Karyn Riddle
Robert Taylor Professor of Strategic Communication; Director, Undergraduate Studies
Education
Ph.D. University of California Santa Barbara
M.A. University of California Santa Barbara
B.A. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Areas of Research
Media effects (especially media violence), media enjoyment, narrative entertainment effects, specialization in children and adolescents
Research Impact
Karyn Riddle’s research explores the impact of entertainment, news, and social media on children, adolescents, and adults. Much of her research focuses on violence, with studies documenting both the nature and impact of media violence. In a recent study, she and her co-authors explored U.S. adolescents’ reactions when learning about the Uvalde school shooting through both traditional news and social media outlets. In other research, she has documented the prevalence and graphicness of violence in popular movies and television programs. Riddle has also developed a theory of vivid media violence in which she articulates how graphic, explicit media violence impacts audiences differently than violence that is “sanitized.”
In a second line of research, Riddle explores the power of narrative media stories more broadly. She and graduate student co-authors proposed a theory of media enjoyment that both synthesizes and disentangles prior theorizing on hedonic responses to media. More recently, she has worked with graduate students on a series of projects inspired by the television program Schitt’s Creek. In these studies, they explored how narrative stories featuring LGBTQ+ characters can have a positive impact on audiences.
Recent Publications
Peer-reviewed academic journal articles
2025. “News exposure, depression, and PTSD symptoms among adolescents in the US: A case study of the Uvalde school shooting.” Journal of Children and Media.
2024. “Learning through rewards: Priming and identification as psychological mechanisms of the effects of LGBTQ+ narratives on inclusive attitudes and behavioral intentions.” Media Psychology.
2022. “Media enjoyment: A synthesis.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media.
2022. “A content analysis of American primetime television: A 20-year update of the National Television Violence Studies.” Journal of Communication.
2021. “Reassessing the risks: An updated content analysis of violence on U.S. children’s primetime television.” Journal of Children and Media.
Recent Awards and Honors
Distinguished Teaching Award, UW–Madison Class of 1955
Vilas Associates Award, UW–Madison
Courses
J172: Children and Media
J447: Strategic Media Planning
J565: Effects of Mass Communication
J616: Mass Media and Youth
J801: Mass Media and the Individual