Dr. Allissa V. Richardson

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EDUCATION

PhD, JOURNALISM STUDIES
University of Maryland
College Park, MD
2014-2017

MS, JOURNALISM
Northwestern University
Medill School of Journalism Evanston, IL
2003-2004

BS, BIOLOGY
Xavier University of Louisiana
New Orleans, LA
1998-2002

SCHOLARLY EXPERTISE

Black digital activism
Mobile journalism
Networked counterpublics
Racial framing in the news
Sousveillance culture

academic employment

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA \ 2017—present
Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Assistant Professor of Journalism

BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY \ 2012-2017
Adjunct Instructor of Emerging Media (2012)
Promoted to Full-time Lecturer of Communication (2013)

MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY \ 2006-2012
Adjunct Instructor of Journalism (2006)
Promoted to Assistant Professor of Journalism (2007)
Promoted to Journalism Coordinator (2010)

MEDIA EMPLOYMENT

VR SCOUT \ 2019
Curriculum Developer
Designed e-courses and video production workshops for Facebook, YouTube and Google as a third-party consultant.

MOJO MEDIAWORKS \ 2011-2015
Mobile Journalism Consultant
Designed mobile journalism workshops for The Washington Post, GlobalGirl Media, Black Girls Code, and the U.S. Embassies for Morocco and South Africa.

PBS \ 2011-2012
Curriculum Developer
Designed the K-12 mobile journalism educational materials for the 2012 documentary, Slavery by Another Name.

O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE \ 2005-2007
Freelance Health Reporter (New York, NY)

SELF MAGAZINE \ 2005-2007
Freelance Health Correspondent (New York, NY)

CYSTIC FIBROSIS FOUNDATION \ 2005-2006
Medical Writer (Bethesda, MD)

FOOD CHEMICAL NEWS \ 2004-2005
Assistant Editor of Food Policy (Washington, DC)

JET MAGAZINE \ 2003-2004
Assistant Editor (Chicago, IL)

PUBLICATIONs

BOOKS

Richardson, Allissa V. 2022. Black News Myths: Super-predators, Welfare Queens and the Crack Babies that Never Were. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. (Proposal in preparation).

Richardson, Allissa V. 2021. Canceled: How Smartphones & Social Media Democratized Public Shaming. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. (Proposal submitted).

Richardson, Allissa V. 2020. Bearing Witness While Black: Smartphones, African Americans and the New Protest #Journalism. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

REFEREED JOURNAL ARTICLES IN PRINT

Richardson, Allissa V. 2020. The coming archival crisis: How ephemeral video disappears protest journalism and threatens newsreels of tomorrow. Digital Journalism 8(10): 1338-1346. DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2020.1841568.

Richardson, Allissa V. 2020. The “good” news?: How the Gospel of anti-respectability is shaping Black millennial Christian journalism. Fire!!!: The Multimedia Journal of Black Studies, 6(1), 67-97. Selected for Special Issue—Theorizing the Digital Black Church. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5323/48581554.

Richardson, Allissa V. 2020. Endless mode: Exploring the procedural rhetoric of a Black Lives Matter-themed newsgame. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. Selected for Special Issue—Playful approaches to news engagement. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856520918072.

Richardson, Allissa V. 2019. Dismantling respectability: The rise of new womanist communication models in the era of Black Lives Matter. Journal of Communication. https:// doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqz005.

Richardson, Allissa V. 2016. Bearing witness while black: Theorizing African American mobile journalism after Ferguson. Digital Journalism 5(6): 673-698. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/21670811.2016.1193818. (Nominated for the 2018 Bob Franklin Journalism Article of the Year Award).

Richardson, Allissa V. 2016. The Platform: How Pullman porters used railways to engage in networked journalism after the Great War. Journalism Studies 17(4): 398-414. Selected for Special Issue—Writing the First World War after 1918. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/1461670X.2015.1110498.

REFEREED JOURNAL ARTICLES IN PEER REVIEW

Richardson, Allissa V. 2020. Black bodies at risk: Exploring the embodied protest journalism of the anti-police brutality movement. Journalism—Invited to join Special Issue: UGC and News Epistemologies of Conflict Reporting (In peer review).

