Uploaded April 2015 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Communications professor, author, and blogger W. Joseph Campbell debunks prominent media-driven myths — those well-known stories about and/or by the news media that are widely believed and often retold but which, under scrutiny, dissolve as apocryphal or wildly exaggerated. These myths include the role of Woodward and Bernstein in the downfall of Richard Nixon, the photo of “Napalm girl” from the Vietnam War and the panic surrounding the 1938 broadcast of “War of the Worlds,” some of which are addressed in Campbell's book, "Getting It Wrong: Ten of the Greatest Misreported Stories in American Journalism" (University of California Press, 2010).
W. Joseph Campbell is a tenured full professor in the School of Communication at American University in Washington, DC. He joined the University’s faculty in 1997 after more than 20 years as a newspaper and wire service journalist. Dr. Campbell is the author of several books. His most recent works include: "Getting It Wrong: Ten of the Greatest Misreported Stories in American Journalism" (2010) and "1995: The Year the Future Began" (2015). "Getting It Wrong" won the Society of Professional Journalists’ national Sigma Delta Chi Award for “Research about Journalism.”
Dr. Campbell is a past winner of the American University student government’s “faculty member of the year” award. Dr. Campbell has taught 17 different courses at American University, including “Myths of the Media” and “Decisive Moments in Communication.”
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Capital Area Skeptics (NCAS).
Communications professor, author, and blogger W. Joseph Campbell debunks prominent media-driven myths — those well-known stories about and/or by the news media that are widely believed and often retold but which, under scrutiny, dissolve as apocryphal or wildly exaggerated. These myths include the role of Woodward and Bernstein in the downfall of Richard Nixon, the photo of “Napalm girl” from the Vietnam War and the panic surrounding the 1938 broadcast of “War of the Worlds,” some of which are addressed in Campbell's book, "Getting It Wrong: Ten of the Greatest Misreported Stories in American Journalism" (University of California Press, 2010).
W. Joseph Campbell is a tenured full professor in the School of Communication at American University in Washington, DC. He joined the University’s faculty in 1997 after more than 20 years as a newspaper and wire service journalist. Dr. Campbell is the author of several books. His most recent works include: "Getting It Wrong: Ten of the Greatest Misreported Stories in American Journalism" (2010) and "1995: The Year the Future Began" (2015). "Getting It Wrong" won the Society of Professional Journalists’ national Sigma Delta Chi Award for “Research about Journalism.”
Dr. Campbell is a past winner of the American University student government’s “faculty member of the year” award. Dr. Campbell has taught 17 different courses at American University, including “Myths of the Media” and “Decisive Moments in Communication.”
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Capital Area Skeptics (NCAS).
