Patricia Aufderheide
paufder.bsky.social
Patricia Aufderheide
@paufder.bsky.social

University Professor, School of Communication, American University; Editor Emerita, In These Times; Author of books about documentary film, Kartemquin Films, the copyright doctrine of fair use and creativity, "political correctness," and more .. more

Patricia Ann Aufderheide is a scholar and public intellectual on media and social change, and an expert on fair use in media creation and scholarship. She is a University Professor at American University in Washington, D.C., where she has worked since 1989 and directed the Center for Social Media, later the Center for Media & Social Impact, beginning in 2000. She has received multiple awards and honors for her journalism and scholarship, including the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship in 1994, and a Fulbright Research Fellowship in 1995, and a Distinguished Career Award in 2008 from the International Digital Media and Arts Association. .. more

Business 23%
Communication & Media Studies 19%

This is a truly washington phenom
Just came back from a telecom Policy conference where folks were really excited about Bad Bunny’s halftime show because it featured utility poles

Just came back from a telecom Policy conference where folks were really excited about Bad Bunny’s halftime show because it featured utility poles
Dinosaurs And Non-Dinosaurs

xkcd.com/3204/
In the latest Re:Create Recap note, I explain how the work of computer science researchers tricking AI models into spitting out copies of training data doesn't have the dire legal consequences some commentators advertise. We know because the 2nd Circuit said so in Google Books.
The heroic people of Minneapolis and all Americans uplifting their voices and their communities to oppose Trump’s deadly authoritarianism have transformed the politics of 2026. Massive popular organizing will beat fascism. Keep marching, keep fighting everyone.
Kristi Noem Calls On Minneapolis Residents To Stop Obstructing Murders https://theonion.com/kristi-noem-calls-on-minneapolis-residents-to-stop-obstructing-murders/
Here's how to identify some crowd control munitions, canisters of which federal agents have left on the ground after deploying them against people in Minnesota. bit.ly/3YWp1jE

Graphic by Mark Boswell/The Minnesota Star Tribune
Went to my local library this morning to do a bit of research for my current book project and my goodness such a life-affirming space! There was an adult being taught to read on the next table, children enjoying story time, countless people taking out books. So grateful for our libraries ❤️

Loved “Psalm for the Slightly Tilted,” Ilya Kaminsky: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
“Psalm for the Slightly Tilted”
“This is not / a good year. / But it has / witnesses.”
www.newyorker.com
This whole thing is amazing but this part really sings.
Statement from the family of Alex Pretti.
The Unusually Large Football Game is coming!

If you're buying a new TV, make sure you pick up a tip-over prevention kit, too!

Amazing and innovative reporting by CNN on ICE and the “new normal”—also a great assignment for students. www.cnn.com/interactive/...?
How DHS is turbocharging its immigration crackdown
www.cnn.com

Wise as usual
I don't ask for much gym etiquette wise but if you take 10+ minutes between multiple sets and do not allow people to work in with you I need to speak with whoever raised you (and to have a snack and a nap to deal with my Big Feelings)
I don't ask for much gym etiquette wise but if you take 10+ minutes between multiple sets and do not allow people to work in with you I need to speak with whoever raised you (and to have a snack and a nap to deal with my Big Feelings)
This New Year's Day I'm thinking about Gramsci, who said: 'All days are New Year's, but not all days have in society the function of new years. Now is the time of New Year's'
Just under the wire

My fave is in the Crime section. Its Homicide: Life on Sesame Street.
Also I discovered Nestflix, a site that catalogs fictional movies and TV shows, and it's kinda amazing. nestflix.fun
Nestflix
A platform for fictional films and shows within other films and shows.
nestflix.fun
Every research project starts with a question and ends with a folder called “final_FINAL_reallyfinal2”
Also I discovered Nestflix, a site that catalogs fictional movies and TV shows, and it's kinda amazing. nestflix.fun
Nestflix
A platform for fictional films and shows within other films and shows.
nestflix.fun

I’m really being pretty good about this but I had to complain to someone. “All I Need for Christmas Is You” was streamed 102M times last week. Thank you for listening. also h/t @numlock.com.

Just in time for the holidays! Alexandra Petri: www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
The Trump Administration’s Guide to Christmas Giving
A piece of East Wing Rubble? An MRI for no reason? The options are endless!
www.theatlantic.com
It's the last few days before Christmas. Buy safe gifts for kids!
I lost my job, was evicted from my home by by private equity landlord, and am now living under a bridge. But at least now the people walking by aren't saying "Happy Holidays" to me.

For those of us who need a moment in midst of holiday friends-and-family madness, I give you Carolyn Hax on puppeteer boyfriends. www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2025/...
Column | Carolyn Hax: What’s for parents not to like about puppeteer boyfriend?
Parents dislike the puppeteer boyfriend, and letter writer is poised to resent them for warming up to his lucrative new deal.
www.washingtonpost.com

Clear, simple, obvious: why isn’t everyone saying what Tim Wu said about monopoly, Netlix, Paramount and Discovery? Thx @karlbode for calling my attention to it. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/o...
Opinion | Both Plans to Buy Warner Bros. Are Illegal
www.nytimes.com
The White House has been caught.

The administration inserted a photo of Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross into the Epstein files and falsely implied it showed them with victims.

In reality, it’s a publicly available fundraiser photo featuring Jackson and Ross’s own children.
Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵

Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Holy crap chart from Gallup
Robin Ince reveals to last night’s audience at a recording of Infinite Monkey Cage that the BBC has forced him to resign over his support of trans people