Kenny Smith | A remarkable thing happens …

Wrapping up my last conference of the spring

On Saturday I took part in two panels at the conference. The first was the now traditional roundtable discussion of issues in the upcoming midterms. We decided there was not a thing at all going on, the republic is safe, the economy is great, we are at peace and universally beloved, our style of representative democracy is health, and no one need pay attention.

That last sentence is in code. The key to breaking the code is in realizing that the opposite of everything listed there is true.

In the afternoon I also participated in a more structured panel. I believe I pitched the idea for this one, in face. The premise was that modern media has changed the format of the foundation and persuasion components of political campaigning. Basically, comparatively inexpensive equipment and online platforms are changing the messaging we’re seeing. (To say nothing of AI.)

I talked about how Jerri Green, who is one of the seven prominent candidates running for governor in Tennessee. The Memphis City Councilor is introducing herself with an extensive bio video.

There are strengths and weaknesses to the spot.

I talked about Fred Wellman, who is his socials (and some genAI that is both clever and weird) to show his family’s military heritage (dating back to the French and Indian War) and his time as an Army aviator to explain how his career of service began.

He’s one of nine people (and no incumbents) running for the 2nd Missouri seat. The primary is in August.

I explained the social media efforts of Zach Wahls, who introduced himself as an Eagle Scout, and then a state senator, and then a sixth-generation Iowan. And then a new generation of Democrat. He’s campaigning for the U.S. Senate.

There’s a lot clever production techniques in each of these. They’re professionally done, but not overbearingly so. In each of them you see longer stories you can’t get in a pricey 30-second spot.

I also mentioned Andrew Cuomo’s published an AI-generated negative ad while running for mayor of New York. It might be the worst spot I’ve seen in my life. It’s certainly the most grotesque attack ad.

Andrew Cuomo’s campaign just posted — and quickly deleted — this AI-generated ad depicting “criminals for Zohran Mamdani.”

Features a Black man in a keffiyeh shoplifting, an abuser, a trespasser, a trafficker, a drug dealer, and a drunk driver all declaring support for Mamdani.

[image or embed]

— Prem Thakker ツ (@premthakker.bsky.social) October 22, 2025 at 8:08 PM

Depicting “criminals for Zohran Mamdani” highlighting shoplifters, domestic abusers, pimps, drunk drivers, drug dealers, speaking directly to camera it finally ended with an entire city block on fire. It was quickly, and quietly, deleted. Here’s some coverage of this from last October. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/23/cuomo-zohran-mamdani-ai-ad”>Cuomo condemned over racist AI ad depicting ‘criminals for Zohran Mamdani’:

This video follows a trend from the Cuomo campaign, who have published a handful of AI-generated videos in the lead up to 4 November. In one early October video, Cuomo was seen performing various jobs around New York City including driving a subway car, trading on the New York stock exchange and washing high-rise windows.

In response, Mamdani posted on Instagram: “In a city of world-class artists and production crew hunting for the next gig, Andrew Cuomo made a TV ad the same way he wrote his housing policy: with AI. Then again, maybe a fake Cuomo is better than the real one?”

Just this week, Cuomo shared a video featuring an AI-generated Bill de Blasio and, again, Mamdani. That video attempted to paint Mamdani as a “mini” De Blasio and emphasize a moment from the first debate where Cuomo compared the former mayor to the mayoral hopeful.

Cuomo, of course, lost convincingly.

I touched on the Hell Cats, four female veterans of the American armed forces now running for Congress in New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Arizona. Their introductory ad was a 68-second montage piece featuring all four of these accomplished women leaning into their service, and the proud history of the Hell Cats name (the first all-female Marine unit, dating back to WWI). I also mentioned Doug Jones’ stumbles out of the media gate in his gubernatorial bid in Alabama (Update: he won his primary and will be trounced in the general) and the Mr. Rogers-esque feeling of some of Brad Landers’ congressional content in New York (they primary in June).

