Her research focuses on consumer culture and gender in media, particularly in lifestyle television. Her most recent project examines how theHistory network program American Pickers reframes antiquing as anthropological inquiry and ruggedly macho exploration. She holds a B.A. In Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, Minn.), an M.A. In Journalism from the University of Iowa and a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Colorado.