Richardson, Allissa V. 2020. When video vanishes: How ephemeral social media platforms disappear protest journalism. Items—Insights from the Social Sciences: SSRC.

REFEREED JOURNAL ARTICLES + ESSAYS IN PROGRESS

Williams Fayne, Miya and Richardson, Allissa V. 2021. Code switch: How Black digital news sites talk to their audiences. Digital Journalism.

Richardson, Allissa V. and Williams Fayne, Miya. 2021. How Black digital news outlets combat racialized, COVID 19-related misinformation. Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review.

Richardson, Allissa V. 2021. Pamphlets, paintings and protest TV: Exploring the affordances of Instagram as a site for movement journalism. Information, Communication and Society.

Richardson, Allissa V., Chang, Ho-Chun H., and Ferraro, Emilio. 2021. #JusticeforGeorgeFloyd: Mapping the viral success of Instagram’s ‘Blackout Tuesday’ protests. New Media & Society.

Richardson, Allissa V. 2021. Freedom fighter filters: Exploring the visual culture of NAACP and Black Lives Matter on Instagram. Social Media & Society.

BOOK CHAPTERS

Richardson, Allissa V. 2019. Black Lives Matter and the rise of womanist news narratives. In Carter, Cynthia, Linda Steiner and Stuart Allan (Eds.), Journalism, Gender and Power, pp. 221-235. New York, NY: Routledge.

Richardson, Allissa V. 2018. The Movement and its mobile journalism: A phenomenology of Black Lives Matter journalist-activists, pp. 387-400. In Eldridge, Scott A. & Bob Franklin (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Developments in Digital Journalism Studies. New York, NY: Routledge.

BOOK REVIEWS

Richardson, Allissa V. 2018. The Poitier effect: Racial melodrama and fantasies of reconciliation, by Sharon Willis. The Black Scholar 48(1): 78-80. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/00064246.2018.1402261.

Richardson, Allissa V. 2017. The myth of post-racialism in television news, by Libby Lewis. The Black Scholar 47(3): 85-87. https://doi.org/10.1080/00064246.2017.1330617.

Richardson, Allissa V. 2016. Writing well in the 21st century: The five essentials, by Linda Spencer and Please forward: How blogging reconnected New Orleans after Katrina, by Cynthia Joyce. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator 71(3): 382-384. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/1077695816643466.

SELECTED WORKS OF JOURNALISM

Richardson, Allissa V. “It wasn’t a gun: A material archive of police violence.” The Atlantic. 2020, Nov. 13. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/12/amber-n-ford-mistaken-identity/616927/.  

Richardson, Allissa V. “When video vanishes: How ephemeral social media platforms disappear protest journalism.” Items: Insights from the Social Sciences. Brooklyn, NY: Social Science Research Council. https://items.ssrc.org/covid-19-and-the-social-sciences/mediated-crisis/when-video-vanishes-how-ephemeral-social-media-platforms-disappear-protest-journalism/. 

Richardson, Allissa V. “In California, a history of young, powerful voices in journalism emerge.” PBS/KCET. 2020, Nov. 12. https://www.kcet.org/shows/city-rising/in-california-a-history-of-young-powerful-voices-in-journalism-emerge. 

Richardson, Allissa V. “The problem with police-shooting videos.” The Atlantic. 2020, August 30. https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/08/the-problem-with-police-shooting-videos-jacob-blake/615880/.

Richardson, Allissa V. “Smartphone witnessing becomes synonymous with Black patriotism after George Floyd’s death.” The Conversation. 2020, July 13. https://theconversation.com/smartphone-witnessing-becomes-synonymous-with-black-patriotism-after-george-floyds-death-142153. 

Richardson, Allissa V. “Why cellphone videos of black people’s deaths should be considered sacred, like lynching photographs.” The Conversation. 2020, May 28. https://theconversation.com/why-cellphone-videos-of-black-peoples-deaths-should-be-considered-sacred-like-lynching-photographs-139252. (Translated into French, The Conversation France, June 4.)

Richardson, Allissa V. “#SayHerName.” Teaching Media Quarterly 4, no. 1. 2016. http://bit.ly/22poEre. 

