Christopher Ali
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christopherali.bsky.social
Christopher Ali
@christopherali.bsky.social
Pioneers Chair & Professor in Telecommunications @ Penn State Bellisario College of Communications. Researcher of all things broadband. Author of Farm Fresh Broadband: The Politics of Rural Connectivity.
Husband, dog dad, Murder She Wrote groupie. 🇨🇦🏳️‍🌈
Congratulations @abigailspanberger.com @teamspanberger.bsky.social for being elected #Virginia ‘s next governor! It was an honor to meet you when we worked on bringing #broadband to rural VA a few years ago! Now even more excited to brief members of the VA assembly this morning about broadband!
November 5, 2025 at 1:51 PM
An honor to present research from my new book project @yaleisp.bsky.social yesterday! An amazing and brilliant group of scholars! Thank you!!!
Thank you to @christopherali.bsky.social for a magnificent talk on “Epistemics, Empathy, and Equity: Rethinking Broadband Policy in Turbulent Times” at today’s Ideas Lunch!
October 31, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Does the NTIA even have the authority to exempt BEAD winners from state laws? Not that this administration really cares about jurisdiction or authority, but if the NTIA doesn’t have preemption power, states better sue.
broadbandbreakfast.com/roth-no-stat...
Roth: No State Net Neutrality, Affordability Laws for BEAD Participants
She said grantees would also have to forgo federal opex subsidies like the USF.
broadbandbreakfast.com
October 29, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Loved being part of the Broadband Bunch podcast to talk about my new book in progress!

m.soundcloud.com/broadband-bu...
Episode 442: Real Talk on Rural Broadband with Dr. Christopher Ali
Play Episode 442: Real Talk on Rural Broadband with Dr. Christopher Ali by The Broadband Bunch on desktop and mobile. Play over 320 million tracks for free on SoundCloud.
m.soundcloud.com
July 2, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Writing a book is equal parts terror and elation. There is no middle ground.
June 29, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Can I just say that I am so very proud of the graduate students that I have the privilege to worth with @pennstateuniv.bsky.social. They are brilliant, they are diligent, and they are caring. #ica25 @ica-clp.bsky.social
June 13, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Reposted by Christopher Ali
If you wanted to read 2,000-plus words on the FCC's ability to conduct any more business with only two of its five commissioners in office--look, you know who you are!--Public Knowledge's @haroldfeld.bsky.social has once again risen to the occasion.
Is the Federal Communications Commission Out of Commission?
For the first time that anyone can remember, the agency lacks a legal quorum to do business.
publicknowledge.org
June 11, 2025 at 2:51 PM
A day before the start of @icahdq.bsky.social, I'm pleased to announce the publication of my article in the Canadian Journal of Communication on "People, Power, and Praxis: A critical qualitative reminder to policy scholars" @ica-clp.bsky.social
Check it out!
cjc.utppublishing.com/doi/10.3138/...
People, Power, Praxis: A Critical Qualitative Reminder to Policy Scholars and Makers | Canadian Journal of Communication
Background: This article reflects on the crucial contribution of critical qualitative research in communication policymaking. Analysis: This article draws on previous and current projects that use cri...
cjc.utppublishing.com
June 11, 2025 at 2:02 PM
The changes to broadband policy are doing serious harm to our communities (esp. low income and BIPOC communities) - it robs them of their voices and of their digital futures by replacing long term security with short term and incomplete connectivity.

www.ntia.gov/press-releas...
Trump Administration Announces the Benefit of the Bargain BEAD Program that Removes Regulatory Burdens, Lowers Costs and Expands Use of All Technologies | National Telecommunications and Information A...
NTIA Issues Policy Notice that Reverses Errors of Prior Administration and Puts BEAD on Path to SuccessWASHINGTON – The Department of Commerce�...
www.ntia.gov
June 9, 2025 at 7:31 PM
"Congress said we have to build broadband everywhere, so we’ll build what is barely adequate for today and ignore what’s needed for the future". I couldn't agree more!
June 9, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Reposted by Christopher Ali
So happy about this excellend collaboration with @christopherali.bsky.social and @jonkropko.bsky.social - and thank you @mjanssen.bsky.social at Current for the opportunity #pbs #publicmedia
June 4, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Reposted by Christopher Ali
More about Pioneers Chair @christopherali.bsky.social's research on trust in public media, coauthored with Hilde Van den Bulck & Jonathan Kropko. current.org/2025/06/stud...
Study shows Americans trust PBS precisely because it’s publicly funded - Current
A study finds that "Americans from across the political spectrum do not subscribe to the notion of a biased PBS."
current.org
June 4, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Exciting news today! This morning @hildevdb.bsky.social @jonkropko.bsky.social and I published an article in Current - the premiere publication for public media - about our research on trust and @pbs.org!!

