About

Craig Allen is an associate professor at Cronkite and chair of the ASU University Hearing Board. He has previously served as an associate dean of the Barrett Honors College and as past president of ASU’s Downtown University Senate. His teaching areas include mass media history, international mass communication, media research methods, and political media. Craig Allen has authored books such as Univision, Telemundo and the Rise of Spanish-Language Television, News Is People: The History of Local TV News, and Eisenhower and the Mass Media. He is a former television news director who has received several professional awards for his work.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Political Science
• Physics
• Materials science
• History
• Astrobiology
• Telecommunications
• Meteorology
• Composite material

Selected publications

• Welcome home! Introducing SocSES: a society for inclusive and impactful social-ecological research

  Ecology and Society · 2025-01-01 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  Underpinned by systemic thinking, social-ecological systems (SES) research has emerged as a critical field for addressing the challenges of the Anthropocene, marked by a cross-scale focus, inter- and transdisciplinary approaches, and a strong emphasis on place-based work. Thanks to the efforts of many networks and institutes, the field has advanced new theoretical and methodological approaches, fostered dedicated journals, and spurred educational programs. It has also significantly influenced sustainability initiatives and policy from local to global scales, and has richly informed place-based efforts. Despite this progress, SES research faces persistent challenges, including conceptual and methodological fragmentation, difficulty in scaling localized insights to global frameworks (and vice versa), and capturing cross-scale connections and processes while retaining contextual relevance. Inclusivity also remains a critical issue, with regional, Indigenous, and local contributions often underrepresented, as there is still a reliance on short-term, inequitably distributed grant funding for much of the research in the field. This paper introduces the Society for Social-Ecological Systems (SocSES), a global platform designed to build on and connect to the rich legacy of SES networks. SocSES aims to advance and support SES–based research, practice, and action toward a just and sustainable future. We outline how SocSES will provide a home for SES institutes, networks, researchers, and practitioners working at the science-practice-policy interface to connect and amplify existing efforts through thematic streams, regional hubs, an institutional hub, an early-career professionals hub, and synthesis groups. The society will provide a stable infrastructure to foster interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration, enhance the generalizability and policy relevance of SES research, bolster education, research, and knowledge co-production, and support the next generation of SES professionals. By addressing the persistent challenges facing the field and fostering transformative spaces and communities for innovation and action, SocSES aspires to support and leverage SES knowledge as a cornerstone of global sustainability science. In line with the society’s commitment to linguistic diversity and equitable access, this abstract has been translated into 12 languages by authors of this paper and additional contributors. These translations are available in Appendix 2 and at https://socses.org/about/paper.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Compliments of Hamilton and Sargent: A Story of Mystery and Tragedy on the Gilded Age Frontier

  Journal of American History · 2025-10-16

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• The theory and design underlying a course of study on the social network of Hawaii’s biotechnology entrepreneurs

  Swinburne Research Bank (Swinburne University of Technology) · 2024-01-01

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Networks are an important element of social capital, which we define herein as the goodwill that is engendered by the fabric of social relations and that can be mobilized to facilitate action (Adler and Kwon, 2002). Networks and social capital are particularly crucial to the success of new ventures and to entrepreneurial endeavors. In this paper, we outline a rationale and a course of research that allow us to examine the social network and relationships associated with several early-stage, biotechnology start-up firms in Hawaii. We view the networks that embody social capital as existing at two levels of interest, at the level of the firm, and at the level of the community. At the firm level, social capital refers to the value of the firm’s social and business relationships, particularly those relationships that enable it to succeed in a competitive environment. At the community level, social capital refers to the quality of relationships and groups that the community fosters. Many ad hoc communities and organizations are created with the intent of fostering entrepreneurship or business development within certain geographical or topical boundaries. To these communities the quality and the utility of the networks they establish are primary determinants of their success. We focus our research on networks developed by and among entrepreneurs in an isolated community (Hawaii), within a limited scope of development (biotechnology firms less than five years old having obtained their first round of investment capital and having qualified under the same section for tax-code treatment). The research methodology we outline addresses a number of research questions. First, how are networks among entrepreneurs in a relatively small, isolated community configured? For this, our research program identifies, then maps a specific social network of entrepreneurs. Our mapping is built on network theory from Laszio Barabsi, Steven Strogatz, and Duncan Watts. We adapt the methodologies developed by Rob Cross, Tiziana Casiaro and Miguel Sousa Lobo. The social network is comprised of the principals of the firms involved in the network and intermediaries that those principals identify. Examples of intermediaries are private placement capital investors, tax attorneys, intellectual property experts, university faculty and staff, and government officials. We are particularly interested in identifying certain types of individuals in the network, such as central connectors, boundary spanners, information brokers and peripheral people. Our methodology computes important characteristics of individuals and firms within networks such as individual centrality. Second, we are interested in whether a strong network develops among entrepreneurs and intermediaries within our focal community. To test this, we measure group density and cohesion. Both firms and the community are generally thought to benefit from dense relationships and internal cohesion. On the other hand, to be competitive, the community and the firms within the community, must develop critical links with external networks, which we will identify and map. Third, we are interested in understanding the primary motivators of links in the network. Why do people link with people they link to? Are they primarily attracted to those who are most well-connected, which would indicate that the rich get richer? Do they seek those who are most competent, supporting the fitness model of networks? Or do they generally link with people they like and feel most comfortable with, which would suggest affiliation-based networks? We hypothesize that affiliation plays a stronger role than the strength of connections or competence. Fourth, how does communication flow within the network? We hypothesize that direct communication generally follows functional links: scientists communicate with scientists, owners with owners, marketers with marketers, etc. We also hypothesize that more communication between firms occurs via intermediaries than directly between firms. Finally, does social capital benefit both the firm and the community? We hypothesize that the greater the social capital, the more successful the entrepreneur. In our methodology, the measure for success is the length of time it takes the entrepreneur to raise external funds. Firms with high social capital should raise funds more quickly.