Richardson, Allissa V. “Mobile journalism goes virtual.” NiemanLab: 2016 Predictions for Journalism. 2015. https://www.niemanlab.org/2015/12/mobile-journalism-goes-virtual/. 

Richardson, Allissa V. “Mobile journalism: A model for the future.” Diverse Issues in Higher Ed. 2012. https://diverseeducation.com/article/17180/. 

Hosten, Allissa V. “Farewell and Thank You to John H. Johnson.” Freedom Forum. 2005. https://bit.ly/3k7tY2D. 

Hosten, Allissa V. 2004. From street poetry to straight politics: Hip-hop’s growing influence on social issues. JET 53. May 3.

LESSON PLANS

Richardson, Allissa V. 2016. #SayHerName: A lesson plan. Teaching Media Quarterly 4 (1): 1-6. http://bit.ly/22poEre.

CREATIVE WORKS

DOCUSERIES

Glass, Alton; Davis-McGee, Adam; McCoy, Paris; and Richardson, Allissa V. (Co-executive producers). 2020-2021. In Protest: Grassroots Stories from the Frontlines. Virtual reality limited docuseries. USA: Facebook Watch/Oculus TV. (In production).

s1:e1—Minneapolis & St. Paul, “First Response”
s1:e2—Minneapolis & St. Paul, “Art of the Movement”
s1:e3—Minneapolis & St. Paul, “Comfort for the Culture”
s2:e1—Washington, DC, “Weaponizing the Vote”

THESIS + DISSERTATION ADVISING

Thesis Committee Member for Vargas, Steven. 2021. “Dance as Protest.” University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Provided guidance for the introductory chapter, to help the student situate his cutting-edge work into the historic legacy of dance journalism.

External Dissertation Committee Member for Hill, Chyna. 2020. “The Algorithm of Black Homelessness.” University of Southern California, Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. Provided guidance for the literature review chapter, to help the student explore how the root causes of Black homelessness have been reported in the news historically.

Thesis Committee Member for Lawrence, Adrienne. 2020. “Photojournalism as an Emancipatory Tool for Sexual Assault Survivors.” University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
Provided guidance for the methodology chapter, to help the student explore how the qualitative method of photovoice is used for community-based participatory action research.

ACADEMIC CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

“Die-ins, masks and memes: Exploring the iconography of modern black activism.” National Communication Association Conference. Baltimore, MD. November 14-17, 2019.

“Fighting to be remembered: Centering black feminist activism in the networked counterpublic.” International Communication Association Conference. Washington, DC. May 24-28, 2019.

“The Movement and its mobile journalism: A phenomenology of Black Lives Matter journalist- activists.” International Communication Association Conference. Prague, Czech Republic. May 24-28, 2018.

“Following Freddie Gray: Teaching Mobile Mapping of Complex News Stories.” AEJMC. Minneapolis, MN. August 6, 2016.

“How the Extreme Right News Media Talk about #BlackLivesMatter.” European Association of Social Anthropologists. Milan, Italy. July 20-23, 2016.

“The Mobile Journalist as Activist.” Keynote address: Georges Conference for Student Journalists. Harvard University. Cambridge, MA. April 5, 2014. Keynote speaker.

“Social Journalism Rising.” Keynote address: Social Media & Pedagogy Conference. Bowie State University. Bowie, MD. September 27, 2013. Keynote speaker.

“The Future of Mobile Learning.” Keynote address: Technology and Strategy for Teaching Excellence Conference. Frostburg State University. Frostburg, MD. May 21, 2013.

“How Youth Use Mobile Devices to Reimagine Democracy.” International Symposium of Online Journalism. University of Texas-Austin. Austin, Texas. April 19, 2013.

“Teaching Civic Engagement through Mobile Journalism.” MacArthur Foundation’s Digital Media & Learning Conference. Chicago, IL. March 16, 2013.

“The Top Apps for Mobile Journalism.” Journalism Interactive Conference. Gainesville, FL. February 8, 2013.

“The Top Five Skills 21st Century Learners Need.” Online EDUCA Conference. Berlin, Germany. November 29, 2012.

