Selected Current Research Projects

Changing Media Environment: Effects on Attention, Learning, Engagement, Attitudes and Mass and Elite Political Behavior

The newest projects in my research agenda examine questions about the political implications of the changing global media environment, namely expanding media choice and mobile internet access.

Current Projects:

• “Gaining Access and Losing Information?” (With Kathleen Searles, Mingxiao Sui, and Newly Paul)
• “Partisan News and Candidate Perceptions and Emergence” (With Vin Arceneaux, Martin Johnson, and Ryan J. Vander Wielen)
• "Screen Size and Physiological Responses to Video News" (With Stuart Soroka)
• ​"Local Newspaper Deaths and Political Polarization" (With Joshua Darr and Matthew Hitt)

Campaign News

My research addresses questions relating to the myriad of different institutional and contextual factors that influence news media coverage of campaigns, candidates, and issues. I am also interested in exploring these influences on the quality of information in political news more generally (i.e. political processes occurring outside the campaign context), and the depiction or minority and women candidates in campaign news.  

Current projects:

• "Negative Ads and Negative News" (With Jason Turcotte and Brian Watson)
• “Media Markets and Campaign News Slant.” (With John Kitch, and Brian Watson)
• “The Use of Manifest vs. Latent Gender Cues in Political Advertising.” (With Nichole Bauer and Newly Paul)​

News Coverage of Groups and Events

While most of my research examines influences on campaign related news, I also examine factors that influence how immigrants, immigration related issues, Latinos, women, and events are depicted in the news. I am also interested in how identity salience drives media selections and choice, and how media selection influences identity.  

Current projects:

• "The Political Effects of Spanish Language Media Choice."​ (With Joshua Darr, Brittany Perry, and Mingxiao Sui)
• "Empathy and Threat Cues in News Coverage of Refugees" (With Vin Arceneaux and Madelyn Phillips)
• “News Media Attention and the Effects of Spanish Language Political Advertising.” (With Marisa Abrajano and Newly Paul)
  
  

Political Advertising

Another area of my research centers on political advertising.  

Current Projects:

• “Political Ad Context and Campaign News Coverage” (With Jason Turcotte, Nick Davis, and Brian Watson)
• “News Media Attention and the Effects of Spanish Language Political Advertising.” (With Marisa Abrajano and Newly Paul)
• “The Effects of Early Voting on Political Advertising” (With Robert M. Stein)