Marie K. Shanahan

Associate Professor of Journalism

United States of America

Marie K. Shanahan is an associate professor of journalism at the University of Connecticut. She worked for 17 years as a reporter, online producer and digital news editor before joining the faculty at UConn.

Shanahan's academic research explores digital discourse, anonymous online speech, online reputation, and the future of journalism. She teaches digital newsgathering, multimedia storytelling and online ethics. Admittedly, she spends way too much time on social media.

email: [email protected]

Portfolio
Hartford Courant
02/20/2018
What Aren't People Getting From The Media? Civil Conversations

A traditional function of the press in society is to foster discussion and debate on issues of public concern. One of journalism's democratic responsibilities is to provide forums for public criticism and compromise. That obligation hasn't disappeared in the digital age. It's become even more important. But digital discourse needs a course correction.

Routledge
09/19/2017
Journalism, Online Comments and the Future of Public Discourse

Marie K. Shanahan's first academic book explains online comments as the digital iteration of “conversation, examining how journalism’s challenge to be a conversation rather than a lecture in the digital age is bedeviled by technical design defects and the obstacles of participatory online culture. Journalists who want to understand why people say the things they do in comment sections and on social media will find answers in this book. Digital discourse is complicated, and whether journalists...

The Conversation
12/15/2016
How news sites' online comments helped build our hateful electorate

Critics may accuse President-elect Donald J. Trump and his supporters of dragging down public discourse in America, but civility took leave of open discussions years ago - online. Beneath digital news stories and social media posts are unmoderated, often anonymous comment streams showing in plain view the anger, condescension, misogyny, xenophobia, racism and nativism simmering within the citizenry.

The Chronicle of Higher Education
01/31/2016
Yes, Campuses Should Be Safe Spaces - for Debate

Commentary The cry of college students demanding "safe spaces" to protect themselves from speech that could harm their sensitivities doesn't confound me. I secretly wished for a safe space myself during my first year of teaching. In my case, the expression I wanted to be shielded from wasn't being shouted at me on the campus quad or discussed in my classroom.

SlideShare
09/18/2015
To Comment Or Not To Comment

How journalists can improve online discourse with the audience. Presentation given at 2015 Excellence in Journalism conference in Orlando, FL on September 18, ...

Hartford Courant
05/17/2015
FAA Green Lights Drone Use For Connecticut Businesses

More drones will soon be humming overhead in Connecticut. They will replace the need to climb ladders for roof inspections and to rent helicopters for aerial views of real estate. They will be able to assess storm damage more quickly and safely, and survey crops more easily, than ever before.

Prezi
J/i Teach-A-Thon 2015: A Visualization Initiation

Getting students started with visual storytellingMap a storyPlaces provide the foundation for storytelling. Visualize Student Data with Charts Create simple interactive graphics using public data about your university's student body. Students pick one small data set, figure out best way to visualize it using a chart or graph.

Connecticut Health Investigative Team
12/28/2014
Breastfeeding Rates On The Rise, As Mother-Baby Support Systems Expand

Candid online posts describing the challenges of breastfeeding fill the Facebook page of Breastfeeding USA's Connecticut chapter. The daily stream of anecdotes, questions and comments alternate in tone from exasperated to celebratory. "Small victory for today. I actually breastfed in the open with my husband and day care provider in the same room (with a [...]

Columbia Journalism Review
03/25/2014
On Connecticut's 'Gold Coast,' a local news incubator

Fairfield County is swamped with hyperlocal experiments that hold broader aspirations Unlike other communities around the country, the suburban towns comprising the Fairfield County, CT "Gold Coast" aren't suffering a void in local news coverage. It's quite the opposite.

Medium
04/15/2014
10 Questions Aspiring Journalists Should Be Asking About Their Digital Reputations

In journalism, your professional reputation hinges upon credibility. Journalistic credibility is a recipe with five ingredients. Your published body of work; The organization you work for; The company you keep (friends, colleagues, followers, fans); What others may say about you, and How you conduct yourself in public.

mariekshanahan.com
08/17/2013
The Uncertain Future of Patch in Connecticut

Now that AOL has laid off 40 percent of the Patch workforce, those of us concerned about the local news landscape in Connecticut want to know what’s going to happen to the state’s 67 Patch sites.