INVITED TALKS + WORKSHOPS

“Can I Get a Witness? The Pulpit, the Press and the Enduring Legacy of Black Protest.” Wesley Theological Seminary. Washington, DC. Held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic. Feb. 18, 2021. (Keynote Lecture).

“Shelf Life: Meet the Author Series at the Virginia Festival of the Book.” Virginia Humanities Council (VHC). Charlottesville, VA. Held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic. Dec. 10, 2020. (In Dialogue with VHC).

“Bearing Witness While Black: Notes on Smartphones and Social Justice.” Northwestern University. Evanston, IL. Held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic. Nov. 23, 2020. (Lecture).

“A Discussion on Public Assembly, Surveillance, Human Rights, Racial Justice, Data Privacy and Big Tech.” Berkman Klein Center Festival of Ideas—Harvard University. Cambridge, IL. Held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic. Nov. 20, 2020. (Panelist).

“Smartphones, Social Justice and the Fight to Own the Narrative.” WGBH Radio. Boston, MA. Held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic. Nov. 10, 2020. (Lecture).

“Bearing Witness While Black: How Mobile Journalism Empowers the Marginalized.” Asian College of Journalism. Chennai, India. Held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic. Nov. 11, 2020. (Lecture).

“Visions and Voices Presents: An Evening with Chuck D.” University of Southern California. Los Angeles, CA. Held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic. Nov. 5, 2020. (In Dialogue with Hip-hop artist Chuck D, of Public Enemy).

“Notes from the Field: What I’ve Learned from a Decade of Teaching Mobile Journalism.” Washington and Lee University. Lexington, VA. Held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic. Oct. 22, 2020. (Lecture).

“Bearing Witness While Black: Notes on Framing Justice.” Whittier College. Whittier, CA. Held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic. Oct. 15, 2020. (Lecture).

“Bearing Witness While Black: Notes on Journalism, Social Justice, and the Preservation of American History.” John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Chicago, IL. Held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic. Oct. 14, 2020. (Lecture).

“When Women Bear Witness: The Future of Protest is Female.” The Trusteeship. Pasadena, CA. Held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic. Sept. 9, 2020. (In Dialogue with Dean Willow Bay of the Annenberg School).

“The Modern Racial Justice Movement: Velocity, Coverage & Impact.” The RAND Corporation. Santa Monica, CA. Held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic. August 28, 2020. (Panelist).

“NABJ Author Showcase.” National Association of Black Journalists—National Association of Hispanic Journalists Joint Conference. Washington, DC. Held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic. August 5, 2020. (In Dialogue with NBC’s Trymaine Lee).

“Theorizing the Web Presents: Surveillance of Black Lives.” Museum of the Moving Image. Queens, NY. Held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic. July 16, 2020. (Panelist).

“LA Protest: Past and Present.” The Norman Lear Center, Los Angeles, CA. Held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic. July 7, 2020. (Panelist).

“Bearing Witness While Black: Technology, Race and Documenting the Movement for Black Lives.” Brooklyn Historical Society. Brooklyn, NY. Held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic. June 25, 2020. (In Dialogue with Duke University’s Dr. Mark Anthony Neal).

“Bearing Witness While Black: African Americans, Smartphones and the New Protest #Journalism.” SnapChat Offsite Annual Retreat. Los Angeles, CA. February 6, 2020. (Guest Lecturer + Panelist with Dean Willow Bay).

“Remembering Kobe Bryant as a Storyteller and an Activist.” Spring 2020 All-Faculty & Staff Meeting. Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. Los Angeles, CA. Jan. 27, 2020. (Guest Lecturer)

“Safety in Numbers: The Role of Data Journalism in the Movement for Black Lives.” Datafication and Community Activism Conference. Irvine, CA. March 8, 2019. (Panelist).

“Does My Camera Report the Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth?” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Civilian Oversight Commission. Los Angeles, CA. Oct., 15, 2018. (Panelist).

“Transitioning from the Newsroom to the Classroom.” NAHJ/Excellence in Journalism Conference. Anaheim, CA. September 8, 2017. (Panelist).

“Teaching Mobile-First Journalism.” Mobile Me & You: A Mobile-First Conference. Lincoln, NE. October 28, 2015. (Workshop Facilitator).

