February 14, 2025
Buffalo, NY - The New York Times interviewed Emerita Professor of Communications Barb Irwin, PhD, for a Feb. 5 story about "Beyond the Gates," a new soap opera that looks to rekindle the past while breaking new ground. Irwin, who has authored several books about the genre, says "there's a parasocial relationship that viewers establish with soap opera characters, where these people come into their homes every day for decades and they come to love these characters or love to hate the characters." Click here to read the full story.