It’s been interesting to watch the evolution of campaign messaging in these last few cycles. The notion of what is effective is changing on every media front, and is different, in subtle ways, from platform to platform and format to format. I could talk on the finer points of that, the evolution, the concerns, the consultants, and the grassroots feel of authenticity in politics all day. We could also talk about the use of AI in this messaging.

But what you really missed were the campaign efforts that others discussed. Derek Dooley — famous for being his father’s son and an underwhelming football coach — stepped into the senate race in Georgia. And this is how you introduced himself.

The Georgia Democrats, a few days later, ended Dooley’s political career and any hopes he might have of returning to big time football, in a 95 second spot without saying an actual word.

The Georgia Democrats didn't just destroy Derek Dooley they buried him 100 feet under the earth.

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— Dan Weiner (@danweiner.bsky.social) February 4, 2026 at 8:14 AM

(Update: Dooley finished second in his primary.)

And you’ll absolutely want to read up on Aaron Spencer, who is running for sheriff in Arkansas … in the same county where he’s facing second degree murder charges. It’s a real Walking Tall story. He handily won the Republican primary, and is currently in pre-trial motions for his murder charges.

Things I saw before the conference ended … this delicious noodle bowl.

I want some more, please and thank you.

This colorful tunnel.

This cup of M&Ms. One of our colleagues found a giant jar, produced a huge plastic bag and took his fill. We just borrowed this little cup from the juice and coffee stand.

This awesome mural. The only not-awesome thing about this is that someone has places crowd control ropes right up next to the wall, crowding the whole mural. This is awesome. Fred should just be reaching out of the wall, all fierce and kind.

The problem with this conference ending is the idea that we won’t see some of our dear friends until next year’s conference. This is an unfortunate and unacceptable annual realization.

Back to it tomorrow. Back to classes, back to whatever else comes to mind, and back to those great Irish videos. (We’ve only just begun to recollect.)

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10
Apr 26

If you’re gonna blow something up give it meaning

For my part in the conference today I spoke on panel titled Games of Power: The Weaponization of Sport for Political Gain.

The premise of the panel acknowledges the long history of sport as a battleground, the interrelationships of politics and sport, and the dynamics of regional and national interests that are oftentimes at play. The topics included how sport functions as a contested space where political actors, institutions, and movements seek to assert power, shape narratives, and mobilize public opinion, often while using sport as a weapon.

I talked about identity fusion theory, within the context of nationalism, using the Winter Olympics and the men’s locker room hockey phone call example.

I later asked the question, “What is it to be a 28-year-old athlete, on a gold medal high, and laughing at a punchline from the president of the United States?” I also talked about sport as a soft power, and how that political influence and persuasion might be changing. (The Global Soft Power Index seems to think the U.S. numbers are softening.)

Ultimately, I said this should perhaps be a conversation about sport in a new era. If that sounded wise it was only because of what my colleagues on the panel said after that.

I will take part in two more panels tomorrow. The rest of my day I spent in various audiences, doing the Academic Nod.

This evening, before dinner, we caught some fireworks almost by chance.

Call me old fashioned, but I think fireworks should be memorialized. That’s a lot of sound and fury … and some money … that someone is exploding for no real reason. The least we can do is record it and view it from every conceivable angle.

This series of percussive explosions wasn’t even about nationalism. Call me old fashioned again, but I miss the days when fireworks displays meant something. They told a story, dagnabbit!

Don’t mind me, I’m going to go yell at this cloud of sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide.

That is Cuan na hAisléime … (still not a series of letters that comes readily to my typing fingers) another casual side-of-the-road view that would be an absolute show stopper most anywhere else.

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09
Apr 26

No one is eating that

We are traveling for a conference. Flew yesterday — conferencing today and through Sunday with almost every moment explicitly or implicitly booked. It’s a nice feeling, I’m tired already.

We saw this while we were out and about. And, if I may, a short reply: No.

