Katherine G. Fry
Professor and Department Chairperson
Television, Radio and Emerging Media
Location: 304 Whitehead Hall
Phone: 718.951.5555
Fax: 718.951.4418
Email:
Katherine G. Fry's Web site
Since earning her Ph.D., Katherine Fry has been teaching and publishing in the areas of media research and criticism, television news, media culture and technology, and media literacy. A Fulbright recipient, she has lectured internationally in Turkey, Spain and Germany. Currently she is engaged in research that involves talking to audiences about how they define news. She also develops media literacy curricula for all ages and trains media literacy educators at the graduate level.
Education:
Ph.D., Temple University - 1994 (Mass Media and Communication)
M.A., Temple University - 1989 (Mass Media and Communication)
B.A., University of Minnesota - 1985 (Journalism)
Areas of Expertise:
Fry's areas of research expertise are in news, advertising and media literacy broadly. She is particularly interested in how changes over time, in economics and in technology, change the very definition of news. She studies the social and cultural implications of advertising as well as its historical development. She also develops and implements media literacy workshops in the community at large.
Books and Publications
Fry, K. (2019). Documentary Analysis and Production in Media Literacy. International Encyclopedia of Media Literacy, John Wiley and Sons, Inc. (Books and Publications: Article (Other)) 2019
Fry, K. (2019). The Tribe Game: Media Ecology for Beginners. Explorations in Media Ecology, vol. 18, no. 3 (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2019
Fry, K. (2017) Preparing to be Digital: The Paradigm Shift for Media Studies and Higher Education, pp. 78-89. In Media Literacy in Higher Education Environments. J. Cubbage (Ed.). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 2018
"What Do We Mean by Fake? What Do We Mean by News?" Invited article in Spectra, the Magazine of the National Communication Association, Vol. 53, no. 4, November, 2017. (Books and Publications: Article (Other)) 2017
Fry, Katherine G.; Hirsch, Christine Courtade; Stassen-Ferrara, Heather Marie; Casey, Cheryl A.; and Louis, Maureen M. (2016) "We've Come a Long Way Maybe: Reflections of Women in The Academy," Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association: Vol. 2015 , Article 2.
Available at: http://docs.rwu.edu/nyscaproceedings/vol2015/iss1/2 (Books and Publications: Article (Other)) 2017
"Re-Thinking News, Re-Thinking News Literacy: A User-Centered Perspective on Information Participation," Journalism Education, vol. 5 (1), pp. 35-44. 2016. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2016
Culture and Space: Proceedings of the fifteenth international cultural studies symposium, May 2015, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey. Edited by Ayse Lahur Kirtunc, Muran Erdem, Atilla Silku, Katherine G. Fry (Books and Publications: Book (Edited)) 2016
"Developing Media Literacy: Managing Fear and Moving Beyond." Journal of Media Literacy Education 6.3: 65-70. Available at: http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/jmle/vol6/iss3/6. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2015
"What Are We Really Teaching? Outline for an Activist Media Literacy Education." Media Literacy Education in Action: Theoretical and Pedagogical Perspectives. Eds. B. Abreu and P. Mihailidis). New York: Routledge. 125-37. (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 2014
"Media Literacy Education: Harnessing the Technological Imaginary." Journal of Media Literacy Education 3.1. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2011
"Seeing the Light." EdTech: Technology Insights for Education 9.1: 9. Invited column. (Books and Publications: Article (Other)) 2011
"News as Subject: What Is It? Where Is It? Whose Is It? The Virginia Tech Massacre as Case Study." Journalism Studies 9.4: 545-60. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2008
Fry, Katherine G. and Barbara Jo Lewis. Identities in Context: Media, Myth, Religion in Time and Space. Cresskill, N.J.: Hampton Press. (Books and Publications: Book (Edited)) 2008
Fry, Katherine G. and George Rodman. "Communication Technology and Psychological Well-Being: The Yin and Yang of Media." Techno-Well: The Impact of Technology on Psychological Well-Being. Ed. Yair Amichai-Hamburger. Cambridge University Press. (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 2008
"Television News: Hero for New Orleans, Hero for the Nation." Space and Culture: The International Journal of Social Spaces 9.1: 83-85. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2006
Constructing the Heartland: Television News and Natural Disaster. Cresskill, N.J.: Hampton Press. (Books and Publications: Book (Authored)) 2003
Creative Work
Created curriculum document and script for U.S. Dept. of State initiative: Youth Voices Civic Media course: "Sharing Your Stories." 2021
expert interviewee on PBS documentary: "Fake: Searching for Truth in the Age of Misinformation." 2020
Three videos written, produced and voice-over narration for Globaloria.com: "Putting Yourself on the Web: Blogging for an Online Community," "Putting Yourself on the Web: Creating a Social Profile" and "Adding Images to Your Social Profile: Making Choices." 2012
"Evaluating News Sources Online." Online video tutorial written, produced and voice-over narration for Globaloria.com. 2011
Awards, Honors and Fellowships
Fulbright Teaching Fellowship, for Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey, 2014-15. (Grants and Fellowships) 2014
John F. Wilson Award for scholarship and exemplary service, New York State Communication Association, fall. (Awards and Honors) 2013
Fellowship in the Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities, 2007-08. (Awards and Honors) 2007
Research Activities
