Profile

Lauren Feldman

Assistant Professor
School of Communication

  • Lauren Feldman is a full-time professor of Public Communication. She joined the SOC faculty in 2008 after receiving a Ph.D. from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests focus on political communication and media effects, with an emphasis on how less traditional sources of political information, like political satire and opinionated cable news programs, shape citizens' engagement with and understanding of politics. Her current research examines how partisan news media and political satire programs, respectively, influence perceptions of climate change, and how to more effectively use media and communication to engage the public on this issue. Her research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, Carnegie-Knight Task Force on Journalism and the Spanish Ministry of Science. Her work has been published in a number of edited volumes and peer-reviewed journals, including Communication Research, Political Communication, and Journal of Communication.

  • Degrees

    BA English, Duke University; MA Communication, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania; PhD Communication, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
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  • FOR THE MEDIA

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Teaching

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Selected Publications

       
  • Feldman, L., Maibach, E. W., Roser-Renouf, C., & Leiserowitz, A. (2012). Climate on cable: The nature and impact of global warming coverage on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC. International Journal of Press/Politics, 17(1), 3-31. [Abstract]
  • Feldman, L. (2011). The effects of journalist opinionation on learning from the news. Journal of Communication, 61(6), 1183-1201. [Abstract]
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  • Feldman, L. (2011). The opinion factor: The effects of opinionated news on information processing and attitude change. Political Communication, 28(2), 163-181. [Abstract]
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  • Feldman, L., Leiserowitz, A., and Maibach, E. (2011). The science of satire: The Daily Show and The Colbert Report as sources of public attention to science and the environment. In A. Amarasingam (Ed.), The Stewart/Colbert effect: Essays on the real impact of fake news (pp. 25-46). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company.
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  • Nisbet, M. C., and Feldman, L. (2011). Political communication. In D. Hooks, B. Franks, and M. Bauer (Eds.), Communication, culture and social change: The social psychological perspective (pp. 284-289). London: Palgrave MacMillan.   
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  • Feldman, L. (in press). Partisan differences in opinionated news perceptions: A test of the hostile media effect. Political Behavior, 33(3), 407-432. [Abstract]   
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  • Feldman, L., Nisbet, M. C., Leiserowitz, A., and Maibach, E. (2010). The climate change generation? Survey analysis of the perceptions and beliefs of young Americans. Joint report of American University's School of Communication, The Yale Project on Climate Change, and George Mason University's Center for Climate Change Communication. [PDF]   
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  • Price, V., and Feldman, L. (2009). News and politics. In R. L. Nabi & M. B. Oliver (Eds.), The Sage handbook of media processes and effects (pp. 113-129). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
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  • Feldman, L., and Young, D. G. (2008). Late-night comedy as a gateway to traditional news: An analysis of time trends in news attention among late-night comedy viewers during the 2004 presidential primaries. Political Communication, 25(4), 401-422. [Abstract]
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  • Pasek, J., Feldman, L., Romer, D., and Jamieson, K. H. (2008). Schools as incubators of democratic participation: Building long-term political efficacy with civic education. Applied Developmental Science, 12(1), 26-37. [Abstract]   
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  • Feldman, L., and Price, V. (2008). Confusion or enlightenment? How exposure to disagreement moderates the effects of political discussion and media use on candidate knowledge. Communication Research, 35(1), 61-87. [Abstract]   
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  • Price, V., and Feldman, L. (2008). News processing and retention. In W. Donsbach (Ed.), The international encyclopedia of communication, vol. 7 (pp. 3260-3266). Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
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  • Feldman, L., Pasek, J., Romer, D., and Jamieson, K. H. (2007). Identifying best practices in civic education: Lessons from the Student Voices program. American Journal of Education, 114(1), 75-100. [PDF]   
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  • Feldman, L. (2007). The news about comedy: Young audiences, The Daily Show, and evolving notions of journalism. Journalism: Theory, Practice, and Criticism, 8(4), 359-380. [Abstract]

Grants and Sponsored Research

       
  • National Science Foundation, "The Influence of Effifcacy, Framing, and Political Orientation on Selective Perception and Selective Exposure: The Case of Atmospheric Change." Role: Co-PI, with P. S. Hart.
         
  • Spanish Ministry of Science. "Democratically Important Media Effects: Selective Exposure to News Media and the Forced-Choice Error Problem." Role: Co-Investigator; PI: M. Wojcieszak.
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  • Research Projects Support Programme of Junta de Castilla y Leon, Spain. "The Political Effects of Forced Versus Selective Exposure." Role: Co-Investigator; PI: M. Wojcieszak.
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  • John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as part of the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education. "To Opine or Not to Opine: The Consequences of Opinionated News for Information Processing, Attitudes, and Knowledge." Role: Co-PI, with V. Price.

Honors, Awards, and Fellowships

2011 Keith R. Sanders and Lynda Lee Kaid Best Article of the Year Award, Political Communication Division, International Communication Association

AU Expert

Area of Expertise: Political communication; effects of the media on political knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors; cable news; partisan media; the political implications of entertainment, especially comedy and satire; youth and politics

Additional Information: Lauren Feldman conducts research that examines the effects of news and political communication on political knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. She is particularly interested in the intersection of news and entertainment, and how less-traditional sources of political information—like late-night comedy and opinionated cable news—contribute to political learning and engagement. In recent work, she used experimental methods to explore how the presence of journalist opinion alters the effects of broadcast news on audience perceptions of bias, political information processing, attitudes, and knowledge. In other studies, she has investigated the political function of comedy and satire programs like The Daily Show, arguing for their importance to political discourse and engagement. Her work on political communication and its effects has appeared or is forthcoming in a number of edited books and peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Communication and Communication Research; Political Communication; and Journalism: Theory, Practice, and Criticism.
 

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