I suppose it’s nice of this vending scheme to give you the directions across the top of the machine. Select – Pay – Enjoy. I did not get close enough to select, and you’d think my saying that now would imply some regret, but it does not, and there are two reasons. First, I didn’t want to push any buttons on that device for fear that some chemical scent would leach onto my fingers and give me away the next time I had real barbecue. If there is a food that deserves some sort of dye pack for authenticity, it is this one. And that leads me to the second reason I did not approach that machine. Where I come from, barbecue is a serious endeavor. It comes with a cultural pride and historical traditions, a fusion of many different communities and one of our omnipresent commonalities: the odds are good that we know slow cooked meat better than other people do. There’s heritage, history, and pride in those foodways, and they come together even as they diverge. You don’t get this out of a casserole or a catch of the day. This comes to you because your elders gave it to you, because their elders gave it to them, because just a few generations farther back they knew that this food just barely missed the cut among the classical elements: earth, water, fire, and air. Barbecue would have made the list, but everyone fell for the propaganda of aether for a brief period. (Also because, sometimes, there wasn’t even enough low quality meat to slow cook.)

This is not to say that the people that handed this down to my people are the only people with a food in such an important position. Plenty of cultures have specific food that should be viewed comparably — as they should!

But you’re also not getting me to buy sushi or tamales or bibimbap out of a machine. I’d like to be more respectful of a chef than that. And the food itself! Look, the only way to enjoy this is to have a bad experience with vending machine barbecue and then tell the story, ironically, to everyone you meet for the next 10 days.

Furthermore, I’m not paying for any of that — or the acute food poisoning that must surely follow.

Seriously, how often is that machine’s inventory swapped out? And who knows if they leave the power on overnight. Even the sauce is supposed to be fresh and this isn’t it.

Also, their URL doesn’t work, further depressing my confidence in this product.

To be clear, I would try their barbecue in a conventional model, in a store, fresh off the grill as the grill master intended. I would savor and enjoy it and compliment everyone involved, then I’d buy the sauce as a home product, in great big styrofoam cups or jars at the store, as commerce and transportation convenience demands.

Not out of that contraption.

The conference is a good one. We’ve been coming to it for years. Seeing and working with friends is a joy. It is a shame we can only see them once a year. I have, for ages, suggested we create our own department, our own school, our own university. Or a consulting firm. Or just a nice country club where we can sit and tell jokes. One day they’ll catch up to my vision.

My first responsibility at this particular conference was to serve as a respondent to a panel session titled Consumers Caught Between Giants: Social Media Economics. There were two scholars presenting their work. The authors talk for about 20 minutes on what they’re doing. This is an opportunity for them to share some updates, get some feedback and make some nice professional connections than can inspire ideas for their continued work. One of the scholars is a grad student exploring the motivations of platform users to move to a premium tier, things like exclusive programming and various consumer perceptions. The other is a talented new faculty member. She is looking at, among other things, the value of trust and credibility in a word-of-mouth scenario when passing along social media influencers.

It was a great room, one of those sessions where the conversation at the end was robust, lively, and well received by the people doing the research. The best part was in seeing how much room there is to explore in each of these areas. The only down side was they had to hear me talk for a few minutes about their work. But I knew the people in room wanted to have a go at this, so I tried to keep it light and proficient. Two quick compliments, something you might consider considering, and a question for each of you. Now, let’s hear from everyone else. Because everyone else had a lot to say. And they did!

Sessions like these are great, particularly for newer conference goers like these. Maybe we’ll create some long-time members out of both of them. Unless I talked too much.

Tomorrow, I’ll be participating in a panel. Two more on Saturday. I’ve also filled my schedule with seeing other sessions, networking with friends and colleagues and generally trying to present a reasonably professional, or at least serious, face.

Not to worry, I know the sheep videos are doing well. I’m going to show at least one more, next week.

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08
Apr 26

Both nations featured here like green

I saw this hat at the drug store. I like the colors. Not a big fan of the trucker style but you never know. Plus, the design on the bill is fun. Futbol comma!

