Lecturer
Ph.D. University of California, Santa Barbara

5835 Ellison Hall
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
Telephone: 805-893-5007
Fax: 805-893-7102
E-mail: mullin@comm.ucsb.edu

Charles Mullin

Charles Mullin initially came to the Communication Dept. as a graduate student, receiving his Masters in 1992, and his PhD. in 1996. His interest in the nexus of mass media and the law led to his position as Lecturer in the Law and Society Program starting in 1996, but by 2000, he was back in the Communication Department. As a Lecturer, he enthusiastically teaches a wide array of courses, but his main instructional focus is on courses pertaining to the societal or individual level effects of the mass media, and to the laws and policies that impact the communicative arena. One of his primary pedagogical goals is to enable students to make insightful connections between the academic material they learn in the classroom and the interesting parade of events and developments concerning the mass media outside the classroom. As an instructor of primarily mid-sized classes (around 60 students), Dr. Mullin makes an effort to individually connect with as many students as possible, routinely guiding students though honors projects or other forms of independent research.

Dr. Mullin’s research pursuits over the years have mostly concerned the intersection of mass media and the law in some way. He has published research on the nature of and effects of various forms of pretrial publicity and crime-related information. During his lengthy association with the Communication Department’s media research lab, he oversaw the collection of extensive samples of television content for several high-profile research projects, most notably the National Television Violence Study, and the Kaiser Foundation study of adolescent sexuality. Dr. Mullin also frequently participates as a mentor for the undergraduate Senior Honor’s Thesis program. In this capacity, he has guided a thesis on the relationship between media exposure and attitudes towards the legal system, and he is currently guiding a study on the network of attitudes, beliefs, personality factors, and behaviors associated with Internet sharing of music files.

Education

B.A.	1984	University of California, Los Angeles	Communication Studies Magna Cum Laude Honors Status
M.A.	1992	University of California, Santa Barbara	Communication (Master's Thesis: Desensitization and Resensitization to Sexualized Violence: The Effects of Slasher Films on Judgments of Domestic Violence Victims)
Ph.D.	1996	University of California, Santa Barbara	Communication (Dissertation: The Impact of Acquaintance Rape Scripts and Case-Specific Pretrial Publicity on Juror Decision Making)

Professional Teaching Experience

2000 - Present: Lecturer (Post-Sixth Year Continuing Appointee)
Department of Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara

Courses:

Mass Communication & Society

Mass Communication Law

Electronic Media Policy & Regulation

Persuasion

Mass Communication & Human Behavior

Statistical Analysis for Communication

Introduction to Communication

Communication Research Methods

1996 - 2000: Lecturer
Law and Society Program & Department of Communication,
University of California, Santa Barbara

Courses:

Law and Society Research Methods

Media Law

Social Science in Law

Introduction to Communication

Communication Research Methods

Persuasion

1989 - 1995: Teaching Assistant
Department of Communication; Law and Society Program
University of California, Santa Barbara

Courses:

Mass Communication and Society

Mass Communication and Human Behavior

Communication Research Methods/Statistics

Law and Society Research Methods/Statistics

Mass Communication Law

Social Science in Law

Theories of Communication

Fall, 1993 Teaching Associate

Course: Mass Communication and Human Behavior

Current Research / Manuscripts in Preparation

Mullin, C. & Kocur, C. (data collection currently ongoing). Tangled Web: The network of beliefs, attitudes, and personality factors associated with Internet file-sharing (project is part of an undergraduate’s Senior Honors Thesis).

Mullin, C., & Mullin, D. I. (data collected, manuscript in preparation). Lay perceptions of “free speech” and First Amendment protections of objectionable communication.

Mullin, C., & Slattery, D. (data collected, manuscript in preparation). From Depictions to Attitudes: The Relationship Between Exposure to Television Images of the Law and Viewer Attitudes Towards Law Enforcement and the Legal Arena (project began as part of an undergraduate Senior Honors Thesis).

Publications

Mullin, C. R., Imrich, D. J., & Linz, D. G. (1996). The Impact of Acquaintance Rape Stories and Case-Specific Pretrial Publicity on Juror Decision Making. Communication Research, 23(1), 100-135.

Mullin, C. R., & Linz, D. G. (1995). Desensitization and resensitization to sexualized violence: Effects of exposure to sexually violent films on judgments of domestic violence victims. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(3), 449-459.

Imrich, D. J., Mullin, C. R., & Linz, D. G. (1995). Measuring the extent of prejudicial pretrial publicity in major American newspapers: A content analysis. Journal of Communication, 45(3), 94-117.