“Best Practices in Teaching Mobile Journalism.” Broadcast Educators Association. Las Vegas, NV. April 18, 2015. (Panelist).

“Using iOS Devices to Teach Journalism.” Apple Distinguished Educator Showcase. Apple, Inc. Austin, TX. November 19, 2014. (Workshop Facilitator).

“Mobile Journalism Must-Haves: How to Build Out Your Equipment Rig.” National Association of Black Journalists Annual Conference. Orlando, FL. July 31, 2013. (Workshop Facilitator).

“iUnderstand: How to Design Alternative Assessments using Mobile Devices.” International Society of Technology Educators. San Antonio, Texas. June 23, 2013. (Workshop Facilitator).

“How to Create High-Quality Content for Mobile Devices.” Blog-a-TECH Summit. Microsoft Innovation Center. Washington, DC. April 18, 2013. (Guest Lecturer).

“The Top Five Myths About Millennials.” Ignite! Baltimore, MD. May 26, 2011. (Guest Lecturer).

“Creating a Live Multimedia Blog.” National Association of Black Journalists Annual Conference. San Diego, CA. July 29, 2010. (Workshop Facilitator).

AWARDS + HONORS

2020—Berkman Klein Center for Internet + Society Fellowship - Harvard Law School
2020—Tow Center for Digital Journalism Fellowship - Columbia Journalism School
2020—NewsPro Top 10 U.S. Journalism Educator - Crain Communications
2019—Africana Digital Humanities Institute Fellowship - Univ. of Arizona
2016—Spencer Award for Excellence in Graduate Achievement - Univ. of Maryland
2016—Global Apple Distinguished Educator - Apple, Inc.
2014—Nieman Foundation Journalism Fellowship - Harvard University
2014—Named “Top 40 Under 40” Alumna - Xavier University of Louisiana
2013—Baltimore Proclamation of Excellence - County Executive’s Office
2013—Outstanding Junior Faculty Award - Bowie State University
2013—Apple Distinguished Educator - Apple, Inc.
2012—Journalism Educator of the Year - National Association of Black Journalists
2012—Top 100 Women in Digital - Digital Sisterhood Network
2007—Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching - Morgan State University
2003—Weinstein-Luby Outstanding Young Journalist - Medill School of Journalism
2002—Freedom Forum Chips Quinn Scholar - Gannett Company

FUNDED RESEARCH

2020—Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University - COVID-19 Study - $10,000
2016—Bowie State Univ. - Academic Transformation Grant Course Redesign - $6,000
2014—Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - Building College MOOCs - $10,000
2010—J-Lab/Knight Foundation - New Voices Citizen Journalism Project - $25,000

PRESS COVERAGE

Fox, Meghan. 2020. Micro talks/Macro ideas: Photography in 2020. Center for Creative Photography. Nov. 18.

Tameez, Hanaa’. 2020. Allissa Richardson thinks it’s time to shatter some myths about citizen journalism. NiemanLab. Sept. 28.

Cyprien, Donethe. 2020. Mental health & journalism, Part 4: A conversation with Dr. Allissa Richardson. IJ Net. Sept. 10.

Henderson, Stephen. 2020. The case against sharing videos of Black people being brutalized. NPR/WDET. Sept. 3.

Corbyn, Zoe. 2020. “Allissa Richardson: ‘It’s telling that we’re OK with showing Black people dying.’” The Guardian. August 16.

Kissell, Ted. 2020. “Bearing witness: Telling powerful stories of trauma, loss and injustice can drive social change.” USC Annenberg Magazine, pp. 16-23. July 19.

Young, Josh. 2020. “Talking about the challenges faced by Black journalists with Allissa V. Richardson.” Columbia Journalism Review. July 8.

Young, Josh. 2020. “Allissa Richardson on protests, police violence and journalism.” Columbia Journalism Review. June 11.

Chacon, Jr., Pablo. 2020. “‘Black witnessing’ and protest journalism with author and USC professor Dr. Allissa V. Richardson.” KTLA 5/CW. June 8.

Coddington, Mark and Lewis, Seth. 2020. “Cellphone videos of black people dying should be viewed with as much gravity as lynching photographs.” Nieman Lab. June 6.

