@lmeeks
Associate Professor in Dept. of Communication Studies at TCU. I examine how gender, race, and partisanship intersect and affect candidate communication, especially social media strategies, as well as electoral news coverage.
Moderate Democrats with columns in newspapers are constantly saying the Democratic Party is way too liberal on "social" issues. Moderate Democratic voters in real life do not feel this way. With some polling data from @gelliottmorris.com and @dataforprogress.org. newrepublic.com/article/2074...
Unfortunately, my latest research shows that local news rarely covers these outside interests in school board election coverage.
urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
"Many of those billionaires are not only hoping to reshape the federal government...but to win influence in state legislatures, City Councils, school boards and courthouses...[including] expanding private charter schools."
"The Times analysis found that 300 billionaires and their immediate family members donated more than $3 billion—19% of all contributions—in federal elections in 2024, either directly or through PACs." In the prez elex before Citizens United ruling, it was .3%. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/u...
And just like that we’re back to “Department of Defense”
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3. Local news covered issues like academic outcomes & bond issues more, but if voters wanted to know more about conservative groups’ involvement, it was concentrated in national coverage. National news cannot cover each school district leading up to Election Day, leaving local voters under informed.
2. Coverage reflected the heavy involvement of conservative groups in anti-DEI, anti-CRT, and book-banning efforts. Cross-tabs showed conservative organizations were mentioned in this coverage five times more than liberal organizations.
1: Citizens are not uninformed but may be underinformed. <50% of articles mentioned active candidates and tiny fraction of those discussed an incumbent’s performance. These findings, coupled with high # of uncontested races, poses boundary conditions on Dissatisfaction Theory of American Democracy.
Happy to share new research: “Get on board: Examining news coverage of school board elections, 2021–2023.”
It’s the first systematic analysis of news coverage of school board elections nationwide, tracking local and national coverage.
urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
🌳New book chapter: "Into the Woods: Using Digital Platforms to Learn about Political Communication"🌳
In the wonderful new edited volume "Teaching Political Communication", by @kcoe.bsky.social and Diana Zulli.
A screenshot from a scam website targeting authors that claims to work with Zadie Smith and Colson Whitehead both of whom are Black people but the photos of them are AI generated generic white people
Well today in AI scams targeting authors. I received an email claiming to want to include my book in a book club. Not only do all the photos of authors they claim to work with look AI generated but look at @colsonwhitehead.com and @zadiesmith.bsky.social and then look at these photos
Never gets old.
Perreault, Danninger & Hanusch draw on 74 interviews with lifestyle journalists in #Austria and the #UnitedStates. Lifestyle journalism has inclusion potential—but many practitioners do not see themselves as realizing it.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1... @profdimitrova.bsky.social #commsky
Come work with me! We are looking for an Instructor specializing in public speaking. I am not on the search committee but happy to answer any questions I can.
jobs.tcu.edu/jobs/instruc...
"FTC’s chairman, Andrew Ferguson, appears to be testing a novel theory: that editorial judgment can be regulated as a deceptive trade practice...A news organization’s slogan...is no longer a statement of mission but a marketing claim subject to federal prosecution." www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/o...
Texas voters have until Feb. 27 to vote early in the state’s primaries. Election day is March 3.
To help voters make informed decisions, the Tribune has pulled together comprehensive voter guides and reporting. Here’s what you need to know. 🧵
A lot of people, including me, were wondering how an IRB could ever approve this study.
The answer is that no IRB did. The person who “signed off” on approval from the only ethics board that reviewed it had resigned three years earlier. His signature was used without his knowledge.
Third, I'm disturbed by how this "technique" has been/could be used to attribute claims to scholars who never made them--possibly maliciously. A highly-cited incident could do a lot of damage if it's not discovered quickly.
Quick PSA for all mid-career academics and above: people may be citing articles with your name on them that don't exist.
Thanks to your kid for indirectly informing me of this!
Thirty-two people died in ICE custody nationwide last year, surpassing the previous high of 20 in 2005, according to federal data.
Nearly a quarter of last year’s deaths occurred in Texas.
True! This was a case of me recently watching the show and doing a project that required me to look at 1800s politics, including more so Cleveland and Harrison, and then my brain going to mush and combining it all. Perhaps there will be a surge in "Chester" if you like a redemption story.
The money seemingly flowing through the Board of Peace should tell you at lest one thing: we've always had the funds available to be humanitarian. We're just not interested in being humanitarians most of the time.
But boy we like naming stuff in the name of.
www.nytimes.com/live/2026/02...
I assume “Death By Lightning” will result in a surge of parents naming their kid “Grover,” right? 👐Media Effects👐
📣 Extension of Deadline for Travel Grants Applications!
We invite applications for travel grants from ICA attendees without sufficient funding. These grants are especially directed at students and junior scholars from Tier B/C.
Apply here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Recent CBS News news:
1. Anderson Cooper leaves 60 Minutes after two decades
2. Stephen Colbert reveals network won’t let him air interview with Dem
3. Producer says politics dictating what airs
4. Owner’s bid for CNN parent back on the table.
5. Not firing Epstein pal.
I would gladly take you as prez over the current situation. I realize this doesn’t amount to much of a compliment given the status quo.
A further development:
CBS responds to "THE LATE SHOW." It says Colbert was not prohibited from broadcasting his interview with Rep. James Talarico. Rather the show was provided with legal guidance and... well, just read it. Via @brianstelter.bsky.social
I argued in my chapter about local elections that citizens need to know what elected offices do before they can assess whether a candidate is capable of performing that role. Thanks @texastribune.org for providing this crucial, pro-democracy information!
books.google.com/books?hl=en&...