Marisa Smith

Biography

Dr. Marisa A. Smith is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Advertising + Public Relations and the School of Journalism. Her research investigates news disseminated in digital environments and the sociopolitical influence of these messages. Her work highlights that a critical component for understanding the political implications of digital information environments is examining its implications for racial perceptions. Through investigating the effects of socially mediated messages on stereotype ... endorsement, public policy support, political polarization, civic engagement, and political opinion, her work assesses the implications of digital information environments on democracy.

Dr. Smith addresses her research questions using a variety of quantitative research methods, including computational methods (e.g., text analysis, supervised machine learning), content analyses, surveys, and experiments. Her work has been published in New Media & Society and Social Media + Society.

Dr. Smith received her Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.