Melissa has two main areas of research interest, politics and the media. In the past year, Melissa has been working on two major projects. She has been working on her thesis, which is a study of newspaper editorial coverage of anti-war protests and protesters. Melissa’s thesis will compare newspaper editorial coverage of anti-war protests and protesters before and after mainstream public opinion in the U.S. turned in favor of the war.

She has also been assisting her colleague, Aimee Meader, with her study on the effects of The Daily Show on political comprehension. AImee and Melissa have submitted their research paper for possible presentation to the International Communication Association’s annual meeting, which is being held in Chicago this year. If you would like to read the study, you can check it out here. Be warned, however, the study is long and dense, but definitely worth a read.