She holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Michigan and a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin. Her research and teaching interests include public opinion, media effects, and media coverage of minority groups. She is co-author of a number of papers examining trust in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Communication, the American Journal of Political Science, the Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, Social Science Quarterly and Political Psychology. At the Shorenstein Center, her research will focus on the effects of local television news coverage of crime. Paper PDF