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Boise State University
08/26/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 08/26/2025 10:44
Communication undergraduate presents peer-reviewed research
Kiryn Willett (BA, Communication, 2026) recently presented her peer-reviewed paper at the AEJMC 2025 Conference in San Francisco. AEJMC is the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Its members include academics, media professionals and students.
"It's nearly unheard of for undergrads to present at AEJMC," said Seth Ashley, the Department of Communication chair who traveled with Willett to the AEJMC conference and presented two papers of his own. "The success of this student-led project shows how faculty and students can work together outside of the classroom to advance knowledge and support student success."
Willett's paper presented a qualitative comparison of news coverage of the Israel/Palestine conflict by news outlets from two historically colonized countries and two countries that were historically colonizers. She found that the colonized country news outlets offered more context and history around Palestine while the colonizer country news outlets tended to reflect Israel's point of view.
Willett's research was supported by an Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Scholarship from the Institute for Inclusive and Transformative Scholarship at Boise State. These scholarships are paid, competitive, 12-week research experiences offered to undergraduate students during the fall and spring semesters for their research or creative activity. Students work with a faculty mentor, with the project culminating in a presentation at an undergraduate research conference or another appropriate venue. The scholarships are jointly funded by the State of Idaho's Higher Education Research Council, and Boise State's Division of Research and Economic Development.
"The project was an amazing opportunity to learn more about and participate in communication research," Willet said. "I really appreciate my advisor, Dr. Ashley, and the IFITS grant, without which my project and traveling to AEJMC conference wouldn't be possible."
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Boise State University published this content on August 26, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on August 26, 2025 at 16:44 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]