Congratulations to Dr. Dorian Davis, who successfully defended his dissertation on April 26th, 2018 titled, The Twitter Election? New Perspectives on Agenda-Building during the 2016 Campaign.

Chaired by Internet Governance Lab Faculty Fellow and Chair of the Communication Studies division at SOC Dr. Aram Sinnreich, Dorian's committee also included SOC Assistant Professor Dr. Filippo Trevisan, UNC Associate Professor Dr. Deen Freelon, and George Washington University Associate Professor Dr. Nikki Usher.

Dr. Davis' dissertation examines agenda-building relationships during the 2016 U.S. general election campaign. Drawing on more than 5,500 news stories and 5,000 presidential campaign tweets, it reveals the directions and valence of influence among news media, candidates' tweets, and public opinion across seven position issues. Filling gaps in the literature around political communication via social media, it offers a holistic view of the agenda-building process in the "Age of Twitter," and a sober look at Twitter's contribution to the election agenda.

From left: Dr. Nikki Usher, Dr. Dorian Davis, Dr. Aram Sinnreich, and Dr. Filippo Trevisan.

You can follow Dr. Davis' work (and congratulate him yourself) on Twitter @DorianDavis.