2010 BEA Distinguished Scholar Award Presented To Professor Nancy Signorielli
Washington, D.C. – Nancy Signorielli, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1975, Professor of Communication and Director of the M.A. program in Communication at the University of Delaware, has been named the recipient of the 2010 Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Distinguished Scholar Award.
Beginning with her dissertation research, an in-depth methodological examination of television characters, Professor Signorielli has conducted research on images in the media and how these images are related to people’s conceptions of social reality (cultivation analysis) for the past 40 years. An original member of the Cultural Indicators Research Team, she published one of the very first (and frequently cited) studies of characterizations on television (“Patterns in Prime Time,” Journal of Communication, 1974).
She has written and/or edited seven single- and co-authored books, including Violence in the Media: A Reference Handbook (ABC: Clio, 2005). She has published over 90 journal articles and book chapters, as well as numerous research and grant reports and encyclopedia entries. She has made over 150 presentations at invitational conferences as well as the annual conferences of the discipline’s major organizations. She testified in May 1993 at House Energy and Commerce committee’s subcommittee on telecommunications and finance oversight hearing on television violence and its impact on children
Her current research includes examinations of portrayals of aging, sex roles, occupations, minorities, and violence on prime time network television and children’s programs. Professor Signorielli teaches courses on mass communication, research methods, children and the media, and media message analysis. She has served on the editorial boards of 5 communication journals, including the Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media and serves as an ad hoc reviewer for numerous journals. She has been cited as a prolific communication scholar, and has received several top-paper awards at various national conferences. She was named a Centennial Scholar of the Eastern Communication Association (April, 2009).
The BEA’s Distinguished Scholar Award (DSA) recognizes significant contributions to research and scholarship involving broadcast and electronic media. Recipients are evidenced by related extensive publication in books and leading journals, for at least twenty years. The DSA will be awarded to Professor Nancy Signorielli at BEA’s annual convention in Las Vegas during a ceremony and reception on the evening of Thursday, April 15th. She will be giving a formal presentation to convention attendees earlier that day.
BEA is the professional association for professors, industry professionals and graduate students who are interested in teaching and research related to electronic media and multimedia enterprises. There are currently more than 1,500 individual and institutional members. Visit www.beaweb.org for more information on BEA and the annual convention BEA2010.
