Dr. Michelle Rossi teaching (Photo courtesy Heidi Bingham/The Utah Statesman)
New Journalism Professor Excited to Dive Into Deep Topics
Bobbee Russell-Verhoef, writer
Michelle Rossi became a journalist to contribute to social justice efforts. Years later, she is in a field she didn’t necessarily plan – academia. After earning her doctorate degree from the University of Colorado Boulder, she accepted an assistant professor position at Utah State University’s Department of Journalism and Communication fall 2023.
Before joining the USU faculty, she worked in the newspaper industry as a reporter, editor and editorial writer. She worked in a newsroom in Campo Grande, Brazil, for 10 years and other newspapers. One newspaper owner required her to work almost 24/7 and she thrived on deadline pressures.
“I used to spend all my time in the newsroom writing and following up with sources,” Rossi said.
She left the news industry and transitioned to public relations where she worked on political campaigns including the FIFA World Cup where she helped solve public relations crises.
Managing public relations teams of up to 15 people, where she promoted diversity and social justice. Another one of her previous jobs was working as a PR leader for a state government working to improve human rights. Her last PR job was in the summer of 2022 working on a political campaign for a mayoral candidate.
“It was really fulfilling, and I connect a lot with PR,” Rossi said.
Rossi moved to the United States in 2018 to work on her doctorate for the next five years in journalism, which she described as “a love at first sight.”
“I wanted to explore theory and explore the topics in depth,” Rossi said.
She was confident going into her doctorate program used to intense newsroom and public relations deadlines. The program was rigorous in a different way.
“It is like a deep layer [of thinking] you don’t access in the industry. [I came] up with my own critical theories on specific topics,” Rossi said.
When she was a Ph.D. candidate, she taught undergraduate classes which evolved into a fond relationship to teaching.
“I feel so much joy when I’m in the classroom. It’s not just a job,” Rossi said.
Her college professors discussed the daily deadline pressures of a newsroom but didn’t fully articulate how intense it can be. She makes sure that’s one aspect of reporting she makes sure her students understand.
“Lots of [mistakes] happen because of the deadline pressure,” Rossi said.
Another teaching element she makes sure she hits is acting professionally while reporting. Specifically, arriving at interviews on time and treating people with respect.
“USU students are really respectful. Love my time with students here so far,” Rossi said.
What makes Rossi stand out as a professor are her hands-on reporting, public relations skills plus a Ph.D.
“I can talk about theory and hands- on topics to help students hone their craft,” Rossi said.
As part of being a professor, Rossi spends a lot of time researching. One of her research topics is how journalists cover farmed animals.
“I see animals as marginalized groups when it comes to coming from mainstream media,” Rossi said.
Recently she published an article called “Provoking Gut-Level Reactions: A study on Journalistic Framing During the 2020 Meatpacking Crisis” in the Environmental Communication Journal, a top-tier peer-reviewed journal.
“I want to understand how journalists cover these vulnerable beings. We need to understand nature as a sight of oppression as well. Are we telling the full story between nature as thing of oppression? Are we contextualizing the story when we are talking about,” Rossi said.