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Rosemary Pennington

Rosemary Pennington’s research focuses on the way media represent members of marginalized or minority groups as well as how such groups use new media to contest representations.

She’s published two books with Indiana University Press related to the subject. The Media World of ISIS, co-edited with Michael Krona of Malmö University, examines the way that the Islamic State use, and are represented in, various types of media. She’s also the co-editor, with Hilary Kahn of IUPUI, of On Islam: Muslims and the Media. The book is a mix of essays from scholars, activists, and media practitioners discussing the misrepresentation of Muslims in media and offering best practices for
reporters covering Muslim communities.

Pennington also serves as the moderator of the Stats + Stories podcast. On the show, she and panelist John Bailer interview researchers and journalists about statistics and how best to communicate about statistical issues. She’s the co-author, with Bailer, of the forthcoming Statistics Behind the Headlines from Routledge.

Pennington’s research has appeared in a number of journals, including New Media & Society, Journal of Communication Inquiry, and International Communication Gazette. Works in progress include a book on popular media and Muslim representation, the Game of Sultans mobile game, and Muslim representation in Appalachia.

Pennington received her PhD in mass communication from Indiana University in 2015. While at IU she managed the Voices and Visions project based in the Center for the Study of Global Change, where she served as the producer of its Crash Course in Islam podcast and the host/producer of the Muslim Voices podcast. She also managed the @muslimvoices Twitter account and the Muslim Voices Facebook page.

In her pre-academia life, Pennington was an award winning broadcast journalist. During her undergrad years at Ohio University, she worked as a reporter, anchor, and producer at WOUB News and, after graduating with a BSJ from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism in 2001, served as the managing editor of the WOUB newsroom for two years. From 2003 to 2007, Pennington was the afternoon host and producer at WBHM FM in Birmingham, AL. Her science and medical reporting for WBHM helped her win the Alabama Associated Press's Best Specialized Reporter award two years in a row.