Join us for this semester's final PhD Colloquium Series event. In the first half of her talk Ruth Palmer will discuss her new book, "Becoming the News: How Ordinary People Respond to the Media Spotlight," which is about private citizens' experiences becoming the focus of news attention. In the second half, she will relate those findings to a recent case study about female Trump supporters who were named in the mainstream press. What does it feel like to be depicted by the "fake news media" or as "one of the women who helped elect Trump?" Using in-depth interviews with women who agreed to speak national news outlets about their support for Donald Trump, she explores voters' motivations for speaking to journalists, how they felt about the news production process, and the aftermath of their news appearances. Ruth also addresses ethical implications for journalists depicting citizens who hold controversial views, and explore what interviewees' experiences can teach us about the role of the mainstream media in promoting—or failing to promote—conversation across lines of difference.
Ruth Palmer is Assistant Professor of Communication at IE University in Madrid and Segovia, Spain. She received her PhD in Communication from Columbia University in 2013. Her research explores how ordinary people think about and relate to the news media. Her book, Becoming the News: How Ordinary People Respond to the Media Spotlight (Columbia University Press, 2017) investigates how citizens navigate their interactions with journalists.
Our thanks to the Sevellon-Brown Fund for the generous support.
