Haines delivered a plenary lecture at the conference 'What is Media?' at University of Portland Oregon in the School of Journalism and Communication. The conference was the sixth of the series asking 'What is...?' with this year aiming to define the vast scope of the term 'media'. The conference had a wide range of differing speakers and events including Haines' work Circumventive Organs in the accompanying exhibition HABITATS.

"What is Media? (2016) features a unique coalescing of media scholars, government and community officials, industry professionals, alumni, and students, as well as artists, filmmakers, grassroots community organizations, and the public. With media representing a wider and wider range of concepts, products, services, and institutions, the definition of media continues to be in a state of flux. What is media today? How is media studies defined? How have media technologies transformed media theory and practice? What are the futures of media and how are they evolving? What is Media? coincides with the UO School of Journalism and Communication’s 2016 centennial celebration!"