Minnie Doty Goddard Distinguished Professor
Director, Information Integrity Institute
865-974-5118
Before returning to the academic world for her doctorate, Professor Luther worked both in the United States and in Japan as a producer of television news. She teaches in the areas of global communication, audience analytics, media and diversity, communication and information science theories, and research methods. Her research primarily focuses on digital media, propaganda, and disinformation, digital activism, as well as media-related issues on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Luther received her PhD from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and her Executive MBA from the University of Tennessee. She has published in such journals as the Journal of Communication, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, International Journal of Communication, and SN Social Sciences. She has had four books published; one titled Press Images, National Identity, and Foreign Policy was published by Routledge in 2002. The others are three editions of her co-authored book, Diversity in U.S. Mass Media (2024; 2017; 2012) published by Wiley-Blackwell.
As principal investigator, Luther has been leading a team of researchers on a US Office of Naval Research Minerva grant project regarding the influences of media-propagated propaganda and disinformation in former Soviet Union countries.
Luther has received several awards including:
- University of Tennessee (UT), Knoxville’s Chancellor’s Award to attend HERS Institute at Bryn Mawr
- National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) Faculty Fellow Award
- SECAC Academic Leadership Development Award
- UT’s Notable Woman Award recognizing excellence in administration, research and teaching
- American Press Institute, John Ben Snow Memorial Trust Fellowship Award
- Radio Television News Directors Foundation/Knight Foundation’s Educator in the Newsroom Fellowship Award
- International Radio and Television Society Faculty/Industry Award
- UT College of Communication and Information Bud Minkel International/Intercultural Award
- UT College of Communication and Information Outstanding Faculty Research Award
Luther received the Fulbright-Masaryk Distinguished Scholar Award in 2023 to teach and conduct research at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. This was the second Fulbright award for Luther. In 2007, she was awarded a Fulbright Research Grant to conduct research in Japan.
Education
PhD, University of Minnesota Twin Cities