Her research questions start with documentary, in particular focusing on questions of distribution and advocacy in a converging media environment. She has presented papers at almost 20 different conferences, including most recently the Society for Cinema and Media Studies, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, and the American Sociological Association. Along with serving as a reviewer for such journals as American Journalism and Gender & Society, McIntosh writes about documentary issues as a blogger for PBS’s POV series. She earned her Ph.D. in mass communications from The Pennsylvania State University.