In my research, I am driven by two interrelated questions:

• How do political and economic forces shape the development, distribution, and uses of new media technologies?

• What communication strategies do policy actors use in their attempts to shape the regulation of new media technologies?

My dissertation, a study of the debate over policies governing copyright management technologies, chisels off a small part of each question. Driven to the fore by the recent explosion of digital media technologies, the evolution of digital copyright policy will shape our media environment for decades to come.

My dissertation deploys three methods: a content analysis of policy actors’ offline and online communication regarding copyright policy, a webgraph analysis of the issue space online, and semi-structured interviews with policy actors. Through this blend of quantitative and qualitative methods, I can test how often various policy actors speak in congressional hearings, newspapers, and the web, as well as the extent to which these differences represent actors’ deliberate strategies. This project is a study of the political forces that shape the regulation of new media technologies, and it is also a study of policy actors’ use of these same new media technologies.

While much of my work focuses on copyright, I have broad interests in the regulation, uses, and social constructions of new media technologies. For more, please see my research, or download my curriculum vita (pdf).

My time at Annenberg has only deepened my love for teaching and research. World-class faculty such as Professor Emeritus Oscar H. Gandy, Jr. and Annenberg Dean Michael Delli Carpini have done their best to lead me from wide-eyed bewilderment toward competent scholarly production. Some day, I hope to pass on even a fraction of what they have taught me. Follow the links to read more about my teaching philosophy and teaching experience.

The last few years have also fortified my commitment to service work. Along with University of Oregon student Jessalynn R. Strauss, I served as the Co-Research Chair of the Graduate Education Interest Group of AEJMC. I have also served as an elected member of Annenberg Graduate Council and as a student member of the Annenberg Information Technology Committee. The IT staff even uses my guide for secure home networking on the Annenberg web page.

If you are interested in my work, I am happy to share it. I have uploaded several of my published or forthcoming scholarly articles to the Social Science Research Network website. For any other work, free to email me: Bill D Herman @at@ gmail dot com.