Media Now

Dr. Joseph D. Straubhaar is the Amon G. Carter Centennial professor in the School of Journalism and Media in the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin. He previously served as Latino Media Studies Director in the Moody College of Communication and Director of the Center for Brazilian Studies within the Lozano Long Institute for Latin American Studies. Dr. Straubhaar has published numerous books, articles and essays on international communication, global media, digital inclusion, international telecommunications, Brazilian television, Latin American media, comparative analyses of new television technologies and media flow and culture. He is still active in research and writing in global media, international communication and cultural theory, the digital divide in the United States and other countries and global television studies. In addition to his own research in Latin America, Asia and Africa, Dr. Straubhaar has taken student groups to Latin America and Asia and presented seminars abroad on media research, television programming strategies and telecommunications privatization. Currently, he serves on the editorial boards of Communication Theory, International Journal of Communication, Media Industries, Chinese Journal of Communication, Journal of Latin American Communication Research, Studies in Latin American Popular Culture, Comunicación e Cultura and Revista Intercom.

Dr. Robert LaRose is an Emeritus full professor in the Department of Media and Information at Michigan State University. He was honored with the MSU William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award. Other accolades include the Outstanding Article Award of the Year in the field of communication from the International Communication Association and the McQuail Award for the Best Article Advancing Communication Theory from Amsterdam School of Communication Research for “The Problem of Media Habits.” Dr. LaRose conducts research on the uses and effects of the internet and has published and presented numerous articles, essays and book chapters on computer-mediated communication, social cognitive explanations of the internet and its effects on behavior, understanding internet usage, privacy and more. In addition to his teaching and research, he is an avid watercolor painter and traveler.

Dr. Lucinda D. Davenport was recently inducted into the state of Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame. She has been recognized as an Outstanding Woman in Journalism and Mass Communication Education from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) and MSU’s top Robert F. Banks Award for Institutional Leadership. Her credentials include national, state and university excellence in teaching awards, DEI and community engagement grants, national research awards and an alumna award from Ohio University. After 10 years she stepped aside as MSU’s Director of the School of Journalism, a nationally accredited program since 1949. She previously served as Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, among other administrative positions. Her work focuses mainly on news media and innovative technology, media history, journalistic ethics and DEI. Dr. Davenport has professional experience in newspaper, radio, television, public relations and digital news, and she is known to be an innovator with digital news and journalism education. She earned her Ph.D. in mass communication from Ohio University, an MA in journalism from the University of Iowa and a BA double major in journalism and Radio/TV/Film from Baylor University. Her master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation were firsts in the country on computerized information services and online news.