Hedenskoog, Michelle. 2016. “Chips Quinn 25th Anniversary Tribute: Allissa V. Richardson.” Newseum Institute. March 29.

Staff writers. 2014. “Award-winning Bowie State Professor Named Visiting Fellow at Harvard.” The Baltimore Times. March 28.

Weiss, Jessica. 2014. “Seven Tips for Budding Mobile Journalists.” MediaShift. December 9.

Martinez, Janel. 2013. “Black Girls Code and MOJO MediaWorks Host SXSW Workshop to Teach Girls to Code, Create Mobile Media.” Black Enterprise Magazine. March 14.

Staff writers. 2013. “A Bowie State University Professor is Named a 2013 Apple Distinguished Educator.” BET. July 2.

Taylor, Danyell. 2012. “Leader of the New School: Richardson is an Academic Power in Mobile Journalism.” NABJ Journal: Official Publication of the National Association of Black Journalists. Summer, vol. 10.

Turner, Aprill. 2012. “NABJ Honors Morgan State University’s Allissa Richardson as Journalism Educator of the Year.” NABJ Daily. April 11.

Dyson, Michael Eric. 2011. “The Rise of Mobile Journalism.” The Michael Eric Dyson Show. National Public Radio: WEAA 88.9 FM. April 13.

Kast, Sheilah. 2010. “Morgan State finds its MOJO.” National Public Radio: WYPR 88.1 FM. June 23.

QUOTED IN THE NEWS

Gregg, Cherri. 2020. “The trauma of bearing witness while black.” KYW Newsradio. Nov. 23.

Sottile, Leah. 2020. “The first responders.” Columbia Journalism Review. Nov. 18.

Wiener, John. 2020. “Black cellphone videos and protest journalism: Allissa Richardson.” Start Making Sense Podcast—The Nation. Oct. 14.

Gerson, J. 2020. Instagram’s positive effects on mental health, explained by experts. Bustle. Oct. 6.

Blake, J. 2020. The election scenario that should frighten everyone—especially Black America. CNN. Sept. 26.

Edmonson, J. 2020. The power of Black witnessing in the digital age. Dow Jones News Fund. Sept. 25.

Martinez, A. 2020. Bearing witness. Take Two. Sept. 11.

Vega, Tanzina. 2020. Demands for justice continue in Louisville, more than five months after the killing of Breonna Taylor. NPR/The Takeaway. Aug. 25.

Palmer, Ewan. 2020. Why people are refusing to share the Kenosha police shooting video. Newsweek. Aug 24.

Alexander, Jed. 2020. What Does Protest Mean to Someone in this Moment? PRX. Aug. 13.

Meadows-Fernandez, A. Rochaun. 2020. “There is nowhere to hide from trauma when you’re a Black person on the Internet.” Fast Company. July 31.

Rosenblatt, Kalhan. 2020. “From the renegade to Black Lives Matter: How Black creators are changing TikTok culture.” NBCNews.com. July 28.

Douglas, Deborah. 2020. Meet the new Black Press. Nieman Reports. July 14.

Smith, Carl. 2020. When the disenfranchised use counter-narratives for justice. Governing. July 9.

Goldstein, Steve, 2020. “Bearing Witness While Black': Police violence videos part of a history of civil rights journalism.” NPR/KJZZ. July 8.

Kansara, Reha. 2020. “Black Lives Matter: Can viral videos stop police brutality?” BBC. July 6.

Andrews, Travis. 2020. “The debate around Breonna Taylor memes: Do they bring attention to the cause or trivialize her death?” Washington Post. July 3.

Wang, Candice. 2020. Resharing videos of violence against Black people can spark trauma. Popular Science. July 3.

Brown, Mimi. 2020. “Culture Conversations: What is Black Witnessing?” Fox News. June 30.

Mosley, Tonya. 2020. “How technology plays a role in advancing Civil Rights for Black Americans.” NPR/National Desk: Here and Now. June 28.

Watercutter, Angela. 2020. “Doomscrolling is slowly eroding your mental health.” Wired. June 25.

Brown, Marc. 2020. “Black Witnessing: Moment or Movement?” ABC 7 News. June 24.