  PublisherDOI

• The Thermal Conductivity of Warm Dense Planetary Interiors

  2020 IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science (ICOPS) · 2023

  • Astrobiology
  • Materials science
  • Meteorology

  Understanding the thermal conductivity of materials in the cores of rocky planets can help in predicting planetary evolution and understanding the mechanisms necessary for the existence of organic life. However, significant variations in predictions and a scarcity of experimental measurements hamper our understanding of materials under warm dense matter (WDM) conditions. We plan to use our established isochoric heating platform<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1-3</sup> to measure the thermal conductivity of iron-rich alloys in the WDM regime close to the thermodynamic conditions of large rocky exoplanet interiors. Using Fresnel Diffractive Radiography (FDR), we will observe the dynamics of an isochorically heated <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$5\ \mu\mathrm{m}$</tex> Fe95/Ni5 alloy wire encased in <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$10\ \mu\mathrm{m}$</tex> of borosilicate glass designed to mimic the core-mantle boundary of Earth-like planets<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">4</sup>. After pressure equilibration, the shape of the density profile across the Fe/Ni-glass interface evolves primarily through thermal conductivity. This profile will be measured using FDR with a spatial resolution on the order of <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$1\ \mu\mathrm{m}$</tex>. This will enable the accurate extraction of the conductivity scale length, which in turn will be used to validate competing theoretical models.

  PublisherDOI

• Univision, Telemundo, and the Rise of Spanish-Language Television in the United States

  2020 · 3 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Political Science
  • Political Science
  • History

  "In the first history of Spanish-language television in the United States, Craig Allen traces the development of two prominent yet little-studied powerhouses, Univision and Telemundo. Allen tells the inside story of how these networks fought enormous odds to rise as giants of mass communication, questioning monolingual and Anglo-centered versions of U.S. television history"--

  PublisherDOI

• Lone Star Dawn, Mexican Light

  University Press of Florida eBooks · 2020-12-01

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Period: 1895–1961. From working-class roots in a Mexican border town, Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta rises as the giant and patriarch of Mexican radio and TV. He courts the government which permits his monopoly, Telesistema Méxicano. To appease opponents who protest his Americanization of TV networks in Mexico, Vidaurreta envisions a Mexican network in the U.S. He hires Rene Anselmo and partners with Frank Fouce Sr. U.S. law prohibits foreign ownership of U.S broadcasting, however, Vidaurreta devises a scheme to conceal his ownership by having Anselmo, a U.S. citizen, act as owner in his place. In San Antonio, Raoul Cortez forms the first Spanish-language TV station in U.S. Son-in-law Emilio Nicolás manages struggling KCOR but prepares for a medical career. Vidaurreta purchases KCOR on the condition Nicolás remain. He does. With KCOR as hub, parties meet in San Antonio and form the Spanish International Network.

  PublisherDOI

• Global Radio: From Shortwave to Streaming

  Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media · 2020 · 2 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Computer Science
  • Telecommunications

  At a time when instant and infinite sources of international communication are available to listeners on mobile phones and digital devices, not gone is portrayal of over-the-air radio as a world ly...

  PublisherDOI

• Market Acceptance of a Murabaha-Based Finance Structure within a Social Network of Non-Islamic Small and Medium Enterprise Owners in African Procurement

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2019-03-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Twenty two African entrepreneurs with Small and<br> Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in a single social network centered<br> around a non-Muslim population in a smaller African country,<br> selected an Islamic financing structure, a form of Murabaha,<br> based solely on market rationale. These entrepreneurs had all won<br> procurement contracts from major purchasers of goods within their<br> country and faced difficulty arranging traditional bank financing<br> to support their supply-chain needs. The Murabaha-based structure<br> satisfied their market-driven demand and provided an attractive<br> alternative to the traditional bank-offered lending products. The<br> Murabaha-styled trade-financing structure was not promoted with any<br> religious implications, but solely as a market solution to the existing<br> problems associated with bank-related financing. This indicates the<br> strong market forces that draw SMEs to financing structures that are<br> traditionally considered within the framework of Islamic finance.

  PublisherDOI

• Socioecological Determinants of Drought Impacts and Coping Strategies for Ranching Operations in the Great Plains

  Rangeland Ecology & Management · 2019-02-19 · 19 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Consultants: Role in Newsroom

  The International Encyclopedia of Journalism Studies · 2019-04-29

  other1st authorCorresponding

  This entry discusses the process and theories associated with news consultants, paid specialists hired by news organizations for measures that maximize audiences and profits. Consultants are most widely employed in television news, where newsrooms must compete for ratings and audience share. From research, consultants derive and advise on the content, style, and personnel audiences prefer. Traditional theories of news work do not accommodate news consulting; however, newer theories of news production and socialization explain the authority and influence consultants can exert. The first news consultants were sociologists who demonstrated that audience accumulation rests on reaching middle and lower class individuals. An important outcome of news consulting was “Eyewitness News,” a “news for masses” that remains a paradigm of television news presentation.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NRT-INFEWS: Training in Theory and Application of Cross-scale Resilience in Agriculturally Dominated Social Ecological Systems

  NSF · $3.0M · 2017–2023

Frequent coauthors

• Patrick S. Washburn

  Ohio University

  34 shared

• Donald G. Godfrey

  27 shared

• Robert Stewart

  21 shared

• James C. Foust

  7 shared

• James L. Baughman

  5 shared

• Katherine A. Bradshaw

  Bowling Green State University

  5 shared

• Nancy L. Roberts

  5 shared

• Wallace B. Eberhard

  University of Georgia

  4 shared