Brief Biography

I am a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My research focuses on the effects of new media on the processing of content and perceptions of media credibility. I am also interested in examining how the personal predispositions, particularly political orientations, influence individuals’ understanding of media content. I expect to graduate in summer of 2011.

My research has been published in Political Communication and Mass Communication and Society and is forthcoming in Journal of Communication. I led the Mass Communication Research Center - Media and Politics graduate student research group for one year and have teaching experience in classes focusing on information strategies for communication and communication and public opinion. I also have experiencing consulting with a PR firm writing press releases, with news organizations testing the effectiveness of a federal grant program, and with a company developing a new iPhone application.

Current Projects

This summer, I am focused on developing research in line with my dissertation, which focuses on the role that political identification plays in responding to political messaging. Specifically, I am interested in merging research into cognitive dissonance with studies of how people respond to incongruent political messaging. I have performed a series of experiments testing my expectations and plan on fielding another experiment developing my rationale in the fall.

I have also been consulting part-time for the Verona-based firm Innocorp, helping in the development and future marketing of an iPhone application.