Brittany Shaughnessy

Ph.D.
Public Relations

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Brit is a doctoral candidate and graduate assistant in the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida. Her specialization is in political communication. How does alternative media consumption affect one’s worldview and support of democratic backsliding in the U.S? More broadly, Brit is interested in why people dislike each other along political lines.She received her BA in communication from Coastal Carolina University and her MA in communication from Virginia Tech.

Awards and Honors

Graduate Trust Scholar, UF Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology, 2024.

Top paper: Communication Theory and Methodology, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), 2023.

Top paper: Political Communication, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), 2023.

Grinter Fellowship 2021-2024, University of Florida, 2021.

Top Paper: Media Communication, Eastern Communication Association, 2020.

Emerging Scholar, Coastal Carolina University, 2019.

Top Paper: Popular Culture, Southern States Communication Association, 2019.

Fellow, Edgar Dyer Institute for Leadership and Public Policy, 2018.

First Place: Series of Articles, South Carolina Collegiate Press Association, 2017.

News

• Partisanship, Politics and Place: How Media Shape Perception of Rural America (January 16, 2025)
• Study: Conservative Media Use, Political Beliefs and Geographic Identity Can Affect Perceptions of Rural Residents (December 16, 2024)
• UFCJC Faculty, Students and Alumni Honored at AEJMC 2024 Conference (August 6, 2024)
• UFCJC Doctoral Student Comments on Presidential Candidate Use of Political Language on 2024 Campaign Trail (April 17, 2024)
• Decoding Morality in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election: A Public Relations Perspective (December 21, 2023)
• All News About Brittany Shaughnessy

Publications

Refereed Journal Articles

Shaughnessy, B., DuBosar, E., Hutchens, M., & Pittet Gonzalez, L. (2024). (I don’t know why) I go to extremes: Examining left- and right-wing American alternative media use, the role of populism, and extremist attitudes. The Social Science Journal. DOI: 10.1080/03623319.2024.2422163

DuBosar, E., Shaughnessy, B., & Hutchens, M. (2024). Seeing red (and blue): Partisan identity, emotions, and selective exposure. Media Psychology. DOI: 10.1080/15213269.2024.2347237

Shaughnessy, B., Hutchens, M., & DuBosar, E. (2024). That is so mainstream: The impact of hyper-partisan media use and right-, left-wing alternative media repertoires on consumers' belief in political misperceptions in the United States. International Journal of Communication, 18, 1561-1581. Retrieved from https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/21055/4524

Shaughnessy, B., DuBosar, E., Hutchens, M., & Mann, I. (2024). An attack on free speech? Examining content moderation, (de-) and (re-) platforming on American right-wing alternative social media. New Media & Society. DOI: 10.1177/14614448241228850

Hutchens, M., Shaughnessy, B., & DuBosar, E. (2023). Populist hyperpartisans?: The interaction between partisan media exposure and populism in the 2020 US Presidential Election. Mass Communication and Society. DOI: 10.1080/15205436.2023.2264265

Shaughnessy, B., Albishri, O., Arceneaux, P., Dagher, N., & Kiousis, S. (2023). Morality on the ballot: strategic issue salience and affective moral intuitions in the 2020 US presidential election. Journal of Communication Management, 27(4), 582-600. DOI: 10.1108/JCOM-01-2023-0006

Hutchens, M., Romanova, E., & Shaughnessy, B. (2023). The good, the bad, and the evil media: Influence of online comments on media trust. Journalism Studies, 24(11), 1440-1457. DOI: 10.1080/1461670X.2023.2216811

Holody, K. J., & Shaughnessy, B. R. (2021). #NEVERAGAIN: Framing in community and national news coverage of the Parkland mass shootings. Journalism Practice. DOI: 10.1080/17512786.2020.1816857

Duncan, M., Perryman, M., & Shaughnessy, B. (2021). Same scandal, different standards: The effect of partisanship on expectations of news reports about whistleblowers. Mass Communication and Society. DOI: 10.1080/15205436.2021.1936558

Presentations

Frazer, R., & Shaughnessy, B. (2024). COVID-19 pandemic anger four years later: Predicting and explaining moral emotions, psychological reactance, and desires for retribution. Paper/Poster at Moral Media 2024 Conference, Columbus, OH.

Shaughnessy, B., DuBosar, E., Hutchens, M., & Mann, I. (2023). An attack on free speech? Examining (de-) and (re-) platforming on American social media. Paper/Poster at Association of Education of Journalism and Mass Communication Conference, Washington, DC.

Hmielowski, J., Shaughnessy, B., & Pittet-Gonzalez, L. (2023). Caught in the balance: Examining the effects of journalist ideology and news story credibility. Paper/Poster at Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference, Washington, DC.

Hampton, C., Shaughnessy, B., Kyles, T., Raja, U., DuBosar, E., Jones, G., Jin, J., Maizel, J., & Johnson, B. (2023). Feelings, follows, and feeds: Mood effects on social media use. Oral Presentation at Association of Education of Journalism and Mass Communication Conference, Washington, DC.

Shaughnessy, B., Kiousis, S., & Hutchens, M. (2023). Power to the people: Examining the effect of popular sovereignty and anti-elitist populist communication on selective exposure behavior and political participatory intent. Oral Presentation at Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference., Washington, DC.

Shaughnessy, B., & Hmielowski, J. (2023). Rage against the elite: Examining the relationships between rural resentment, attitudes toward elites, and media use. Oral Presentation at Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference., Washington, DC.

DuBosar, E., Shaughnessy, B., & Hutchens, M. (2023). Seeing Red (and Blue): Partisan Identity, Emotions, and Selective Exposure. Oral Presentation at International Communication Association Conference, Toronto, Canada.

Hmielowski, J., Shaughnessy, B., & Luna, P. (2023). You Go to Extremes: Examining Perceived Ideological Extremity as a Mediator between Partisan Media Use and Affective Polarization. Oral Presentation at International Communication Association Conference, Toronto, Canada.

Shaughnessy, B., DuBosar, E., & Hutchens, M. (2022). That is so mainstream: Understanding U.S. alternative media audiences and their relationship with misperceptions. Oral Presentation at Association of Education of Journalism and Mass Communication Conference, Detroit, MI.

Hutchens, M., Shaughnessy, B., & DuBosar, E. (2022). Populist hyper-partisans? The interaction between partisan media exposure and populism in the 2020 US Presidential Election. Oral Presentation at International Communication Association Conference, Paris, France.

Shaughnessy, B., Albishri, O., Arceneaux, P., Dagher, N., & Kiousis, S. (2022). Morality on the ballot: Merging agenda building with Moral Foundations Theory. Paper/Poster at International Communication Association Conference, Paris, France.

Quesenberry, B., & Shaughnessy, B. (2021). Transforming group speech assignments for an online classroom. Oral Presentation at National Communication Association, Seattle, WA.

Research

Specialization

Political communication, alternative media, populism, democratic backsliding

Courses

Syllabi from the current and three previous semesters:

• PUR 3000 - Principles of Public Relations - Fall 2024 (PDF)
• PUR 4800 - Public Relations Campaigns - Summer 2024 (PDF)
• PUR 4800 - Public Relations Campaigns - Summer 2024 (PDF)