Mark Coddington Associate Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications, Washington and Lee University

Talk Title: "The Everyday Ethics of Scrolling Through Social Media: How to Avoid Getting Buried in an Online Information Avalanche"
Thursday, March 24, 5:00pm: Stackhouse Theater

"I will discuss strategies and habits for navigating the flood of misleading and distracting information on social media in order to find the quality news we need to be thoughtful, informed, and engaged citizens. I'll explore how our everyday digital media consumption embodies a liberal-arts philosophy and our values as members of the W&L community."

Mark Coddington's research focuses on media sociology and networked journalism. As a professor and former journalist, he is working to understand our new journalistic ecosystem - not only the technical skills of engaging in it, but also the deeper concepts of what type of society it's helping to create.

In addition to his recent book, entitled "Aggregating the News: Secondhand Knowledge and the Erosion of Journalistic Authority," Coddington is widely published in peer-reviewed journals such as Journalism, Journalism Practice, International Journal of Communication and Digital Journalism. His scholarship portfolio also includes co-founding and co-authoring the RQ1 email newsletter, a monthly resource for academics and journalists that summarizes and explains the latest academic research on news and journalism.

At W&L, Coddington teaches reporting, news writing, social media, data storytelling and digital journalism, and he studies the sociology of digital journalism. Some of his courses include: Social Media: Principles and Practice; Media Bias: Beyond Right and Left; Social Media Journalism; and The News About the News: Does Journalism Need Saving?

Prior to pursuing an academic journalism path, Coddington was a reporter for The Grand Island Independent, covering a 16-county region of central Nebraska. For this work he was awarded seven Nebraska Press Association Awards, among other honors.

Coddington earned a Ph.D. in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin.