A first-generation college student born and raised in Texas, Judy Watts worked with co-advisors Alex Bonus and Emily Moyer-Gusé to publish on her work on narratives in media entertainment. Always interested in the effects media entertainment has on people, she knew from a young age what she would study.
Watts investigates how entertainment and narratives can impact people in positive ways. Currently, she is researching how children interpret meaningful entertainment and how they understand the philosophical themes incorporated in media. There is very little information on how children make sense of the complex concepts presented to them, so the research Watts conducts adds important new findings.
“It’s really important to see how children grapple with these topics, so hopefully we can help them further understand and unpack some of these meaningful moments that we see in these films. They can be very impactful for a small child,” said Watts.
Some of her past published work she co-authored with Bonus includes research concerning children’s responses to stereotype-defying narratives for gender roles in entertainment and misinterpretations to educational science television. She has published work that discusses the processing of messages in public health communication, where she conducted innovative research regarding the influence of testimonials.
After receiving her bachelor’s degree in radio, television and film from the University of Texas, she worked in public radio before going back to school to receive her master’s degree from the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, Arkansas. While working on her master’s degree, she spent a summer in Saint Lucia working with a radio program designed to increase awareness on climate change. There, she witnessed firsthand how powerful media is in changing attitudes and beliefs, which sparked her passion for her current research interests.
“I just got really excited and interested about it and I knew I wanted to spend my career and life in that field,” Watts said.
Watts is in her fifth and final year of her doctoral program at Ohio State.
“While it’s difficult to end a chapter and enter into a new one, I’m very appreciative of my time and collaborations and everything that I’ve learned at Ohio State. The communication program is excellent in training students on how to research whatever they’re interested in in the communication realm,” Watts said. “There were so many opportunities to work with faculty members on narrative projects and entertainment and media effects that it was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. I got all the necessary tools as a doctoral student to research the impact of narratives and entertainment. I’ll absolutely miss it.”
After receiving her doctorate from Ohio State, Watts will continue her career in academia in the position of a tenure-track assistant professor at the University of Kansas.
Article by student Isa Renteria