Imrich, D. J., Mullin, C., & Linz, D. (1990). Sexually violent media and criminal justice policy. In R. Surette (Ed.), The Media and Criminal Justice Policy, Springfield, Ill: Charles C. Thomas.

Professional Conference Papers and Presentations

Imrich, D. J., Mullin, C., & Linz, D. (1994). Measuring the extent of prejudicial pretrial publicity in major American newspapers: A content analysis. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, Sydney, Australia.

Mullin, C. R. (1993). Desensitization and resensitization to sexualized violence: The effects of slasher films on judgments of domestic violence victims. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, Washington, D.C. (Top Paper in Mass Communication Division)

Linz, D. G., Imrich, D. J., Mullin, C. R., Eskenazi, J., & Weiss, A. J. (1992). Assessing the incidence of pretrial publicity and strategies to offset is effects. Paper presented at the Third European Conference of Law and Psychology, Oxford, United Kingdom.

Imrich, D. J., Mullin, C., & Linz, D. (1991). Measuring the extent of prejudicial pretrial publicity in U.S. newspapers: A content analysis. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco.

Mullin, C., & Imrich, D. (1990). Juror decision making in a sexual assault case: The effects of mass media stories about date rape and prejudicial pretrial publicity about the defendant. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, Dublin, Ireland.

Mullin, C., & Imrich, D. (1989). The effects of typical date rape scenario and case-specific pretrial publicity on juror decision making in a sexual assault case. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, New Orleans.

Professional Research Experience

1996 to 2004: Assistant Researcher
Institute for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research (ISBER)
For Dale Kunkel, Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara

Supervised for many different studies, including the National Television Violence Study and several Kaiser Foundation studies of TV content, the process by which television programs are sampled and recorded for later analysis. This includes setting up and managing a media lab and supervising students employed to actually tape the programs.

August, 1992: Research Assistant
For Daniel Linz, Ph.D.,
Department of Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara,
and consultant to Gradstein, Luskin, and Van Dalsem,
6380 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1106 Los Angeles, CA 90048

Conducted a door-to-door public opinion survey for the plaintiff in the matter of Pauli Kiernan v. Globe International, Inc., a libel suit.

1988-89: Research Assistant
For Daniel Linz, Ph.D.,
Department of Communication University of California, Santa Barbara

Conducted a large scale content analysis of American newspapers and two experimental studies as part of a project on pretrial publicity funded by the National Science Foundation

Grants

Instructional Development Grant ($1,225) for course development related to communication law, University of California, 1991.

Instructional Development Grant ($1,225) for course development related to social science as applied to the legal arena, University of California, 1992.

Awards and Honors

Second Prize for the 1996 Dissertation Award of the American Psychology-Law Society (Division 41 of the American Psychological Association)

Top Graduate Student Researcher in the UCSB Communication Department for the 1994-1995 academic year.

Top Student Paper (and highest rated paper overall) in the Mass Communication Division of the International Communication Association. Paper presented at the Washington, D.C. conference, 1993.

Awards of Magna Cum Laude and Honors Status for B.A. degree, 1984

Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society, 1984-present

Dean's List, University of California, Los Angeles, 1980-1984

University and Community Service

Guest speaker at Santa Ynez Valley High School government and history classes, lecturing and facilitating discussion of issues pertaining to free speech and to government policy concerning the mass media, 2004, 2005.

Undergraduate Senior Honors Thesis advising, Department of Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2002-2003, 2004-2005

Summer Orientation Program, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1997, 1998

Met with incoming freshman (usually prospective Law and Society or Communication majors); discussed topics such as career preparation, academic expectations, and the general relationship between faculty and students

Discussed research concerning the effects of sexualized media violence on viewer attitudes towards domestic violence victims on KCOY-TV News science feature, 1995

Guest Speaker for the Teacher and Student Communication Program (TASC) at San Marcos High School, Santa Barbara, 1992, 1993

Led discussions on the mass media's role in the Rodney King beating trials and on theories and research concerning the effects of media violence and sexuality on viewers.

Presentation Skills Workshop, University of California, Santa Barbara, January 1992

Led group presentation sessions, providing feedback and instruction for undergraduates

Summer Orientation Program Dean's Faculty Panel, University of California, Santa Barbara, Summers 1991, 1992

Served as the Teaching Assistant member of a Dean and Faculty Panel which addresses the concerns of parents of incoming undergraduates