and the coach provides this tool in a manner that is always available and fully aligned with course content and course outcomes.”

Students access the coach through a dedicated course link, which provides for private interaction between student and coach, unless the student voluntarily decides to share the unique link generated by a specific conversation. The initial privacy of the conversation encourages students to ask questions they might otherwise be uncomfortable raising (the proverbial “dumb question,” which is often anything but).

It also allows students to use the coach in collaborative study sessions or to forward a conversation to Graves for further exploration. This latter feature is particularly useful in terms of quality control of both student prompts and responses by the coach.

“During the past two semesters, I’ve seen a few responses from the coach that could be improved and one blatant error,” Grave says. “However, the vast majority of interactive challenges arose from imperfect student prompts.”

Thus, the students get two additional benefits from using the coach: they learn the importance of effective inputs (prompts) and they learn the importance of verifying outputs.

Continuing to Fine-Tune the Tool

While the evidence and contract coaches have proven very accurate (Graves directly tests them regularly himself, in addition to frequent student feedback), AI remains imperfect, and the professor has continued to “fine-tune” his bots by uploading additional course-specific material based on his own testing and observations of student/coach interactions.

Graves teaches exclusively in the College of Law’s , so the 24/7 availability of his coaches is particularly important to a body of students located around the world.

“This has allowed me to be more efficient and effective with my time while giving our global students a uniquely tailored experience that will help them master course material, while being available at any time that is convenient to them,” he says.

When sportscaster Jason Benetti ’05 is on the microphone, he treats every game like it is Game 7 of the World Series—ready for anything to happen and prepared to tell the stories of the game.

“Sometimes the best moments are the things you’d never expect in a game,” Benetti says. “You have to be ready for the strategy and the tactics, discussing what pitch might be thrown to this batter or how a manager will handle his bullpen.”

For Benetti, that balance between preparation and the unpredictable is part of the sport’s charm.

“Baseball has this chess feel to it, and then it rapidly becomes like sitting in an airport food court people watching,” he says. “I love that about baseball.”

Benetti’s excitement reached a new level when he called the Cleveland Guardians/Seattle Mariners game on March 29 as part of NBC and Peacock’s new primetime “Sunday Night Baseball” coverage.

“This was an opportunity to be the lead broadcaster on something I grew up watching,” says Benetti, who also serves as the Detroit Tigers TV broadcaster. “‘Sunday Night Baseball’ games always felt like the game of the week. To be the lead announcer for something like this, it truly is the one thing that hadn’t yet happened in my career.”

Benetti, who has called Major League Baseball, National Football League, National Basketball Association and college football and basketball games, dreamt of this moment ever since his agent, Kevin Belbey ’13, G’16, L’16, and NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood broached the subject.

“I get to see a lot more of the league and get to form relationships with players and managers through ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ that I like to think will help with my calling Tigers games. I’m very fortunate,” says Benetti, who earned bachelor’s degrees in broadcast journalism, economics and psychology.

Finding His Calling

Benetti says from an early age he had to navigate the world differently due to how people perceived his cerebral palsy. He has a drifting eye and walks with a limp but doesn’t live with chronic pain or major health complications.

“My hurdles are because I don’t look the same as everybody,” says Benetti, one of the leading advocates for those with cerebral palsy, including working with the to create a YouTube animated video series aimed at promoting awareness and inclusion.

Determined to become a sportscaster since high school, Benetti found his calling as a student broadcaster with .

“WAER teaches so many marvelous things about play-by-play. I wouldn’t be where I am today without Syracuse and WAER,” says Benetti, who called lacrosse and women’s basketball games for WAER.

Baseball Is the Perfect Sport for Sharing Stories

Benetti holds deep admiration for broadcasting legends like Vin Scully, Bob Costas and Ernie Harwell, who called Tigers games for 42 years.

Benetti and his broadcast team like to bring the fans into their telecasts, showing them attempting to catch a foul ball or sampling ballpark treats. Benetti will often say “message and data rates may apply” when featuring fans, because “anybody in the crowd can be a star, and when we show people on TV, their phones will blow up.”

Honoring a Broadcasting Legend

Calling Detroit’s playoff-clinching, 4-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 27, 2024, stands out as Benetti’s favorite baseball broadcasting moment. He paid homage to Harwell, who said a batter “stood there like a house by the side of the road” whenever he struck out.

Benetti was listening to Harwell’s old broadcasts as the season wound down, and as Tigers players and fans celebrated, Benetti told the audience that the rest of the American League “stood there like the house by the side of the road and let the Tigers go by.”

“That fan base hadn’t seen the team make the playoffs in a long time. There was so much joy and beauty watching the fans experience that playoff-clinching moment at Comerica Park,” Benetti says of the Tigers, who earned their first playoff berth in 10 years. “It’s a beautiful thing being able to connect history to the moment now.”