Directory

Joanne Cantor
Emeritus Professor
Communication Science
6163 Vilas Hall
608-221-0593
jrcantor@wisc.edu

Office Hours:
By appointment

Expertise and Activities

After retiring in 2000 from my full-time faculty position in the Department, I have continued my research, writing, and public appearances. My research focuses on the impact of the mass media on children and adolescents, with special emphasis on the emotional impact of the media. The three areas of my most pronounced attention are:

Media and fear, including developmental differences in what frightens children and in the best ways of reducing fears.

Media violence and aggressive behavior, including ways of reducing the negative impact of media.

The impact of media ratings and other techniques of shielding children from inappropriate or harmful content.

In addition to writing scholarly articles and chapters, I have reached out to general audiences by converting my research findings into a parenting book, "Mommy, I'm Scared": How TV and Movies Frighten Children and What We Can Do to Protect Them (1998), and a children's book, Teddy's TV Troubles (2004). I also do evaluation research on educational and prosocial programs for young people.

I frequently give workshops and lectures about the media t on the topics of stress reduction, productivity, and parenting. My speaking business is called Your Mind on Media and the web site is yourmindonmedia.com.

Since the fall of 2005, I have been serving as the Director of the Department's Center for Communication Research.

Education

Ph.D. Indiana University, 1974
M.A. Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, 1971
B.A. Cornell University, 1967

Honors and Awards

Broadcast Education Association, Distinguished Scholar Award, 2007
International Communication Association, Fellow, 1999
International Communication Association, B. Aubrey Fischer Mentorship Award, 1999
University of Wisconsin, Hilldale Award in the Social Sciences, 1999

Selected Works

Books