Qualifications

B.A., John Carroll University (Communication)
M.A., The Ohio State University (Journalism)
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison (Mass Communications)

Quick Introduction

Public opinion and communication, survey research methods and analysis, political communication, and media and terrorism.

Description

My interests include public opinion, political communication and research methods. I am currently at work on the topic of survey transparency, looking at communication journals for their compliance with basic measures disclosure measures for population survey data. All survey data look like. The only way to judge the quality of survey data is to understand exactly how it was collected and to have accurate information about the nature of the sampling, and some details about the procedures used in data analysis.

I have been the undergraduate director of the Journalism Program Committee for the School of Communication since 2015. This committee oversees the B.A.-Journalism degree program, and handles oversight of The Lantern Media Group. This includes The Lantern,  the school’s 144-year-old student newspaper. It also includes Lantern TV, thelantern.com website and various channels on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms. The Lantern is a 24/7 multimedia news organization staffed by students that is an integral part of our journalism program. Most of the core skills courses in journalism feed content into The Lantern. Of course, we also welcome freelance writers, volunteers, senior reporters, photographers, videographers, designers and others who want to work on The Lantern. 

My committee sets policies for all the assets of the Lantern Media Group and hires all of the 23 student editors and video producers. Today’s Lantern is far more than what most people think of as a campus newspaper. News is printed on paper one day a week, but the Lantern follows a “digital first” publishing strategy and operates a large and complicated web site that has a lot of additional room for stories that do not fit in the printed version. The web site also accommodates photo essays, podcasts and video. Lantern TV publishes its work on a YouTube channel. Students promote their stories on social media. The Lantern is a much-beloved organization to Ohio State journalism alumni and the organization has a storied history of excellence and awards. The most lasting contribution is, of course, the generations of journalists it has produced who have been remarkably successful in the world of journalism and related areas. This includes numerous winners of the Pulitzer Prize. Over the decades, Lantern alumni have held various positions at major news organizations.

Each journalism major is required to complete an approved minor in some discipline to provide an area of expertise that is related to the topics they hope to cover upon graduation. We also require that each student complete an internship. This is an important professional experience for aspiring reporters and editors. 

The school is currently building a new 21^st Century newsroom for The Lantern that will fully support the multimedia work currently being done. This project will include a new green screen studio to facilitate video work as well as a teaching studio to support the Lantern TV course and other video courses that the school offers in the Media Production and Analysis Minor in partnership with the Department of Theater, Film and Media Arts.  School alumni will appreciate that the new facilities are being built in the space that used to be the Journalism Library before it moved to into space in Thompson Library on the Oval.