Or is that a soccer apostrophe?

Besides, I need a good Mexico hat. And you know it is authentic. Says so, right there on the label. That little plastic tie that you rip off, the tabs disappearing into oblivion, is how you know.

Out of curiosity, I looked on the label stitched into the thing.

C’mon, man.

I’m still living in the happy memories of our wonderful Irish vacation. So, I’m sharing extra videos that we didn’t get to at the time. It was a great vacation. I have a lot of footage. This will go on for some time. Enjoy it with me, won’t you? Here are some more of those waves bashing into the rocky shores. I removed the audio because it’s mostly just wind pops.

That particular place didn’t have a name, of which I am aware. But if you’d like to see more of those waves, try here.

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07
Apr 26

Another cold week, then

It is funny, how we all cope with chilly weather in different ways. Phoebe, here, is trying out a bit of late morning sunshine.

Poseidon went for one of his old favorites, a bundle of covers.

It only got to 56 degrees today, but the kitties are doing fine. They like it warm, of course, but they have fur and sunbaths and covers and kitty caves and so on. Me, I have to walk into class and pretend to be excited while it is 56 degrees outside! Hooray spring, guys! We won’t see the 60s until the weekend.

In Rits and Trads today we talked about media rituals, we talked about the characters the media helps create and accentuate, and the atmosphere they create. We talked about how we see military flyovers and see someone sing the national anthem at big events, so we talked about nationalism. We also talked about things like player introductions and postgame interviews. We talked about the Olympic ceremonies and other things the media participate in. And we talked about Rich Eisen running the 40 for charity, and the simulcam replays. Hands down the best part of the football year.

In Criticism we talked about media framing and representation, using these two stories.

USWNT’s Sophia Wilson gave herself grace after the birth of her daughter:

Sophia Wilson says being a mom has helped with her “goldfish mentality” of living in the moment.

Wilson was named to the U.S. national team roster for three upcoming matches against Japan, starting April 11 in San Jose, California. She took time away from soccer for the birth of her daughter and has not played for the United States in 17 months.

“I feel like my perspective on just life in general has shifted a lot, I think, in all the best ways,” Wilson said Thursday. “I feel more grounded, I feel more present. And I think that’s how I view the game as well. I’m trying to approach it with — I always have, but I think more than ever — a goldfish mentality. It’s just, be present in whatever practice, whatever game I’m in, and then it’s on to the next.”

[…]

“Watching her play 70 minutes the other night, it was almost like I couldn’t believe she’s had a baby and come back to perform at the level she’s done,” U.S. coach Emma Hayes said. “Real, real credit to her and the team around her that have really positioned pre- and post-pregnancy planning in a fantastic way.”

People that research gender representation in sports media are often critical about how women are portrayed in coverage. My argument, for several years now, has been that we don’t properly celebrate these sorts of comebacks. She is a mother, yes. She’s also one of the world’s best athletes. And she’s returned to form. Emma Hayes is going to talk about that, and she should. Others should, as well. And so I got to wax on about that for a bit.

We also talked about this story. How 3 Muslim sisters helped change the rules of American women’s wrestling:

“We always said we would never be able to wrestle in college,” said Jamilah, 22.

Coaches recognized their talent when they were teenagers, but they couldn’t wrestle with boys, nor could they wear the required wrestling singlet — due to their faith.

Eventually their passion for the sport – and their perseverance – led to rule changes allowing Muslim women to compete in full-body uniforms at collegiate and national levels.

It’s probably comical when I, the white guy, talk about representation. But there’s a bunch of people that need to think about it, and some of them are in my classroom. They’re just stuck with me at this point.

We saw several places that didn’t have signs or historical significance or car pullouts, they were simply majestic. That’s where you’d want to live, safe on a hill high above it, looking down on this glory, pondering time and patience, and everything in between. For more ocean dramatics, go here.