New York City Focus Group moderator for the San Francisco State University Department of Journalism and its Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism national study: The Health of the Ethnic News Media: Needs and Opportunities. April. 2008
"Examining News as the Genre and Technology Expand: Audience Participation and Evaluation." Ongoing focus group audience research project. 2007
PSC-CUNY Research Award, for "Audience Evaluation of News in an Era of Electronic Media Revolution." $3,500; July. 2006
Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums
Presentation at the annual meeting of the Media Ecology Association, 2020. "Fake News and Deep Fakes: A Shallow Discourse in News Literacy," Online conference. https://media-ecology.org/convention (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2020
Conference Co-organizer and panel presenter on News and Media Literacy, DIGITAL EngAGEment: Media Literacy in the 21st Century," May 5, 2017, Center for Worker Education, 25 Broadway. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2017
Conference Workshop facilitator, plenary and roundtable discussant: "What Do We Mean by Fake, and What Do We Mean by News?" at 12th Northeast Media Literacy Conference, Central Connecticut University, New Britain, CT, Feb. 4, 2017 (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2017
Panel Presenter, "Understanding and Teaching News in a Social Media World: Why News Literacy is Media Literacy," at the National Assoc. of Media Literacy Education conference, Chicago, June 28, 2017. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2017
Panelist, "Post-Truth, Alternate Facts, and Fake News" panel for the New York Society for General Semantics, Player's Club, NYC, Feb. 8, 2017. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2017
Panelist, "What Is Our Brand," at the annual meeting of the Broadcast Education Association, LasVegas, Aprill 22, 2017. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2017
Webinar Presenter, "Fake News: Fostering Media and Information Literacy Among Students in a Post-Truth Era," with Education Innovator and the National Association of Media Literacy Education. November, 2017. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2017
"Academic Spaces, Disintegrating Boundaries" keynote address. 15th International Cultural Studies Symposium, "Culture and Space." Ege University Faculty of Letters, Bornova. Izimir, Turkey, May 8. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2015
"Bringing Media Literacy to the Community" open seminar for Zaragoza University Health Sciences Faculty. Zaragoza, Spain, April 29. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2015
"Media Literacy and Issues of Body and Health" open seminar for Zaragoza University Health Sciences Faculty. Zaragoza, Spain, April 28. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2015
Keynote speech, "Preparing for Life, 2.0," at the annual conference of educators in the Young Women's Leadership Network of DOE schools, held at the Young Women's Leadership Academy, Astoria, New York, Nov. 3, 2015. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2015
"So What's (and Where's) Next?" The John F. Wilson Scholarly Address, as recipient of the John F. Wilson Award for Scholarly Achievement. Annual Meeting of the New York State Communication Association. Kerhonksen, N.Y., Oct. 17. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2014
"The Process of Scholarship" panel. Annual Meeting of the Eastern Communication Association. Providence, R.I., April 25. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2014
Chair and presenter, "The Chocolate Project: The LAMP at the New York Public Library." Inaugural meeting of the Media Literacy Research Symposium. Fairfield University. Fairfield, Conn., March 20. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2014
Chair and respondent, "Educating Media Literacy Educators: Building a Model and a Program for Critical Media Literacy Education." Annual Meeting of the New York State Communication Association. Kerhonksen, N.Y., Oct. 17. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2014
Panel chair, moderator and contributor, New York University Law School Engelberg Center Symposium on Copyright and Fair Use in the Digital Age: "Taking On the Take-Down Notice," for the unveiling of The LAMP's Media Breaker online editing tool, October. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2013
"Media Literacy and Urban Youth," for NYU graduate course: "Adolescent Learners in Urban Contexts." July 24. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2012
"LAMPlatoon: Bridging Academe and Community With Media LIteracy Activism." Annual meeting of the New York State Communication Association. October. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2011
"Change Through Media" panel. Young Women Social Entrepreneurs. Greenspace, N.Y., January. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2010
"Media Literacy Education in New York City as a Microcosm of U.S. Media Literacy Efforts." Culture and Media Education: An International Survey. Department of Culture and Media Education, University of Education Ludwigsburg. Ludwigsburg, Germany. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2010
"New Directions in News Literacy: Effective Classroom Practices for News, Youth and Education" panel. Annual Northeast Media Literacy Conference. University of Connecticut, Storrs. March 26. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2010
"Working With New York City Youth in Media Literacy." Adolescent Learners in Urban Contexts graduate course. New York University. July 6. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2010
"Media Literacy Is Medium Literacy" workshop and presentation. Annual Northeast Media Literacy Conference. University of Connecticut, Storrs. April 3. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2009
"Mother Choices: Evaluating Moms Evaluating the News." Invited talk as part of the Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute in the Humanities, Brooklyn College. Nov. 10. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2009
