People

Center Director

Hernando Rojas – Helen Firstbrook Franklin Chair, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison. His scholarship focuses on political communication, examining: (a) the deployment of new communication technologies for social mobilization; (b) the influence of audience perceptions of media (and audience perceptions of media effects) on both public opinion and the structure of the public sphere; and (c) the conditions under which media support democratic governance.

CCD Fellows

Jiwon Kang – Ph.D. Candidate, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focuses on the relationship between media and “life-style politics”, particularly in the context of consumption politics. In her research, she delves into the underlying mechanisms of the influence of media on individuals’ decisions to engage in boycotts and “buycotts.”

 

Jisoo Kim (MA, Seoul National University) – Ph.D. Candidate, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research explores how media and the information ecology influence social democracy and civic culture, with particular attention to political polarization, politicization, and how perceptions shape public opinion.

 

 

Gaofei Li – Ph.D. Candidate, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research is centered on the pivotal role of multimodal media in shaping public opinion, with a specific focus on the context of intergroup relations and health communication. She employs a unique blend of traditional qualitative methods and computational techniques to uncover insights of media driving societal change.

 

Heysung Lee – Ph.D. Candidate, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her political communication research includes three major lines of inquiry: (a) information-seeking behaviors in mediated communication and political attitudes; (b) polarization, news use, and perceptions of media and public opinion; and (c) cross-cultural variations in media consumption and democratic engagement.

 

Mengyu Li – Ph.D. student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at University of Wisconsin–Madison. Using computational and experimental methods, she studies the impact of social media in shaping (mis)perceptions and actions in the realms of gender politics and public health.

 

 

Xining Liao – Ph.D. Candidate, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research examines media effects and effective persuasion strategies in intergroup settings, with an emphasis on the role of morality, as a trait or message feature. Her dissertation investigates how moral and threatening language in U.S. news coverage of China relates to American public opinion toward China.

 

Macau K. F. Mak – Ph.D. Candidate, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research interests include political communication, new media, and media effects. Specifically, he studies how new media use and affordances relate to people’s political attitudes and participation. X: @makkafaimacau

 

 

Diego Armando Mazorra Correa – Ph.D. student, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Interested in Political communication, protest, and polarization from a comparative perspective. Master’s in communications from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. Actively contributes to the Research Group on Political Communication (CICP) at Universidad Externado de Colombia.

 

Xiaomei Sun – Ph.D. Candidate, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Inspired by her academic training in communications, sociology, and journalism in Japan and the United States, her research on communication and democracy develops three lines of inquiry focusing on political behaviors online, collective action, and journalism.

 

Elohim Monard – Ph.D. Student, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Monard’s research is focused on the intersections between (mis/dis)information, technology, and democracy. More extensively, he is interested in how communication builds social integration, trust, and legitimacy.

 

Emeriti

Lewis A. Friedland – Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Friedland’s scholarship focused on civil society and public life, civic and citizen journalism, and communication and society. Founder and director of Center for Communication and Democracy until his retirement in 2021.