What is Brian’s story? 

Brian studies media work within global digital cultures. His research looks at how and why people create media content in the digital era. He has a particular interest in media produced within and about Africa.

Brian has professional experience as a software trainer, instructional technologist, and video producer. His documentary 10 Days in Malawi was screened at 11 film festivals and won 8 awards.

Since joining the UI faculty, Brian now teaches several courses that prepare students to be better consumers and producers of digital and social media. 

Brian is the principal investigator on a 3-year grant studying the relationship between personalization algorithms and online radicalization.

Courses

• JMC:2020 - Multimedia Storytelling
• JMC:2500 - Community Media
• JMC:3650 - Video Production
• JMC:3660 - Audio Production
• JMC:6200 - Humanistic Approaches to Media Communication
• JMC:6333 - Seminar in Media Communication, Digital Cultures

Recent Publications

• Peterson, A., High, A., Maragh- Lloyd, R., Stoldt, R., & Ekdale, B. (2022). Trust in online search results during uncertain times. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 66(5): 751-771. doi: 10.1080/08838151.2022.2141242.
• Ekdale, B., Biddle, K., Tully, M., Asuman, M., & Rinaldi, A. (2022). Global disparities in knowledge production within journalism studies: Are special issues the answer? Journalism Studies, 23(15), 1942–1961. doi: 10.1080/1461670X.2022.2123846
• Dowling, D., Johnson, P., & Ekdale, B. (2022). Hijacking journalism: Legitimacy and metajournalistic discourse in right-wing podcasts. Media and Communication, 10(3). doi: 10.17645/mac.v10i3.5260.
• Ekdale, B., Rinaldi, A., Ashfaquzzaman^, M., Khanjani^, M., Matanji, F., Stoldt, R., & Tully, M. (2022). Geographic disparities in knowledge production: A big data analysis of peer-reviewed Communication publications from 1990 to 2019. International Journal of Communication, 12, 2498–2525.
• Ekdale, B. (2020). Reppin’ the nation, reppin’ themselves: Nation branding and self-branding in the Kenyan music video industry. Journal of African Media Studies, 12(1), 75–88. doi: 10.1386/jams_00012_1.
• Wellman, M., Tully, M., Stoldt, R., & Ekdale, B. (2020). Ethics of authenticity: Influencers and the production of sponsored content. Journal of Media Ethics, 35(2), 68–82. doi: 10.1080/23736992.2020.1736078.
• Stoldt, R., Maragh-Lloyd, R., Havens, T., Ekdale, B., & High, A. C. (2023). Using racial discourse communities to audit personalization algorithms. Communication, Culture & Critique. 13(3), 158–165.

• Biddle, K., Ekdale, B., High, A., Stoldt, R., & Maragh-Lloyd, R. (2024). Beyond ‘lulz’ and ‘keyboard warriors’: Exploring the relationship between trolling and radicalization. Information, Communication & Society. Advanced online publication.