Lee, Nicole. 2020. Social media’s recent embrace of BlackLivesMatter was a long time coming. Engadget. June 24.

Smith, Carl. 2020. “Smartphone journalists accelerate push for social justice.” Governing. June 23.

Rosenblatt, Kalhan. 2020. “Twitter memeified justice for Breonna Taylor. But can a joke make change?” NBCNews.com. June 19.

Angrum, Kay. 2020. Here’s What It Means To Be A Smartphone Witness. NBCNews.com. June 17.

Brown, Marc. 2020. “From protests to progress: A conversation on the future of race, justice and social equity in SoCal.” ABC 7 News. June 16.

Stern, Joanna. 2020. “They used smartphone cameras to record police brutality—and change history.” Wall Street Journal. June 13.

Pinon, Natasha. 2020. “How to be an effective ally online, at protests, and moving forward.” Mashable. June 13.

Sreenivasan, Sree. 2020. “Bearing witness while Black with Prof. Allissa Richardson.” Sree’s Global Show. June 12.

Schwab, Kat. 2020. “Doomscrolling can break your brain; it can also be a force for good.” Fast Company. June 12.

Morrison, Sara. 2020. Questions to ask yourself before sharing images of police brutality. Vox. June 11.

Hao, Karen. 2020. “How to turn filming the police into the end of police brutality.” MIT Technology Review. June 10.

Leon, Felice. 2020. “The Good, the bad and the traumatic: Reevaluating the role of sharing Black Death on social media.” The Root. June 8.

Johnson, Joshua. 2020. “America in Crisis.” MSNBC. June 6.

Fatah, Natasha. 2020. “George Floyd: Why videos like these need thoughtful treatment.” CBC. June 6.

Tuck, James. 2020. Morning Edition. CBS News Radio. June 5.

Marszal, Andrew. 2020. “Memory of Rodney King riots looms over LA protests.” Agence France-Press. June 3.

Wick, Julia, Cosgrove, Jaclyn, La Ganga, Maria, Kohli, Sonali, and Castillo, Andrea. 2020. “Voices from the protests: ‘People of all races out risking their lives to march.’” Los Angeles Times. June 2.

Abdi, Mona Kosar. 2020. “Citizen journalism on the frontlines.” ABC World News Now. June 2.

Cheatam, Kristen. 2020. “Protesters use digital activism to amplify voices of marginalized groups during fight for justice.” WSPA-TV/CBS News. June 1.

Lopez, Lolita. 2020. “Protesters Call for Economic Boycott.” NBC 4. May 30.

Brand, Madeleine. 2020. “How video evidence can work for and against African Americans facing police violence.” NPR/KCRW. May 29.

Ibrahim, Fauziah and Robinson, Kathryn. 2020. What is Black witnessing?. ABC Australia. May 29.

USC Annenberg Radio News. 2020. “Dornsife reacts to USC’s Cultural Values Poll, new study shows how vaping affects human genome and why we need minority voices in journalism.” From Where We Are. Feb. 13.

Stauffer, Rainesford. 2019. “Social Media Transformed Teens’ Ability to Build Activist Movements Online.” Teen Vogue. Dec. 19.

Myrow, Rachel. “10 Years Later: Oscar Grant, Black Lives Matter and Police Accountability.” NPR/KQED. Dec. 28, 2018.

Roberts, Jasmine. “#BlackStudentsMatter: Why Digital Activism is a Voice for Black Students.” EdSurge. Aug. 23, 2018.

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

International Communication Association (ICA) \ 2017 - present
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)  \ 2017 - present
National Communication Association (NCA) \ 2018 - 2019
National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) \ 2002 - present

ACADEMIC WORKING GROUPS

Affiliated Researcher, Center for Critical Race + Digital Studies at NYU \ 2019 - present
Member, Activism and Social Justice Division of NCA \ 2019
Member, African American Communication & Culture Division of NCA \ 2019
Member, Activism, Communication and Social Justice Interest Group of ICA \ 2017 - present
Member, Journalism Studies Interest Group of ICA \ 2017 - present
Member, Digital Journalism Task Force of NABJ \ 2012 - present