current.org/2025/06/stud...
Study shows Americans trust PBS precisely because it’s publicly funded - Current
A study finds that "Americans from across the political spectrum do not subscribe to the notion of a biased PBS."
current.org
June 4, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Confession: I know how well my day will go based on how well I complete the wordle, quordle, octordle, and crossword each morning
June 2, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Huge congratulations to my friends at the Hoopa Valley Public Utility District/Acorns Wireless for winning the Seven Star Community Award at this year’s #netinclusion! Bravo! So well deserved!! #ndia
May 21, 2025 at 12:19 AM
I’m so excited to be heading the Gila River Indian Community today to attend #netinclusion2025 #ndia! Three days of nerding it up with all things #digitalequity and #digitalinclusion!
May 19, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Reposted by Christopher Ali
An article in E&P from Bellisario faculty Tom Davidson about research coauthored by Pioneers Chair @christopherali.bsky.social -- with Hilde Van Den Bulck & Jonathan Kropko -- of people's trust in public broadcasting. www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/trus...
Trust cuts both ways: Why public media must go local and digital or fade away - Editor and Publisher
Just because people trust public media doesn’t mean they use it. For all the “trust” people express in PBS, the audience size for the flagship PBS Newshour declined by 9% from 2020 to 2022. Other repo...
www.editorandpublisher.com
May 16, 2025 at 4:05 PM
As if cable provision couldn't become more concentrated in this country, now Charter and Cox are merging. The #FCC needs to stop its discriminatory witch hunt against DEI initiatives and start doing its actual job and protecting the public interest. #ugh

www.lightreading.com/cable-techno...
Cablepalooza: Charter and Cox strike $34.5B merger
Charter and Cox have agreed to combine in a deal that values privately held Cox at $34.5 billion. The combo stands to create the largest US cable operator with 69.5 million locations passed and 37.6 m...
www.lightreading.com
May 16, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Honored to have been part of the #BroadbandHeroes podcast from Bonfire Infrastructure Group where I got to jump on my soapbox to support digital equity and inclusion, including universal, affordable broadband!
#digitalequity

m.youtube.com/watch?si=t6q...
Broadband Heroes | Ep. 44 | Reimagining Broadband Through Stories with Dr. Christopher Ali
YouTube video by BROADBAND HEROES
m.youtube.com
May 15, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Huge congratulations @erikasolis.bsky.social (Dr. Solis) for passing their dissertation defense yesterday and for writing a brilliant dissertation on the political economy of microtransactions. So proud of you!!!
May 10, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Shame on the republican congress for repealing this #fcc decision (still needs to go through the house). But where are the democrats defending bringing broadband to school kids?

broadbandbreakfast.com/senate-votes...
Senate Votes to Repeal Biden FCC’s Wi-Fi Hotspots Rule
House companion effort led by Rep. Fulcher expected to move next.
broadbandbreakfast.com
May 9, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Thanks friend!!!
Great study for many reasons, but among them its findings can help understand why funding for PBS is being threatened: because public broadcasting competes with the Trump administration for public trust. Decentralization of institutional trust is a threat to authoritarianism.
5 years in the making!!! My article with @hildevdb.bsky.social and @jonkropko.bsky.social on trust & @pbs.org was published in the @journal-of-comm.bsky.social. We present the results of a nationwide survey of PBS viewers to talk about how trusted the service is!

academic.oup.com/joc/advance-...
May 4, 2025 at 7:40 PM
It’s funny (not ha-ha funny) that Trump announced an executive order to gut funding for @pbs.org @npr.org because of bias, when our paper just came out this week showing how viewers TRUST PBS because of its non-biased news! We’ve got the data to show it too!

academic.oup.com/joc/advance-...
An island of trust: public broadcasting in the United States
Abstract. This contribution aims to better understand the level of and reasons for the trust U.S. television viewers place in the Public Broadcasting Servi
academic.oup.com
May 2, 2025 at 2:04 PM
5 years in the making!!! My article with @hildevdb.bsky.social and @jonkropko.bsky.social on trust & @pbs.org was published in the @journal-of-comm.bsky.social. We present the results of a nationwide survey of PBS viewers to talk about how trusted the service is!

academic.oup.com/joc/advance-...
An island of trust: public broadcasting in the United States
Abstract. This contribution aims to better understand the level of and reasons for the trust U.S. television viewers place in the Public Broadcasting Servi
academic.oup.com
April 30, 2025 at 8:41 PM