Shawna Kidman

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at UC San Diego, specializing in media industries, specifically: broadcast and cable history, streaming content and digital distribution, copyright law, media audiences, and contemporary issues related to pop culture and society. Most of my research and teaching is about understanding how corporate, legal, and financial systems shape our entertainment landscape. Using business and legal history, communication theory, and cultural studies, I work to contextualize and historicize media texts and practices. In looking at the structural interdependence of different media industries and different media cultures, my works takes a trans-industrial approach to the field of media studies.

My current research includes two large scale collaborative projects, the MACRO Lab, and Swarming Comic-Con, as well as ongoing research on the declining movie theater business, the Franchise Era (2008-2020) in film production, and consolidation and financialization across media. These methodologically oriented projects use empirical research (ethnographic, statistical, financial, archival) in new ways to shift perspectives about how our current media system came to be.

I earned my Ph.D. in Media Studies at the University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts. Before that, I worked in the film and television business, primarily in development. As a media scholar with real-world working experience, I bring to UCSD a practical approach to media studies, but one deeply informed by history, theory, and data. With a strong belief that more robust media education and scholarship can bring improvements to contemporary cultural production, I use my written work, my teaching, and my emerging digital work to better inform public debate around media and policy.