PROFESSIONAL + COMMUNITY SERVICE

SERVICE TO THE UNIVERSITY

2020

Host, Visions & Voices Presents: An Evening with Chuck D
Panelist, USC Black Alumni Association Presents: How will the 2020 election shape legal and social constructs?
Panelist, USC University Club Presents: Real Talk on Racism: Lessons from USC Faculty on the Frontlines
Host, USC’s Juneteenth Instagram Live Takeover
Co-host, USC’s Official Facebook Live, Discussions on Race, Media and the Law

2019

Speaker, President Carol L. Folt's Inauguration Week, Faculty Symposium

2018

Faculty Marshal, University Commencement

SERVICE TO THE ANNENBERG school

2020

Panelist, Annenberg HBCU “Building Bridges” Recruitment Fair
Member, Masters in Specialized Journalism Curriculum Committee
Member, Annenberg Black Faculty Committee
Member, Cross-Annenberg Curriculum Committee
Moderator, One Woman, No Vote: 100th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage
Facilitator, Annenberg Innovation Lab Fellowship Self-Care Series
Member, Committee to Select Los Angeles Times interns for COVID-19 project
Instructor, Microsoft Master Class Executive Education Series

2019

Instructor, Annenberg Summer Doctoral Institute on Difference in Media & Culture
Instructor, National Football League Executive Education Workshop
Member, Journalism School Committee for Appointments, Promotions and Tenure
Reader, Ph.D. Admissions Essays

2018

Facilitator, Fall 2018 Annenberg High School Day Mobile Journalism Workshop
Judge, Jim Murray Memorial Foundation Scholarship
Facilitator, National Football League Executive Education Workshop
Member, Graduate Curriculum Committee
Mentor, Annenberg Student Resources & Mentoring Team
Member, Faculty Merit Review Committee

2017

Member, Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
Facilitator, Fall 2017 Annenberg High School Day Mobile Journalism Workshop
Speaker, Freshman Welcome Ceremony

SERVICE TO THE PROFESSION

2021

Editorial Board Member, Journalism Practice
Editorial Board Member, International Journal of Communication
Editorial Board Member, Digital Journalism

2020

Journal Article Reviewer, Journal of Communication
Editorial Board Member, International Journal of Communication
Editorial Board Member, Digital Journalism
Judge, Protester Privacy Debate Competition, Claremont McKenna College
Judge, Democracy 2020 Youth Film Challenge, Justice Aid & Civic Life Project

2019

Journal Article Reviewer, Digital Journalism
Session Reviewer, Activism & Social Justice Division, International Communication Assn.
Session Reviewer, Journalism Studies Division, International Communication Assn.
Judge, American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) National Magazine Awards

2018

Journal Article Reviewer, Journalism and Mass Communication Educator
Journal Article Reviewer, Women Studies in Communication
Book Proposal Reviewer, SAGE College Publishing

SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

2020

Board Member, “Data 4 Black Lives.” Invited to provide guidance about data journalism education programs for the newly incorporated national organization.

2019

Pro Bono Consultant, “The Liberator Book Project.” Providing editorial direction for Ms. Arianne Edmonds, curator of the California African American Museum’s Liberator exhibit, to convert her material museum experience into a nonfiction book for Oxford University Press.

2017

Mentor, Maryland HBCUs. Providing graduate school application and matriculation support for aspiring Trojans who attend Bowie State University and Morgan State University—the flagship Historically Black Colleges and Universities where I began my career in higher education.

2016

Mobile Media Editor, “#NewsroomU.” Sponsored by The George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs. Washington, DC. May 2016. https://vimeo.com/ 166260678.

2014

MOOC Instructor, “The Mobile Journalism Workflow.” Sponsored by the Knight Center for the Americas and the University of Texas-Austin. July-August.

2014

Facilitator, “Mobile Journalism 101: A Three-Part Workshop.” Sponsored by The Washington Post Newspaper in Education Program’s “Second Saturdays” Series: October 12, 2013; November 9, 2013; January 11, 2014.

2013

Facilitator, “Screenplay: A Weekend iPod Film School and Web Coding Camp for Girls.” South by Southwest Interactive. Austin, Texas. 9 March 2013.