Debate experts from UW-Madison
The following University of Wisconsin–Madison experts are available to speak with reporters covering the upcoming presidential debates. The first of three debates is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 26, at Hofstra University in Long Island, N.Y.
- Lewis A. Friedland, professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and Departments of Sociology and Educational Psychology (Affiliated) and director of the Center for Communication and Democracy, is an expert on civil society, changing democratic norms and culture, social integration and how changing media structure affects people’s understanding of politics. He may be reached at 414-736-4665 or lfriedla@wisc.edu.
- Lucas Graves, assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and author of “Deciding What’s True: The Rise of Political Fact-Checking in American Journalism,” can comment on fact-checking. He may be reached at graves@wisc.edu.
- Dhavan V. Shah, professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and director of the Mass Communication Research Center, can comment on debate dynamics, candidate nonverbal communication, vote choice, and social media. He may be reached at dshah@wisc.edu.
- Chris Wells, associate professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, is an expert on social media use during debates, and how people watching the debate have responded and posted. He may be reached at cfwells@wisc.edu or follow him on twitter @cfwells.
Media is welcome to attend a viewing party and discussion of the presidential debate at the Marquee Cinema at Union South, hosted by the Morgridge Center for Public Service. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Morgridge Center Director Kathy Cramer, along with Professors Barry Burden, David Canon and Mike Wagner will give commentary following the debate and lead a discussion.
