Frank Waddell

University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Journalism Assistant Professor Frank Waddell’s article “When MSNBC or Fox News airs in public places, how do people react?” was published in The Conversation on Sept. 11. The article addresses news consumers’ perception of the influence of news outlets playing in public on…

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Posted: September 11, 2018

News organizations are starting to experiment with automated content. Research suggests readers perceive news written by algorithms as less credible than if it’s written by a human. However, this perception can be reduced by exposure to robots in popular culture. That’s the finding of two studies examining the impact of…

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Posted: June 26, 2018

Frank Waddell, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Journalism assistant professor is the recipient of the UF Excellence Award for Assistant Professors. Waddell was chosen for the quality and innovativeness of his research on media effects and new communication technology. The award includes a one-time allocation of $5,000…

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Posted: May 3, 2018

Research & Insights

How to Counter Violence in Media

The portrayal of violence in media has been a subject of widespread debate, argument and study. Some research suggests that viewing violence in media that “sanitize, justify or trivialize violent acts” might normalize it and make it more enjoyable. Less well-known are techniques to reduce the possible effects of viewing…

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Posted: November 28, 2017

Frank Waddell, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Journalism assistant professor, has received one of five 2016 Distinguished Reviewer Awards from the Journal of Media Psychology (JMP). The JMP is committed to publishing original, high-quality papers which cover the broad range of media psychological research. This peer-reviewed journal…

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Posted: July 27, 2017

by Frank Waddell After the proliferation of fake news during the 2016 election cycle, the journalism field has come to a grim realization: Accuracy is no longer necessary for news to reach a broad audience. This is particularly problematic on social media, where traditional journalistic functions such as gatekeeping aren’t…

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Posted: June 29, 2017

Frank Waddell, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Journalism assistant professor, was one of two recipients of UF’s Outstanding Service by a Faculty Member on behalf of Graduate Students Award from the Graduate Student Council (GSC). This testimonial from Waddell’s research assistant, who graduated with an M.A. in…

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Posted: April 27, 2017

University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Journalism Assistant Professor Frank Waddell participated in Experts Roundtable: The Future of Journalism in Trump’s America published in The Conversation on Nov. 29. Waddell focused on navigating the fake news landscape. He suggested that news outlets can educate the public in media…

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Posted: December 5, 2016

Thomas “Frank” Waddell, a predoctoral fellow in the College of Communications at Pennsylvania State University, will join the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications in Fall 2016 as an assistant professor in the Journalism Department. Waddell will graduate from Penn State in May 2016 with a Ph.D. in…

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Posted: December 14, 2015