"Mother Choices: Using and Evaluating News Sources in the Digital Age." Annual meeting of the National Communication Association. Chicago, November. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2009
"Participatory Media and Technology" talk/workshop. Annual Mouse.org Educator's Conference. New York, April 30. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2009
Chairperson and presenter on panel entitled, "New Directions in News Literacy" Annual meeting of the New York State Communication Association. Paper title: "Evaluating Mothers Evaluating News: A News Literacy Approach." October. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2009
Presentation and screening, "The LAMP: Combining Academic and Activist Media LIteracy in New York City." Media Conversations VI 2009: An International Conference of Youth, Media and Education. Fordham University, Lincoln Center campus. New York, June 6. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2009
"From the Academy to the Streets: Creating Community-Based Media Literacy (starting) in Brooklyn." Annual meeting of the New York State Communication Association. October. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2008
"Audiences for News, the Morphing Genre: Virginia Tech as Case Study." Annual meeting of the New York State Communication Association. October. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2007
Panelist, "Intersections for Communication Programs: Consequences and Constructs of Adding Majors to Minors and Minors to Majors." Annual meeting of the Eastern Communication Association. Providence, R.I., April 27. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2007
"Advertising and the Body to Advertising on the Body: A Socio-Historical Look at Marketing of the Future." XIV International Economic History Congress. Helsinki, August. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2006
"TV News as Advocate: Early Coverage of Hurricane Katrina." Annual meeting of the Media Ecology Association. Boston, June. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2006
Chairperson and respondent, "Constructing Gender and Sexuality in International Television and Film." Annual meeting of the New York State Communication Association. Kerhonksen, N.Y., October. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2006
Professional Leadership
Led community workshop, "Media Literacy Workshop," at Red Hook Public Library, Brooklyn, New York, July 6, 2017. (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2017
Professional Talk: "Healthy Digital Relationships," at PTA meeting of MS 447, Brooklyn, New York, May 25, 2017. (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2017
Webinar presenter for Teaching For Democracy Alliance: "Teaching the Presidency in the Digital Age," January 11, 2017. (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2017
Co-founder and education director, the Learning about Multimedia Project (LAMP), a Brooklyn community-based, not-for-profit organization offering media literacy workshops for children, parents and educators. www.thelampnyc.org. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2007
Deputy chairperson, Department of Television and Radio, 2001-07. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2007
Develop and write media literacy curricula for K-12 students, parents and educators in the borough of Brooklyn, N.Y. Also teach media literacy workshops based on those curricula for the Learning About Multimedia Project. (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2007
Member, Board of Directors, New York State Communication Association (ongoing). (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2007
Pedagogical Achievements
Led professional development workshop for PASE educators: "Different Tools, Different News." New York. 2012
Created and implemented media literacy curricula for the following New York City organizations:
PS 145, Manhattan, pre-K through grade 5; MS 242, Manhattan, health and media literacy middle school workshop; Tenzer Academy, Manhattan, advertising and persuasion workshop; New York Public Library (four branches), Advertising and Persuasion workshops; Brooklyn Public Library (six branches), News Literacy Workshop; Brooklyn Heights Montessori School, Advertising and Persuasion workshop; Queens Public Library (with NYC Commission on Human Rights), anti-bullying PSA workshop. 2011
Led three professional development media literacy workshops for teachers (pre-K through 5): "News Literacy," "Advertising and Persuasion" and "Breaking Commercials." PS 145. New York. 2011
Community Activities
Coordinated 5-week summer program in media literacy/digital literacy work readiness with NYC DOE and SYEP at John Adams HS, Queens, New York. 2020
Coordinated 6-week CareerCLUE summer media literacy/digital literacy work readiness program with NYC DOE and SYEP at Careers in Sports High School, Bronx, New York. 2019
"Fact versus Fiction," panelist for Community Conversation About the News, with NY City Council member Helen Rosenthal, New York City, February 1, 2017. 2017
Invited presentation, "Teens, Tweens, the Internet and Social Media," for Brooklyn Prospect charter school PTSO meeting, April 23. 2014
Invited Lecture: Guest speaker, media literacy talk, Education and Children's Services subcommittee of Brooklyn Community Board 6, October and November. 2006
Other Professional Activities
Guest appearance on BRIC TV's "BK Live," talking about television and the U.S. Presidency, April 25, 2017. 2017
Panelist, "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me: A Fake News Event," part of the We Stand Against Hate initiative, Brooklyn College, March 21st, Woody Tanger Auditorium 2017
Guest speaker, Fordham University induction ceremony: Lambda Pi Eta, the Communication Honor Society, November. 2013
Panel moderator, news panel for First Annual Media Nights, Brooklyn College Department of Television and Radio, September. 2013
